ARTICLES

Domains, Hosting and Internet Access

So what's the difference?

It's actually quite simple. You'll need Internet Access in order to see everything the Internet has to offer. If you want your own website, you'll need an Internet Address (Domain Name) so people can find your website and you'll need a place to put your website which is usually provided by a Hosting Service. Now, if all of this is still confusing, read about each one individually below.

What’s Internet Access?

Think of the Internet as a whole bunch of computers all linked together. They can be linked through phones lines, wireless communications and other methods. The key here is that they are all linked so they can communicate with each other.

In order for you and your computer to communicate with them, you will need to be linked to them also. i.e. you will need access to them - hence the term 'Internet Access'.

You can get 'Internet Access' from an 'Internet Service Provider' (ISP). There are many ISP's such as Rogers, Execulink, Sympatico, Kwic and others that can link your computer to the Internet (for a fee of course). Once you have Internet Access, you can use a browser such as FireFox, Explorer, Safari, etc. to access webpages such as CNN, Google, and a millions of others.

What’s a domain name?

A ‘domain name’ can be compared to your phone number. When someone dials your phone number, it will direct the call to your telephone. Likewise, when someone enters a domain name in their browsers’ address bar, it directs the browser to the appropriate website.

Domain names consist of a name and an extension separated by a period. For example, worldofgraphics.com. The first part of the name is the name of the site and the second part designates the type of name it is. A .com means it is commercial, .ca is Canadian, .org is an orginization and so on. There are other variations, but you get the idea.

Why do I need a domain name?

If you want to have a website for your business, you will need a domain name for the site so people know how to get there. While some hosting services (See below) will give you free website hosting, the address for your site will likely be someting like www.yourhostingprovider.com/businesssites/yourcompanyname. That is way too much to remember and does not make it very professional.

How do I choose a domain name?

It is becoming more and more difficult to choose a name as millions of names have been registered. If you find a name for your site, but someone has already registered it, try a different extension such as a .ca instead of a .com.

How do I register a domain name?

Just like a telephone number is registered in your name, so are domain names. Domain names can be registered through various companies known as ‘Registrars’ that submit the information to the main registry called ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). WARNING! When registering a domain name, stay away from bargains! There are many unscrupulous places out there that can be real headaches or cost you a lot of money in the long run. Make sure you read the fine print - all of it! Bottom line, have your domain registered through a reliable service.

What is a Hosting Service?

Once you have a domain name, you’ll want a website. Websites are hosted (located) on a computer outside your place of business. Notice we said 'outside of your place of business'? While it is possible to host your website yourself, we strongly recommend against it unless you're an expert at programming a webserver, have the right equipment and are willing to devote a lot of time to it.

There are many service providers that can host your website, but choose well, because they are not all the same and some have severe limitations on what you can do. For instance, some hosting services only allow the use of their own support files or programming languages which can play havoc with customizing the site for your needs. Others may seem like a good deal at first, but you may end up paying extra charges if you start getting a lot of visitors. The best thing to do is have your web designer assist you in choosing a Hosting Service.

At worldofgraphics, we can help you choose an easy to remember website address, get you a reliable domain registration and find a hosting service that provides the necessary support to make your website function properly and give you some peace of mind.

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