Webmaster Tips

Choosing a domain name

1
2 years ago
by Jackson Hines in

Choosing a domain name can take forever. It’s hard to think of something original that you actually like. I know from my experience, almost every time I thought of a domain name I liked and I thought was original, it was already taken.

Here’s some tips on how to come up with a good domain name:

  • If the .com version of the name you want is already taken and already has a functioning website at it, don’t just take the .net. A lot of people will just assume .com when you tell them your website and your advertising will benefit the other site.
  • Avoid domain name’s with hyphens in them like www.atomic-pages.net. It will get annoying to say “dash” in the middle of your website name when you are telling people, and a lot of people will forget.
  • Avoid really long domain names: www.mywebsitedesigncompanyisawesome.com
  • If your website is specific to a certain country, try getting a domain name with the country’s extension. Like a UK website could end with the co.uk extension. Search engines use geographic location as part of the search algorithm, and a country extension will help establish what country your website is for.
  • Sometimes using an unpopular domain extension can make your website seem unique.

You can always change your domain name if you decide you don’t like it, but beware you’ll be starting all over with Search Engine Optimization.

Can you host a website on your home computer?

0
2 years ago
by Jackson Hines in

Probably at some point or another you had the idea to just host your website on your home computer so you could save some money — I know I have. It is an interesting idea and you will definitely learn a lot, but should you do it?

How much work will it be?

It will probably take a while to figure out how to setup Apache, PHP, MySQL and anything else you might want. Also, you’ll need to spend some time securing your server, so you are not at risk of being hacked. And if something doesn’t seem to be working right, there’s no 24/7 support to turn to. On the other hand, it could be a great way to learn more about web hosting and how it works.

Can your ISP handle it?

Your probably thinking “Well sure it can, I’ve got a super ultra high speed internet connection.” The problem is, your download speed doesn’t really matter for hosting. What is really important is your upload speed. Everytime someone visits your site, your site will have to be uploaded through your connection. Visit a site like SpeedTest.net to test out your upload speed. If you’ve got a high speed connection, you want your upload speed to be the same or better than your download speed. If not, your site is going to seem slow to anyone with a high speed connection. In addition, some ISPs have a rule that says you are simply not allowed to host websites through their connection.

How much will you actually save?

Where I live, energy costs between $0.17 and $0.30 per Kilowatt hour depending on the time of year and time of day. That means, if you have a 300 watt computer (which is pretty standard) you are paying (300 * (24*30)) / 1000 * $.17 = $36.72 a month at least! These days you could get a real quality hosting plan with high uptime and 24/7 support for only $5.95 a month. That means it’s actually cheaper to pay for a hosting plan. Granted, you would have your computer on some of the time anyway, but even so, the savings is huge!

The Bottom Line

If you’re the adventurous type and want a challenge, then go for it! It could be a great learning experience! But if you just want the hard stuff to be taken care of for you, want to save money and want help an email away at anytime of the day, then a quality hosting plan is the only way to go.

How to start a website

0
2 years ago
by Jackson Hines in

Step 1: Domain Name
The first thing you need in order to start a website is a domain name. A domain name will be the URL of your website. For example, the domain name of this website is atomicpages.net. AtomicPages will allow you to add in a domain name with the purchase of your hosting account for only $11-$15 per year if you don’t already have one.

Step 2: Hosting
Next you need a hosting account. A hosting account is a place on a remote server somewhere. This server will send out your website to a computer whenever someone visits it. AtomicPages offers affordable hosting plans on our Hosting Plans page. Our Standard plan will be suitable for most websites.

Step 3: Create Your Website
Once you have hosting and a domain name, you just need a website to put there. You have two options here:

  • Create a website by yourself. If you already know about web design this should be easy for you.
  • AtomicPages will setup a website for you at an extremely affordable price. Our prices are a small fraction of what other web design firms may charge. See the Services page for details.

Step 4: Keep your Website Updated
Once you have your website up and running you need to keep it updated. You once again have two options:

  • Keep your website updated by yourself. You may need a little knowledge about web design in order to do this.
  • AtomicPages will manage your website for you at an affordable price. See the Services page for details.
Go to Top