The Name Game

In the previous lesson we discussed how your site gets from your computer to your web host and off to your visitors. Right now, you're thinking that your site is nothing more than code and numbers, and in this respect you're right. Since a browser translates a URL into an IP addy, who and what determines the URL. The answer, for the most, part is you.

A URL consists of several parts.

Protocol : the method in which the browser connects to the server.
Domain Name : your IP address as named on the server
Domain Type : describes the type or purpose of your site

Your web site is your identification on the Web and you should choose the name for your site accordingly. For the most part, the choice is yours and there are a couple ways to make it happen depending on the type of host you choose.

Free Web Hosting and Names
If you decide to go with a free web host, your site will usually be given a name based on the user name you signed up to the host with. For instance, if you sign up with Geocities under the user name of mysite, your URL will look one of two ways:

http://geocities.com/mysite
or
http://mysite.geocities.com

In the first example, geocities is the domain name and mysite is your user name. In this case, Geocities set aside a folder on their server called mysite, which will be used to store your sites files. This type of set up is called a Web User.

The second example has geocities as the domain name and mysite as a sub domain. In this case, Geocities has added another domain under theirs using your user name mysite. Both methods work pretty much the same as far as a browser accessing your site, it's just the URL is a bit different and needs to be typed as such in a browser.

Paid Hosting and Names
If you choose to pay for your web hosting, you will have get your own domain name. Our next lesson will explain more about shopping for a web host, but for now we'll discuss getting your own domain name.

You can have your own domain name by registering it with a company called a registrar. A registrar will basically allow you to "lock" your domain name so no one else can use it. The process is simple. You visit the registrars site, pick your name (if it's available) and then pay the registrar a small fee. The fee will "lock" your name for a determined amount of time...usually 1 or 2 years. The name is yours to use for that time and you will have the option of renewing it when your time is up. Once you register your domain name, you can use it on any web host you choose. If you go this route, your URL will look similar to the one below.

http://mysite.com

There are some great advantages to having your own domain name. If you switch web hosts, your name goes with you. Since your email address will be based on your domain name, that will stay static also...no more notifying people when you change email addresses. Lastly, regestering a domain name is inexpensive and you don't need to have a web site to do so. Most registrars will keep your domain name on their servers until you are ready to use it.

Now that you know a bit about domain names, let's go shopping for a web host...shall we?

Planning Your Site: Shopping for a Web Host