HostChapter 1: Web Hosting Tutorial, Reviews - Basics of Getting a Domain Name

HostChapter 1: Learn how easy it is you get your own .com, .net, .org

Getting a Web Host - Domain Name Basics and Picking a Package

Although you can write HTML on your computer (as I will show you how to do in the next chapter), you will need a place to put your files on the Internet when you've finished writing them! That place is called a web host. Web sites are generally hosted as domains.

So what is a domain name? A domain name is a web address that ends in .com, .net, .org, or another similar ending. Getting a domain is really easy. When I wanted davesite.com, I made sure no one else had it, and just started paying my small yearly fee for it. Now whenever someone types www.davesite.com in their web browser, my web site magically pops up.

The most important feature of a domain name is that you own it.

When you get a domain name, you own the worldwide name. As long as you'vepicked a legal name for it (not someone else's trademark) no one will be able to take it from you.

What's a URL? - URL is a geek term that stands for Uniform Resource Locator. It just means (web) address. My URL is http://www.davesite.com/.

Domains names are important because:

Your web address never changes. When you print a flyer, or include the URL in a book, you don't have to worry about it.
It looks very professional.
Your e-mail address never has to change. If you own the domain name, you@yourdomain.com/.net/.org will always work.
You have the freedom to move. You can move your site to a new host if you're not pleased with the one you're using.
Domain hosts don't show ads on your site. (If you want to make money with ads, you can add them yourself.)

When you purchase a domain name, you decide where the domain should go. How's that for control?

Picking a Good Host and a Good Plan - Top Web Hosts

Host	storage	monthly bandwidth	price/mo (setup)	price/mo (setup) [year prepaid]	Today's Promotion
Globat Hosting	unlimited	unlimited	(see site)	~~$7.95~~ $4.44 (free)	FREE Domain Name, FREE Setup, FREE Tools, FREE $50 Google Credit	~~$95.40/year~~ $4.44/mo View Details
Ranked Best Business Host! Today's Sale: $4.44 a month for an entire year! Click Here for Details! I first began using Globat in 2003 when I needed a host under $10 a month for an exciting college project I was working on. Reliability was of the essence so I had to pick a host I could really trust. Globat was definitely a great choice. I've had really great experiences as a Globat customer over the years. View hosting offers from Globat.
GreenGeeks	unlimited	unlimited	$14.95 ($15)	$7.95 (free)	FREE Domain Name, FREE Setup, GREEN HOST	$95.40/yearView Details
GreenGeeks is a newcomer to the hosting world. "Discovering" them didn't take long, I've worked with Trey Gardner, GreenGeek's CEO, several times over the past few years. He fired me an email when they launched, I checked it out, and yeah, this host is definitely a terrific choice for someone just getting started who wants not only a great package, but wants to help save the planet with every hit they get! You pay a little bit more than some other hosts, but this company is amazingly efficient. Your hosting package's electric usage is offset with wind credits, making it extremely environmentally-friendly, or as they say at GreenGeeks, 300% Efficient! Check out the details about GreenGeeks and their principles, and learn how to become a customer.
FutureQuest Hosting	500 MB	15 GB	$9.95 (free)	$9.95 (free)	FREE Setup, Dedicated IP, SSH Included	$119.40/year View Details
I've hosted davesite.com with FutureQuest since 2001. It's an awesome company, although you have to set up the domain DNS settings yourself (as described below). For those of you who need SSH and a dedicated IP, definitely check them out. (Most people don't need these features... if you don't know what those terms are, you might be better with Globat or GreenGeeks as it's a little less expensive.)
Host	storage	monthly bandwidth	price/mo (setup)	price/mo (setup) [year prepaid]	Today's Promotion
Yahoo! Web Hosting	unlimited	unlimited	$12.95 ($25)	$9.95 (free)	FREE Domain Name, FREE Setup, EXCELLENT Spam Filter	$119.40/year View Details
I am a great fan of Yahoo's e-mail and their spam-blocking service. Yahoo! Web Hosting gives you a ton of space and lots of features, and all your e-mail accounts get their great spam filtering. If you want to pay monthly and need a great spam filter, this is a great choice.
1&1 Hosting	250 GB	unlimited	$9.99 ($0) [6 mo min]	$9.99 ($0)	3 free domain names with package	$119.88/year View Details
1&1 Hosting is also a top ranking hosting company. It's really easy to set up, speedy, and after all that, it's fun. The daily stats are great. The only thing I have to say negatively about them is that the webmail client is good, but can get better. When you visit their site, select Linux hosting (it's the most secure and it works with your computer even if its Windows or Mac). 1&1 also offers Windows Hosting if you want to use ASP scripting, and 1&1 UK offers plans for customers from the UK.
Prices were valid atlast update February 09, 2010. Always verify current prices and features before settling down with a host!

You have two options now:

I'm glad I learned about domains and web hosting. Let's get to the HTML!
I want to be a domain and web hosting expert. I'm going to finish reading this page so I'll become a pro.

How Hosts Work and How to Set Up a Domain

Here's how a web host works: They have the high speed data lines, the staff, the powerful server computers, the climate controlled rooms, the backup generators, the security, and all that jazz. You're placed on a server computer shared with several other web sites. The web host arranges these computers into rack mounts or server farms. They watch over your site to make sure the computer and connection are running fine. (It's still your job to make sure all your links work and that you have no broken images.)

So how does the web host tie in with a domain name? When you're ready to register a domain name, you need to have a web host picked out, and a plan set up with that web host. Then you'll enter your web host's domain name server IP addresses to resolve your site. (Good news: It's easy, and some hosts even do it for you.)

So say I go with the fictitious web host "Dave's Great Web Hosting Service." Here are the steps to get my web site running:

I select the plan of my choice and pay for it, specifying what my domain name will be. I choose a username and password so only those I share this information with (if anyone) can edit my web site.

Steps 2 and 3 below were common back in the mid-1990s when web hosts were first offering service. If you order a package with Globat, GreenGeeks, Yahoo, or 1and1 Hosting mentioned above, you can skip steps 2 and 3 entirely!
(Skip this if your host gives you free domain) "Dave's Great Web Hosting Service" accepts my choices, and tells me that when I register, I should use 123.456.789.111 and 123.456.789.112 as the DNS servers.
(Skip this if your host gives you free domain) I visit a registrar and I select and pay for my domain name, matching the name I specified in Step 1. During the registration process, I enter my information as the administrative contact, and I specify the DNS settings provided in step 2.
After two to three days, my domain name information is sent to domain name servers around the world, and people can access my virtual domain on "Dave's Great Web Hosting Service" by typing in the domain name I registered, and they'll probably never know I'm in Pennsylvania and my web host is in Florida.

In the United States, your domain can typically be accessed just a few hours after you register it!

If for some reason Dave's Great Web Hosting Service wasn't for me, I could move to another web host as long as I wasn't locked into a long term contract. So if I now selected Drew's Even Better Web Hosting Service, I could just set up an account following step 1, edit my domain's DNS settings, upload my web site to the new server, and after two to three days, my domain is magically pointing to my site on Drew's Even Better Web Hosting Service, and my web visitors won't know the difference unless I tell them I've moved to a new server.

Caution: It sounds easy to move a web site to a new host, but depending on how complex your site is, it can be very time consuming. It's always most wise to pick the most appropriate host right away, instead of moving from host to host constantly.

Some hosts offer a free domain and some make you pay for the domain yourself. So you'll need to calculate the cost of the domain name into your budget in addition to your monthly hosting fee unless the domain name is included free in your package. Domain registrations usually run a yearly fee per domain of $10 to $25.

Tip: Before you register a domain yourself, make sure your host doesn't include it free for the first year in the price!

Caution about Data Transfer Bandwidth

It is extremely important to look at the monthly data transfer bandwidth included in a plan and the fee per megabyte when you go over if you plan to have a popular web site. There are some easy calculations you can do to get a feel for how much bandwidth is enough. (Remember, 1 character is a byte, 1,000 bytes is a kilobyte or K, 1,000K is a megabyte (MB) and 1,000MB is a gigabyte (GB))

Add up the amount of space consumed by your typical web page, and multiply it by your number of daily visitors, and then multiply it by 31. (Calculate Interactively Below.) If your web page has 10 kilobytes of HTML text, 5 images of 15 kilobytes each, and you expect 50 daily visitors, your calculation looks like this:

Bandwidth per visitor: 10K + (5 * 15K) = 85K
Bandwidth per day, 50 visitors: 85K * 50 = 4250K or 4.25MB
Bandwidth per month: 4.25MB * 31 = 131.75MB

In this scenario, you would use only 131.75MB of bandwith per month. Add a second web page with 5 different graphics? You've just doubled your possible bandwidth requirements.

Now, here's a more complex scenario. Are you planning to open your web site with a Flash introduction? What size is that introduction file? For a 1MB file, at 50 visitors a day, you're looking at this:

Bandwidth per visitor: 85K + 1000K = 1085K
Bandwidth per day, 50 visitors: 1085K * 50 = 54250K or 54.25MB
Bandwith per month: 54.25MB * 31 = 1681.75MB

Ack, that one megabyte Flash file sent your bandwidth through the roof. Moral of the story? If you are having a simple, plain text site with just a few graphics and are not expecting many visitors, a small monthly data transfer rate may be your best choice. However, if you are expecting a lot of visitors, or plan to have multimedia, anything from Flash to a short movie clip to MP3 music, you better be very careful about the plan you choose. Some hosts charge 10 cents or more per megabyte over your limit.

Bandwidth Estimator

Visitors per Day:
Bandwidth per Visitor:	KB
Estimated Minimum Bandwidth per Month:	MB
	( GB )

The following hosts reviewed above all offer unlimited data transfer bandwidth.

Globat Hosting
GreenGeeks Green Hosting
Yahoo Small Business Hosting
1and1 Hosting

Consider hosting with one of them if you don't want to do all this math. :)

Are you required to pay the fee if you go over? Absolutely. Even if you cancel your host afterwards, your bill will still be due. This is why it's terribly important to plan ahead and choose the right plan, right away.

As you can see, getting a web site hosted with a domain name really isn't that hard!

Want to help the environment with every visitor you get? GreenGeeks is a great choice, 300% efficient hosting!

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