Newbie Web Site Checklist

Starting out a website involves a few main ingredients that you need, as well as many optional pieces. In this article, we will discuss the essentials you need to at least be viewable on the internet. This includes your domain name, a place to host your web site files, the actual making of your web files and optionally to secure your content if need be. Let's get further into each.

Registering a Domain Name

To help people browsing the web to remember how to get back to your site, you need a domain name. A memorable domain name is something like google.com, which everyone knows. When starting out, you may want to look into some companies offering you to purchase cheap domain names to start your web business. Their features are quite similar to the bigger companies, if not the same, and are a great cost effective solution.

Web Hosting

Your web site files need to be stored online for people to get them. If you have an image, a PDF file or flash presentation, for others to see it, there has to be a location always ready to show those files. This is where you can look for a cheap domain hosting provider to help you. For a relatively inexpensive price of less than five to ten dollars a month you can get your web files hosted for others to see.

Web site contents

Your web site will be designed with a variety of HTML files, Images, Videos, Flash and PDF files. This has to be created by either a web designer or yourself. The site will look better if a person with the better skills is creating it. You can use tools like Dreamweaver or other web hosting sitebuilders to create your site. Again, the tools used will be directly related to quality.

Secured Hosting Service (Optional)

Many sites use a brochure style setup with static data, so the need for optional secured hosting is not a requirement. For those sites, that are collecting more precious information, especially credit card data, will want to buy ssl certificateto protect their users data. With collecting any credit card info or sensitive data, you must use a web certificate to make your site change from http to https. The https is what makes the data encrypted when sent over the internet so people cannot abuse the information being transmitted. For these sites, you definately need it, but not for regular information web sites or blogs.

Those are four basics you need to start any web site and will get you started. You then need to decide what additional components you may need to also include in your web site package.

Dedicated Server Hosting: Should I Choose a Managed Server?

Virtual Private Server hosting in simple terms is the process of a computer designed to operate as a server that hosts your web site files. The server loads up the files and images to all visitors accessing your web name, if set up as a web file server. Different hosting plans exist, and they range from shared hosting servers to semi-dedicated and dedicated servers. Dedicated servers come in two flavors: managed servers and unmanaged servers.

Managed Dedicated Servers

These servers come assisted by the service providing the server. As with all servers, you are given admin control, however a managed dedicated server has the added benefit of the Operating system security patches being applied onto your server. This makes sure all patches are installed on time. The managed services will also control initial web server setup, virus scans, and emergency services. If you are not familiar with linux servers and how to apply patches and troubleshoot problems like disk space problems, then this option is an optimal solution for you. When researching these servers, they may also also be named an assisted service plan.

Unmanaged Dedicated Servers

Unlike the servers where everything is managed for you, these are completely controlled by you. If you have an issue with your server, you will have to troubleshoot problems. Many dedicated server services do still offer support with self managed dedicated hosting. Support is required for computer failures and other network problems within the data centre. After all, you can access the server, but you do not have physical access to the server, so you cannot troubleshoot hardware problems.

The purchaser's knowledge of server configuration will help pick if a managed or unmanaged server solution is the best choice. Many dedicated server hosting plans exist with different price points, but knowing if its managed dedicated server hosting or an unmanaged dedicated server will help you determine if the price warrants the service being provided to you. When making any server purchase, a higher price is indicative of a managed dedicated hosting solution.

Host more than one site using one hosting account

As long as the hosting business has existed, they started with the ability to have only one site hosted per account. As technology has improved as well as structures, there has been a shift in almost all hosts that allow you to buy web hosting. The ability to include a certain number of addon domains in their packages has been added, while some do not restrict how many add on domains you can have. It is still not advised to host to many domains within one account, however anyone looking to host a small network of sites can save big money doing it this way.

In simple terms, the name implies what it does in that it allows you to add on a domain to your existing hosting account. You will always host a primary domain name for your account, and your addon domain will be normally hosted within a subfolder on that account. So when you connect via ftp the first folder you see will be for maindomain.com files. You will then create a subfolder or the hosting will create the subfolder for you (normally something to do with the domain), such as addondomain.com folder, will have your second domain names files. Now if you type maindomain.com, you will see it as its own site, and the same for addondomain.com. A website visitor will not be able to distinguish that the sites are hosted on the same hosting account, and will feel like its own site.

Almost all web hosts now promote affordable low cost web hosting solutions, and typically their medium based packages will offer the add on domain in the package. Every provider is different and make sure to double check their features listed. Once you find the provider you want to go with, you then rinse and repeat with as many domains as the provider will allow you to add on. You do have to remember not to delete these subfolders or your site will stop working, and it may get messy with too many subfolders for addon domains.

Now that you are able to host multiple domains within one account, enjoy your savings.