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://<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 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.
