Technology advances day by day thus becoming more complex but user friendly, blogs that were uncommon years ago are really easy to setup now. But many people are still unaware about what they need to get a website of their own. After having worked with a webhosting company I realized how many people were ignorant as to how the web works so to help my fellow internet users know the workings of the internet world, i have given below a basic guide as to how the web works and what you need to get your own sexy website up :-
What is WWW ?
WWW is the short form of WORLD WIDE WEB. Every computer in the world is connected to each other and communicate with each other (thus called world wide web). To communicate with each other they use a thing called HTTP: HYPER TEXT TRANSFER PROTOCOL. Yep, the thing that you see before any url, this is how computers communicate with each other.
What is a server?
A server is nothing but a type of computer but this one is much more powerful than your regular computer… The thing that makes it special is that it is capable of making web pages/data visible on the internet while anything stored on our computer can be seen only by us. Servers are used to store data and then make it visible worldwide
Example: orkut/facebook/myspace users go to their homepage and add/edit details. These details are stored on a machine(server) and then shown to anyone who requests for it. It is similar to making a text file on your computer and then saving it, when you/someone who uses your computer clicks on the file they get to see it.
How does the WWW work?
So now we know that the computers connected to each other in the www are web servers but how does the www actually work??? There are millions of servers in the world so how does a person find “YOUR” data?
Yep… The url is how they reach your data. Like I said before computers in a network communicate with each other using http so let us break down my site’s url to show you how your files are found
1. http://manvela.com/2009/06/11/vague-and-volatile-thoughts-ads-from-the-puke-pit/2. http => Basically does the job of “requesting” the files.
3. www => World wide web.
4. manvela.com => folder name present on the world wide web.
5. /2009/06/11/ => The sub folder (the folder inside the folder manvela.com)
6. vague-and-volatile-thoughts-ads-from-the-puke-pit/ => This is the file inside the folder 2009/06/11
So if we write it in a sentence we understand that our computer sends a request to find the file “vague….” in the 2009/06/11 folder which is in the MAIN folder manvela.com which is ultimately stored inside one of the computers connected in the world wide web.
Example: Open any file that you have in your computer and study the “path” or location of the folder (C:\Documents and Settings\Critter\Desktop\Text) In this case C:\ is the main folder while the rest are sub folders.
What is a browser?
A browser is nothing but a tool used to fetch files from the WWW. Firefox, Internet Explorer (I.E), Opera, Maxathon, Safari, Chrome are all browsers.
What is an ip address?
The way we have names and addresses, machines too have names and addresses. But machines speak in the language of numbers so their name and address is in the form of numbers. So basically an ip address gives us the location of the machine and acts as an identity tag.
How does an ip look? How do we find out the ip of a machine?
Go here and type manvela.com making sure to click on “Ping”.. When you do so you will find a number (208.87.240.34). Now that is the ip address of the machine where my site’s data is stored. But if you go to ipchicken.com, the number you get is the ip address given to you by your internet provider.. Go ahead.. Try it
What is webhosting?
Now that we know what the www is and how it works, webhosting is nothing but an internet service provided by companies to let people publish their data to the entire world. You buy space from a company to add all your data and it is automatically public to the world. They store your data on a server which is connected in the WWW so that it is visible on the internet.
Where can you get a blog like mine?
There are two ways you can have a blog like mine, either get a webhosting account of your own and then add wordpress or any other blogging software of your choice on it or you can simply sign up at blogger.com, wordpress.com and places like these. They do not give you a .com website but they let you have xyz.site.com. You can change the look of the site by changing the themes.
Paid or free?
Normally people usually opt for free webhosting unless they need paid hosting. Kids & casual users being the ones choosing free the most but if you are in a position to buy hosting then do it without a second thought. The main reasons are :-
Security :- Hosts will not go through your files or remove them without your permissions. While free hosts can remove your site without any notice any day.
Future :- Even if the company does go belly up the host tries their best to have your accounts shifted to a better place. Only a few go poof without notice.
Supportt :- A very important factor because free sites will not help you if your site is ruined or you need help adding anything on it.
Backup :- The second most important factor, hosts regularly back up your sites so in case of a hack job or an accident you can have your entire site restored by the support.
Quality :- There are some paid hosts who suck but they are much better than the free versions as there is less downtime. Also, free hosts remove many features to reduce load or influence members to get paid accounts.So if the site is nothing but for something casual where you update the site once in a while or have not much to do with it.. Go on with a free host.
What is a sub domain and a domain?
The most common misconception people have when building a website is that they feel that buying the website equals having a website. Nope, webhosting is made of two parts.. The actual hosting or buying of space and the name of the website. The name you choose (example: manvela.com) becomes your domain name and is then connected to your space thus letting people see your website when they type the domain name.
A sub domain is something.manvela.com so when you join blogger.com, they give you xyz.blogger.com and not xyz.com. This is because domains are very expensive (starting at 10 USD
Sub domains or domains?
Now that you know what a domain and sub domains are, which one would you choose? a domain or sub domain? I have listed the points to help you decide
1. Domains are expensive and once registered cannot be canceled ( They are registered for a year). You can dispose of the domain after a year but are stuck with it until then. So choose carefully.
2. Short, to the point and attractive domains increases the chances of your site getting more people. (manvela.com gets more traffic than critters-and-you.com)
3. Sub domains are parts of the original site so the more traffic the parent has, the better your site’s chances of being found.
4. If the parent is blacklisted then your site(sub domain) will get blacklisted too.
How do I get free hosting
1. Just want to sign for a sub domain :- Google “free blogs” and choose any one you want. I recommending choosing the site that is in the top 3.
2. Free hosts and not a blog :- Those who want to make the site themselves and not use an automatic blogging software.
3. http://www.free-webhosts.com has a very professional list of sites that are good free webhosts.
4. You do not mind writing articles to get free webhosting :- I recommend trap17.com and astahost.com because I know for a fact that it is brilliant having worked there
Use their guide to help http://guide2host.com
There are plenty of free hosts out in this world but there are few that can really satisfy your needs. So you need to decide what kind of hosting you need first. :-
Hopefully this should help you get kick started on getting your own website. I am considering working on setting up a proper tutorial dedicated to webhosting but will do it if this one gets good reviews
Clap
There are lots of good trusted companies that will register domain names for you. They range in price from a few dollars to fifty dollars per year. But, be careful.
very good baby very informative and very reader friendly.easy to understand