Domain Names and Web Hosting
 

Every web site has a unique address, called the Domain Name. 

Domain names are the familiar, easy to remember names for computers on the Internet.

They correspond to a series of numbers (called Internet Protocol numbers) that serve as routing addresses on the Internet. 
 

Give this step some thought. It is very important to choose a name that is appropriate and relating to your site's content.

If your web site is going to deal with cars, for example, you should try to find a Domain Name that has cars in it.

Example: http://www.cartalk.com/
 
A few sites that you can use to search for your domain name(s).
Internic.net
GoDaddy.com
NetworkSolutions.com

After you find the name that you want, I suggest that you grab it.

DON'T WAIT!!!

If you have a particular web host in mind, you may want to inquire if they provide Domain Name services.

You can find a list of registrars at: http://www.internic.net/regist.html or you can ask us for our advice.

For a very informative list of FAQ's, relating to domain names, visit: http://www.internic.net/faqs/index.html

We can also help you find a web hosting service that will fit your needs.

Factors to consider when evaluating a web hosting provider...

Speed of server
How fast can users access your web site? If a user has to wait to long, you will lose them.
You may want to compare several host.

Uptime Guarantee
You may think that this is rare, but all hosts have downtime. Find out their track record and compare that to your needs.

Switchability
You want to have the ability to switch web hosts if need be. Do not sign a contract that locks you in for more than a few months and make sure that you retain the rights to your domain name.

Disk Space
This is the amount of space you will have on the server to store your web pages. Space ranges from 5MB on up. Start out small and make sure that you will have the ability to get more space as your site grows.

Bandwidth
This is the amount of information that can pass though any given point at a given time. It is best to find a server that can give you unrestricted bandwidth, so that your pages will flow uninterrupted.

Data Transfer
This is the amount of information that is downloaded from a website. For example, let's assume all of the data (pictures, text, buttons) on your homepage totals 25KB (the size of Yahoo's homepage). If a thousand people viewed your homepage you'd have 25MB total data transfer for that month (25KB multiplied by 1000).

E-mail Accounts
This feature varies from 1 to many depending on host. Get at least as many as you need. Other e-mail issues are forwarding, auto-responders and aliases.

FP extensions
If you plan to use FrontPage to create and manage your site, the server should have the required files on our server to support your copy of FrontPage. These server files are called the FrontPage extensions, and are a necessary component for using FrontPage with a Web server. We recommend Microsoft Expression since it the latest Microsoft Editor and no longer needs FP Extensions.

Other features SSL (Secure Socket Layers), ASP (Active Server Pages), .NET, PHP, CGI (Common Gateway Interface), Database Access, Use of Subwebs, Ecommerce Availability...

Take all this into consideration and pick the best server to fill all your needs.

The following are some of the hosting companies we have worked with:
Value Web
GoDaddy
SecureWebs
Register
Telos H-Sphere
Network Solutions
XO Communications
IPowerWeb
Apollo Hosting

For more choices, visit WebHosters.com