Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
space for you to put your Web site up on the World Wide Web. But, reliability,
price, and tools set these hosts apart from each other. You should do some
investigation before choosing your host. Web host pricing is similar to Web
portfolio site space. Hosting space is typically more expensive because of the
toolset and the open flexibility. Again, some hosts provide low pricing for
space, but for large amounts of server space for your site (over 1GB) costs are
in the hundreds of dollars a year range. Smaller space (50-500 MB) is typically
well under $100 per month. A host will give you FTP access to upload your files
to their server. Once you have a host, you need to have a domain name for the
site if the host does not provide one. One solution to this is to purchase your
own unique domain name.
Getting your portfolio up on the Web requires some steps. You will need a URL
address, Web space, and an FTP program to upload your files to the host
server. After the Web site is loaded on the host server you will need to test the
site. Now let's look at each of these more closely.
You need to think about the name, or the URL of your Web portfolio site. You
can go about this several ways. First, and most expensively, you can secure
your own domain name. This means that you can have your own
www.yourname.com. To get your own unique domain name you need to
register the domain with a registrar. A domain name is a registered Internet
address. Domains fit under different dot extensions. For example domains can
be .com, .org, .biz, .cc, .net, .name, and .info for starters. There are more
domain extensions available that correspond to countries such as .uk. Choosing
a domain name can be a frustrating process if you do not have some general
ideas as to what you want the Web address to be. That is because securing a
domain name requires time, energy, creativity, and money. Finding the right
domain name requires luck as well as creativity. Domain names are gobbled up
every minute by Webmasters and entrepreneurs. The possibilities that all
versions of your surname are taken is a good one. This is often the case if your
name is common. To search available domain names, visit a registrar. Web
registrars include network solutions.com, godaddy.com, and twocow.com. At
these sites, you can search available domain names with most dot extensions.
The prices for domains vary from registrar to registrar. Godaddy.com seems
to be one of the least expensive registrars with domains costing around $7 or
$8 per year. If the domain name you're looking for is not available, the Web
registrars give you a listing of available names. If the name you want is not
available, for example your surname is taken; there are other alternatives such
as dedicated Web portfolio sites which provide subdomains and subdirectories.
