A web hosting service allows you to "rent" or "borrow" space on very fast hard drives called servers. Free web hosts allow you to store your files on the servers for no monthly fee. In exchange you may purchase a domain from the host, display a banner on your site, or be expected to submit to an active forum to offset the costs of your 'free' hosting. its cheap and easy!!!

You can either share space (shared hosting) or have your own hard drive (dedicated hosting.) These servers are connected via a backbone to a huge communications network called The Internet. Your web site can then be accessed by anyone worldwide through a special address called a URL which contains your unique domain name.

The amount of space your host provides you is called disk space and the number of times your site is accessed by you or users is called bandwidth. Prices vary widely based on what your host is willing to provide.

Since you will have questions each host provides a means of getting help. This is called customer support or tech support and is probably the single most important asset to look for in a web host. Usually tech support is minimal with free services which is a good reason to consider low-cost paid hosting instead. No host can stay online all the time due to hardware maintenance needs, but you should not consider a host who cannot guarantee at least 99% uptime.

Most of these areas are covered in the individual web host reviews you'll find on this website, and will help you as you choose your web hosting service.
 

Domain Name Basics

Domain names are becoming a household or office necessity like toilet paper and light bulbs. But anyone new to the craze may wonder what a domain name is and what one might look like.

IP’s in Disguise
Technically speaking a domain name is an alias for a numeric code. The numeric code is called an IP address. The format of an IP address is written as four numbers separated by periods, where each number can be from zero to 255. For example, 22.170.12.250 could be an IP address. The IP address is how a domain name is recognized by the domain name server. However, a long number like that is difficult for people to remember, so domain names were created to give an alias to IP addresses that would be easier for people to communicate and remember.

Domains Are Everywhere
Today domain names are all around. Almost everywhere you look these days, on billboards, television, ads, you see a domain name. If you have used the internet or sent an email you have used a domain name.

When using the internet, you use a domain name when you type a web address, or URL. A web address would look something like this: http://www.example.com The domain name is “example.com.”

To send an email you must also use a domain name. For example you send an email to yourfriend@example.com. In this email address “example.com” is the domain name.

Where to Get a Domain Name
You get a domain name from a domain name registrar. We have researched domain name registrars to find the best services and the lowest prices. Our favorite is Go Daddy. They are by far the cheapest and most reliable.

 

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