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When
you first start out trying to get a site on the Internet everything
seems so confusing. Many abbreviations flow freely through the
'Beginner Friendly' information sites and definitions can be hard to
come across. The main reason for this is that the Internet and the
process of getting a website online is really very simple, and once
people get past the first stumbling steps they rarely remember the
difficulty they once had, which leads to them being unable to
understand the next wave of dot com freshers.
So
let's begin with defining some of the basic terms that are commonly
thrown around when looking for a web host. You'll quickly realize that
computer geeks like using big words for simple concepts. What do you
expect from a group of people that decided to call half a Byte a
Nibble?
Web Host:
These are the people that supply your website with somewhere to sit and
be accessed from. They're often a wealth of information, so when you're
trying to find your feet it will often be worthwhile to contact their
tech support and get your questions answered. Because of this, it's
important to contact them BEFORE you sign up for any packages to ensure
that you'll receive a timely response. Just fire an email their way and
see what happens.
Disk Space:
This is the same as the space on your own PC's hard drive. Web Hosts
will allocate a certain amount of space to your website, usually in
Megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB). This determines how much you can
store on your site.
Bandwidth:
Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be retrieved from your site
within the bandwidth period. The bandwidth period is the length of time
before your bandwidth gets reset once again, usually about a month.
Bandwidth is measured in MB and GB, like disk space. Always find out
the consequences of exceeding your allocated bandwidth before you
purchase a hosting package.
Domain Name:
The domain name is your personal identifier on the Internet. This is
what gets typed into a web browser's address bar to reach your site.
Some hosting companies will offer a domain for free, while others will
have the facilities to provide one for a minimal cost.
SQL (MySQL, SQL Server etc.):
Structured Query Language. This is the language used to interact with
databases. Chances are that if you don't know about it when you start
looking for web hosting, you're not going to need to know about it for
at least a little while longer.
HTTP:
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. Basically, how the Internet works. It is
the protocol governing the transfer of web pages from one place to
another.
HTML:
Hyper Text Markup Language. This is (usually) what you'll be using to
make your website, whether directly or indirectly. Don't be scared by
the name, the 'language' is very easy to learn.
FTP:
File Transfer Protocol. This is a method for sending pages and files
from your home PC to a server of your web host. It is quite simple to
use and your host will provide login information if this is the method
that they use for file access. Typing "FTP://[server
details]" into My Computer on a windows box allows you to use FTP as if
your server were a regular windows folder.
POP3: This is a common email 'post box' system. It is use to store emails for retrieval.
SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. A common protocol used to send emails.
The
beginner will not really need to know too much about the above two
email technologies. If they're listed, good. It means you have email
accounts with your website (i.e. the email name@yourdomain.com will
reach you, somehow)
There
are many 'languages' used to enhance websites, such as Java, Perl, ASP,
.NET, PHP, etc. If you're just starting out you should try to learn
simple HTML first before you worry too much about these more advanced
languages. In general they're not too difficult to learn, but you'll
want a solid grounding before you tackle them.
The
Internet is a wonderful source of knowledge, so whenever you want
information just to fire up your favourite search engine and type in
your problem. The Internet is full of sites about the Internet, so the
information you want shouldn't be too hard to find.
Building
professional websites takes a lot of time and skill, so many companies
hire people to do it for them. If this is the situation that you're in,
talk to the designer you're hiring about hosting, as they may have
struck a deal with a web host to provide clients with cheaper hosting
packages. Also, the professional designer will know what features
you're going to need in a hosting plan.
The
world of web hosting is not as complicated as people would like to make
out. Just make sure you do a little bit of research before diving in
and you'll be less likely to get burned by a shifty 'here today, gone
tomorrow' company. Check out the host's rankings on a few Web Hosting
Directories, do a search for reviews of the company, contact the
support staff before signing up and enjoy the world opened by having
your own online presence.
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