We all know how important it is to be present on the internet. But how to start? The subject looks complicated, but it’s not really a seven-headed creature. In this article, I will explain the main steps on how to host a website and thus ensure a good web presence.
1. Register a domain
2. Choose a website hosting
3. Create a website and publish it
1. Register a domain
The first step is to have a custom address for your site, which we call the domain. It is through this address that people will find your site and it has a similar form to this: www.mysite.com.
If you already have a domain, you can skip this step. Otherwise, you will need to register a domain (see step-by-step here). There are multiple extensions available, such as .com, .co.in, .org, you can choose for your website. Here in India, the most commonly used option is .co.in, which represents almost 92% of national domains, and therefore recommended in most cases.
To register a national domain (eg .co.in), you can do so through the web hosting company to manage everything in the same place.
Now, if you want to Register an international domain (eg .com), you will need to do this through a hosting company. In this case, take the opportunity to search for promotions that offer a free domain with hosting. Saving is always better!
2. Choose a website hosting
Firstly, it is necessary to decide where the site will be hosted: in a free or paid hosting. You also need to evaluate: what type of hosting is right for my site.
Free or Paid Hosting?
The free hosting has advantages for those who are starting on the internet. You can test ideas at no cost, and then bet on what you like best. There is no investment other than your own time. Among the tools for creating websites with free hosting we can mention, for example, Blogger.com and WordPress.com.
Although attractive, it is important to understand that free solutions have restrictions for those who want to create a professional website. In the free hosting service there are common resource restrictions, such as disk space and bandwidth. In addition, support is limited and the quality of hosting hardly matches a paid hosting.
On-site authoring tools, the first constraint is the domain. If you opt for free, you cannot use your own domain, such as www.milesweb.co.uk. The second restriction is the ads that the service provider will display on your site.
Therefore, to have a professional website, it is advisable to hire a website hosting (or a paid site creator). The good news is that this may cost little per month, depending on the solution you choose. A web hosting plan with included email costs between Rs. 109 and Rs. 349 per month.
Types of Hosting Services
There are many types of hosting services available for a website. The most popular and economical hosting is the shared one, but there are other types like VPS, dedicated, cloud and reseller.
The shared hosting meets the vast majority of the internet sites and is by far the cheapest. Cloud, VPS, and Dedicated options are suitable for growing or heavily trafficked sites. The resale is for those who want to start their own hosting business.
If you’d like help finding out which hosting meets your site’s needs, take our free trial and see which is the best hosting for you!
3. Create a website and publish it
Now that you’ve opted for hosting and domain, you need to think about the site itself. To create a website, you have a few paths:
- Create a website on your own, through a site creator, if you do not have technical knowledge.
- Create your website on your own, on a platform like WordPress (or another) if you have technical knowledge.
- Create a website with the help of a professional or an agency, for a platform like WordPress, for example.
How to host a site made in site builder
If you choose to use the site creator, you will have the option to use the tool offered free of charge in the hosting or to hire it separately. The advantage of this latter option is that the creator already comes with the free hosting, exempting you from the need to hire a hosting.
So if you’re planning to create a site with this type of tool, I recommend that you hire the site builder rather than a web host. This is because it is common in the hosting that a limited version of the tool is offered and an additional one is covered to use it in the full version. By hiring the site creator, you only pay for the tool, which comes with the included hosting.
How to host a website created in WordPress or another tool?
If you choose to create a WordPress site or another platform, either on your own or with an agency, you will need to have it installed in your hosting. For this, you can use the automatic installer, offered free of charge by most web hosting companies, or do the manual installation via FTP or file manager.
Once you have the domain, the hosting and the website, some settings are enough and everything is ready to be published. Do not forget to point your domain to the hosting, otherwise, it will not work properly.
If you are looking for affordable web hosting services then you should consider MilesWeb.
