Three things you need to build a site

< Before you start blogging... Think! : Websites cost money to run! >

Before you can put anything online, you need three basic things:

1. A domain name.
2. Web hosting.
3. Software.

By the way, I'm not expecting you to read this blog entry and go off to set everything up.  The purpose of this entry is to give you an insight into the process.

What is a domain name?

A domain name (or just a domain - I use the two interchangeably) is the first part of a site address that appears after the http.  This is what you give out to people when you want them to visit your site.  My domain is www.benbarden.com.  Sounds rather eerie doesn't it?  "Come into my domain!"

You don't have to use your own domain though.  For instance you could go to www.livejournal.com and create a journal there.  Your domain name would be yourname.livejournal.com.

Why you should use your own domain name

If you start on someone else's site, you may find that you want your own domain at a later date.  This means your site address will change.  Even if you send out the new link to people, moving will effectively mean you have to start promoting your site all over again.  Establishing a site at one address and then moving is just not worth the hassle.  So, it's a lot better to start with your own domain.

That doesn't mean you can't join other sites and set up a profile there too.  However, you should make sure that those sites are not your only presence on the web.  You need a site so your readers can go to one place and find all of your content there.

I recommend GoDaddy for buying your domain name.

A place to store your files

To go with your domain, you'll also need web hosting.  This is where the contents of your website will be stored.  Your files will be stored on a web server, which is specifically designed to run websites like yours.

I recommend BlueHost for web hosting.

How to publish content

Finally, you'll need some kind of software.  This is what you use to get your content on the web.  The software is designed to make life easier for you - so you can create a new page just by clicking a link, typing your content, and clicking Submit.

All software has pros and cons.  Some of it is free, some is not.  You can read more about software in some of my other posts:

• What's at the heart of your site?
• 6 things that you should look for when choosing a website system
• No system is perfect

Linking it all together

• First, you buy your domain name.
• Next, you buy your web hosting.
• Then, you link the two together using nameservers.  These basically tell all of the servers of the Internet to look at your web hosting when someone types your domain name.  The company with whom you purchased your web hosting - your web host - will provide you with two nameserver addresses.  The company who provides your domain name - your domain registrar - will provide help and tutorials for how to change the nameservers on your site.
• Once you've changed the nameservers, you'll have to wait for up to 48 hours before they update.
  
• When the nameservers have updated, you'll need to install your software.  This is beyond the scope of this blog entry as it differs from one system to the next.  Again, there are usually guides that will help you get through this part of the process.

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