Web design step two - Hosting

On my last post we went over the first step in web designing which is to obtain your domain name.

Before I start to work on a website, I like to have these two things in place; my domain name and my hosting service already connected, so that I can just worry about my design and run all the necessary tests online.

In basic terms a web hosting service is a way for you to give the world surfing the internet, access to your website via your domain name. This server is connected to the world wide web allowing anyone in the world who types your domain addess to access it. If you would like to read more on hosting services, read this article in Wikipedia which gives you a more technical definition, but we won't waste time here with that, we need to get your website up and running.

You are welcome to obtain your hosting with us. We charge just $10/monthly for our hosting service and provide you with full support. The most important thing that you will receive when you hire a hosting service is your account. This will entail for the most part a username, password, and an IP address. These 3 things should allow you to connect via ftp and upload your website. Remember from the chapter before I mentioned the DNS1 and DNS2, don't forget to also update those on your domain name, so that it is pointing to the correct hosting server.

In later training tutorials we will go over more specific technical things regarding hosting service, ftp, uploading etc. For now we want to keep things simple so that you can have your website up and running as quickly as possible. The next step will be to start designing your actual website. This is where the fun begins with endless tools and ways to create your website.

Up to this point make sure you have the following; a domain name and hosting service. Make sure the domain name is pointing to your hosting (you should have done this by updating the DNS1 & DNS2 on your domain name management panel). Next we will upload your first under-construction page to your site.

As always, if you have questions please leave me a comment, or if you would like me to go over something in more detail, please say so. The idea if for these training tutorials to be usedful for you.

Regards