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Building A Website: The Basics

While getting a domain name and hosting account is a very simple process, you do need to have a few pieces of information before you start.

How am I going to build my website?

You should know how you plan to build your website. You can build a site in several ways. If you would like the ability to create a website in a similar way to creating a Microsoft Word document you may find FrontPage is the right solution for you. FrontPage comes installed by default on many modern computer systems, and with the Microsoft Office productivity suite.

Alternatively, you could choose to build your site yourself using a text editor like TextPad or Dreamweaver. However, this method is mainly used by expert web developers. If you would like a quote for having webbhost.com.au build your website just contact us.

Which domain name will I be using?

Once you have your site, or know how you plan to build your site, then you need to select a domain name. Your domain name can be made up of any alpha/numeric characters or hyphens. The extension of a domain name can be one of the following:

·          .com - Usually used by commercial websites. Eg. www.yahoo.com

·          .net - Usually used by network providers and ISPs. Eg. www.isp.net

·          .org - Usually used by non-profit organisations. Eg. www.redcross.org

·         .com.au – Usually used by Australian businesses and individuals . Eg. www.cwsh.com.au

Once you have a plan to build your website, and a domain name, proceed to ordering your domain name and hosting with webbhost.com.au

Getting a Domain and Hosting: Uploading your page via FTP

Now you have a domain name and hosting you need to upload your site. This is normally done with an FTP program. FTP is the easiest and most popular way to transfer your site onto the Internet.

In this tutorial we will use the FTP program WS-FTP. This is a free program for personal non-commercial sites, and students. WS-FTP can be downloaded from CNET.com and is only a very small program and therefore shouldn't take you long to get.

After downloading and installing WS-FTP, naturally the first step is selecting it from the start menu and running it. Here is an example of how to do that, however almost everyone will be familiar with it.

The first screen you are presented with displays a list of settings of a server you might want to connect to. Because we want to connect to our own servers we click the "New" button on the right. This gives us blank settings to enter our details into.

The settings are as follows:

·          Profile Name: The name you would like to call your site in WS-FTP's settings. It doesn't make any difference what you name it but it makes it easier if you pick something easy to remember.

·          Host Name / Address: This is the IP address of your hosting account. You can check your IP address in the welcome setup email you received from us when you ordered your hosting.

·          Host Type: The default of "Automatically detect" is correct.

·          User ID: Your hosting FTP username as found in your setup email.

·          Password: Your hosting FTP password as found in your setup email

·          Account: This can remain blank.

·          Comment: This can remain blank.

·          Anonymous: This must not be ticked

·          Save Pwd: This is optional, but it makes connecting in the future easier if you tick it.

·          Once all of your settings are entered, click the "Apply" button to save them, and then click the "OK" button to connect.

If all of your settings have been entered correctly then you will see it connect, and then leave you in your "root directory". It is important to note that you do not place files here if you want the public to see them.

You must first go into your public_html directory to upload files if your account is on a Linux plan or the httpdocs directory if on a Windows plan. This directory is where to place files that you would like the public to see (like your website files). Double-click on the public_html / httpdocs directory as appropriate to enter it.

·          In the public_html / httpdocs directory we see the following:

·          A "cgi-bin" directory for placing any CGI scripts you need. Most websites we host do not use this feature.

·          An "images" directory. This is where the "holding page" stores it's images. You can feel free to delete this directory.

·          An "home.htm" file. This is the "holding page" and can be deleted or overwritten.

·          To upload your website all of your files need to be placed in this directory. To upload your first page, go to the directory on the left-hand part of the screen. Then select your homepage file (this should be named index.html) and click the "->" arrow to upload it. Remember that if your page contains any images they need to be uploaded too.

·          Congratulations! Your website is now fully working! Now anyone can type www.yourdomain.com into Internet Explorer or another web browser and you will see your page.

What price is a domain name bought through webbhost.com.au?

Hostingatadiscount.com provides discount prices for those needing a .com, .net, .org, or .com.au domain name. Our domain name pricing is even further reduced for people purchasing a web hosting account as well.

Please note that there are restrictions on .com.au domain names imposed by the Australian government. People needing .com.au names require a business name, ABN, ACN, or a state business number to complete the purchase. The other domains are freely available for anyone to purchase.

We also host domain names that have been purchased elsewhere, so you can point your existing domain name at our servers and take advantage of our great web hosting rates.

Please contact us if you have a question that is not answered on our site.

How do I connect a domain name to your hosting?

If you purchase your domain name and hosting account through Hostingatadiscount.com, we will connect them for you.

If you have purchased your domain name elsewhere, you need to point it to our servers using a process called "setting DNS" or "setting domain nameservers".

The first step in setting your nameservers to point your domain name at our web hosting servers is to order a hosting account from us. Then go to the site where you ordered your domain name (known as your domain name registrar), and login to their site.

Two of the settings we provide when you order your hosting plan need to get entered into your domain name registrar's website.

These nameserver settings are similar to these:

NameServer Info:
Primary DNS Server Hostname: ns1.globalwebhostingservices.net
Primary DNS Server Address: 69.50.209.82
Secondary Name Server Hostname: ns2.globalwebhostingservices.net
Secondary Name Server Address: 69.50.210.151

Between 15 minutes and 24 hours after this is done anyone on the Internet will see your site on our servers when they type in www.yourdomain.com.

What is a sub-domain?

A sub-domain is a website address. The address is a different format to regular domain name addresses because it has two "names" and then the extension.

For example the addresses below could be extended to have one site published on the main "www." address and one on "sub-domain." address.

Naturally most people do not name their sub-domains "sub-domain", they tend to use something more descriptive. Eg. parcels.australiapost.com.au or newyork.travel.com

In the event that you would like to use the format www.subdomain.domain.com with the "www." before the sub-domain, you can do that too. Simply create your sub-domain as "www.subdomain.