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This is currently being edited by Deb Jones.  Do not add anything to it now.  

 

Tutorial 2: Setting Up a Domain Name and Hosting It

Note: This tutorial uses the internet service provider (ISP) NearlyFreeSpeech.net for hosting a domain. If you have your own host, your process will be different, and you're on your own!

 

If you are hosting with NearlyFreeSpeech.net, you might also want to check out their member's wiki site once you've opened an account with them.

 

OVERVIEW:

1. Decide on a DOMAIN NAME.
2. Get an account with an ISP  (Example uses NFS)
3. Create a site on your server
4. Pick a Short Name
5. Set up a DNS
6. Register Your Domain

 

Start by THINKING about your DOMAIN NAME. 

 

What are the domain names you use most? Google? Yahoo? FaceBook? Whatever they are, they are either memorable, or you've used them so often you don't think about how clumsy they might be (http://icanhascheezburger.com/), or you've bookmarked them, and you don't worry about that at all.

 

So, your domain name has to be at least MEMORABLE ONCE - hopefully more than that. You may not want to deliberately misspell words, and you might want to avoid characters that are ambiguous ('o' and '0'; 'l' and '1'; example - io9.com - it can work, but just be careful - you don't want to take ten minutes to explain how you spell your name to the venture capitalist on your elevator. Maybe TEST your domain on friends and see if they can remember it. Short combinations of letters and numbers seem to be pretty trendy right now.

 

Be ready to reinforce your domain with a LOGO that provides a visual component (and a visual cue) for your domain. (Logo design is covered in DIG 3110).

 

Note: If you already have a hosted domain, consider, for the purpose of this course, to create a SUBDOMAIN. That's the part of the IP address right BEFORE the domain name (it's usually 'www'). Subdomains are usually not too difficult to set up (depending on your ISP). Again, make it short and sweet.

 

Once you've thought up a snappy domain name, see if it's available. You can go to almost any ISP site and find this out, or to one of the who-is or lookup sites (like whois.net). You can also just type your prospective domain name into an open browser window. You should get a screen like this:

 

 

It will say something to the effect that the browser you're using (Safari, Firefox, IE) can't find the server you've requested. If you get a 'parked domain' page, a page with lots of ads, or anything else, the domain is not available.

 

If your top-level domain (TLD, the .com part) is not available, try .org or .net or .tv (most are available at NearlyFreeSpeech, except for .tv). 

 

Overview of Hosting with NFS

 

And then, after you have a domain name, you need to host it. NearlyFreeSpeech (NFS)'s FAQ on domains and hosting terms is helpful. Remember, you're not required to use NFS, it's just one ISP that's pay-as-you-go, and pretty un-commercial, with a spartan, functional design. 

 

 

Once you've created a member name/login and password,  you need to set up an account, and actually add some money to it. You'll need at least $8.59 to register your domain, or about that if you've already registered a domain, plus a few dollars to cover your first few months of service - - so, plan on putting in $10 to $15.

 

This is your main member page - get used to the big components of your hosting, and what's available under the submenu on the right for each of the big links.

 

 

Once you've created an account and added some money to it, you should see something like this. Click on 'Name' . . . . 

 

 

 . . . to get to the following screen. This is where you manage your account (i.e., Deposit Funds, but also Create a New Site). I go to this page all the time in order to check activity to my site. Click on 'View Bandwidth Activity' . . . 

 

 

. . . to see your bandwidth report (how much has been downloaded from your site - - it's not the same as 'number of page views' - - divide your total bandwidth used by your average file size for pages (and graphics) to determine an estimate of page views. Change the report period or grouping with the drop-down menu.

 

If you're just starting your hosting, you won't see any activity. When you get rolling, you'll want to know more. You can also use Google Analytics for more specific information about individual pages.

 

 

 

Making Your Site

 

OK, now you're ready to make a site. This is a process you should be able to do in about 10 minutes, if you're ready with your domain and everything, but it's a little tricky if you stop in the middle of the process and try again later. Make sure you have at least 20 minutes available so you can breeze right through this!

 

First, go back to your 'accounts' page, and click on 'Create a New Site' in the submenu on the right.

 

 

 

You'll be asked to pick out a 'Short Name'. This is a name that's internal to you and NFS for the purposes of setting up a server location for you, but it will appear on the address line on pages AFTER your main index (home) page of your site, so you don't want a short name that might put off your viewers. I'd lean toward a name similar to the domain name you've selected, but not exactly that name - - that way, you'll know when you're dealing with your short name:

 

 

 

NFS will let you know if your short name is valid (can't have spaces or underscores). Next, NFS asks you if you want to use another name to access your site - - THIS IS YOUR DOMAIN NAME - - so, type it in after the 'Yes' radio button, and click 'Continue':

 

 

Now, NFS needs to know if you'll need DNS. You will, and unless you're a Web Ninja, you should have NFS set up a DNS for you. If you want email forwarded to this domain, you will pay a little extra ($7.30 a year). Pick an option and hit 'Continue':

 

 

 

We're almost done! NFS nicely tells you what it's going to do. Click 'Create Now':

 

 

Give them a few minutes to set up your domain, then click the link to continue.

 

 

 

You'll get this page: 

 

 

If you click on 'View DNS' under the name you just entered, you get this warning:

 

 

If you type your permanent host name (http://yourShortName.nfshost.com), you'll get a Not Available page:

 

 

All this means is you haven't registered your DOMAIN NAME yet. Now we get to that!

 

 

Registering Your Domain

 

NOTE: If you've already registered a domain, you will need to TRANSFER it if you want to use NFS hosting. If you're already hosting a domain through some other ISP, you can continue to do so. Just make sure you can access your site via FTP - - you'll need that for the next tutorial, where you set up a remote and local site in Dreamweaver and send files to the server via FTP.

If you're going to register OR transfer a domain using NFS, make sure you have at least $9 or $10 in your NFS account before you proceed.

 

OK, now you're ready to register your domain. Click on the 'domains' tab. You should see your prospective domain listed (if you have other sites or domains, they'll be listed, too).

 

Notice you have a 'Transfer' button listed under 'Registrar' . That's the button you click if you've already registered your domain under a different registrar (like GoDaddy).

 

If you're registering a domain with NFS, click on 'Register a New Domain':

 

 

You'll get this screen, and now you get to slap down your money and officially register your domain name. You'll need to renew your registration, so choose your term, the number of years you want to initially register (most students just pick one year). 

 

Type only the DOMAIN name into the 'Name To Register' box, not the 'www' part, or the '.com' or the '.org' or '.net' part. Know the difference between the SUBDOMAIN (usually, 'www'), the DOMAIN (the name you're picking), and the TOP LEVEL DOMAIN ( .com , .org , .net , .biz , .tv , and so forth).

 

 

Now, let your domain migrate through all the servers on the planet. It will be 24 to 48 hours before your domain will be available.

 

 

 

 

 * * * * * * * * * * * * below, creating an ALIAS - - you don't need to do this if you've followed everything correctly so far  (unless you're transferring a domain) * * * * *