So, you would like to start your own Internet business. You have got a pretty good idea what to sell and you’ve even put together a website but there is a problem. How do you actually create the business and how do you put all that stuff about web site, hosting, domain name and email together without spending too much time learning “another technical language”, or spending money hiring a network technician to do it for you.
All you want to do is get on the net as quick as possible, hassle free and start focusing on your business. I am sure you have already figured out what is your web site going to be about and developed a name for your business that generates a lot of searches in search engines to guarantee your customer base and lots of sales.
OK, let’s start then.
First thing you need is a good Domain Name. Domain Names are the main part of your internet address (URL) so it should describe your business. When a potential customer sees your URL he or she should know exactly what to expect on your website. It’s a good practice to keep it short so customers can remember it easily, stay away from Hyphens and numerals unless you have a specific reason for it.
Always try to get a domain name with extension.com first, because it is what most people search for. Domain Names are acquired at Domain Registrars. There is a number of Registrars around the net, just search for Domain Registration in search engine or use a link I’ve included at the bottom of this page.(by the way you might find this registrar a lot cheaper then most, while maintaining high standard of professionalism. I use them all the time)
After a free registration, find a search box on main page and type in your desired domain name and press search. The registrar will search the database to see if the name is available. If it is then congratulations you can register your domain. If not try another search until you find the name you can use. Actual registration of .com domain will cost you around $10-12 per year.
Read through other extras usually offered with registration. After your payment is processed it takes max couple of hours and domain is up and running. Like I said before your domain name is main part of your URL, which will look like this: “http://www.domain name.com”. This is an internet address your customers will use to find your web site.
We are still not done yet. There is couple of things we still need to do before you can use your domain. What you will need next is a place to store your website files and then point your domain to that place. You need a Hosting account If you don’t want to go into trouble investigating Hosting accounts, you can grab the one your Domain registrar offers. After signing up for Hosting account, you will receive an Email with all your account details. Find the info that says “Name servers” write down the names that start with NS1.xxx.com and NS2.xxx.com.
Now log back to Domain Registrar, Click on Domain manager, then on your domain name. Now find the button that says NameServers. Click on it and click option “I have my own nameservers”. Change the name servers to yours from received email and click “Done” You have pointed your domain name to your Host. Next log into your Hosting account. In Control Panel click an Icon that says “Add-on domains” Type in the domain name incl extension.com or whatever you registered your domain with and press “tab” key on your keyboard.
The rest of text boxes gets automatically populated. Notice the name of the folder in the “root” textbox, because you will need to upload your web site files in it. type in your password and press “Add domain” Now you are ready to upload your website using FTP program.In case you do not have one there is plenty of free ones to download from internet. After your files are uploaded and installed if necessary you are all set up and ready to go.
The link to the Registrar I am using is here http://www.truedomainvalue.com.