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Monday, July 7, 2014

Photo Restoration Hints Nineteen Basic Understanding of how Website Hosting Works

Hi...glad to have you back...

So I talked about SEO and went into a lot of crazy detail about directories and social media and lots of other things a few posts ago.  All that was very helpful, I hope.  I am still working on getting my site to show up on a natural search ahead of  two businesses that are no longer around.  I have been learning more and more about how smart Google's algorithms are in searching the internet.  Also, found out that if you don't have your page up for a year, Google quits looking for it and so does every other search engine and directory.

Now, I am looking at how to get the page found again without spending any money because the client has NO BUDGET.  That makes it tough. Go to Google Webmaster Tools and they will give you a bit of help and cross your fingers.  My customer was on the internet for many years before this one year lapse (because he could not get into the Yahoo Business technical web hosting customer service line.  I DO NOT recommend Yahoo Business because of their terrible wait times for technical service.  Their techs are GREAT but if you have a life, you will not want to wait the hours it takes to get through.

Some advice follows:

There are 2 things you need to know before you get your own www.coolname.com

1.  Purchase a domain name with a reputable web hosting service.  I recommend GoDaddy.com  You are renting that name for a specified period of time and it is registered to you so that all the servers in the world of the internet know how to find your site and match it up with the proper address when the name is typed into the browser.

2.  Make sure that you also buy 'hosting' for that same period of time that you are renting your domain name.  Hosting is important because that is where the server that "hosts" your specific site (written in HTML code) on their server in a specific public folder for the world to see. You then upload your website which consists of an index and index files to the space that they "rent" you on their server using an FTP (file transfer protocol) program like CuteFTP.   The browser translates the code and puts everything together so that the code turns into a page with writing and pictures.  Yipee...Magic.

Why do you need to know this?   Well, if you decide to move your page and go to someone else to host it, make sure you have both the domain name and the hosting part covered.  You have to transfer your domain name and it's a bit of a hassle depending upon who you work with.  If you go and buy new hosting space with another company and forget to follow through with the transfer of your domain name, you could very easily have two hosting arrangements.  This is a very expensive mistake to make. There are hosting companies out there that will let you do just that...pay them for hosting without having a domain name attached (another big hosting service) and they will tell you it is not their fault because you were supposed to follow through with them or the previous company (I have heard both) to get it transferred to the hosting server company.

It is very confusing to talk to some of the tech people out there because they assume you understand the basic workings of a website.  If you can get this down, you will just have to figure out a few things like how long you want to "rent" the domain name and how long you want to"rent" the space on their server for you to upload your code to.  Easy Peasy.  Be aware that you can purchase "privacy" that keeps your personal address from showing up when someone searches "whois.com"  More fun.

Also, I recommend that you look into their Search Engine Optimization tools and maybe their website software.  Many of them have "website management consoles" that help you upload your page very easily without worrying about all the geek talk I bored you with earlier.  All of this together can be your ticket to getting a site up quickly that has the possibility to be seen by the world.

I recommend GoDaddy.com because the technical people are knowledgeable and helpful.  I hope that this information keeps you from making the mistake I just cleaned up for a customer that got taken big time.

Thanks for reading my blog.  I am honored to have an audience for my ramblings.  Best Regards,
Renee :-)

PS...Does anyone really believe that emails can be lost?







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