Can Someone Explain the Web to an Idiot?

[Nitric]

Ok,..........I want to set up my own site. I'm just doing this to learn or try to......I went with one that I've seen before as a blog to play with Even though I have no real content for it. I just wanted to learn.

There are "free" services for Blogs,sites,chat,etc....So they already have the "templates" and your just basically adjusting and changing things to what you want. I get that part...Kind of... Where I'm lost and I tried to go online to understand this....The Domain name?

Can someone explain this crap in Idiot terms? I know there has to be a server somewhere, I know there has to be a way to show up in searches. What I don't get is how is this working? Another thing...If I want a domain name, where is the simplest place to get it? Are there any truly Free names without all the added garbage? or scams.

Maybe I don't understand enough of how all this works....Can someone simplify? All I'm doing is confusing myself in searches....

I know a couple members know, I didn't want to PM driving them nuts with questions!

 

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[Limitool]

I'm two days ahead of ya.... I'm doing the same thing with a member here and he's helping me.

 

[Nitric]

I'm two days ahead of ya.... I'm doing the same thing with a member here and he's helping me.

Ya...I thought I could figure out how to do it...And maybe with some time......But I got lost. The site isn't bad with the template. I like playing with that. But it's getting it so people can even find it. That's the part I'm completely lost at. I'm really not even sure how all of that works. I can't even find one of them now to get back to work on it. Not on the Web at all! I have to go to my Email, find the link, then go in that route. There has to be an easier way! How in the heck can I even get a friend to find it...

I want to do as much on my own as I can...To learn. But it's kind of overwhelming at the moment.

 

[Limitool]

If it's really "important" that you have a web site just drop $300 - $500 hundred and let someone else set it up for you. I got enough to worry about within my skill set.

WHEN YOUR TIRED OF THE WEB THINGY..... Find me a shipping box company for my Toy Boxes near me!!!!! (new thread / info in General Discussion).

I await your finding buddy!!!!

 

[kingskid1611]

I am basically computer illiterate If I have questions I ask my kids....

 

[Nitric]

Yes!! Everything I touch turns to that!


I can't believe what that car looks like by the end of the movie!! That made me sick!

 

[Oregon Viking]

 

[G.I.B.]

Go to Wordpress.com and start clicking.

It's the one I use with my sites.

 

[Chadeaux]

Ya...I thought I could figure out how to do it...And maybe with some time......But I got lost. The site isn't bad with the template. I like playing with that. But it's getting it so people can even find it. That's the part I'm completely lost at. I'm really not even sure how all of that works. I can't even find one of them now to get back to work on it. Not on the Web at all! I have to go to my Email, find the link, then go in that route. There has to be an easier way! How in the heck can I even get a friend to find it...

I want to do as much on my own as I can...To learn. But it's kind of overwhelming at the moment.

Domain name: Must purchase one and set it up to point to your pages. Best and cheapest place I've found is namecheap.com

Need help, PM me and I'll point you in the right direction.

 

[Chadeaux]

Ok,..........I want to set up my own site. I'm just doing this to learn or try to......I went with one that I've seen before as a blog to play with Even though I have no real content for it. I just wanted to learn.

There are "free" services for Blogs,sites,chat,etc....So they already have the "templates" and your just basically adjusting and changing things to what you want. I get that part...Kind of... Where I'm lost and I tried to go online to understand this....The Domain name?

Can someone explain this crap in Idiot terms? I know there has to be a server somewhere, I know there has to be a way to show up in searches. What I don't get is how is this working? Another thing...If I want a domain name, where is the simplest place to get it? Are there any truly Free names without all the added garbage? or scams.

Maybe I don't understand enough of how all this works....Can someone simplify? All I'm doing is confusing myself in searches....

I know a couple members know, I didn't want to PM driving them nuts with questions!

Web 101:

Server: You can set up your own or rent space on someone else's ... for a price. Some are good, some not so good. Been using webhosting buzz since 2004 with ZERO complaints. Price I signed up for remained the same, space got bigger until I decided to do hosting myself, but it is on a shared server.

Shared servers have several domains that all share the bandwidth of that server. The straw is only so big. If you get high traffic sites on a shared server, things can slow to a crawl for your site.

Private servers host just one domain, but cost much more. You do, though, get the whole straw to send data through.

Domain Name: Treasurenet.com is a domain name. Each one should be unique for lots of reasons. So, is you site hosted at nitric.com? Well, yes and no. Actually, it is stored at a site that is identified by a numeric IP address along the lines of xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx where the three x's correspond to a number between 0 and 255. But, when someone types in nitric.com, a DNS server translates that request into the correct IP address and you have a visitor.

The best way to get a free domain name is to get it through your host as part of a hosting package. Webhostingbuzz does this. You can get hosting with a domain name for 5 or 6 dollars per month but must pay for a year at a time. Here is a list of their shared hosting plans: https://www.webhostingbuzz.com/web-hosting/

Traffic: There are lots of ways to drive traffic to a site, and if anyone guarantees you that for a few dollars they can get you to the top of the search engines be careful they are not scamming you or using blackhat SEO. The first one is bad because you lose money. The second is bad because when you're caught, your search rankings will be ZERO. Blackhat is scamming the search spiders instead of you but you still get to pay in lost traffic.

Links, a name that tells what or who you are, properly written sites full of content, proper key words, alt tags for images and other behind the scenes work will be what brings people to your site - traffic. Oh, and traffic brings more traffic from the spiders which in turn moves you higher in the search rankings.

 

[smokeythecat]

Domain name? That's the name you choose for your site like treasurenet.com If someone else hasn't registered it, then it's yours. I use godaddy for mine. There is a lot of competition for selling websites. Now getting people to VISIT your site is a whole different story.....

 

[Chadeaux]

Having dealt with godaddy twice (two of my customers are FORMER godaddy clients) I can guarantee that it will cost you if you ever decide to take your site elsewhere. They think they own the domain name you purchased through them at their inflated price (usually twice the going rate at other registrars).

No, they won't charge you money, but they will make you jump through hoops to the point that you just want to scrap the entire idea of going with another host. The first customer (2011) paid me cash to get it done, the second (2014) told them to take a hike and changed the extension on his name from dotcom to dotbiz ... and it actually helped his site.

 

[kcm]

Chadeaux was spot-on with his Web-101 post. Well done sir!!

I made up a website back in 2000 when we were selling our home. Was able to find some free web hosting at the time. I loaded up hundreds of pics of the house and property as well as lots of history on it. Was able to add on a free traffic counter/tracker. We had a lot going on at the time, so I left all of the contact info to the realtor, who didn't even "own" a computer then!! All of his advertising was from lawn signs and ads in local newspapers. My site brought him so much business that in 2 years, he took multiple vacations, bought a new sports car (actually, it was a restored classic), and his and hers fancy motorcycles. One vacation was to Hawaii.

At the time, what free website building software there was, I couldn't understand. So I did the whole thing from scratch, offline, then uploaded the entire site. Then when we moved, I didn't have access to the internet. So I figured the site would just disappear before long. ...It didn't. Dang thing stayed up for years!! Fortunately I was able to remove the realtor's name and contact info before then.

...And before anyone asks how I know he was screwing us, I know this because some people who wanted to look at our place stopped by one day to see what they had missed. They were told by the realtor it had been sold - although he had several other properties he was certain they'd be interested in! ...Nice folks. Had a nice long visit with them. Don't know who was more pissed at the realtor - us or them.

 

[jerseyben]

Go to Wordpress.com and start clicking.

It's the one I use with my sites.

This. It is Easy and Free. Literally anyone can have a website in minutes.

 

[Chadeaux]

This. It is Easy and Free. Literally anyone can have a website in minutes.

Still, unless you want to go with a service that loads your site down with THEIR advertising, the idea of renting a server and registering a domain name are still valid.

Wordpress is FREE, and usually is a one click install on any webserver ... without a single advertisement unless YOU are making money off of it.

Gotta remember, there are different kinds of "free" and some of them just are NOT FREE.

 

[against the wind]

Go to Wordpress.com and start clicking.

It's the one I use with my sites.

Thank you

 

[smokeythecat]

And if you have to give them your credit card number, it's not free......

 

[Nitric]

Still, unless you want to go with a service that loads your site down with THEIR advertising, the idea of renting a server and registering a domain name are still valid.

Wordpress is FREE, and usually is a one click install on any webserver ... without a single advertisement unless YOU are making money off of it.

Gotta remember, there are different kinds of "free" and some of them just are NOT FREE.

Thanks again!! For the Info...

One of the things I was running into was TOOOO many choices. Then I started getting confused on what was actually going on. After a short time of trying to sort it out I wondered what is actually going on here. What can I do on my own (eventually) and what is unneeded. I have a lot to learn and may scrap it all in the end. Just trying to learn a little.

I'm playing with Wordpress, just to play around, and a couple other "free" sites. Nothing important and mostly nonsense stuff. for content.

I still have a lot to learn. I went to a site to register a Name, then it wanted every piece of info. I thought....I need to learn a little more before I start just filling in all my info for things I really have no idea about.

Thanks again!

 

[Nitric]

And if you have to give them your credit card number, it's not free......

Ya.....I love that too!! "free" then after filling out an hours worth of info, the last thing is "credit card". I learned that trick!

 

[Chadeaux]

I still have a lot to learn. I went to a site to register a Name, then it wanted every piece of info. I thought....I need to learn a little more before I start just filling in all my info for things I really have no idea about.

You can do it all at one place and let the experts set it up for you - usually free because they want to sell you on their services every year. Webhostingbuzz will definitely get it all done for you while you are on the phone. They won't design your site, but they make available a one click option to install WordPress or almost any other CMS (Content Management Systems) you want.

Or ...

1. Get server space. It can be with most any hosting company, but you will need a place to point the domain name. Otherwise, if you're using Namecheap.com or a similar service, you'll need to "park" your domain name on their servers until you get a server to point it to. When you park it, you cannot load content.
2. Setup server. That means installing the scripts you are needing to use or uploading your site if you built it with notepad or web design software.
3. Get a domain name.
4. Point the domain name to the correct address provided by the hosting company.

Or ...

1. Hire a web designer who will take care of everything for you, and cut him a check.
2. Make sure to have a maintenance clause in your contract because you won't want to be the one having to figure out why little Johnny did things that way, and how do you fix it so that it works again.

Personally, I find the first option easier (and I design websites for businesses on occasion) because it's quick, one step, and I don't have to worry about it in the future. I wish I had started out that way, would have saved having to learn it all.

Above all else, make sure YOU own the domain name. Otherwise you will run into problems at some point in the future. People quit building sites, get sick and even die. If you don't own the domain name, your site, your content and your money are at risk of being lost. If you own the name you can always move it to another server, another designer or just park it.