This is part 2 of the Start a Website series, where we’re going to go through piece-by-piece how to start your first website. The first two items you’ll need are Web Hosting and Domain Names. This article will help you select a provider for your web hosting – called a host; and for a domain name – called a registrar.
Start a Website with the Right Web Host
- Look for a host that supports WordPress hosting.
- Ask if PHP and MySQL are the most recent stable versions. You’re looking for a simple “yes” here.
- Ask if you’ll have your own SSH access? Again – look for a ‘yes’. This is not a requirement, but is nice to have.
- Do they look after backups and how often?
- Do they provide round the clock support – by phone? or chat? or email?
The Old Way
For a simple website that is brand new and doesn’t expect a huge amount of visitors, you can expect to pay $4-$8/month for a ‘shared hosting’ account. As soon as your site gets too full of content, or you get too many visitors you’ll notice the site getting sluggish. At that point, you’ll need to upgrade to a “Virtual Private Server” or VPS. These usually start around $20/mo and go up. When its time to get your own dedicated server, you’re looking at $175/mo and up.
New & Improved Web Hosting
The new way to host a website is to do so in the ‘cloud’. That is to not be restricted by a physical server/machine. These types of accounts can handle website growth easily without hassle of physically moving your website. There is one company that I recommend unequivocally- www.websynthesis.com. They are so specialized, so secure, and so good at what they do, you have to qualify to open an account. Of course this isn’t for everyone, but for those who do qualify – it is the top of the line, worth every penny and has saved many of my busier clients 30% or more on hosting costs.
Start a Website with a Domain Name
Anyone can start selling domain names! Anyone can open an account and purchase domain names wholesale and sell them retail. In fact, that is exactly what we do! However, behind the scenes there is a lot going on to make sure that there is only one owner to each domain and that all the computers all over the world know where to look for the accompanying website. The regulating body of all of this is known as ICANN – Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. You need to know this for this very important legal tidbit:
There are three contacts on each registration: Registrant, (Aux Billing) Administrative and Technical. You have to have YOUR name in the Registrant contact or the domain is not legally yours. It is a good idea to be sure that you have the ability to check and edit the contact information and “Name Servers”.
Last Item to Start a Website: Software
Lastly, you need some easily-edited software so you can add valuable content to your site and gain that ever-important audience! Next time, we’ll review your options and give you a few thoughts on the best one for you.
