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In case you're wondering, there is life beyond free home pages. And if
you are looking at establishing your online presence without annoying
banners and popups, the move to a paid hosting service is ideal. With the
cost of owning and maintaining a domain name reduced drastically, owning
your personal Web site is just a few clicks away.
AMITY TechSys guide to the Net has put together a feature on the A-Z of
domains and Web hosting, to help you book your domain name and find the
right service to host your site.
 Step 1:
Booking a domain name
First things first. Decide on a name for your domain. Your own of course,
would be the most likely option! Use a service called
Whois to find out if it's
available. If a domain ending in .com is already taken, try variations
like .org, .net, .edu or .biz.
For example, to book a domain in my name, I would look for availability of
amitytechsys.com. Do not include any prefixes such as www when searching.
Until 1999, a domain name was limited to 22 characters, but can now have
up to 67.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is
responsible for controlling IP (Internet Protocol) addresses and their
associated domain names. It also maintains a list of domain name
registrars. More on Domain name?
Step II: Finding a Web host
Booking a domain is like buying an 'Occupied' sign and fixing it on your
plot. You now have to find someone to 'host' your plot in cyberspace. The
hosting service will place your site (a set of pages located under your
domain name) on the Internet through a server and make it available to
anyone online.
You'll need an account with the hosting service or a server of your own.
The second is not really necessary, especially in the case of personal or
non-commercial sites
When looking for a hosting service, these are the questions you need to
ask:
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What is the purpose of my Web
page?
If you are looking for a site to put up your resume and portfolio, or
maintain a Web log, you'll need a relatively small amount of disk space.
Between 2-10 MB and 1-10 GB of data transfer (per month) should be
sufficient. Movie and sound files, visuals and animation will take up
additional space and bandwidth. But if your site is text-based, you have
nothing to worry about, as text takes up very little space.
-
Do I need a virtual or
dedicated server?
Dedicated servers are typically used for sites that handle a high volume
of traffic, enhanced security and run customized software and
applications. As a general rule, dedicated servers are ideal for large
sites. In case of a small one, virtual hosting would suffice. Your site
will share space with others on one of the servers provided by the hosting
company.
-
What does the service offer in
terms of software, support and platform?
You will have to find out whether their server, software and support
services are compatible with your needs. The platform your host uses is
very important since UNIX, Window NT and Mac all run different
applications. Check out the essentials required to launch your site and
make sure the hosting service plan offers the ability to implement them.
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Is the hosting plan flexible?
List all the features you might want to add to your site in the
future. Like if you have a small personal site that you would like to
later expand to a business site and add an online e-commerce option, you
will need to upgrade your requirements. A provider who will give you a
commercial Web solution such as shopping card software or secure online
payment would be the right choice. Find out what the terms of the hosting
service are, as it will be easier to upgrade than to change your hosting
service later.
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What are the hosting service's
customer support policies?
Check out the options available in case you need help with your account.
Most hosting services will be available on email and phone, and some via
24/7 Web-based chat. However, if your hosting service is located overseas,
phone might not be feasible. As a beginner, you are bound to come across
teething problems and it's best to choose a company that offers constant
support.
Step III: Look out for ways to design a website or look for
professional website designers
After going through the above two steps it is now time to design
your prized website. There are many tools available to make a simple
website, including graphics, animations, etc. But to make an impression it
is always advisable to hire professionals to have your job done. It is
always the first impressions that matters the most. Therefore is is
required on your part to hire someone who has proven experience and
expertise to design your website, either corporate, individual, etc., in a
well conceived and planned way. In future it might form a major part
of your Marketing and business Strategy, therefore it has to be done in
such a way that it really presents a very nice interface coupled with fast
and dynamic pages.
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