How to Set Up a Website
To set up a website, you only need to do these three things:
- Choose a domain name (i.e. something.com)
- Sign up for website hosting
- Create your website
Domain Name and Web Hosting
A domain name is the internet address of a website or blog. (For example, tfpby.org is the domain name of this site.) You'll need to choose a domain name.
To get a domain name, you have to pay an annual fee to a registrar for the right to use that name. Getting a name does not get you a website or anything like that. It's just a name.
It's sort of like registering a business name in the brick-and-mortar world; having that business name does not mean that you also have the shop premises to go with the name.
Some Domain Name Advice
- Your domain name should be simple, obvious, and as short as possible. What would people guess your domain name is?
- Don't use numbers or dashes (without very good reason.) They look gimmicky.
- Try to have your site name match its domain name. If you can, name your site to match its domain name, not the other way around.
Registration Overview
Getting a domain name involves registering the name you want with an organisation called ICANN through a domain name registrar. For example, if you choose a name like "example.com", you will have to go to a registrar, pay a registration fee that costs around US$10 to US$35 for that name. That will give you the right to the name for a year, and you will have to renew it annually for (usually) the same amount per annum.
Some web hosts will register it and pay for the name for free (usually only the commercial web hosts), while others will do it for you but you'll have to foot the registrar fees.
What is Web Hosting?
A web host is basically a company that has many computers connected to the Internet. When you place your web pages on their computers, everyone in the world will be able to connect to it and view them. You will need to sign up for an account with a web host so that your website has a home. If getting a domain name is analogous to getting a business name in the brick-and-mortar world, getting a web hosting account is analogous to renting office premises for your business.
The Best and Most Popular Hosting Services
One of the first things that needs to be done to get a website up and running is finding and paying for a hosting service. A hosting service is where the website files are kept online; it is also responsible for making the webpage contents available when users make requests from their browsers. Some top rated hosting companies include: HostGater, JustHost, Go Daddy, Hostway and Yahoo. By no means is this list comprehensive, there are many other hosting service providers.
Diligent research will reveal great hosting packages for less then $4 per month. While most won’t include high-end services at this price, the basic packages are usually pretty good. What is included in a hosting package will differ from one service provider to another, but some the more common features include:
- Domain registration
- E-Commerce solutions (i.e., shopping carts)
- Autoresponders (to automate emails responses and internet marketing)
- CPanel Interface (to manage the website content)
- Content management Systems (i.e., WordPress and Drupal)
- Templates and a website builder
Two Different Ways to set up a Website
Once you have web hosting and a domain name, the next step is to choose how you'll go about setting up your website/blog.
Content Management Systems to Consider
You will need to choose the web content management system (CMS) that you will use. A CMS is used to control and manage the images, html pages and other elements that make a website work. The best content management systems include: Joomla, Drupal and Wordpress. Wordpress is one of the more popular CMS, and is used by bloggers and small business alike to build their web presence. Most web hosting companies offer these programs for free.
Getting a Professional Looking Website
Without the use of templates, web developers would be forced to spend time creating color schemes, positioning pictures and graphics to make the website pleasing to look at. Theme templates on the other hand offer the web development an easy way to change the overall look and feel of a website with the click of a button.
While there are great looking and feature rich premium themes that are available for sale online, there are a number of places where web developers can find great looking templates. Topwpthemes is a good place to start, or Google the phrase “website templates” to find others.
The one reservation that some businesses and web designers have about using free themes, is that their website may look like others on the Internet. Not to worry though, with the Internet being as large as it is, it is unlike that many users will come across other websites that use the same theme. Further more, it is quite easy to customize free templates with logos, pictures, color schemes and content to make it unique.
Getting Your Site Noticed
When your site is ready, you will need to submit it to search engines like Google and Bing. You can use the links below to do this.
In general, if your site is already linked to by other websites, you may not even need to submit it to these search engines. They will probably find it themselves by following the links on those websites.
