Need help understanding domain names/hosting etc.

Hi,

I'm making my first website and am a bit confused about domain names and hosting etc. From what I understand, I can buy a domain from a website such as this and then link that to wherever I am hosting it, which will be my uni server for the next year or so. Is that correct? There doesn't seem to be anything out there that categorically says yes or no!

Does this mean when I leave uni I can transfer the hosting without having to chnage the address on my CV etc...

Also, can anyone recommend some free hosting, I would like it ad free if possible as the website is my proffessional site.

Thanks, Doug.

What OS are you running. You first need to create a domain as well as have a dns to resolve the name for the domain. You will then have to go to a hosting company to host the site for you.

I think your ISP can host a site but i'm not quite sure.

ROFLcopter said:

What OS are you running. You first need to create a domain as well as have a dns to resolve the name for the domain. You will then have to go to a hosting company to host the site for you.

I think your ISP can host a site but i'm not quite sure.

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Thanks for your reply ROFLcopter,

I'm running Windows 7, but I'm not sure why that makes any difference. What is a DNS, how do I get one? Do they cost?

Will this service meet my needs (Which are just my domain name and all my pages)? Once I have the domain name and the hosting what do I have to do to get a working website.

Thanks, Doug.

Let me explain it in a little more detail.
Say you registered for a domain, www.yourwebsite.com from any domain seller (godaddy or anything else).
Then you are provided with a control panel in which you can edit your profile, DNS, Records, Forwarding and lots of other stuffs.

However, this domain is actually a name registered to you. You need to have a server to host your website(eg. www.yourhost.com). When you register for the hosting service from any company, they provide you several parameters in terms of web space, bandwidth, databases etc.

So the hosting company provides you with nameservers, generally they should be like ns1.yourhost.com and ns2.yourhost.com. Generally there are two nameservers in the same format.

So you do the following. Register your domain, and register your hosting service. Now log on to your domain control panel and go to domain management. Note, different companies have different user interfaces, but the basic idea is same for all. In the domain management screen, there should be an option of 'Modify Nameservers' or something like this. It could be 'manage DNS' or similiar. There will be generally 4-5 text boxes in which you have to enter the nameservers. It doesn't matter if you have only two nameservers and there is option to enter five.

After that you have to configure your hosting service to receive the domain. Generally hosting services provide a 'cPanel' interface (recommended if you are searching for hosting). In the cpanel interface, click on the "Add-on Domain" and enter your domain name without www or http. Now your are all set to have your own website. Just transfer your site into public html folder and your site will be ready.

I would suggest byet and 365-host. Both are free host and provide ample free space and bandwidth. If you haven't purchased a domain, but still want to try all these, then go to www.co.cc or www.dot.tk. Both the services provide free domains with '.co.cc' and '.co.tk' extension. Otherwise godaddy is quite good.

register your domain at like godaddy.com and just pay for hosting. It is much easier than trying to host it yourself on your limited consumer connection.

tlarkin said:

register your domain at like godaddy.com and just pay for hosting.

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That will be, no doubt, quite easy.But, hosting your website at any other host company other than your domain registrar is also not a rocket science. It is as simple as creating an email id.

tlarkin said:

It is much easier than trying to host it yourself on your limited consumer connection.

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This is also true if you are trying to host your website on your own personal computer using a normal DSL line. Your bandwidth will be too small to handle even a normal website. Also the specs of the computer may not be able to handle the load.
But, almost all host companies, including the free one that I have listed, have high end servers with around 100MB/s connections.

Thanks sshaggy and tlarkin for your replies.

I'm pretty sure that I understand it now and have taken the plunge and bought my name! Also, got some free hosting to try out, so hopefully I chould have my website up and running soon.

Cheers, Doug :good:

I run my own hosting site.

LoLHosting.tk

It will do every thing you need to do!

sshaggy said:

That will be, no doubt, quite easy.But, hosting your website at any other host company other than your domain registrar is also not a rocket science. It is as simple as creating an email id.



This is also true if you are trying to host your website on your own personal computer using a normal DSL line. Your bandwidth will be too small to handle even a normal website. Also the specs of the computer may not be able to handle the load.
But, almost all host companies, including the free one that I have listed, have high end servers with around 100MB/s connections.

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I am talking about Internet connection, not data throughput of the server hosting the site over Ethernet. Your upload speed is capped by your ISP, and you get several connections going and it will load and run like crap. Plus you now have to deal with the maintenance and backing up of your site, where if you host it (as cheap as $6 a month) with a company all of that is taken care of.

Lets be real here, $6 to $9 a month is nothing. I spend more money on crap I throw away each month than I do on my web hosting.

tlarkin said:

I am talking about Internet connection, not data throughput of the server hosting the site over Ethernet. Your upload speed is capped by your ISP, and you get several connections going and it will load and run like crap. Plus you now have to deal with the maintenance and backing up of your site, where if you host it (as cheap as $6 a month) with a company all of that is taken care of.

Lets be real here, $6 to $9 a month is nothing. I spend more money on crap I throw away each month than I do on my web hosting.

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Come on dude, we both are talking about the same thing. You are saying to go for a hosting company which will take care of every needs. I am also saying the same thing. You are saying to buy and host the domain from the same company(i.e. godaddy). I am suggesting to buy a domain from anywhere, and try a free hosting provided by an established hosting company. Thats it.

Lets be real here, $6 to $9 a month is nothing. I spend more money on crap I throw away each month than I do on my web hosting.

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Well if you do go fliping spend it!

Jackster22 said:

Well if you do go fliping spend it!

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That is not a good way to treat a senior member. Beside that, it was a healthy argument between me and him.
Please avoid such things in future.

Yes first you need to tell your company about this where from you are getting internet they will give you domain which you want.Its not issue it will cost you $10 per month.

Keep in mind what you need from your host/ server. Fair enough if you plan on having your own server but sometimes its worth paying for hosting. The free providers cna be super buggy sometimes as I have had to find out the hard way. Shop around and you should be able to find something that suits you perfectly at not too high a cost. Granted you may be at Uni, but its not normally very expensive.