What
do I need to do to have a website out on the Web?
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1. |
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Register
a Domain Name. To have your own
domain name (e.g., www.technobasics.com),
you must register the name with InterNIC. There are many domain
registration services available that will do this for you.
Simply do a search for "domain registration" or get a
recommendation from someone you know who has used a domain
registration service before. |
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| 2. |
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Develop your
web pages. You
can do this yourself or contract someone else to do it for you. As you
prepare your site, be looking around for a host server. Once you sign up
with your host, you will be glad you have a site all ready to upload to
the server to go "live." |
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| 3. |
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Select
a host server. The
services offered and the fees charged by hosts are extremely varied. The
best thing to do is to ask friends and colleagues about their host
provider experiences. If they are satisfied with both the service and the
fees, their provider would probably be a good one to use. |
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| 4. |
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Establish
a site management program.
If you have the knowledge and skills to change and upload your revised
pages, you can manage your site yourself and work directly with your host
provider. If you choose to have someone else maintain your site once the
initial pages are prepared, this will consist of a weekly or monthly fee
payable to whoever maintains your site. The cost will be determined by the
extent and frequency of the updates your site requires. |
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Why
pay for a host server when I can get a "freebie" site? |
Unfortunately,
the best thing about using the "freebie" sites is the cost.
However, most do provide ready-made templates for those who know nothing
about html or other Internet programming. Some provide templates with the
ability for you to enhance their templates with your own code. The
downside of using these sites for free web space is that virtually all of
them require the placement of their ad banners on your page--some in the
form of a banner at the top or in the corner or, in the worst cases, a
pop-up window that your viewers then have to close each time they open a
page on your site. While your most patient viewers may be merely annoyed
by these banners, many may not visit your site again at all.
There are two important
considerations to take if you are planning to use a free-space site for
your web pages:
(1) You will be unable to use your own registered domain name; rather,
your "name" will be a subdirectory (or a subdirectory of a
subdirectory...) of the host's site name. (2) If you decide to move
your site to another host in the future, your URL will be different and
you will have to notify all your viewers of the site name and location
change.
Registering your own
unique domain name will permit you to park your site at any host, and to
change that host at any time. Your URL will always remain the same no
matter what host you choose to use.
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