IntroductionBefore we start getting a domain name and hosting our website, let's know a little about what all this is.
Whenever you want to access facebook, you type facebook.com in the address bar of your browser and boom! Facebook Website appears. facebook.com is the domain name or web address for Facebook website. Every website has a unqiue domain name, which you have to register by paying the ICANN(The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) some fees. You can easily buy domain names through online registrars like Bigrock, GoDaddy etc.
Do you know what an IP Address is? Ip Address is an address for a Computer or any other device that is on a network. When we are connected to internet, our computer has an IP address, which usually changes frequently. Using this address someone on the same network can access our system.
While our computer's IP address changes frequently, IP addresses can be fixed too. In that case your computer will have a fixed address always, hence you can give the IP address to your friends or anyone and they can connect to your computer using the fixed address.
Internet is also a network. The Domain name we choose is always mapped to an IP address, a fixed one. The IP address is of the system on which the files of our website are saved.
Hence whenever you enter a domain name in the address bar of your browser, the request is directed to Domain Name Server, which maintains a directory, in the directory it looks for the IP address associated with the domain name and then forwards the request there, and boom again, the website loads.
IP addresses are numeric combinations which are difficult to remember hence, domain names are used which can be easily remembered. And on the Domain Name Servers, these domain names are mapped to the correct IP address.
Hosting service is the service who provides you a server where you can keep all your website's files(.html, .css etc files) and the server system has a static IP Address, to which your domain name is mapped and saved on the Domain Name Server.
Choosing a Domain Name and Registering itBefore we register any domain name, we have to check whether it is available or it has already been taken. You can think of domain names and check whether they are availbale or not using CheckDomain service.
Domain names are of different types. We have .com, .in, .net, .org, .ly, .me etc. Same name with different suffix is different, for example: studytonight.com is different from studytonight.in, so if you select a domain name for which the .com name is not available you can try .in or some other suffix.
Although you can get any domain name for your website, all these have meanings, like .com is for commercial websites, .net for networking ones, .org for non profit organizations, .edu for educational institutions, then there are country specific domains .in for India, .pk for Pakistan, .us for United States. You can register the one that you like and the one which suits the context of your website.
For a complete list, visit Domains List
Once the domain name is finalized, do not waste any more time, and register it. We recommend using the Bigrock service for doing so. BigRock is an easy to use service to register domain names at a good price. You can register your domain from other services also if you want.
NOTE : We will be explaining the Hosting part using the Bigrock Hosting Service and if you are a beginner, it will be easier for you, if you register the domain name from the same source where you Host your website.
Setting up HostingGetting a Hosting means you are renting a server with a static IP address where your website's files will be saved.
We once again recommend Bigrock as it is easy to setup for a beginner. Studytonight is also hosted on Bigrock as our Founder found it very easy to setup, when he was a rookie in this area.
You can get a hosting for as low as Rs. 2500 (INR) for a year. The CPanel is easy to use, and you will be get going in minutes if you have bought the domain name from Bigrock, as in that case most of the setting are automatically done by the Bigrock Service.
Steps for Login and Opening CPanel with Snapshots.
public_html, this is where we will keep all our files.
End of CourseHope the Course helped you in learning HTML and setting up your website. If you faced any problem during the course or if you still have any doubt regarding the Hosting or some HTML concept, go ahead and use our Q & A Forum to post your questions. We will definitely answer them.
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