Founding a web presence (Domains & Hosting)

New business owners ask this question frequently; What are the first steps in creating a website? As with any new endeavor it is vital to understand some basics. Knowing the terminology is an excellent place to start.

Domain Name: In traditional brick and mortar business, location is everything. Choosing a suitable location for your business will make or break your business. Likewise a domain name is critical.

But what is a domain name? Simply put a domain name is a series of characters which represents an Internet Protocol resource (commonly website and eMail). Internet users type in a domain name in their browser's address bar to view a website, or use the domain name in a eMail address, ie: AbacusWeb.com.

Often domains names are simply referred to as just 'domains'. Once domains are registered, they allow the administrator exclusive right to use or point the given domain to an Internet resource such as a hosting server. So in essence a domain is analogous to a street address. It provides a method for finding your website.

Web Hosting Service: is a type of Internet hosting service that provides for accessible space on the World Wide Web. Web hosts offer space on their servers which in turn hosts content available for Internet connectivity. A client either buys or rents space on a server and loads various files which are then accessed through a web browser such as Firefox. These files are interpreted by the web browser and displayed as web pages.

Quickly reviewing the process: a domain name is entered into a web browser. Your internet service provider will then request files from the hosting server designated as hosting your website, which then is interpreted into a webpage.

In the next installment of this series I will discuss the various files which come together to make a website.