I received a call today from Kevin. Kevin and I had spoken a few times over the past week, and in our conversation, we talked about things that I hear about on a regular occasion from a lot of other affiliates, that being "Now that I signed up as an Affiliate, i've already designed my website. What’s next?"
Usually the first question I’ll ask from this point is "Did you register a name for your site and choose a hosting company?" at which usually the reply is no.
For those of you who have become stuck on what to do next just like Kevin, your next step is to make the website you designed "live" on the Internet. Here’s how to do it:
First, research the Internet for a website name (a URL- for example, www.mybusinessname.com) that you would like to use. When doing so, be creative, but try and keep your website address simple, short, and easy for people to remember. The more difficult it is to remember your site address, the more likely you’ll have trouble attracting returning visitors. There are several options you can use for locating URL’s to use. I like to use Register.com because of their quick ability to inform me of whether a name is already taken by someone, plus they provide alternate names that are similar to what I typed which are currently available. But keep in mind that with the millions and millions of site names that have already been gobbled up, you may have to be very creative or have a lot of patience while doing your research.
Next step is to register your site name through a website registration provider. By registering your site name, this gives you the right to use that name for a certain length of time. Lengths can vary from one year to two years depending on where you register your site through. You don’t actually own the URL, you’re just leasing it for a certain amount of time. I mentioned Register.com as a site to locate website names, but you can also use them to register for the rights to use that name. Keep in mind that there are plenty of site registration companies that all offer a variety of services. Some sites cost less to register while others charge more but will provide more services. Some sites waive the registration fees if you sign up for hosting with them, which is the next step I will discuss.
Now that you’ve claimed your website name, the next step is to locate a hosting company. A hosting company is where you will upload (send) your files to in order for them to store the files on a computer that will make them live for the Internet. Based on how much space for files you will need, or services to assist your site, there are many different types of packages you can sign up for starting from as low as $24 a year to as high as several hundreds of dollars annually. If you are not sure how much space you will require, contact the hosting company to find out. There are thousands of hosting companies available. It’s up to you to do the research to pick the one that best suits your needs. Some familiar names you may have heard of are GoDaddy.com, Gate.com, or 2mhost.com.
Now that you have your site registered and have a selected your hosting provider, if you have gone through two different companies, you will need to "connect" the two together by letting the site registration company know the physical address assigned to you by your hosting company. This can be done online usually by logging into your account with the registration company and filling in the appropriate fields with the information given to you from the hosting company.
One you have completed this task, the next step is to upload the files you have created for your website to your hosting company so they can be live on the Internet.
Why do you need to pay a fee to register a name then pay another fee for a hosting company? Think of it as this: someone pulls up your web address at www.mywebaddress.com, they are then re-routed to the hosting because these are where your files are stored. These are two different services provided by two different types of service providers. But remember what I said earlier? There are companies that have the ability to provide both types of services and offer them as a package deal, thus possibly saving you a few steps with this process. I chose to describe this example in the event you may choose between two differing companies.
Make sense? Ok, let me recap in a more simpler way, first think of a website name then register it through a registering service. Then find a hosting company that will store your files and make them live on the Internet. Lastly, tie your website name to your hosting company and you’re ready to go!
Sure there’s a bit more too it, and if things start to get too technical, I usually recommend to my affiliates that they seek the assistance of a high school or college student for they have the ability to provide you a first hand lesson without costing too much out of pocket. Usually after setting up a site or two, you start to get the hang of it, and you’ll be able to get your sites online in no time.