Domain name...now I need 'host'?

FewToLose

Hi there, mods feel free to move if in the wrong category.

I have a domain name for a website idea I have but now I need to go about constructing the actual website...I read that I need a 'host' for this...am totally clueless. Any help is much appreciated!

Liam Byrne

FewToLose wrote: »

Hi there, mods feel free to move if in the wrong category.

I have a domain name for a website idea I have but now I need to go about constructing the actual website...I read that I need a 'host' for this...am totally clueless. Any help is much appreciated!

Your domain name is a "signpost" to your site, showing the web where it is and what it's called.

Your site needs to be built - HTML pages, database, PHP, CSS, graphics, etc, and then once complete it needs to be installed at a location - that location needs to be a server computer that is switched on and available 24 hours a day, including generators for power cuts, etc, so you pay a "host" to use space on their computer for this - for a small, basic site this is as little as €3 per month.

So once you have your site set up on a host like this, you "swing the signpost" (in web terminology it's done via the "DNS records" for your domain) to point to where the site is.

Trojan

We can't give you recommendations for a hosting company here* but what we can do is give you some general advice:

If your target customers are mainly in Ireland, go with an Irish hosting company

Don't go for the cheapest possible deal - look for reviews and personal recommendations.

Support is very important - try to find out if they are quick to answer queries (one way to do this is send a sales query) and if they offer phone support.

"Unlimited" usually means "limited" when it comes to hosting - there is always something in the fine print.

HTH.

* it's against the rules to discuss hosting companies here for historic reasons.

HairMonster

Liam gave a nice summary but I thought I'd give you this link too, its what I show to people who ask me this question Whats the difference between a domain and web hosting

If you are not building the website yourself, then its not something you should have to be concerned about - your web developer will know what to do and set everything up for you. They will probably have a particular provider they have used and trust.
I don't mean to offend, but you do not appear to be very technical if you do not know the difference between a domain and hosting, so I strongly suggest you get a professional to develop the site for you. There is more to building a successful website than putting together some HTML pages.

If you do wish to choose the hosting yourself, I second Trojans point about support - I learned the hard way that it doesn't matter how good the hosting package is if the support is not there. In my experience, sending a sales query is not enough to determine the level of support though. The sales team are usually quick to answer as they are in the job of selling. You really need to know about the tech support team. I usually call with a technical query about their hosting that would need to be put through to tech support. However this might be more difficult if you are not very technical, so your best bet is probably to check out reviews from others.

protocol1

Trojan wrote: »

If your target customers are mainly in Ireland, go with an Irish hosting company

Yes, agreed, this can be an advantage for search engine rankings, speed as well getting support in the same time zone as you are working in.