domain & hosting considerations
Just a few short notes on domain and hosting, to give you a rough idea of what is required.
To get your website online you will need to buy 2 things:
- registration of the domain name, ie the webaddress of your site
The domain name will be registered for 2 years as standard and will need to be renewed as soon as it expires in order for you to keep it. It will also need to be pointed to the server where your site's files are hosted.
You can puchase the domain with any registrant, with or without hosting. However, it might be more convenient to buy both domain and hosting from the same company to make any renewals easier. - server space, ie hosting for your website's files
The hosting space will need to chosen with care - there are a lot of hosting providers out there offering various different packages at quite different price ranges. There are mainly 2 functions you will need — direct FTP access (which is the best way to upload your website's files to the server space) and PHP enabled (which is required to process teh most standard forms, like your contact form). Please see the screenshots below for more details.
There are also different platforms available such as Windows or Linux. The Linux setup is much preferred over Windows due its stability and general safety.
The screenshots here are from easily.co.uk — who are a domain registrant also offering hosting. Their service has been very good, relliable and stable, their technical support excellent, speedy and thorough. These are the reasons why they are highly recommended.
NOTE: please click on the screenshots below to view the larger version.
domain name
Once you proceed to buy your domain name - you can simply add your chosen hosting package as well.
hosting
Hosting packages overview:
purchasing hosting package:
