Internet 102 - The People
This Article lists and describes the people needed - not by individual or company, but by function. The goal is to make the reader aware of the people required to put up a web site.
Internet 102 - The People
By Wayne Halm
Introduction
Web sites exist and operate out in Cyber-space without human attention. They sit there by them selves and automatically tell visitors about your products and services -and maybe even automatically sell things to them. However it takes quite a few people to get an operational web site up and running in Cyber-space.
This Article lists and describes the people needed - not by individual or company, but by function. The goal is to make the reader aware of the people required to put up a web site.
The Owner
Every web site has to have an owner - someone with a credit card to pay the bills. Besides paying for everything there are is another important aspect of ownership that need attending to - namely maintaining ownership. Where necessary this Article will point out things to do to keep ownership clear and undisputed.
One of the joys of ownership is choosing the name for the web site (like www.SouthernThoughts.Com). In Internet terms the name is called the domain name" or sometimes just the domain".
The owner should put some thought into choosing the domain name, its not as easy as you might think, many of the good ones are already taken. The Nternic web site ( www.Nternic.Com ) has a Whois" feature to help determine if a domain name is already taken. It also has a NameSpin" feature to help generate a name if all of your preferred choices are already taken. These features are free for use and may prove quite handy.
The Registrar
Once you have a domain name picked out you need to register" it with the Internet. Your domain name needs to be placed in the big Internet index of domain names - so that everyone can find it (and so no one else can use it). The people who can placed domain names in the index are called Registrars" - you will need one.
Registering a domain name only places the name in the index running on the Name Servers of the Internet, it does not provide computer space for your web site. The Registration of a domain name cost a few dollars per year. You can currently register a domain name for periods of from one to ten years at a time - the longer terms are usually a little cheaper on a per year basis. Registrars have to pay for placing names in the index -this fee pays for the big Root Server computers that contain the index.
Put a bit of thought into choosing a Registrar, basically they come in three sizes:
Top Level Registrars - these are the big guys in the registration business, they have large staffs on hand to answer your phone calls but also charge on the order of 20 to 35 dollars per year for the service.
Discount Registrars - these guys offer all of the registration services but without the staff. You primarily communicate with them through their web site and emails and they typically charge 10 to 15 dollars per year for registration. (Nternic is one of these.)
Quick and Easy Registrars - these are tiny guys offering on-line registration" for fees around 5 to10 dollars per year.
So what type of Registrar should you pick? First, dont even think about the Quick and Easy Registrars - you want your registrar to be one that stays in business as long as you do. One of the Discount Registrars is probably right for most people, the email type communications is slower than phone calls but it works well enough in most cases.
There are some things to look out for when picking a Registrar. The practices of some Registrars can make life difficult for you, consider the following issues and suggestions.
You want the Registration in YOUR name - in the language of domain name registration the owner of the domain is called the Registrant", you want that to be you. Some Registrars, specially those who offer to do everything for you, will want to register the domain name under their name so they can look after everything". If you let this happen they own the domain name - its theirs - and you paid for the registration. Dont let this happen to you - insist that the registration be in your name.
You want your registration to be in a separate account - some Registrars will try to put your domain name registration in their company account. This saves them some money but also gives them control of access to the domain name record - it can not be changed without their approval. Its your domain name, insist on your own account and complete control.
You want to be the Administrative Contact for your account - some Registrars want to list themselves as the Administrative Contact. Dont let them - insist that your name, your email address, and your phone number be put in these fields. In the practices of domain name registration it is the Administrative Contact, not the owner, who is considered authorized to make changes - you want that to be you.
You want the ability to change the DNS Servers - most Registrars offer a web site from which you can Manage" your domain, but some do not provide an on-line method of changing the DNS Servers. If you want to move your web site from one host to another you will need to change the DNS Servers. Dont use a Registrar that does not allow you to change the DNS Servers.
MOST IMPORTANT - You want to keep up with the UserName and Password - all Registrars will give you some combination of password, username/password, or accountnumber/password that is required for on-line access to your domain name account. Do not lose this - you will need it. Getting another can be done - but it can also be a real pain in the rear.
The Web Site Host
Once you have your domain name picked out, and registered, you need someone to host" your web site. The web site host is the one that provides some space on their Internet connected computer for your web site. It is their computer and communications equipment that delivers your web site to the world - and you have to pay them for doing this. Web site hosting" does not include web site design, development, or programming - it only covers providing space for your web site and serving it up to the Internet.
Web site hosting almost always involves a year or two contract - this is because prices are fairly low and almost all of the cost is in the initial setup. You probably want to consider the shortest term available first. Dont buy more that you need, frequently 20 and 40 megabyte plans are available, 20 megabytes is a lot - you can always trade up.
It sometimes seems that everyone associated with the Internet offers web site hosting - the Registrars - the Internet Service Providers - the Telephone Companies - the Search Engines - almost everyone. So how do you pick a web site host? I would stay away from the Search Engines, Registrars, and national Internet Service Providers - they are much too busy to give much attention to the problems of a single web site - its usually not their primary business and you will likely get lost in the corporate shuffles. The telephone companies and the local Internet Service Providers are probably better choices. Pick someone you can reach out and touch".
Some things to consider and look out for with web site hosting are:
Some hosting agreements charge extra if traffic exceeds a specified amount, stay away from these.
Some hosting agreements make it extremely difficult to cancel the service - they simply want to bill you forever. Find out what it takes to cancel the agreement before you sign up - if you dont get clear, simple, and reasonable answers, dont sign up.
Some hosting services offer particular data bases and add-on services. These can be quite valuable and useful - these can be a valid reason for selecting a particular hosting service. But be aware that once you build your web site around a particular group of services - you cant move the site intact to somewhere else very easily.
The Designer or Programmer
Once youve picked out a domain name, registered it, and found someone to host a web site at the domain name - you need to build a web site. Building a web site is part art, part science, and all computer programming. But there are options.
Depending on your talents, patience, and budget, you may want to try doing it yourself. There are some very good design tools available - for simpler web sites most people, with a bit of time - and perhaps a few words of instruction, can do it themselves.
Of course there are lots of people who will, for a fee, design your web site for you. For some reason they like to say design" rather than program" - maybe designers make more money than programmers. Most can design an attractive simple web site for you very quickly. But if you want your web site to collect dat into or present data from a database - or perhaps let Visitors order stuff on-line, then you are talking about programming and it takes a while longer and costs a bit more - a good while longer and a good bit more.
As examples, the www.SouthernThoughts.Com web site is homemade", I built it myself, maybe it could use a little designer" work but I wanted to concentrate on content. The www.Nternic.Com web site was built by a professional - there are some nice graphics and a lot of programming behind the functions made available.
The decision to build it yourself or to pay someone else to build it should depend on your situation. Pick the one that best fits your needs - but be aware of the following:
Popular web sites change often - you need an easy way of making frequent changes and additions.
You are going to be talking to your web designer a lot - if its you, then you will be talking to yourself - if its someone else, then pick someone that you like.
Its your web site - if you pay someone else to develop it, insist on clear ownership of the code and graphics.
Sometimes designers get offered real jobs, and their banks make them take t hem, so if you use one, make sure you have full and current documentation about your site.
The Search Engines
Once youve picked out your domain name, registered it, found someone to host a web site at the domain name, and built the web site - youre done, right? Not quite, not if you want anyone to see the web site. Like everything else web sites need to be advertised". On the Internet advertising starts with getting listed on the search engines.
Search engines are those web sites where you can key in a word or phrase, click on search, and have a list of relevant web sites displayed. You need your web site to be in the list - you want it to be at the top of the list.
Somewhere on their web site every Search Engine has instructions for submitting" your web site - and paying them. Consider and compare these offers, you will want to do some of them.
There are also services that will submit your web site to the major" Search Engines all at once - www.Nternic.Com has one such service, consider them too.
Also you will find a number of consultants who specialize in getting your web site listed closer to the top of the Search Engine lists. Read about them, consider them, but realize that there is seldom any magic.
The Visitors
Ive saved the best for last. Visitors - web site Visitors - thats the Internet term for people who find and look at your web site. They are the purpose, the end result, the goal, the whole reason for the web site. (In business I always try to spell Customer with a capital C", and with the Internet I always spell Visitor with a capital V" - it helps to remind me of what is important.)
Of all the people involved with a web site, Visitors are the only ones who might give you some business. Treat then fairly, treat them courteously - of the millions of web sites on the Internet, they stopped and looked at yours - make it worth their while.
Summary
Cyber space has a considerable overlap with real space - there are a lot of people involved with a successful web site. Most of these people are quite honest and offer fine value for your money, but folks with less than honorable intentions also dwell there. The unscrupulous prey upon the naive - I hope that this Article will help you avoid them and have a fine, profitable, and successful web site.
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