Internet and Domain Name Services
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Introduction
Getting a Domain Name does not automatically provide web hosting for an internet site.
Many organizations provide both Domain Name registration and web hosting. For maximum flexibility in long term management, we suggest domain registration and web hosting be arranged so that you can always change either one completely independently of the other. If the one organization gives this flexibility, there is nothing wrong with using it to provide both services. However, one of the last things you want with internet services is for your web host to fail, so that you also lose control of your domain because it was managed by the failed web host.
To get the most from the facilities that a domain can provide, it is best if it is hosted by an organization that specializes in web hosting. If your needs are modest, the cost for full hosting can also be modest.
There are also other ways to get an internet presence at low cost and with few disadvantages.
Domain Name (URL) Forwarding.
In much the same way that email can be forwarded to another email address, a Domain Name can be "forwarded" to a web page located anywhere on the internet.
There are two main alternatives for domain forwarding. The first is that you continue to see the original domain address entered into the Internet Browser. The second is that the Internet Browser address changes to the address of the web page it goes to. Both alternatives suit particular circumstances. Examples of the two approaches can be seen at http://www.pump.com.au and http://www.goburra.info
Some Domain registrars offer Domain Name forwarding as part of registration costs, and some also provide email forwarding.
Independently of Domain Name registration, some organizations provide both domain forwarding and email forwarding for a small annual cost. This is the approach that http://www.pump.com.au uses. (It is also possible to get domain and email forwarding for "free".) In conjunction with "free" web space provided by your dial up internet provider or someone else, domain forwarding can be a good starting point for an internet presence.
Full Web Hosting.
With your dial up internet provider providing your necessary access to the internet, your domain can be hosted elsewhere. It is worth looking at what your dial up internet provider can offer, but it is also sensible to look at what is offered by organizations that specialize in web hosting. You should also consider whether hosting overseas (and in which country) could be preferable.
The choice for web hosting depends on many considerations. These include such things as the facilities offered, web space needed, speed of access to the internet, hosting costs, cost of data transfer, the acceptable amount of down time for the web site, where the target audience is located, and the reputation of the hosting organization.
Making comparisons between web hosting providers to decide the best value for money is very difficult. There are internet sites providing comparisons of providers - what you read there needs to be assessed very carefully. Our approach to selecting web hosting providers, not covered here in detail, involves a good general look around followed by a much closer scrutiny of a few that look promising.
Two useful things are to do "ping" tests from around the world to check access speeds to a provider, and to ask questions by email to see how efficiently a provider responds to sales and technical queries. But in the end, the only way we have been able to fully judge a provider is to have them host a domain. In all of this, there is some very good web hosting available at very modest prices.
If need be (and the probability might be higher than you think), you can always change hosting arrangements with little if any disruption. There is of course some work involved and a certain chance of errors. It is at times like this that the benefits of having full control of your own domain become most obvious.
Management of Your Internet Site.
Many organizations providing web hosting also provide on-line management through a control panel, such as CPanel or Plesk. This makes it easy to change things as part of day to day management.
In addition to the convenience for day to day changes, on-line management makes it easy for you to manage an internet site located anywhere in the world.
Once you have arranged web hosting and prepared Web Pages, you will need to transfer the files for these pages to your internet site. You can do this in various ways when you are connected to the internet. For example there are programs specifically for this (FTP Programs), and some programs used for the preparation of Web Pages can also transfer pages to an internet site.
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