Getting a website online part 1
10.23.06 - 12:46pm
To get your own website online you will need to do the following;
Register your domain.
Figure A shows how a website is set up.
Registering your own domain name:
You should always register your own domain name.
Don’t let a third-party do it for you as if there are any disputes later on you might lose access to the domain. Registering a domain is an easy proccess and there are many sites where you can register a domain name.
Think of a domain as a digital version of your home you wouldn’t let a third party put their name on your house deeds, would you? Ask yourself why.
Note: Many hosting companies will register a domain for you and offer you hosting at the same time. This is convienient and will cut out the need for a lot of the steps below.
.com or .co.uk ?
If you are based in The UK and are looking for work in The UK then a .co.uk address is the preferable way to go, namely because people who visit your site will know straight away from the .co.uk that you are in The UK. A benefit of .co.uk domains is that there is an “opt-out” policy. This is a way of keeping your address etc private if you are an individual and not a business.
A .com address could mean you are based anywhere in the world. If you want to work internationally then maybe a .com address is for you.
If you are looking for a .co.uk domain, try one of these sites which are reliable;
http://www.fasthosts.co.uk
http://www.web-at-work.com
For .com addresses try one of these sites;
http://www.buydomains.com
http://www.register.com
http://www.netsol.com
As soon as you have registered the domain, contact the company you registered it with and ask to ‘opt out of the public whois register‘ - this means that your personal address will not be viewable on the internet.
If you have any queries about .co.uk domains visit the nominet website, they are the official registry for uk domains (regardless of which company you use - it has to go through nominet)
Note: ‘Opting out’ is only an option on .co.uk domains, many international domain registrars may have an option for hiding your personal information, but you will have to check this first.
The registration process for any domain is usually the same. You will have to check that the domain is available before you can buy it.
If it is already taken you may be presented with alternative domains (e.g. .net, .org etc).
If your domain is free, then it will be a simple matter of filling in your personal information and then paying for it by credit card.
The next thing you will need to do is ‘point it’ to your web host - if you buy a domain and hosting package together this step will be done for you.
DNS Servers:
When you move home you have to let everyone know that you are either a new tennant or that you have moved. Everyone will then need to update their records of where you are located. This is essentially how DNS servers work.
When you register a domain it has to point to somewhere - whether its a one page document at the site where you registered your domain in Skegness or a full website on the server of a web host in California. It can also take time until everyone knows where you are.
If you have a hosting package this host will give you the name of their DNS servers (usually 2 of them) which will look something like this:
ns1.yourhost.co.uk
ns2.yourhost.co.uk
Don’t expect to see your site straight away. DNS changes can take time.
The usual time quoted could be 24-48 hours, but it can be done in just a few hours.
You don’t have any control with this, so be patient.
In the next step I’ll talk about hosting packages and getting your pages online.
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