Helpful Web Page Development Info

You need to display your web pages (electronic brochure) on a website.  A website is simply a place that users can view your pages on the World Wide Web.  You can get a free website from several places.  You must be willing to accept the terms and conditions of the hosting company, and they usually want to display an advertising banner on your pages.  Some hosting companies will "share" their space by assigning you a location for your website.  It could follow their website information (e.g., http://www.theirsite.com/~yoursite), or preface their own website with the name of your website (e.g., http://yoursite.theirsite.com).  Either method works.

You are probably familiar with the http://www.theirsite.com and would like to have http://www.yoursite.com the same way.  This requires registering yoursite as a domain name.  After you register the domain name, you need to get someone to host the website for you.

The first step is:

Registering:   There are several companies on the Internet that can do this.   Registration costs has decreased in recent years from $99 to $35 per year (US).  While this price is set as a standard fee, you may find companies that will charge even less.  Several companies have purchased the right to register domain names.  In order to make money, they are given the right to charge less than the $35 standard fee.  Their intent is to make money with the margin.  The market is so competitive however, that often companies will eat into their margin and charge less than the standard fee just to get your business.  You want to shop around because prices vary depending on additional packages available.  A common method is to give you a discount if you register the domain name for more than one year, or if you register multiple domain names at one time.

One reason companies offer to register your domain name is to also get you to host your site with them.  Once a domain name is registered, it can be hosted by the same company or it can be transferred to a different hosting company.  Caution however, the discounted prices usually come with stipulations, such as, your agreement to host the domain on their servers at their prices for a period of time.  You can transfer the domain to another hosting company before your contract ends but you likely will have to pay a penalty.  Make sure you understand the full pricing beforehand.  It is a good idea to choose your hosting company before registering the domain name.  Then make sure you understand the cost of registering your domain name with that company vs. the costs of registering with another company.

The domain names fall into different categories (Top Level Domains) as defined by the ending such as .com, .net, .edu, .mil, .gov, etc.  The most common is the .com and the most sought after.

The domain name you choose is most likely gone already is if is less than 10 characters, a popular or common word, especially a name, and especially a girl's name.  With longer domain names, the chances are increased that it will be available.  Some companies use a short phrase.  You are limited to 67 characters and your imagination.

If you are not familiar with domain names, you can read a bit of domain name history.

Read: Helpful information on hosting.

If you need help, feel free to contact us via e-mail.

Reference sites:

     Internic   |    Public Interest Registry

Also Read

Intro   Introduction to Web Development Services
Why   Why you need a web page.
Stats   This should scare you (at least back then it did).
Prices   Packages, Prices, Options
Extras   Extras Prices (with Descriptions)
Additional Services   FTP, Link Maintenance, Webmaster, Proofread, Backup, Restore
Domain Name Registering    |    Web Hosting    |    e-mail Hosting    |    Websites Explained
Web Development Terms & Conditions    |    Web Development Guarantee    |    Web Development Disclaimer
US Copyright Office    |    Copyright Basics    |    10 Copyright Myths

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