OBTAINING YOUR OWN DOMAIN

A professional Web site needs its own unique URL. The key component of the URL after the www. is called the domain. It consists of a unique domain name (before the dot) and a top-level domain (after the dot), such as .com or .net, like this: domainname.domain. You put a www. In the front of this to denote your Web site; you put a unique address and an @ sign in front of it to create an e-mail address.

Reserving a domain name is part of the process. After you have a name, that name needs to be listed with the Internet’s domain name system (DNS), so that users entering your URL are connected to the appropriate IP address where your site is actually hosted. Most Web site hosting services will provide DNS services if you provide a unique domain name; some will even handle the registration process for you.
Choosing a Domain
When you choose a domain name, you have a choice of a number of different top-level domains. Although .com is the most common top-level domain, it’s also the one with the fewest unique domain names left. For that reason, you should be aware of all the top-level domains that are available, including the following:

· .aero (for the aviation industry)
· .biz (for businesses)
· .com (originally designated for commercial purposes, but really for just about anything)
· .coop (for business cooperatives)
· .edu (for schools)
· .gov (for government agencies)
· .int (for international use)
· .mil (for military purpose)
· .net (originally designated for network providers, but now an acceptable alternative to the .com domain)
· .org (for non-profit organizations)
· .pro (a new domain, for professionals)

When choosing a domain name you have to think and decide on a name because once registered it can’t be changed. Also, if you want to drive traffic to your Web site from the search engines, select a name that includes keywords you want to target.

For instance, if you want to create a site about money making, you may want to include those keywords in your domain name so when people search on Google for money making, they’ll have a better chance of finding you.

REGISTERING YOUR NAME

After you’ve decided on your domain name, you have to register it. All domain names are registered through a single firm, Network Solutions. You can go directly to the Network Solutions Web site (www.networksolutions.com) to register your web address, or use one of the many-third party domain registration services available on the web. Although there’s no reason not to register with Network Solutions, some of the third-party sites do offer additional services such as Web site hosting, domain parking, and so on.

Of the third-party services, the following site is most popular:
domainit

How to Register

Registering your domain is as easy as following these general steps:

1. Go to domain registration site and search whether the name you want is available.

2. If your name is available, reserve it by entering the appropriate contact information.

3. Arrange payment with the domain registration services, typically via credit card or paypal.

4. Contact your web hosting service and arrange for your domain name to be linked to a specific IP address, and added to the internet DNS system.

5. Arrange for your Web hosting services to link your domain name to your e-mail account.

FINDING A HOST

There are literally hundreds of site hosting services on the web. The best way to look for a Web hosting service is to use a site that performs the search for you.

There are several sites on the internet that offer directories of Web hosting services. Most of these sites let you look for hosts by various parameters, including monthly cost, disk space provided, programming and platforms supported, and extra features offered. Many also offer lists of the best or most popular hosting services, measured in one or another fashion.

Among the best of these host search sites are the following:

· CNET Web Services (www.webhostlist.com)
· TopHosts.com (www.tophosts.com)
· HostSearch (www.hostsearch.com)

Of all the hosting services on the Web, a handful consistently rises to the top of all the rankings. When you are looking for a hosting service, you can’t go wrong by evaluating any of this sites on this list:

· www.affinity.com
· www.aplus.net
· www.cihost.com
· www.dellhost.com
· www.freeservers.com
· www.homestead.com
· www.hostway.com
· www.olm.com
· www.webburner.com
· www.webjump.comAll these sites offer similar hosting services plans. You should shop around for the hosting plan that best meets your needs and budget

CHOOSING A WEB HOSTING SERVICE

When you are shopping for a hosting service for your Web site, what should you look for? Here’s a short list:

· Adequate storage space. The main reason you want a Web hosting service is to host your Web site. That means you need a certain amount of disk space. Most sites offer different levels of service, dependent on the amount of disk space you need.

· Unlimited access. If you start to get a lot of traffic to your site, you don’t want your hosting service to shut you off because you only contracted for so many hits a months. Look for a plan that offers either unlimited access or a high-enough traffic level that you won’t be tempted to stop promoting your site.

· Affordable rates. All these services come at a cost—and that cost differs wildly from one host to another. Look for the best combination of space, access, features, and price, and don’t sign anything until you‘ve checked out several different sites.

· Reliability. Look for a hosting service with a good reliability record; 95% uptime might not be high enough if users access your site for critical information. If possible, evaluate the uptime records from several hosting services; some hosts even guarantee a particular uptime rate.

· Speed. Find out what kind of connection the hosting service has to the internet. You don’t want to be saddled with a host with a slow connection.

· Easy uploading and maintenance. When you are shopping for a host, don’t overlook ease of use. Look for a site that offers easy uploading, either via its own built- in tools or with a common FTP client. Also look for any other maintenance tools that are available free of charge.

· Domain name hosting. If you are creating a professional Web site, chances are you want to use a unique domain name. Make sure the hosting service handles domain name hosting, and consider going with a host that can handle the complete process from domain name registration through e-mail forwarding.

· Site statistics. Most hosting services offer some sort of monitoring utilities so you can track the performance of your site. Look for tools that measure traffic and track referring sites.

· Technical support. If you ever have any trouble with posting or maintaining your Web pages, you want to be able to get help fast. Look for sites that offer 24/7 live phone-based technical support, preferably via a toll-free number.

BUILDING A PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE

A professional Web site is more than just a collection of Web pages. It’s a complete, thoughtfully envisioned, well laid-out experience, where the home page leads naturally to subsidiary pages, and where all the pages share a similar design and navigation system.

To create a professional Website, you need to use a professional site creation tools. You don’t build a complex Web site using Microsoft Notepad or FrontPage Express; you need to use a fully featured program, such as Microsoft FrontPage or NetObjects Fusion, which lets you view your entire site as a single project, and automatically applies uniform formatting and navigation to any new pages you add.

To build a professional site, you need to find a professional Web hosting service, a master site that will provide hundreds of megabytes of disk space, robust site management tools, and the ability to use your own unique domain name. (With your domain name, your site’s url will read www.yourname.com- just like big sites do).