The newcomer to web hosting is likely to feel confused and frustrated by the seemingly inaccessible process, which can often involve lists of obscure technical specifications and endless options. However, in fact, organising web hosting is not an inherently difficult process, but actually quite a simple one; the information below should help to make things seem a little easier.

Firstly, you will need to choose a domain name – see one of Domainmonster.com’s many articles about domain selection for more information. Once this is done, you also need to create a website. You could hire a professional company to do this for you, or there are various web design software packages with different degrees of complexity available, if you wish to design it yourself. A good deal of research is recommended to find out what the best kind of website will be best for your business.

Next, you need to choose a host. Make sure you pick a large company with a good reputation. Again, lots of research will serve you well in the long-term. Make sure that you have enough bandwidth and storage space allotted to you, and most importantly, that the support offered is adequate for your needs – especially if you are a beginner.

When you’ve selected and paid for your hosting package, the next step is to upload your site to the web. Usually you will need an FTP program to do this, although some design software includes an upload assistant. The role of an FTP program is to upload your web pages, text, images and so on to the remote server where your site will be hosted.

Once you’ve done this, your site will be up and running. Now it’s up to you to promote your site and gain as much traffic as you can. Registering your site with the major search engines is a good start.

Good luck with setting up your first website. See other articles for more information on hosting and site design.

Author: Natalie Catchpole