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Understanding the Basics of Owning Your Own Website
By: Emma Stery
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| Even in this day of technology there are some people who do not understand the fundamentals of owning their own website. They feel it's too complicated, too expensive, or they've been dealt some bad information. It's ok not to know these terms, we all have to learn somewhere. What I plan to share with you is understanding the basics of owning your own website. I am not going to describe how to get your own website, just how it works. |
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Domain names and registrarsYou first start off with a domain. A domain is the same thing as a website, webpage, homepage, and URL. A domain is the name you have registered (typically has a .com, .net, or .org at the end of it) and that company is then your Registrar. That's their "official term". You own the website, but they're the ones who has the name and keeps a tally of it for you.Web hosting; find a home for your websiteA host is also called a server. You can have a domain and not have a host. A domain is your address, right? Well the hosting account is basically your house. You have the address already, but you need a house to put all your stuff in. The Registrar (there's that word again!) just allows you to use the domain, and a hosting account is always extra.Once you find a hosting account, you then have a house and inside of that house is where you'll put all your things for your website. Here's a little tip. Do not buy an email from your Registrar if you plan on getting a hosting account. Your host will have the capability of making an email from you of your domain. It's included for free.
Exploring the back end of your websiteNow that you have a domain and (maybe) a hosting account, how do you build your site? There's a few things you can do. Inside of most hosting accounts is a cpanel (short for "control panel"). This works much like your Windows Control Panel does. It has all the information about your hosting account including your statistics, domains, emails, programs, and scripts. This is sometimes referred to as the "back end" of your website.Visitor statistics and website trafficStatistics is the same thing as a website counter. It counts the visits to your website and all the details associated with it. This is handy to have to check on the popularity of your site and where your visitors have primarily come from. It also shows what search engine and what search term they came from.Seek help when you are in doubtAs for your website you can build it yourself, have someone build it for you, or you could install a blog software such as WordPress and with it's easy features you can have a website running in no time. I suggest finding someone who knows about websites to have them walk you through it if you're trying it out for yourself. |
Free hosting accountsIf you choose not to get a hosting account, there are some sites (such as WordPress or Blogger) that will allow you to "point" your domain to a free account that you've set up. It does save you money and may save you an aggravation of building your own site or doing things from scratch. Choose whatever option is best for you.Pay as you go web hostingDomains will need to be renewed once a year and most hosting accounts are either once a month or once a year. Do your homework with hosting accounts, don't simply find one and go with it. Talk to friends or family, search for it on the Internet, and find a reputable company that is reasonably priced. Expensive companies doesn't necessarily mean better. Never be afraid to ask people questions. If you want to make money online, you should have a good grip on everything that's associated with it.
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| Author: Emma Stery is a different kind of Internet Marketer. Her sole purpose is to help others achieve success online by teaching them to help themselves and not be dependent upon others for their success. You can find her at her blog [http://imheretohelpyour.biz]IM Here To Help You |
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