Website 101: A Website Has Several Components

First, you need to choose and register your Domain Name. This will be your URL (ie danenright.com) and identity on the Internet. You can find out if the Domain Name you want is available, by checking the InterNIC WHOIS Database.

If your Domain Name (or an acceptable alternative) is available, you'll be faced with the first of many decisions - what Domain Name Registrar to use. While Network Solutions is the oldest and best known, they're not necessarily the best choice. Fortunately, the Domain Name Buyers Guide has researched and published their Registrar Rankings. It's not complete, but it's a good place to start.

When you decide to registar your Domain Name, you'll need your contact info and the IP names & numbers of at least two DNS servers (a primary and a secondary). The ISP hosting your website should supply your DNS servers. If you don't have a hosting ISP many of the registrars offer DNS service, usually charging an additional fee. Prices for Domain Name Registration only, which is good for one year, can range from $12 to $35+.

Once your Domain Name is registered, you'll need the website itself, which is a combination of HTML pages, images, cgi-bin scripts, and Shopping Cart software.

At this point I want to mention, you'll need a Merchant Account with a bank that allows you to accept credit cards over the Internet AND an interface between your Shopping Cart and the credit card authorization/processing system.

I've had experience connecting merchants with two leading providers of this service, Cybercash and Authorize.net.

Next, you'll need to rent space on a webserver. Prices can range from $10 to $100+ per month, depending on the features, bandwidth, and CPU resources your site requires. You'll also need access to a secure webserver so you can safely and securely conduct business.

Additional services and tools you'll need include: your own customizable cgi-bin directory, at least one POP email account - having several POP email accounts is even better - (like info@your-domain.com and buy@your-domain.com) or email aliases (these are like the email accounts, except they forward email to your regular email account), access to mail-list software, enough disk space to store your website, as large a data transfer rate as possible, log analysis software, and ftp/telnet access.

Once your website's created, hosted online, and tested, you're ready for the final and most important part...

[INTRODUCTION]       [WHAT'S INVOLVED]       [WEBSITE SUCCESS]

Dan Enright    dan@DanEnright.com    (570) 487-3155    Blakely, PA