Glossary of Terms

Domain name

What comes after the "www" — example, rjdwebworks.com. Think of it like a phone number. Your domain name will reach your website's home page from anywhere in the world.

Many folks agonize over the perfect domain name. My advice: don't. Why?

• There are already billions of domain names in existence. Odds are, your first and maybe even your fifth choices are already taken.
• The only people who are going to type in your domain name are those reading it from your business card or other printed matter. The wide world is going to find your site through a search engine.

I suggest you do your domain-naming brainstorming in front of a domain checker.

Once you have found an available domain name that you like, you have two choices:

• hire someone like me to secure both your domain name and your hosting service
• do it yourself

You can register your domain name(s) through any of a zillion companies. Rates vary. Shop around. Chose a reputable company.

As a webmaster, my number one concern is the administrative tools the company offers. I've spent way too much time trying to transfer a domain from one registrar to another or to change a particular setting. For this reason, when I register your domain for you, I choose GoDaddy. They make things really easy and their phone support has been great.

Website:

A collection of files stored on a computer that is connected to the Internet. There is a file for each page and each image in your site.

Hosting Service:

The company who provides the hardware and software to connect your website to the Internet.

There are a host of hosts out there. They all offer domain name registration as part of a package deal. It is not necessary to have the same company host your site and be your domain name registrar, but if you're going it alone, it's a good idea to keep it simple.