Start : Plan, Register Domain and Find a Web Host!

Congrats! You reached this page, because you wanted to research more on websites. It is the same interest and passion for learning which is very essential to create successful websites. This post discusses the basic essentials to start a website or blog – that includes a plan, domain registration and a web host.

Basic steps to start your website rolling

  1. Plan your website : Requirements, budget and ideas of expansion in future.
  2. Domain Registration : Get a unique name for your website or blog.
  3. Web Hosting : Rent space for the files of your website.

Let’s us start with individual areas, so that by the end of this article you will be clear of how to start a website.

Website Planning

Why we included this stage as the first because, it is generally observed that people generally overlook the importance of this stage. Planning is essential for any successful venture and this is true in the case of websites too. Without a proper plan, there can be lot of wastage of time, money and energy.

Understand the basic requirements of your website. Are you starting website for fun or for business purpose? What is your niche area and who are your potential visitors? How much will be the total size of your website? What will be the approximate bandwidth?

Based on these questions, judge if you need a free website (hosted in platforms like WordPress or Blogger with extension in domain names like xyz.wordpress.com) or a paid website (self-hosted website with independent domain names like xyz.com).

We suggest paid websites for any one who is taking blogging or website development, as paid hosting offers lot of expansion possibilities. Businesses are advised to refrain from free hosting. Use free hosting if you are blogging only for time-pass.

Domain Name Registration

Domain name registration means registering a name for your website or blog. The name should be unique. A name will have extensions like .com, .org, .net etc.

To register a domain, you need to search your desired name with domain name registrars. Recommended registrars include GoDaddy.com and Register.com.

Fees for registering a domain for one year varies with different registrars, but it is approximately 10 dollars per year.

Web Hosting

Be your requirement is blog or website, it will have files. These files have to be transferred from your local computer to a hosting computer for faster access and better service. Those companies which offers web servers for hosting files of your website are known as Web Hosting Providers.

You need to create an account with a Web Hosting Provider to rent space in the server on yearly basis. Recommended web hosts include BlueHost, HostGator, DreamHost etc.

Web Hosting charges varies from around 50$ per year to 200$ or more per year.

The charges mentioned above is for shared hosting, which would be enough for most beginners. In sharing hosting, a big server is shared among many accounts (websites). In case if you need separate server for your website, you can go for dedicated servers. But dedicated servers are expensive and is not required for starters.

Steps to get your website rolling

  1. Find a unique domain name, buy it after creating an account with a domain registrar.
  2. Rent sufficient space in a web hosting provider. Create an account there too.
  3. Map the name server name of your web-hosting provider in the domain registrar account. Now the domain will point towards the web-server.
  4. Test the configuration, by uploading any html file (Eg: xyz.com.html) using the FTP software in the control panel of your web host. After uploading the file, go to your browser and enter the url of the file (Eg: xyz.com.html). If the webpage is displayed, your configuration is correct.
  5. Now you are a proud owner of a website and you have started a website! (How long did it take? 10-30 minutes, right?)