To own a website, you need three things: domain name, web hosting, and a developed website. But what's a domain name? What is web hosting? It's important that you are crystal clear on their differences before you move on to create and host your first website.
What is a Domain Name?
A domain name is your website’s address on the internet where people can access your website. It is something internet users type in the browser’s URL bar to visit your site. For example, the domain name of our website is netlightsystems.com
Domain names have mainly two parts separated by a dot. The first part is your brand name which can have any combination of letters and numbers, like netlightsystems, whereas the second part is a domain extension like .com, .org, .net, .tk, .ng etc.
Each domain is a unique web address. This means that there can be only one netlightsystems.com in the world.
What is Web Hosting?
Web hosting is the storage location where your website content files are placed. It’s like the home of your website.
If your domain name was the address of your house, then the actual house is your hosting server. You need both a domain name and web hosting to create a website.
When a user tries to access your website by entering your web address (domain name) in the browser’s URL bar, the domain name points them to the files stored in the web server. Then, they can see your website online.
Domain Name vs Web Hosting – What’s the Difference?
Domain names and web hosting are two different things; however, they’re closely connected. You need both a domain name and a web hosting account to create a website. This means that you can’t build a website without any one of them.
To get started, you can choose a domain name and register it with a domain registrar company. With most domain companies, you can register a domain name for a minimum period of 1 year. You need to renew your domain before expiring to continue using it.
Next, you can buy a hosting plan and link it with your domain name. After that, you can install a website software (for example, WordPress), install tools and plugins, and add content to your website.
Can I Buy Domain and Hosting from the Same Company?
Yes, you can. You can buy a domain and a hosting account from the same company or from different companies.
If you buy both a domain and hosting from the same company, the setup process becomes a bit easier as you don’t need to change the domain name settings. That is why many companies have started offering both the services together.
Netlight Systems is one of such companies that offers both domain and hosting services at a reasonable cost. It’s offering an exclusive deal for WordPress users which provides you a free domain name at the purchase of any WordPress and normal hosting plan.
Using Netlight Systems not only makes the website setup process easy, but it also saves plenty of your money.
Websites are without doubt the most important element of the internet. The term is often used inconsistently, so to make it clear once and for all, this article answers the question: what is a website?
The central page of a website is called a home page. This is usually the first page you see when you call a website up and can also be called a ‘start page’ or ‘index page’. From here onwards, the user delves into the site’s subpages.
Do you need your own website?
A digital web presence enables content such as texts, images, and videos to be displayed on the internet. There are many reasons why business people need a representative website: to inform potential customers about products and services, to represent the company, to enable contact with different departments, or to distribute goods online. For private users, a website gives them the chance to actively take part in public affairs. There are also personal sites that contain informative material or are used for entertainment. An overview of the most popular sites can be found below.
By placing a link to your own website next to your social network profile, you increase the chances of catching the attention of potential employers, interested parties, or like-minded people.
Creating a website
Many companies include a link to their website on their business cards or in their e-mail signature. When this address is typed into a browser’s search field (known as the uniform resource locator, URL), the start page of the website appears. Depending on the size of the website, site visitors have the opportunity to access the website’s subpages. Hyperlinks, or simply ‘links’ are used to connect single HTML documents of a website. Links to important subpages (e.g. departments, product categories, or representative information pages) are usually combined in the navigation and can be found in the header of the website. They are displayed on every subpage of the website and not just on the home page. The navigation helps the user orientate themselves and see an overview of the website’s structure. Links to more subpages can also be placed in the text and image elements in the website’s content. The footer at the bottom of a page often contains links to further information like the site owner and the legal framework.
The path to your own website
Depending on the type and size of the intended website, there are three possibilities for creating a personal website. It used to be common practice to write a website’s complete source code yourself with the help of an HTML editor, but now there are many website construction kits and content management systems that provide more comfortable solutions. If you don’t have the relevant programming experience, you can choose from a variety of highly-specialized providers, which create and manage your website professionally for a reasonable fee.
Website construction kits: the starting block for your web presence
You don’t have to be a programming expert to create your own internet site. With the help of a website construction kit you can have your own website up and running in just a few clicks by choosing one of the many ready-made templates and designs. These blocks can be adjusted systematically within the preset options in a ‘what you see is what you get’ editor (WYSIWYG). All changes you make can be seen using the preview function on the screen. Once the layout is ready, the individual web pages can be filled with content such as text, images, or videos. If the website construction kit is used in combination with a web hosting service, the finished website can immediately be put online. Creating a website using a kit offers numerous advantages: they can be designed without programming knowledge. Adjustments can be carried out easily via the editor. A disadvantage, however, is the limited flexibility of the construction kit system since it’s only limited to default design settings and only for static websites.
Content management systems: web design for the more advanced
If you feel ready to delve a little deeper into creating a website, and you’re not afraid of programming languages such as HTML or PHP, you can use a content management system (CMS) to ensure flexibility. When installed on a webserver, a CMS manages website content separately from the design template in a database and generates a dynamic website with every user access. Content management systems are popular for personal as well as business use since the highly efficient CMS is available as open source software and is therefore generally free. Market leaders include WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and Typo3 for which there are many templates and plugins available online which allow you to customize your website.
Content like texts, images and videos can be updated using an editor, which is similar to a website construction kit. This type of CMS is named ‘front end’. Editorial tasks can be carried out with a CMS, even by those who aren’t the most computer proficient. Secure website operation includes more than just installing software, and therefore a CMS should always be supervised by an administrator. This task involves carrying out software updates and looking after the management system’s performance. The administrator works in the back end and therefore it’s essential to have basic knowledge of the CMS’s relevant programming language.
Self-programmed HTML sites: the professional solution
If you want a complete customization of your website, you have to program the source code of the HTML document or the personal CMS templates yourself from scratch. This option is really only available to private users if they have the necessary knowledge or are willing to acquire it. Many companies outsource the programming of individual websites instead of hiring specialists.
A very simple static website can be created if you have basic knowledge of HTML and CSS (cascading style sheets). Beginners can rely on editors that work on the WYSIWYG principle. This way, you can see at any point the effect that the source code has on the structure, layout, and design element of the website. Since professional websites should correspond to certain security standards as well as optical and functional aspects, it’s recommended to get help from a programmer, web designer, or a relevant agency when it comes to a business website.
What’s important for your own website?
Placing content online is easier than ever, but before a website goes online you should check every individual subpage for legal certainty to avoid legal confrontation, which could prove costly.
- Online copyright: Copyright laws also exist online. If you include texts, images, videos or music files on your website without first seeking permission, you make yourself liable to prosecution. You can only use copyright-protected material with the rights holder’s consent. Software also falls under the copyright category and using a template could cause problems if the programmer hasn’t explicitly made it available for free use.
