Web Hosting defined for beginners

Welcome to the web world – domain names, web hosting, dedicated servers, dedicated IP address, ssl certificates. Confused yet? If you are new to this you probably are. What are the main ingredients a web site absolutely needs to be up and running. Two items exist that are essential for any web site to be up and running – a domain name and web hosting. Your name would be something like google.com and your files would be hosted online for people to see.

The domain name is easier to understand, as every day you are typing in domain names. What about the web hosting side of things? When you buy web hosting, what are you actually purchasing? Let’s explain. Web Hosting is like a container for your web files. Files for your web site could be code or multimedia files, such as HTML, CSS or Flash. Your web site requires a web hosting server, that is essentially a computer configured to show your web pages. Basically a web hosting package is a service provided by a Company that will make your web site live so people all around the world can view it at any time.

Now that we have defined web hosting, when you look to purchase web hosting what do all these features mean? For starting sites, two main features will be of interest – disk space and bandwidth. The former translates to the size of files you can store on the web hosting server. Bandwidth means how much data your server is allowed to transfer to your web site visitors in a given time. When your web site grows and needs more advanced features like a Content Management System, your next steps are to check into features for language support and database support. The programming language the site was coded in will help you choose the language support required, while the storage container for your web data is placed in a database.

To summarize, web site hosting is a web server that displays your code and visual files to users of your site. Depending on the nature of your site, you will then need to consider package features such as disk space, bandwidth, language support and database support.

Introduction to Basic Web hosting

Welcome to the web world – domain names, web hosting, dedicated servers, dedicated IP address, ssl certificates. These words may be quite confusing to you if you are new to getting a website running. What do you need and what are the extras they are trying to sell you on. Two items exist that are essential for any web site to be up and running -domain name registration and web hosting. Basically your name like “myspace.com” and a place to keep your files that your visitor will see.

The domain name is easier to understand, as every day you are typing in domain names. What about the web hosting aspect of it? Well let’s explain what you are doing when you buy website hosting. Web Hosting is like a container for your web files. These files may include Code files (HTML, CSS, PHP, ASP) or Visual Files (Images, Flash, Video). Your site requires a web hosting server, which is basically a computer designed to display your web pages. Basically a web hosting package is a service provided by a Company that allows anybody with access to the internet the ability to view your web site files.

Now that we understand what web hosting actually is, what do all these features mean when I am looking to buy website hosting packages? For beginner sites, you will be mainly looking at two main features – disk space and bandwidth. The former translates to the file size you are allowed to keep on the actual web server. The latter indicates how much data your server can transfer to your web site visitors in a given time. When your web site grows and needs more advanced features like a Content Management System, your next steps are to check into features for language support and database support. The programming language the site was coded in will help you choose the language support required, while the database is essentially where your data is stored.

To summarize, web site hosting is a server that allows visitors of your site to view your web site files. The needs and requirements of your site will then determine what you need to look for in terms of disk space, bandwith, language support and database support.

.CA Domain Name Registration

Domain name registration over a decade ago was a more specialized business with very few offering you the ability to purchase and register your own domain name. Since then, the domain name industry has blossomed and currently their is in existence of hundreds to thousands of service providers offering the chance to pick up and register your own domain name. The most popular Top Level Domain (TLD) extension is the .com extension, and almost everyone will pick that extension up if available.

Do TLD domain name extensions exist that are specific for different countries? Yes they exist and you can purchase everything from .co.uk for United Kingdom (UK) based companies, to even .us domain names for United States companies. For those living in Canada, you also have available your own domain name extension which is the .ca domain. Anyone who wishes to register their site for a canadian audience and to show they are in the canadian market will register a .ca domain extension.

The controlling company for canadian domain names (.ca) is CIRA. This simply stands for the Canadian Internet Registration Authority. Their responsiblity is to oversee activity related to .ca domain name registration and when you decide to register a domain canada, an email will be sent to the administrative contact email indicating the registration process has been completed and you own the domain name.

Do you need to register the domain name through a company that is specifically located in Canada or will any cheap domain name registrar work? The answer to this is that any registrar will work provided that you find on their website that they actually offer ca domain names. Most are offering the capability to register canadian domain names, but their still are companies who do not. Before making the purchase of your domain name, just double check that the price showing on the website is in Canadian Dollars instead of US Dollars. Since the Canadian dollar at the time of this writing, is lower than the US dollar you will be paying more than the posted cost if they are showing it in US dollars.