Posts: 769
Name: DaveBob Roundpants III
Location: Heredia, Costa Rica
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Metro99
Hi there, I've recently started up a company and I am looking to get a domain registered and hosted. I have no idea what I should be looking out for or whether or not I actually OWN a domain or just renting it. I'm not sure what I need to get started taking order from my website, but apparently I've read I need SSL Certification? I don't know. I'd just rather use paypal than pay the ridiculous prices most hosting sites are charging me for that privilege. I guess what I need is information on how to do this the 'right' way. I don't need anything fancy just yet, and I do all the website design myself. Any advice would help me greatly.
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Well, we'll start from the top.
One of the best places to register your domain is www.godaddy.com - it's one of the largest and cheapest places on the web. You own your domain as long as you continue to renew it annually. You can search for available domains on the same web site. Just type in a few domains that you like until you find something that fits your business. I won't get into a long debate here about how to select a great domain name but in my humble opinion, short and easy to remember is the best. Others will argue that you should have keywords in the domain name - I won't get into that debate here but to put it simply, if you can great, but it's not critical to the success of your site.
Hosting is completely separate from owning your domain. Godaddy.com offers hosting but you don't have to host with them. There are literally thousands of hosting options. Personally I like pair.com but ask any web developer and they will have their own hosting preference.
You mention you need SSL. This indicates you possibly plan to set up an ecommerce site. If you do, then you will need a secure server. You simply specify to your hosting company you want a secure server and you will need a secure certificate if you plan to handle transactions on the server itself. Many offer to rent you a certificate and will set it all up for you. A secure server costs a bit more each month than a non-secure server - this is what SSL means (secure socket layer). Before you set up hosting you need to know what type of web site you will be building. I strongly suggest you consider building a site around LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL PHP). Most of the web is built around this technology and a mountain of web design companies are lined up and waiting to build you a solution - not to mention there are a boatload of open source options available such as Drupal with Ubercart that would likely fit the bill with some tweaking.
If you are simply planning on using PayPal almost any simple open source solution will fit the bill (and you may not need a secure server). Most open source shopping cart solutions come with PayPal modules ready to plug in. I suggest you take a quick look at Drupal and maybe OSCommerce but get someone who knows what they are doing to take you down the path and get the right modules plugged in and working for you. It will save you a lot of headaches. If your budget is extremely limited, get the cheapest hosting you can with MySQL & PHP capabilities and try to set up these packages yourself. If you find yourself running into problems you can use the forums (this and the product support forums) to help move you along. It will be a bit painful but when budgets are tight sometimes it's a way to get started.
If you have a decent budget, get someone to set the up site for you. Within a week or two you'll probably have a great new store up and running.
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Last edited by seolman; 02-10-2009 at 11:56 PM..
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