Posted on 04/18/2005 1:35:54 PM PDT by infocats
The time has come to give your business a presence on the Web. Once you've created (or had someone create) a Web site and content, the question of where to put it still remains. You can choose from a wide range of Web site hosting options, and the good news is that the more expensive ones may not always be the best choice. It all comes down to your budget and the type of presence you want on the World Wide Web.
Using Your ISP for Web Space
When you subscribe to Internet connection services through an Internet Service Provider (ISP) you will usually receive a certain amount of space to host Web pages. You don't pay extra for the hosting as long as you don't go over the space and traffic limitations set by your ISP. Unlike using free sites to host a Web page there will be no third-party advertisements running on your Web pages, unless of course, you choose to run advertisements on the pages yourself.
The amount of space you get from your ISP varies from one service provider to another. Generally, you can expect to have up anywhere from 2MB up to 5MB for your Web pages. As value-added services, your ISP may also provide you with code that you can freely use on your Web page such as code to implement a hit counter or guestbook. It is important to check with your ISP beforehand to find out what services they provid with your Internet account.
Finding Free Web Space Online
You can find free Web space on the Internet with a simple Web search. There are a plethora of services available to individuals and businesses looking for a place to park a Web site and not have to pay for the service. Depending on which one you choose, these online offers typically provide anywhere from 5MB to 100MB of space for hosting your Web site.
Some free site companies offer value-added services, such as tracking logs, counters, guestbooks, virtual domain names, copy-and-paste scripts and more. Generally these added services are ideal for people who are unfamiliar with Web site building and feature implementation.
While a free service may sound even better than using your ISP for hosting a small Web site, you should always do your research first. Visitors to your Web page might end up being spammed with oodles of pop-up and banner advertisements, and you will have no control over the advertising content that may be a direct conflict with your Web page, especially if it is a site designed for children and younger readers.
These companies offer Web space to people for free because they rely on advertising dollars brought in by you showing their ads on your Web page. Be sure to read the user agreement before signing up for a free Web hosting account so that you know what to expect in terms of advertising.
Cheap Web Space Online If you're not wild about running advertisements on your Web site, you can find services that are similar to free hosting but let you pay a small fee to keep the Web page advertisement-free. In fact, many of the sites offering free hosting also offer upgraded accounts where you can pay anywhere from $5 to $20 a month to have the advertisements stripped from your site. By upgrading to a paid account you'll most likely have access to additional Web site building features and services not offered with the free accounts.
There's a lot of competition for your Web site hosting dollars, and you can find some pretty good deals online. xxx is just one example of a Web site hosting provider that offers excellent options and lots of space for $x.00 a month — if paid annually. With this type of premium-but-cheap Web site hosting, you can also pay a little extra to register a domain name and have the site available to readers under that name.
What Is A Domain Name
A domain name is a name that identifies one or more IP addresses. For example, the domain name microsoft.com represents about a dozen IP addresses. Domain names are used in URLs to identify particular Web pages. For example, in the URL http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/index.php, the domain name is ecommerce-guide.com.
The only way to register and start using a domain name is to use the services of a domain name registrar. The domain name industry is regulated and overseen by ICANN, the organization that's responsible for certifying companies as domain name registrars.
At one time there was only one domain name registrar — Network Solutions Inc. — but today there are dozens of accredited registrars. Only a domain name registrar is permitted to access and modify the master database of domain names maintained by InterNIC. If you come across a registrar that's not on the list, the organization is most likely acting as a reseller for one of the accredited registrars as only an accredited registrar. The registrar you choose determines the cost for registering a domain name, but in general expect to pay a yearly fee.
Do You Really Need a Domain Name?
By registering and using a domain name, your costs associated with having a Web site will increase. Many individuals will use domain names to help create an identity on the Web, but for most businesses, the use of a domain name is for branding purposes.
Usually, you try to find a domain name that's related to your company name, your industry or a mixture of both if finding an available domain name becomes too difficult. Companies often use their Web site as a way to communicate and provide information to clients. They also market their Web site as a part of their business by including the Web site address on business cards and advertisements.
Once you select an available domain name, you must register it. This is a task you can do, or many ISPs offer a complete hosting package that includes the registering of the domain name for you, however you need to ensure the ISP will register the domain name in your own name. In many instances you pay a one-time set-up fee for the services associated with the name being registered and the technical work, then pay your service provider a monthly or yearly fee for the Web site hosting services.
It's important to remember that once you have registered a domain name, you can change hosts whenever you want — so long as you continue to pay for the domain name registration. The new host will take care of the technical details to make sure your Web address continues to work when you switch hosts.
Regardless of which Web hosting option you choose, there are many companies out there ready to help you create a Web presence. The beauty of doing business on the Internet is that you can look for Web site hosts outside of your geographical region to help you get a plan that is right for you — at a price you're willing to pay.
"You do not need a domain name to operate a website on the internet."
Just as long as you never intend to make money off said website.
If you build a site at geocities.com/mysite, you might have problems getting into directories. And, it doesn't look as good. And, if you later get a website, then you're going to be listed in search engines for ever as geocities.com/mysite, and you're going to have to always keep that site and include a link to the new site. And, you might have trouble transferring google's opinion of your old page to your new page.
I use namebargain.com to register. It's probably a dollar or two more than some others, but I've never had a problem with them. That too is largely unsupported. godaddy.com is, I think, the same price or even more for .com names, and I avoid them for some reason I forget, some controversy or other. OTOH, namebargain is owned by register.com, and some people (including me, but what the hey) might want to avoid them for that reason.
Both namebargain and godaddy have an extra feature where you can cloak your WHOIS (except to people with subpoenas, of course).
Just as long as you never intend to make money off said website.
I stressed that point because a lot of people seem to think domain names are a must.
Many people do not want a domain name or any promotions via search engines.
For example I have two websites. One has a domain name and presently is getting 800-900 visitors a day and ranks high in the search engines.
The other website has no domain name and I use it to post pictures or information to a discussion newsgroup that will not accept any type of attachments.
The only people I want to go to that site are people on a particular newsgroup. I give them the IP address to access the second website.
If Darkwolf is just going to exchange family photos with friends and family he does not need a domain name since he can e- mail them the sites IP address.
If he is doing something else like spreading information or making money he should get a domain name and hope some search engines willl pick up his website. - tom
Thank you Tom. Yes, I intend to use it to promote magazine appearances of my stories and such.
I'm thinking this is going to be more complicated than I thought...but then everything short of hitting the power button is, computerwise, to me.
Maybe. But then again, nothing worthwhile is obtained without a little elbow grease.
Besides, after a short while, you'll be an expert and all the barflies will oooh and ahh as you regale them with tales of surfing the high seas of the 'net...three sheets to the wind at 4am whilst slingin' HTML code with naught but a Pentium II on a dial up. Arrrhhh.
True. I've been working on one of my novels for 20 years. (I've written about a dozen during that time. None published, only short stories and essays published. So I have expended more than a little elbow grease.)
"Besides, after a short while, you'll be an expert and all the barflies will oooh and ahh as you regale them with tales of surfing the high seas of the 'net...three sheets to the wind at 4am whilst slingin' HTML code with naught but a Pentium II on a dial up. Arrrhhh."
I dunno, I think I'll be clinging to a dinghy...
I envy your stick-to-itiveness. I love to write. Crafting something that moves you, word by word. But I lack your dedication.
I have not yet decided or dared to make it my livelyhood...or even my number one hobby.
I've written some short stories. A couple of them are actually pretty good...by my estimation. Maybe someday I'll stumble on a really inspiring idea for that Great American novel.
Some years ago, I read some advice for budding writers;
"The first output is nothing, the habit everything." You seem to have conquered that aspect. You will succeed. Stick to it.
Yes... you'd need a domain nameserver like this one to point your domain back to your own computer's address.
But then you're not limited to just serving web pages, and you're not limited to just 5 Meg. You can post pictures of all your favorite events.. and conduct guided tours of your favorite spots for your friends. You can have a mail server if you want one, and you can have as many e-mail addresses on that mail server as you want. You can experiment with serving Internet Radio and other audio streams if you like. You are limited only by your imagination and technical expertise. And, as you observed. the (Linux) software is free.
In my experience, I ended up starting to sell after years of writing and NOT waiting for inspiration to strike. Because the ideas come as you're in the process of writing. In fact, every one of the books I've finished I was 100% convinced were dead at some point. I mean deep in my heart I KNEW it was done and I couldn't write another word. But eventually I learned that that is part of the process.
There are some good books on writing but the three best ones are David Morrell's Notes from a Writing Life (best technical points about the process); Ray Bradbury's Zen in the Art of Writing (best practical ideas, which amounts to "stop talking, just sit and write 2000 words each day"); and The War of Art by Steve Pressfield, which focuses on the #1 writing enemy--Resistance.
Nothing can replace getting a page or two written every day.
Marking. . .
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