Websites And Domain Names Explained In Detail
By: Steve Kenneth – October 04, 2014
About Websites – Steps To Get A Website
There is a few things you need in order to get your website.
A website on the internet runs off a website hosting and server. The files in the server are your website and the address to your website is your domain name. The domain name is actually associated with an IP Address and this address tells the browsers were you wish to go to on the world wide web. This IP address in turn gets turned into a friendly URL which is a domain name.
On the internet there are servers that translate the IP Address into a friendly address which you and I use on a regular basis on the internet. These servers are called DNS servers which stands for Domain Name Server.
Let’s take a closer look at how this works. ( Techie Stuff )
When you add the website you are looking for in the top browser or when you search for something on the internet, the friendly address comes up or you already know this address. Let’s use Canada Web Services as an example. My friendly URL = www.canadawebservices.com. The actual address for this website is an IP address – 172.168.0.1 and the DNS server knows this in its database and translates this information to send you to the server address of 172.168.0.1. There is one more thing that happens when at the server level, the DNS server also knows the name servers associated with your website address and knows that this is the correct address you are looking for. There might be hundreds of websites attached to that server address such as in shared hosting. With the name servers and the IP address, the DNS server knows the exact location where you need to go to.
To make it more simpler, the server address might be a street name and the name servers could be the street address.
The simple steps to get a website on the internet ( Easy Stuff )
Step One – Find A Domain Name
Step Two – Get Website Hosting ( Server Address )
Step Three - Build Your Website Or Have A Webmaster Build It For You. ( Like Us! )
Finding a domain name is the hardest thing you will need to do in order to get your website up on the internet. It’s a hard thing to do because once paid for, you cannot return it and this will be with you until it expires. The cost for a domain name ( .com ) is normally around $8.50 per year registration. Look here for lots of tips and techniques in finding the right domain name. Click here to search for a domain name today.
Website hosting is easy to get. Simply buy a year or two website hosting. The cost ranges and there are several plans to choose from. Normally a simple basic website can use the basic hosting plan and this will be more than enough. Hosting starts at around $5.99 Per Year.
Get your website hosting with us. We would appreciate this.
Building a website can be done several ways. For people just starting out, it might be a more expensive way to get someone to help you and build your website for you. The advantages definitely out-weight the cost because all the work is done for you. There is also website builders you can use to build your own website. More details here.
If you are looking to creating a website, we can help you. We offer a complete packages with all three steps – Domain name, hosting, and website built for only $359.99. $100.00 renewal of domain and hosting every year. View our website packages here.
Learn All About Domain Names – How To Pick The Correct One
What is a Domain Name?
Domain names were invented to fill a need on the Internet. Computers connected to the Internet are identified by a unique series of numbers called an IP Address (for example, 212.159.14.128). IP stands for “Internet Protocol”, and they are not easy to remember.
If you type an IP address into the URL bar of your browser you will be connected to the computer it represents. But since IP addresses are so difficult to remember, the Domain Name System (DNS) was invented in 1983 to help people connect to specific computers and content.
It may help to think of an IP address like your physical home address. If someone sends you a letter by postal mail, they must have your physical address. Similarly, an IP address is the physical address of a website online. When someone connects to your website, their computer finds it by looking up the IP address associated with your domain name.
Basically, your Domain Name is associated with an IP Address. My Domain name is https://360webfirm.com and my IP Address associated with that is 72.167.1.128. This is a Hosting account so you must use the Domain name to connect to it.
All about Domain Names
All websites have both a domain name and an IP address. In fact, any application like your web site where others connect to your computer, for example NetMeeting or an email server, also have both a domain name and an IP address. You are no doubt familiar with domain names; our domain name is canadawebservices.com. Other well-known domain names are YAHOO.COM, and GOOGLE.COM
Top Level Domain - The .COM is called a top level domain – Example of a top level domain name – CANADAWEBDESIGNSERVICES.CA
Sub-Domain - INFO.CANADAWEBSERVICES.COM is called a sub-domain or sub-folder. When you create your domain name, you must then add a folder ( name ) of the sub domain so it will have all your website files for that sub-domain located inside this folder. Examples of using sub-domains is when you want to create lots of cities using the exact same feature of the main top level domain name like a classified website where you may choose your city to add your items for sale or to purchase items. This idea is good for a HUGE website with lots of files and lots of sub-domains to be used. The disadvantage is that it’s harder to manage than a FOLDER system. ( see below )
Folders – CANADAWEBDESIGNSERVICES.CA/INFO is called a folder system and is very good for small to medium websites where you need to have more cities or topics in all different avenues. This is much easier to control and is much better for the search engines than a sub-domain structure.
Choosing the correct domain name
You have to think of an idea that you will like. Choose something that may appeal to you. It might be a hobby, a sport, work related, or just something you always wanted to try. Something you are very interested in. This would make it fun for you when you design your site.
Once you think about your great idea, you need to search for a name you would like to call your website. Keep in mind, you should think of several different names because your name might already be taken. We are talking about your website address.
Here is some information and tips to help you select the best domain name for you:
Keep it short. The shorter the better. It’s best to keep your domain name less than 15 characters if possible. A shorter name is easier for people to remember and it also reduces the likelihood that your visitor will mistype it or spell it wrong. For example, gobro.com has a lot less chance of being mistyped than anyoldwebsitedomainyoupick.com.
Keep it sweet. The more memorable the name, the easier it is for people to remember. You can have the best site in the world, but if people can’t remember your domain name it will cut down on your return visitors. It’s hard enough to get traffic on the web without “losing” visitors that want to come back but can’t find you.
Keep it simple. Make sure the domain name is easy for people to spell. Don’t spell words unusually. Unless you have incredible branding, people will type in the common spelling of your domain and your competition will get visitors who were looking for you. For example, gobro.com is much better than gobrother.com – Choose a domain name that reflects your business, or your personnel expedition. Don’t just choose a random name. For example, if your sell cars supplies, you should choose a name that has the word “auto” in it such as autoparts.com. Or, your domain name should refer to cars in some way, like zoom.com. The former will help you in the search engines. The latter will be memorable.
When in doubt, choose a .com. If you are debating between several different domain names, go with the .com. It’s what most people think of when they are typing in a domain name. It’s true the best names are gone, but you can still find a good .com if you look. Thousands of .coms expire and are released back in the market each month so there is always a steady supply of new domains coming into the market.
Here are 10 things to consider when choosing a Domain Name.
Brainstorm 5 Top Keywords – Keywords play a great part of your domain name. This is the words or phrases that people search for when finding your domain through the search engines. Keywords are also used for your meta tags. When you first begin your domain name search, it helps to have 5 terms or phrases in mind that best describe the domain you re seeking. Once you have this list, you can start to pair them or add prefixes & suffixes to create good domain ideas. For example, if you are launching an insurance related domain, you might start with words like “insurance, finance, security, interest rate, budget” then play around until you can find a good match.
Make the Domain Unique - different from others. – Having your website confused with a popular site already owned by someone else is a recipe for disaster. I never choose domains that are simply the plural, hyphenated or misspelled version of an already established domain. I went to Facebook the other day and misspelled it. It took me to a survey and said that if I filled out a survey for Facebook, I would win a prize. It almost convinced me! I had to double check the domain name.
Only Choose Dot-Com Available Domains – Mostly – If you are serious about building a successful website over the long-term, you should be worried about all of these elements, and while directing traffic to a .net or .org, owning a .com is critical. Now, you could get a .net or .org for your domain so you can monopolize all the extensions.
Make it simple to spell – avoid some letters – Make sure your domain is simple for people to remember and that it does not take so much concentration for someone to type it into the browser. Avoid hard letters (“q” “z” “x” ) – Try to keep with easy to type letters and of course, make sure it’s easy to spell.
Make it Easy to Remember - Remember that word-of-mouth dominate marketing (where your domain consistently comes up for industry-related searches) both rely on the ease with which the domain can be called to mind. You want your website to be easy as 123. Now that would be a good website domain www.easyas123.com. People would remember that. Not something like www.queen_elizabeth-44765_whales.com This would not be the easiest to remember.
Keep the Name as Short as Possible - Short names are easy to type and easy to remember (the previous two rules). They also allow for more characters in the URL and a better fit on business cards and other offline media.
Create and Fulfill Expectations – Allow the word of mouth - When someone hears about your domain name for the first time, they should be able to instantly and accurately guess at the type of content that might be found there. That s why I love domain names like Hotmail.com, CareerBuilder.com, AutoTrader.com and WebMD.com. Domains like Monster.com, Amazon.com and Zillow.com required far more branding because of their un-intuitive names. Look at my domain, www.itswebsitetonight. This obviously has something to do with websites.
Avoid Copyright Infringement - This is a mistake that is not made too often, but can kill a great domain and a great company when it does. To be sure you are not infringing on anyone’s copyright with your site s name, visit copyright.gov and search before you buy.
Set Yourself Apart with a Brand - Using a unique moniker is a great way to build additional value with your domain name. A “brand” is more than just a combination of words, which is why names like mortgageforyourhome.com or shoesandboots.com aren’t as compelling as branded names like bankrate.com or lendingtree.com.
Reject Hyphens and Numbers - Both hyphens and numbers make it hard to give your domain name verbally and falls down on being easy to remember or type. I d suggest not using spelled-out or Roman numerals in domains, as both can be confusing and mistaken for the other.
Here are the extensions explained more in detail to help you decide.
.COM
* The most popular Domain extension in the world.
* Vital for anyone seeking high visibility on the internet.
* May be registered by anyone.
.CA
* Official top level Domain for Canada
* Connect directly with Canadian consumers.
* Perfect for individuals, groups, or businesses located in Canada
.NET
* Great option when your .COM has already been registered.
* Often used for internet infrastructure. .
* Register the .NET version of your .COM to protect your brand.
.ORG
* Popular choice for Non-commercial organizations.
* Used by businesses to showcase their charities
* Register the .ORG version of your .COM to protect your brand.
.INFO
* Associated with websites that provide information.
* Useful for businesses, Individuals, or Organizations.
* Recognized around the world.
.CO
* New, wide open landscape!
* Get the name you want!
* International recognized, simple to remember.
Also available, .US, .BIZ, .MOBI, ME. And More
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