Setting up a web site

missimaxo

Hi

I am trying to set up a wbe site and getting stuck, any help is greatly appreciated.

I have written the website in dreamweaver and fireworks, and it is just about ready to launch. I know I need to buy my domain name and this is where I get stuck.

1 We have a friend who will host our site for us, bt doesn't deal with domain names, so I presume I buy the name from somebody else.

2 When I have looked at buying the name, some offer free web forwarding, and others (usually more expensive) also offer masking - what is this and do I need it?

3 Would it be better to get our hosting and ISP from the same company?

4 Can anyone make any recomendations on cheap domain name buying/ and or hosting?

Many Thanks

Tina

mynamesnotdave

Hi Tina,

Your friend will have nameservers for his web server.

When you purchase a domain, simply make sure the nameservers match the nameservers of his server and the name will be fully compatible with his server and you will not have to worry about forwarding or masking,

Ukreg.com are a good company to buy domains from.
They are very flexible, and you can input his nameservers during the ordering process so you the domain will be setup as soon as its registered.

If you need any help with any of the process just PM me.

missimaxo

Hi

What are the nameservers (sorry to sound dopey!)
I want a specific domain name and it is available, are the name servers in the domain name or settings as part of the domain?

Thanks

Tina

mynamesnotdave

Hi Tina,

Each domain name has two nameservers assigned to it.
They basically tell all the computers on the internet where your site is located. It's like an address for where your domain lives.

Your friends server will have nameservers.

If you order a domain name, you can assign your friends two nameservers in the settings of the domain, and computers on the internet will know that your domain name/site is hosted on your friend's server.

I hope that makes sense....

missimaxo

Many thanks - and I thought writing the site was the difficult part LOL!

wolfman

Getting a little confusing there. You don't necessarily have to have 2 name servers either.

Across the web there are Root, Primary and Local name servers. Basically a name server translates a dns entry (ie https://www.moneysavingexpert.com) into an ip address (ie 84.64.101.5) as computers work via ip.

From what I've found domain name hosts will generally offer one of two methods.

1) Forwarding/Masking - basically when you type in your domain, the request will be sent to the domain name hosts, they then forward the request onto the ip where you're hosting the website. Masking is used to hide the address of the place you are hosting the website, basically so that to the user they think they are actually on your domain, not knowing they've been forwarded elsewhere. This is basically a two stop journey as it goes via your domain name hosts.

2) They won't use forwarding, they'll have a domain name server which they'll update. In this case the change isn't instant as the change needs to replicate across all domain name servers (primary ones I think) on the web. This is the direct and probably better route.

To be honest though you should be fine either way. My domain runs under the first method and I haven't had any problems. I basically have a domain hosted, and in the web interface the provide, I've set it to point at the ip address of the machine I'm hosting the website on. For a basic business setup this should be fine.

mynamesnotdave

wolfman wrote:

1) Forwarding/Masking - basically when you type in your domain, the request will be sent to the domain name hosts, they then forward the request onto the ip where you're hosting the website. Masking is used to hide the address of the place you are hosting the website, basically so that to the user they think they are actually on your domain, not knowing they've been forwarded elsewhere. This is basically a two stop journey as it goes via your domain name hosts.
.

What happens with email with this method? I assume its sent to a pop box on your domain host. This would restrict you to their email box limits and not let you use your own email server features.

simont_2

The options available to you will depend on the company you buy the domain name from and how much you pay. I've heard of domain registration companies only offering forwarding (so when someone types in https://www.yourdomain.com they are simply redirected to https://www.yourhost.com/yourusername, thus greatly reducing the brandability of your site) or frame forwarding (when someone types in https://www.yourdomain.com the company you registered with will load up your site, which can be hosted elsewhere, in a frame. Once again this causes problems because no matter what page you go to the address will always be https://www.yourdomain.com instead of https://www.yourdomain.com/page1.html, which causes problems with bookmarking and linking). Your best bet is to contact your friend and find out how they intend to host your site. If they actually run a host or are signed up with a reputable ocmpany they should be able to give you the address of (at least) 2 nameservers. Most domain registration sites will require, or at least strongly recommend that you have 2 or more nameservers set for a site in case one fails. So basically, even though you type https://www.yourdomain.com into an address bar, the site is actually located at an IP (Internet Protocol) address which will look something like 192.192.102.122. The site is loaded through a combination of DNS and nameservers, they serve as a map to the content on your website. Many domain registrants will offer you the ability to set up nameservers for your domain, once set up these will allow you to use email as well as your domain name. So you can set up a POP account for you@yourdomain.com whereas if you are simply forwarding the domain, it is likely the mail would simply be forwarded removing the ability for you to send from that address.

So to sum up, make sure your host allows you to use nameservers. Make sure your domain registrant allows you to set nameservers. Check that your host can handle email from and to your domain. And bare in mind that any changes you make to your domain settings, such as registering, setting nameservers etc can take up to two days to 'propogate' through the internet, so be aware that changes you make may not have an instant effect.

I hope that helps, I never realised how hard it can be to explain the domain registration process before, wow!

wolfman

mynamesnotdave wrote:

What happens with email with this method? I assume its sent to a pop box on your domain host. This would restrict you to their email box limits and not let you use your own email server features.

Yeah one of the let downs, in fact you usually have the email set up to forward to a personal email address. I also found with forwarding (via frames) that my .Net apps wouldn't work properly, probably because they weren't effectively on the webroot due to the frames being hosted by the domain name host and not my web sever.

Actually mine is not actually a forward. They update their local dns so the changes don't need to be replicated across the web, and hence are instant. Which is why I can run ftp, remote desktop etc... via my domain. A forward is often only http based.

I was with Firevision who went under, and https://www.SiteWizard.co.uk took over. I've only used a few domain name hosts, but they are very competent and helpful. Their admin panel is easy to use too so I can make any changes quickly.