i registered a domain name, now what do i do?

[gartmajo]

i registered a domain name at http://www.networksolutions.com, i registered - http://www.nucleidesigns.com, but now i dont know what to do. i want to host the website myself on a computer at my house - how do i do this? i dont know much about all this type of stuff, but would i need something like Apache Webserver installed or something? basically my question is -"how do i get my url to point to a specific web folder on a computer?"

[Alien]

Hi

First off be carefull you don't just want it pointing to a directory on your PC. If it was possible then this could be very dodgy. You do need a web server such as Apache or IIS. You then set this up to point to that directory.

Do you have a static IP address. You need a static IP address to have that address redirecting to you. You can get round this with a workaround but if you don't then tell me and I will tell you a work around. You will also need a name server which your domain name will point to. I'm not sure on how to register your machine as a name server as I've never done it but I think you have to do something like setting your domain to point to a temporary name server and then you need to register this as a name server and then get your domain to point to it.

I hoipe this helps

Adam

http://www.ufowatch.com - Seen a UFO? Report it today or just browse sightings and abductions

[Jaiem]

You can have it on a PC at home if you really want. But hosting isn't that expensive.

IMO you need to weigh the small cost of hosting with the headaches and expense of doing it yourself.

[gartmajo]

i dont have a static IP, but im working on that. just ***ume that i have one. i dont want a host provider, i am completely lost, we have a small business but we are clueless as to what to do.

[Alien]

What sort of internet connection do you have?

[gartmajo]

cable

[Alien]

Thats a bit low how many unique visitors are you expecting to your site?

[gartmajo]

not much, trying to set up a web design business on a limited scale.

[lalaweb]

Have you considered joining a reseller program for web hosting? Running your own server (especially if you plan on putting multiple domains on it) is, to say the least, a non-trivial exercise.

I advise doing some searches for a good reseller program. You might want to post on this forum asking for other user's experiences with their hosts.

Kind Regards,

Penny Ortega

[Alien]

I agree you would be better off getting a reseller account especially if you are going to host customers sites. If you have your own server then you need to worry about up time, speed, security. You also need a static ip and some ISP's don't allow you to run ftp sites or web sites so look out for that.

[gartmajo]

ok - i got a server that i can use, i found someone that has a server already running 3 other urls. i can use this server, but i am the one to admin all of my stuff through an ftp. can any one help with setting up emails? external program?

[Alien]

So all you have is FTP access? Do you have a web control panel or access to the server or something like that?

[gartmajo]

the server is a friend of mines and he can do whatever i ask him to do, but is there anyway i could connect and create email accounts and stuff, if so- how? as far as i know i can only ftp into it, what else could i do?

[Alien]

You could ask him to install software like PC Anywhere. This allows you to log on and control his machine. The other alternative would be to get some code that will run on teh server and allow you to edit server properties.

[akashik]

gartmajo,

Not to put a hole in your bucket, but have you considered the pro's and con's on the DIY approach? I only mention it as a fellow webdesigner who was once in the same situation of wanting to provide hosting as well. Part of design is having a stable and complete platform for the site to sit on. Without all, all the bells and whistles grind to a halt, and your client's are going to be looking at you as the culprit.

I took a look at your site and it loaded fine (and looks good so far). If this server is sitting in someone's bedroom (or equivalent), it will go down, and you can bet it's going to happen at just the wrong time.

If you're happy, I'm happy :) I just hate to see people lose their businesses from poor planning.

Greg Moore