When you first start out trying to get a site on the Internet
everything seems so confusing. Obtuse acronyms 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 newbies.
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. 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://" 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 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 webhost 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.
About the Author
Daniel Punch
M6.Net
http://www.m6.net
Daniel Punch is an Internet Promoter helping to unravel
some of the technobabble that obscures the world of web
hosting.
