What is Hosting?

Hosting is where you buy space on a server (which is a big commercial computer storage space). You usually pay a monthly fee for your hosting service and the fees can vary a lot depending on the hosting company that you choose.
When you buy hosting you buy your very own space on a server. Your server is where you put all of your website files so that your website can load when someone enters your domain name into the browser bar of your internet program.

Hope I haven’t lost you there.

If you want a different analogy. Your domain name is essentially your address on the internet and your hosting is the land where you build your house. Your house is where you store all of your files that you need for your website (or blog)

Why do you need your own hosting?

It’s a matter of control.
There are many different website options out there and it’s really hard to figure out what the best web site hosting solution is for you. It really depends on your individual situation. As an internet marketing newbie, the easiest option would be to choose a package where domain name, hosting and website templates are all bundled together in the same package.In this scenario, setting up the website is extremely easy especially for the newbie because you don’t need to know anything about websites, hosting, ftp or html. All you have to do is choose a template, add your content and bingo you have a website.

The problem is that you have no control. You can’t customize the website template. You can’t choose your domain name. You have no idea which keywords have been used on the site. You cannot control the layout of the site. If the company you choose to design and host your website goes out of business or changes its terms and conditions then you may loose your entire business.

Yes, buying your own domain, organizing your own hosting and using ftp programs is harder, but you know exactly what you are doing and you have complete control. Once you have all of the information, you don’t necessarily have to do all of the work yourself.  It all comes down to what you have more of  – time or money? If you have more time then use it to learn how to do all of this stuff yourself in the beginning at least, anyway. If you have more money than time then you can pay someone else to set up your website for you but if you have the knowledge yourself you can ask for exactly what you want and need and you can check that the job is done properly at the end. (Paying someone else to do a job is called outsourcing).

When you own your own domain name and hosting no-one can take your business away from you.

Hosting Platform

Linux or Windows?

This does NOT refer to the operating system on your computer. It refers to the operating system of the server. Linux is better because if offers more features. It is the more commonly used server operating system and is supports mySQL databases. (You need this for a self-hosted wordpress blog) Read more »

Once you have figured out a good domain name for your website it’s time to check if it is still available and if it is, my advice is to purchase as soon as you find something that works for your project.

Oftentimes if you are searching for a domain name and you don’t purchase straight away it will be gone by the time you revisit the site. There are programs that can watch what happens at the domain registration sites and choice domain names may be snapped up quickly in the hope that you will pay a premium for a desired domain name.

Hint: if you plan on using your own name at some stage for a project on the internet then buy the domain name now. Once you get to be a famous successful internet marketer you will have to pay a premium for your own name – by this I mean www.johnsmith.com (if your name is John Smith – you get the picture)

Where do I buy my domain name?

There are 2 domain registration sites that I recommend where you can purchase a domain name for a year for under $10. The one I started using was GoDaddy but recently I have changed to Namecheap because they give you a free who is it guard with your domain name. This ensures the privacy of your website ownership (if that is something that is important to you)

Below is a video on how to register a domain name – look out for the handy money-saving hint.

If you liked my video then please leave me a comment – it will encourage me to make more. (That is, of course if you want any more videos )

My handy money saving tip can be used anytime you want to buy anything on the internet!