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WHAT IS WEB HOSTING?
By Matt Bacak
Many businesses, from one-man-bands to multi-national
corporations, have a web-presence these days. i.e. They have a website
telling their customers about their companies: what they do, where
they're based, their company history, how they're different from
their competitors, etc. Many of these businesses also sell products
and/or services online.
If you own a business and wish to have a presence in cyberspace,
then you need to consider buying a package from a web hosting company.
Web hosting refers to the process of renting computer space and
bandwidth (data transfer capacity) from a company so that you can
make your website visible to the outside world.
Put simply, you buy an allocated space on a computer from a hosting
company, then transfer the files of your website to this computer.
Your website then becomes available to users around the world, and
this enables them to browse your website, as well as download files
and buy products and services from you.
Domain Name
First of all, you need to choose a domain name for your website.
A domain name is simply an address for your website. Examples are
www.microsoft.com and www.yahoo.com. Avoid choosing a domain name
which is too long or too complicated for users to remember.
Design Your Website
There are three ways to get your website designed:
1. You can do it yourself. There are many website authoring software
packages available on the market. Two popular packages are Microsoft
Frontpage and Macromedia Dreamweaver. With these programs, you can
design and edit your web pages easily and see instantly how they
will look to the users.
2. Some companies offer an easy way for you to create your website
by providing templates for you to choose from. With this type of
service, all you have to do is choose a layout from a number of
pre-defined templates, select some color, font and graphics options,
enter some text, and you'll end up with a decent-looking website.
3. Get a web design company to do it for you. This is the most
expensive option but you will end up with a more professional and
stylish website, looking exactly the way you want it to look.
Getting a web host
Now that you have chosen your domain name and have designed your
website, you need to find a web hosting company.
There are thousands of hosting companies out there. Search the
web for a company with a good reputation and offers the kind of
services you need. Friends may be able to recommend a reputable
company. We recommend .
Next, select a web hosting package to suit your needs and sign
up for an account. Usually you'll pay for the hosting service by
credit card online. If you have not already registered your domain
name elsewhere, you'll have the option to do so with your hosting
company.
Once payment has been processed, you'll receive a confirmation
email with details about your hosting package. Take some time to
read this email carefully as it contains information on how to log
on to your hosting account.
Next you'll have to upload all the HTML pages, graphics and other
files on to your web space. This can be done via the control panel
on your website, or by using an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program
such as CuteFTP.
Now that your website is online, users from around the world will
be able to view it, so make sure that the information it contains
(such as your email address and telephone number) is up-to-date.
This is particularly important if you will be using your website
to sell products and services.
Matt Bacak became "#1 Best Selling Author" in just
a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazines e-Biz radio
show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight
Success Stories. Discover The Secrets To Unleash The Powerful Promoter
In You! Sign up for Matt Bacak's Promoting Tips Ezine ($100 value)
just visit his website at http://www.powerfulpromoter.com
or http://promotingtips.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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