The domain name is your website address, the yourbiz.com, mycompany.net or the mygroup.org part of your online presence. You “purchase” (known as registering) your domain name using one of the many companies on the internet offering this service.
Domain name registration fees vary from $10-$100 per year. What’s the difference? Absolutely nothing! This fee only covers your ownership of www.yourbiz.com for the period of time specified. In many cases, web designers and website developers offer the best prices for domain name registration — sometimes it’s even free if you are purchasing a service from them — because they have already done the shopping, surfing and comparing. Why recreate the wheel if you don’t have to?
If you agree to have your website designer register your domain name, it is wise to have a representative from your company as the administrative email contact for the account. This way, if you should ever need or want to transfer your domain name, you have a way to access it. It is your domain name, after all.
The web hosting service is the company that provides the actual server (computer space) on which all of your web pages reside. When visitors type in www.yourbiz.com the host server takes them to your designated web pages. All the pages, graphics, design aspects and styles are “uploaded” (copied) onto the web host server space and stored for you and your visitors to view.
You’ve probably seen banner advertisements for web hosting all over the internet. Like the domain name registration, fees vary greatly, ranging from $5 per month to hundreds per month. However, unlike domain name registration, there are big differences in hosting companies. The most obvious is the customer service. Nothing beats the personal attention and quick response of a smaller business. Sure, Yahoo and others offer what you may need, but when you run into trouble, do the owners personally walk you through it?
A good web hosting service will offer several packages with varying storage space, control panel access to your files, email management (you@yourbiz.com) and forwarding capabilities, multi-program compatibility and a multitude of other services. Most designers know that web hosting has become extremely competitive and know the specifications and server up-times, and have likely found the best price for the product.
So after learning about domain name registration and web hosting maybe you’re feeling like you have a pretty good deal. Or maybe you think you’re being taken. Rest assured, you are not alone. Sometimes, having a professional design your website and do all the rest of the dirty work is money well spent.
Debbie Hastings is the owner of Flying Change Web & Graphics in Falmouth. She works with small business owners in Greater Portland and throughout New England. For more go to www.flyingchangewebs.com.