There is a trend these days to acquire everything in a bundle.
Cable and DSL services are clamoring in the TV ads to get people to buy their TV service, Internet service, cell phones, and everything but the kitchen sink all from one provider, all with the goal of making things simpler, and saving money.
Let me plant a seed in your brain... have you ever heard this phrase?
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
That is some worthwhile advice. And we're going to apply it to our step-by-step process for getting your website up and running.
Let's use another analogy, your phone number.
- First, there is the service itself. People dial your number on their phone, and your phone rings. It works! This is the function of your web hosting company.
- Second, a phone number won't do you much good if people don't know your number. If you're a business, then this is a separate expense, as you'll want to get listed in the yellow pages. The web equivalent of this is the domain name registrar
Many companies out there try to combine these two. When you register a domain name, they'll try to add web hosting to the order form. When you go to sign up for web hosting, they'll want to register your domain name for you.
DON'T DO IT.
Why? If and when you decide that an existing company is not meeting your needs, then...
- It's easy to log into your registrar account and simply point your domain name to a different web server.
- It's only slightly more difficult to move your domain name to a different registar, and it simply points to your existing web server.
- If ONE company holds BOTH of these for you, then if there is a dispute or difficulty of some sort, you have NO LEVERAGE.
The proper sequence to use, the one we're recommending, is...
- Pick a domain name registrar and start looking for domain names and register. Do NOT sign up for web hosting service, but only register the domain names.
- Go to a web hosting company and sign up for a hosting account. Note that most reputable web hosts will allow you to have multiple domains (and thus, multiple websites) on ONE account.
Ready? Let's begin...
