The hosting fee
is the nominal monthly cost
for storing your website
on a host server
| WHAT'S A DOMAIN NAME? |
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A domain name is a website address that's been registered and recognized as unique. All websites are associated with a domain name. Some sites have their own domain name while others simply share someone else's name. |
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When it comes to your web address you have a choice: |
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| 1. Share a domain name |
| 2. Have your own domain name |
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Let's take a closer look at both and discuss the pros and cons of each. |
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| Share A Domain Name |
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It's certainly not necessary to register your website address to obtain your own domain name. For many smaller sites it would probably be a needless expense. It's less expensive to share someone else's address. |
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For example, if your site was hosted by webTurf™, your web address, or URL (Uniform Resource Locator) would look something like this: |
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| www.webturf.com/yoursitename/ |
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This is the equivalent of leasing office space within the webTurf™ building and sharing webTurf™'s front door address. |
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This is the most inexpensive type of website address because no domain name searches, registration fee, renewal fees, or administration costs are involved. |
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| Have Your Own Domain Name |
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If you register your name it's recognized as unique and gives you an exclusive address, or domain. A domain name is followed by a suffix such as ".com" or ".ca" |
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For example, if you registered your site as, say, "yoursitename," then "yoursitename" would be your domain name and your address would look like this: |
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or possibly |
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This is the equivalent of leasing your own building as opposed to leasing office space within someone else's building. |
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This is a prestigious but more expensive type of website. There are costs involved in registering a unique name and setting up a website with an exclusive address. There's a registration fee ($30-$50), annual renewal fees, and usually higher monthly hosting fees. Sometimes there's a one-time administration fee charged by your server. |
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But be cautioned – there's the very real possibility that you'll be unable to secure the name you want because someone else has already registered it, or has it on hold. |
| Domain Name Search |
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If you wish to register a domain name, you'll first need to do a search to see if the name is available. |
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In addition to the common domain extensions such as .com, .org, .net, and the Canadian .ca, there are now several new extensions being offered – .biz, .info, .name, .pro, .aero, .coop, and .museum. |
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HINT: If the domain name you want is already taken with a .com extension, try a search with another extension! |
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Click on any of the following links to search a domain name . . . |
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http://www.networksolutions.com/ |
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http://www.NewExtensions.com |
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http://www.RegisterInCanada.net |
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http://www.SecureThisDomain.com |
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These are all domain name companies through which you can secure a name if it's available. You can do this yourself, or your server can administer the application for you. |
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A domain name must be renewed on an annual basis. |
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webTurf™ cannot host your website if you have your own domain name. |
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Contents copyright © 1998-2004 Gary Wilcox Studios Incorporated. All rights reserved.
webTurf, the webTurf classic logo, and the Virtual Tour logo
are trademarks of Gary Wilcox Studios Incorporated
