1.
What is a Web Address (domain
name)?
2. What
does "hosting" my Web Address mean?
3.
What Is features: Anonymous
FTP, ASP,
Autoresponders,
Bandwidth, CGI
directory, Control
Panel , Database
Server, Disk
Storage Space, Alias
/ Email Forwarding, FTP
Access, FrontPage
Extensions, Merchant
Account, MIVA
(HTML script), PHP3,
POP E-mail Accounts,
RealAudio/VideoTM,
Secure Shell
(SSH), Shopping
Cart, SSL
Secure Server, Statistics,
TELNET
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1.
What is a domain name registration?
Practically
speaking, your domain name registration (Web
Addres) is the core of your Internet identity,
your online brand. Your customers will remember
this name and use it to find out about your
products and services. And since no two parties
can ever hold the same Web Address simultaneously,
your Internet identity is totally unique.
Technically, a Web Address is an addressing
construct used for identifying and locating
computers on the Internet. While computers use
Internet Protocol (IP) numbers to locate each
other on the Internet, people find them hard
to remember. Therefore, Web Addresses were developed
to permit the use of easily remembered words
and phrases to identify Internet addresses.
2.
What does "hosting" my Web Address mean?
Every
Domain (Web Address) must reside on a host computer.
Domain Name Hosts are connected to the Internet
and use special software to translate Web Addresses
into the numerical addresses (Internet Protocol
numbers) used by the Internet. When Internet
users enter your Web Address into their browser
bar, the Domain Name Host directs them to your
Web site. Without it, your Web Address is invisible
on the Internet.
3.
What Is features: Anonymous
FTP, ASP, Autoresponders,
Bandwidth,
CGI directory, Control
Panel , Database Server,
Disk Storage Space,
Alias / Email Forwarding,
FTP Access,
FrontPage Extensions, Merchant
Account, MIVA (HTML script),
PHP3,
POP E-mail Accounts, RealAudio/VideoTM,
Secure Shell (SSH),
Shopping Cart, SSL
Secure Server, Statistics,TELNET
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Anonymous
FTP
Anonymous FTP allows visitors to upload and/or
download files from a directory within your
web site account without requiring a unique
id and password.
ASP
Active
Server Pages (ASP) is a server based scripting
language that is used to build database driven
websites where the browser may have no scripting
at all. It is recommended, if you require
the use of ASP, to find a web host with NT
servers and request your domain be placed
on the NT server.
Autoresponders
Autoresponders, also known as mailbots, reply
to incoming e-mail instantly and automatically.
With an autoresponder you can allow your visitors
to send an email to a particular address that
you have already assigned to your autoresponder.
When the mail server receives this message it
automatically replies to the sender with a message
that you have predetermined. Autoresponders
are perfect for sending out information about
your products and informing people when you
are away.
Bandwidth
This is the amount of data being accessed from
your site For example, each time a web page,
image, midi file, wav file, etc. is loaded,
data transfer is generated. All packages have
a bandwidth limit, regardless what the host
may be promising you. It is impossible to offer
unlimited bandwidth since all of the bandwidth
in the world is limited and none of it is free.
You will need to assure the package you choose
comes with enough bandwidth for your web site.
For more information on deciding how much that
is visit the Size Does Matter article here on Host
Help.
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CGI
directory
CGI scripts are small programs that run on the
server to add interactivity to your web site.
CGI Directories are where the scripts need to
be stored (unless the host allows otherwise).
If you plan on developing a web site that does
more then serve static pages you will want to
make sure your host offers a cgi directory (most
commonly called a cgi-bin). Many hosts will
also offer pre-installed cgi scripts. Examples
of these would be counters, mailforms, and guestbooks.
Control
Panel
Control Panels come with many different
names and with many various features. A control
panel should be able to help you with many of
the tasks associated with your web site, without
having to know all of the core server commands
to accomplish these tasks. For example: A control
panel may include the ability to create and
delete e-mail accounts by only typing in the
name of the account you want to create/delete
and clicking a button. If you are a novice with
web development you will want a control panel
available to you. You will also need to ask
the host what features come with their control
panel (if an example is not provided on their
web site) to assure it will meet or exceed your
needs.
Database
Servers (mSQL, mySQL, etc..)
Database servers are designed to provide fast,
configurable, convenient access to stored data.
In most instances, custom programming (commonly
Perl, PHP, or ASP) is needed to implement a
fully functional web-to-database interface.
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Disk
Storage Space
This
space is used to store your html files, graphics,
multimedia files, e-mail, and other files that
make up your web site (or store on the server).
Every hosting package comes with a specified
allotment of disk storage space, Usually defined
in Megabytes (MB). For more detail on storage
space and how to decide how much you need Size Does Matter article here on Host
Help.
Alias
/ Email Forwarding
This causes all email messages that are sent
to an email account associated with your domain
to be forwarded to another e-mail address of
your choice. For example: If someone were to
send a message to you@yourdomain.com you would
be able to receive it at you@yourISP.com. Be
careful: Many hosts that claim they offer unlimited
email accounts or even POP accounts are actually
only offering aliases. Make sure, you will be
receiving true POP e-mail accounts if you require
them.
FTP
Access
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is the method used
to upload and download files to and from your
web site. This is the main method you will use
to update your site. You will need unlimited
access to your account via FTP 24-hours a day.
Make sure this comes at no extra charge with
your package.
FrontPage
Extensions
Microsoft
FrontPage is a program that can be used to design
and manage your web site. To use the facilities
provided by FrontPage you need to have FrontPage
extensions installed. The extensions are programs
that run on the server. Not all hosts offer
FrontPage support. If you will require FrontPage
extensions it is recommended that you select
an host with NT servers and request an account
on the NT servers.
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Merchant Account
A merchant account is a commercial bank account
established by contractual agreement. A merchant
account enables your business to accept credit
card payments from your customers. Many hosts
achieve an alliance with companies that are
able to offer merchant accounts. Do not be mistaken
by the very different aspects of these two businesses.
A host provides you with an Internet presence,
they are not banks and do not provide merchant
accounts, they only provide you with suggestions
for who to go to if you are unable to use your
own bank for this service.
MIVA (HTML script)
Miva
makes building dynamic, data driven web pages
as easy as HTML. You can quickly develop interactive
web pages that are 100% browser independent.
Miva runs on the web server, interprets the
Miva tags and outputs pure HTML to the browser.
You can also use Miva to output Javascript and
other browser languages, and use the built-in
database to easily manipulate and publish data.
PHP
PHP
is an HTML-embedded scripting language. Much
of its syntax is borrowed from C, Java and Perl
with a couple of unique PHP-specific features
thrown in. The goal of the language is to allow
web developers to write dynamically generated
pages quickly. Some languages do things, others
get things done. PHP is commonly known as the
latter of these two.
POP
E-mail Accounts
POP e-mail accounts allow you to retrieve e-mail
directly from POP3 mailboxes. POP3 mailboxes
are like PO boxes for emails, the emails are
stored there until you collect them. You should
probably receive at least one POP e-mail account
with your hosting package. You will also want
it to be able to use your own domain name as
the SMTP server. Most hosting packages come
with multiple POP e-mail accounts for you and
others who also work on your web site and the
products/services it offers. Additional POP
e-mail accounts can usually be purchased at
a low cost if needed.
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RealAudio/VideoTM
RealAudio/Video
is a client-server based streaming media delivery
system for the Internet. You can create and
deliver audio/video-based streaming multimedia
content through the Internet to audiences worldwide.
Your host must provide the proper extensions
for you to offer RealAudio and Video to your
visitors. Many hosts will charge extra for this
feature. Also note, you will probably need extra
disk space and bandwidth if you plan on offering
many files that require these extensions.
Secure
Shell (SSH)
Cryptography helps to ensure your privacy tremendously.
While on the Internet, you need to be on guard
at all times. SSH was developed by Tatu Ylönen
and is a program that will allow you to Telnet
into your account securely. It provides strong
authentication and secure communications (RSA-based)
over insecure channels. If you have telnet access
to any machine this is definitely the way to
go. Accessing your account via standard Telnet
compared to accessing your account via a SSH
connection is like sending a postcard compared
to sending a letter wrapped neatly inside an
envelope. Anyone near your postcard can read
it easily, wouldn't you rather your private
information be tucked away a little better then
that? Finding a host that offers SSH will take
a little more work on your part, but with the
amount of people (young, old, good, and bad)
accessing the Internet today, better to be safe
then sorry.
Shopping
Cart
A Shopping Cart program allows you to implement
your own on-line storefront. Depending on the
complexity of the cart and the programming skills
needed the costs vary greatly between hosts
and packages.
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