Tech Lizard's Guide to What Every Website Needs
Disclaimer: As with many things in the world, people have different ideas and approaches to handling website creation. This article is meant to discuss proven methods used by Tech Lizard Web Design and IT.
So you've decided that it's time to get your own website, now what do you need? An enthusiastic web designer may spout off a sentence that sounds something like this: "I'll get you set up with a domain name and hosting!", which sounds great, but what does it all mean?
Domain Name
The first thing you'll want to do is think of a domain name. The domain name is your address on the web, www.yourcompany.com. The domain name is used for your website as well as email accounts you may use and other services like FTP.
Domain names are unique and often times the one you may want will not be available, so a suitable alternative will need to be found. Perhaps you'll need to settle for using one of the less popular Top Level Domains (.net, .biz, .org) rather than .com. Readily available domain names range in price from $5.00 a year to $40.00 a year and are purchased from a registrar. The price depends upon which registrar you choose.
On occasion you will find that the domain name that you'd like to use is taken, but the person or company that owns it doesn't even have a website! What a waste, right? Often times these domain names have been purchased by a company or individual who wants to sell it, and they can name their price for it. These domains will vary in price and negotiating is always an option. Buying a domain name from it's owner should be approached with caution as there are plenty of dishonest people in the business of selling domain names.
Domain names should be regarded as property, which brings me to a good point: Who is going to "own" your domain name? Be sure to ask, and if someone registers a domain name for you, make sure an agreement is in place that makes your ownership of the domain name clear. Managing your domain name on the other hand should be handled by someone with the technical knowledge to understand how to maintain the records and who will be authorized to renew your domain name for you when the term expires.
Web Hosting
You'll need to purchase web hosting. Simply stated, web hosting companies sell resources on servers that are available on the Internet. A web host is where the files that make up your website are stored, as well as any programs needed to run your website. Web hosts also provide services like email servers, database servers, FTP servers, DNS servers, statistical information and a variety of tools and options for managing your website.
A variety of options are available from the thousands of hosting services on the web, and the price ranges vary as well. Hosting costs can range from free, ad-supported services (meaning they insert ad banners at the top or side of your website) to thousands of dollars a year.
Before choosing a web hosting company it is important to fully understand what your true needs are so you don't over or under spend. This is another time that the help of a technical professional is going to help you.
DNS Configuration
Proper DNS configuration is a collaborative effort between your web hosting company and your registrar, but requires configuration if your hosting and registrar are not provided by the same company. Among other things, DNS servers match the name to the number so to speak. Your web hosting server has what is called an IP address, a unique number that is used to find the server on the Internet. Your registrar provides the domain name that is used to make finding the server's location easier for people to remember.
Your domain name is configured to send the request to your hosting server, the hosting server is configured to "answer" to your domain name and load a particular folder. Unless you've purchased a dedicated server, typing the IP address into a browser alone is not going to load your site. A similiar set up is required to tie your domain name to a mail server where your email account is held. This is the basic purpose of DNS as it relates to websites.
Web Design
Web design is the display, the images, the colors, the fonts, the layout of your website. The components of web design are what your visitors see when they arrive at your site. Web design can be accomplished in a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) type editor. You can even draw a web design on paper, but getting the design to load in the various browsers and load efficiently is the job of a skilled professional. Your web design and coding can be done by different people, Tech Lizard Web Design and IT can do it all!
Web Pages, or the Coding
Web pages are specially formatted files that tell your browser what to show and do when a visitor comes to your site and they consist of the components of your web design. There are many different types of web pages that are coded using various markups, scripting and programming languages. The most commonly known markup is HTML.
Coding web pages for interoperability can be tricky. Pages may display differently depending on what browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.) your visitor is using, and on top of that which version of the browser your visitor is using! A good developer is going to take this into consideration and employ methods, standards and sometimes conditions that result in a consistant experience for your visitors, no matter what browser they happen to choose. Most will choose to conform to "The Top Three" browsers in use because there are as many browsers as there are languages spoken in the world!
Conclusion
Now you know the basic elements of websites, and you understand the need to include the services of a technical professional in your website project. Tech Lizard Web Design and IT are ready to work with you on accomplishing your goal. We have experience working with clients who want to be involved every step of the way, as well as those who'd prefer to be minimally involved. No matter their chosen level of involvement, each of our clients has satisfaction in common. Why not contact us now?
- This article was written by Michele Gilhouse of Tech Lizard Web Design and IT.