Domain name help

[tinker]

I have started my own business and want to get a website to gain more exposure and credibility. I have a few questions about buying a domain name and getting everything set up correctly.

First of all what registrar would you suggest buying from?
I was just going to go with GoDaddy.com because they seem reliable but I haven't quite made up my mind.

I am in the process of building a new computer and my old one will be used as the server for this website and maybe another. I would like to get the site up and running before that though. Is it possible to host it on my current computer and then switch when the new one is finished?

And lastly, What are the benefits to using your own nameserver(i'm assuming this is the computer on which you store all the files needed for the website) versus hosting it on the space you are given by the registrar. Also if I were to use my own nameserver, it asks to provide two different ones and I would only have a single nameserver available?


Hopefully this all made sense and you guys can help me with this.
Thanks in advance!

[.Maleficus.]

GoDaddy is great for domain registration. That's where I registered mine (Arcane Systems).

Short answer: Yes, you can run it on your current computer, but don't. You'll need to install Apache, MySQL and PHP, and that's server-side software you won't need after the move to the real server.

Long answer: Dedicated servers are usually LAMP servers (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) or WAMP (Windows version). That's it. They tend to have very little on them (just enough to keep it running) which is how you'll want it. Less background tasks, the better it will perform. If you use your home computer to serve and compute, you're running tasks that will slow server-side speed and computer-side speed, for you and your visitors. Just wait until you get a dedicated setup. I used to host my site from home using a Mini-ITX board and everything, but let me tell you, it's not really worth it. I have a 10 or 11 page thread documenting the process (search "server stuff") and you'll see the headaches I went through. Setting up the actual site isn't that hard if you use a CMS (content management system) like Joomla!, but administering it is. I used Webmin as my server-software, which worked great, but it isn't perfect. It doesn't have Sendmail on it (Linux email stuff you don't want to touch), so you need to configure MX records and accounts yourself. NOT FUN. I never got Sendmail to work, and when I had my site at home, I used a pay-for email account for my domain. I'm telling you right now, from someone with hundreds of hours into self-hosted mayhem, buy dedicated space. You get tech-support, everything setup, and it's cheap. Far cheaper than your electric bill will be. I recommend SiteGround. I'm currently getting a LAMP server with 750GB space, 7,500GB monthly transfer, cPanel, and Joomla!. I have unlimited subdomains, email accounts, and FTP accounts. $7/month. <- Awesome.

[wiki]Name server[/wiki] is not the same as the server the website is stored on. The nameservers that your site uses are used to identify the IP of the domain name you've entered. That would just be called a server.

Any more questions, feel free to ask. I've spent a LOT of time sorting all the boring stuff of this out, so I'd be glad to help.

[tinker]

Thanks for all the info!
I looked briefly at your page prior to posting but I will definitely look at it more in depth.

Right now I would like to just buy the domain name so I don't have to worry about anyone else snatching it up. I'm assuming that I should use godaddy.com and the nameservers that they include. I will probably get just the one e-mail that comes with it but am considering the possibility of upgrade to the next level. Is there anything I should watch out for or consider before buying the domain and all the different packages and features that come along with it.

Edit: What did you use to design your website. I downloaded a demo of adobe dreamweaver yesterday and was planning on using that but do you have any other suggestions.

Also, I can't believe that you are 15. Smart kid...
(i'm 18 but 3 years ago I didn't know half the stuff I do now)

Thanks again.

[.Maleficus.]

Yeah, go ahead and buy the domain. Once you have that, you're set. Since nobody else can take it now, you have all the time in the world to play around with different things.

Have you decided on a home-based or paid-for server? Like I said, I really recommend paid-for. After doing both, it's a lot easier to just buy server space. If you do home-based, you'll need to setup the IPs of all the computers in your house (or at the very least the one of the server), configure port forwarding for HTTP, FTP, SSL (if you use it) and maybe a few others, get a DNS provider that allows you to have a dynamic IP (I imagine you have this; ever-changing IP, each new time you login it could change without you knowing it) because a website can only be found at 1 IP, and a host of other stuff. Plus, bandwidth is a huge factor. What's your connection speed right now? If it's ok right now, think about in the future when you'll have people using YOUR down and up time as you try to surf the net. It will slow do you and the visitors.

I've used Dreamweaver pretty in depth, and it's a pretty nice tool. Nowhere near as nice as Joomla!, which is open-source software installed on the server. It's a CMS (content management system) that allows you to easily add new content, change appearance, and has loads of plugins for just about everything. Media, admin tools, forums, you name it, there's a plugin for it. There's also thousands of free templates for download, so it can look pretty much however you want. So far me, SgtM, and Commando have Joomla based websites, and both of them will tell you how easy and nice it is.

Good luck with the site man .

And also, thanks . When I set all this stuff up, I had tons of help from members here (CrazyB, SgtM, Airbozo, and Ovride to name a few).

[SgtM]

Damnit .Mal.. Other than backing you up on the Joomla recommendation, I don't really have any advice to offer him now. + rep.

[tinker]

ok.

I'll look into Joomla then. Maybe I'll use a little bit of both because I'm pretty familiar with the adobe programs already.
I will probably do a little more research on the hosting but I will probably pay for it for at least the first few months so I can get my other system done and have a dedicated server. That will also give me more time to better grasp what all I need to understand with setting up a server.

I'll probably buy the hosting space and domain today.
And I want to use GoDaddy's nameservers right?

[SgtM]

I'll probably buy the hosting space and domain today.
And I want to use GoDaddy's nameservers right?

No. You want to use the name servers of whoever is going to host the site for you.

Godaddy will actually call you a couple of days after you place your order to find out if you have any questions. Basically what will happen is this.. You'll register the domain with godaddy. They will put up a page (automatically) on your domain that tells people it's been registered.

When you login to your godaddy account, you'll have an option to change the name servers. Those will be provided by your hosting company, but it's usually ns1.whatever_the_servername_is.com and ns2.whatever_the_servername_is.com. Within the DNS servers, they will point the domain to the IP address of the server that your site is actually hosted on.

So here's the pointing scheme all broken down.
Godaddy registration --> tell them what your name servers are --> records are created on the name servers, and then --> actual web server where your site lives.

Ha ha .Mal.. I actually contributed something!

[tinker]

YAY!!!

I just bought my domain name.
www.groceries2go.net
(the .com was already taken)

This is basically what I want the domain for...
I started a business about 6months ago where I pick up and deliver groceries to people who are either unable to do it themselves or are just too busy to get around to a sometimes bothersome task. I charge 15% of the grocery bill as my service fee so they end up paying 115% but don't have to go to the grocery store. Its a good business because before the website it cost me absolutely nothing to run with the exception of printing out several 100 fliers. It has done pretty well but I would like it to do better. I hope that the website will be a good place for people to find that my business exists, get more information because a flier can only hold so much info, and gain some credibility and trust.

Just thought I would include that background so you know what I'm working towards and what my goals and desires are for this project.

I did a quick mock-up of how I would like my website to look. Its pretty basic and will probably change at least a little bit if not completely. I still have to do all the other pages but they will look similar, this is just the homepage. If you guys have any suggestions they are more than welcome. The better my page looks the happier I am!

Click on it to get full detail...

I will probably be ordering the host space tonight or tomorrow because I plan on working a lot on it this weekend because its a 4-day weekend for me.

I know I sound like a broken record but thanks again for the help and there will probably be many more questions to come.

[.Maleficus.]

Sounds like a very handy business. We have something similar in our area, but with restaurant food. Place your order, they go get it, and charge a slight fee. It's been pretty successful.

Glad you got everything figured out.


And SgtM, glad you found something to say . And most of what I said was what you told me in my server thread, so +rep to you for spreading the knowledge!

[SgtM]

tinker.. where are you located in Ohio?

Thanks .Mal!