Website Hosting
Hostgator Web Hosting - Affordable Web Hosting
Although this may sound overly promotional, Hostgator web hosting is by far the best affordable web hosting package that I have ever used and you can believe me when I tell you that reliability and affordability are not usually combined sucessfully. I have had some terrible web hosting packages from other providers, I have had security issues, hacked websites and sites that were regularly down and hostgator is the only host that I have had no problems with whatsoever in over three years of use.
This tutorial will show you how to set up your hosting and direct your domain name from godaddy to hostgator. I have never used godaddy hosting and if you prefer to try them out it's completely up to you I have just found that registering domain names with godaddy and hosting them with hostgator has worked extremely well for me.
About Web Hosting
You have a domain name and now you need to rent space on the web to host your site, there are many different web hosting packages available and the one you choose will depend on your needs, most webmasters who own several websites will opt for reseller hosting for the flexibility and control it allows but a standard plan such as the hostgator baby plan is ideal for anyone who wants to make a website and possible add another in the future at no extra cost.
To get hosting for your site you need to go to Hostgator and choose a hosting plan. I recommend the baby plan, it allows you to host as many websites as you want without any extra charges, you can start out with your first site and maybe in a few months you will decide you want to add another site, the baby plan allows you to easily add an additional site at no extra cost.
Choose the plan you require and click order now. You can get a discount by using the hostgator discount code " URFIRSTSITE " to get $9.95 off your first order on the next screen. If you have been following along and have your domain name already enter it into the already have domain name section, if you do not yet have a domain you can register one here with hostgator.
Confirm your web hosting order and enter your account details.
Once you have completed your order with hostgator you will receive an email with the information you need to log into your hosting account as well as the information about your DNS (domain name servers) Keep these emails safe as you will need the DNS to connect your domain name to your hosting account. (If you got your domain name with hostgator this will already be done for you.
Setting Up DNS for your Website
This is an important step and something that every webmaster should know how to do. The email you got from hostgator should include your DNS details, they will look similar to this:
- ns1.hostgator.com
- ns2.hostgator.com
You need to log into your domain registrar (godaddy) and go to the domain manager section of your account where you should see your website domain name listed, underneath it there should be a section that says "nameservers" simply click on "set nameservers" and change them to the DNS you got in your hostgator email.
Thats all you have to do! It can take a few hours for your site to propagate, but I have found that between using godaddy and hostgator it is usually only a minute or two before your website is ready to go. You should now be able to type in your full domain name in the browser bar and be taken to your blank site, type in /cpanel after your domain name and you should be taken to the log in section of your control panel for your hosting.
It is time to Make a Website
You are all set up and ready to go so have you decided yet if you want to make a website or a blog?, if you are not sure check out the link below.
If you have decided which you want then choose one of the following to get started!
this is column 3
- item one
- item two
- item three