Chapter 1. Setting Up Your Web Space
The Web is an increasingly complex place, yet it’s never been simpler to create your own place in it. Let’s begin by staking a claim for your own web address and posting your very first web page.
Getting a Domain
Your own website establishes a unique online identity untainted by the branding of popular social media tools. No matter the other options for maintaining a space online, including having a Facebook page or a Twitter or Google+ account, nothing represents you, your cause, or your organization better than having your own website. Best of all, it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, and you don’t have to be technical or hire professionals to get your site online.
The place to start when creating your website is determining your web address, your URL, as it is commonly known. URL stands for uniform resource locator, and is your website’s address. The URL is what you type into the address bar in your browser when you want to go to a specific web page, and it’s what you use in a link when linking to a story or resource.
The primary component of the URL is the domain name. Google’s domain name is “google.com”, the Humane Society of the United State’s is “humanesociety.org”, and the White House uses “whitehouse.gov”. All three are similar in that all three start with a descriptive or identifying name—“google”, “humanesociety”, and “whitehouse”—followed by an abbreviation, “.com”, “.org”, and “.gov”, respectively. The first part of the domain is the name you pick that best describes your site, followed by a top-level domain or TLD, describing the type of website represented by the domain. Combined, both form a unique address that represents your web space.
Before getting into the details about how to find and register your unique domain name, we’ll first take a closer look at the TLD, so you can determine which is most appropriate for your site.
The Top-Level Domain
The TLD provides some information about your website, though the semantics behind the more common ones has weakened over the years. For instance, the most frequently used TLD is .com, originally intended for commercial uses. However, it has become the de facto, all purpose catchall for domains, used for anything from companies (“oreilly.com”) to food weblogs (“browneyedbaker.com”). Because of such common usage, anyone can use the .com TLD.
Most of the TLDs are available to anyone for any use, while others are restricted. The .gov TLD is restricted to government use only, as is the .edu (education only), and .mil (for the military). Other TLDs are open for general-purpose use, but your website must meet certain criteria. These are typically geographically associated domains, such as .us for US websites, or .co.uk for sites in the UK.
There are many generic top-level domains, or gTLDs, available to anyone, including .info, .me, .rocks, and even .tv, though the costs for each vary—sometimes considerably. The list of TLDs you can use is long and growing longer by the month:
- .com: General-purpose domain, most commonly used
- .net: Originally intended for networks, but also used generally
- .org: Typically nonprofit organizations, but now used generally
- .info: General information
- .club: As in "coffee.club"
- .me: Assigned to the Republic of Montenegro, but access open to all
- .photography: Self-explanatory
- .rocks: For the rock star in all of us
- .guru: For the self-help experts among us
- .website: For those who like redundancy
- .io: Indian Ocean, but popular among technology websites
- .cm: More open alternative to .com
- .co: Another open alternative to .com
There are now enough openly available TLDs that you should have no difficulty in obtaining an interesting and uniquely you domain.
Sorry, “cats” Is Out
You can choose your favorite name and create a unique domain, unless the name you want is very common, such as “cats”. There are no open domains for “cats”, “dogs”, “money”, and so on.
Registering Your Domain
Once you have an idea of the domain you want, the next steps are to check whether it’s available, and if it is, to register it. Domain name registration ensures that the domain name is yours to use.
You can register a domain name two different ways. The first is to register it through the company you’ll use to host your website. The second is to use a name registrar. This is a company that primarily provides name registration services, though many registrars also provide hosting services.
The advantage to registering with your host company is that most provide free domain registration services for a single domain, as long as you remain with the company. And you don’t have to fuss with the mechanics of associating the domain with the actual website.
The advantage to using a name registrar is that it is simpler to transfer a domain if you decide to move your site to a different hosting company. Reputable hosting companies providing free domain services also provide a procedure to move your domain if you cancel your hosting contract. But you’ll usually have to pay a registration fee that’s higher than if you registered the name with a name registrar.
Name registrars also provide more options for maintaining your domain(s), including the ability to park the domain until you’re ready to host it somewhere. A parked domain is one that’s held for you at the registrar. It’s a way of reserving your domain until you’re ready to launch your website.
This section assumes you’re registering a domain at a name registrar and parking it until you find a hosting company.
There are several very good name registrars. Some of the most popular are Namecheap, 1&1, Name, and GoDaddy. I’ll demonstrate the name registration process with Namecheap, though the process is similar in all registrars.
When you access the name registrar web page, the first thing you’ll be presented with is a large input-text field where you type the domain you’re interested in. The registrar then checks to see if the domain is available. You’ll usually type just the name component, not the TLD extension, so that you can see what combinations are available.
Let’s say you’re interested in a domain name of “blipdebit”, as in “blip de bit”, not “blip debit”. You’ve picked this name because it’s catchy, perhaps maps to the site purpose, and you think it’s a unique combination of letters that is available in most, if not all, TLDs. Typing the name in Namecheap’s input field returns a result showing us “blipdebit” is available with all TLDs, as shown in Figure 1-1.
Figure 1-1. Namecheap search results for “blipdebit”
At the bottom of the search results is a brief note about an ICANN fee of $0.18 per domain (US dollars). All domain names are registered with ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. The small fee covers the cost for this registration.
The ICANN FAQ
ICANN provides a helpful FAQ and list of accredited domain registrars. Included in the FAQ is more information about the various TLDs, as well as good advice to make sure your registration process is problem–free.
Now you can add as many name/TLD combinations as you wish. I strongly recommend picking .com, as this is the most common TLD (the one most people are familiar with). You don’t need to select any others, unless you think at some point you’ll need a domain name variation for a separate purpose, or you like how the name looks with .rocks and want to ensure you have access to it at a later time.
However, if .com isn’t available, or you just don’t care for it, feel free to use whatever TLD is available to you. My own domain, burningbird.net, uses the .net TLD, because .com wasn’t available when I registered it, and I’ve not had issues with people finding my site.
About Finding Your Site
Nowadays, most people access websites via search engine or links from other sites (or Twitter or Facebook or other social media site) rather than actually typing the domain name into the browser address bar. Later in the book, I’ll cover how you can ensure that search engines find your website, and how to promote your site in social media.
After you’ve added one or more domain names to the shopping cart, you’re ready to check out. In the checkout page, Namecheap automatically sets autorenew to off. This means that the domain won’t automatically renew with Namecheap when it expires. When you register a domain name, you only register it for a set period of time, typically one or two years. At that point, you’ll either need to renew the domain with your existing registrar or move it to a new registrar and renew it. If you don’t, you’ll lose the domain. You don’t have to worry about accidentally losing the domain, as the registrar will provide ample warning of the expiration date.
Some registrars, like GoDaddy, require that you register your domain for two years. Others may set the domain to automatically renew. It’s important to read the fine print before checking out so you understand exactly what you’re getting.
Namecheap also provides an option to add a WhoisGuard. I strongly recommend you use this, even if you have to pay a small fee (though when I wrote this, the WhoisGuard coverage was free, as shown in Figure 1-2). ICANN requires that each domain have an associated contact name, phone number, and address. All this information is exposed if you run a WHOIS request for the domain name.
Figure 1-2. Name registration options, including WHOIS guard
WHOIS
WHOIS is a method of searching through the global domain name database for information about an existing domain name. Name registrars use WHOIS to check to see if a domain is available. Typing “WHOIS” in a search engine will return any number of websites that will allow you to check the information about the domain.
As an example, running a WHOIS request on “oreilly.com” at GoDaddy, O’Reilly’s registrar, we discover O’Reilly’s corporate address, phone number, and website admin email address. Most businesses and large organizations don’t care if this information is exposed, but smaller organizations and individuals usually do.
The WHOIS guard service (or whatever is the name of the service provided by the registrar you use) provides a way of sheltering this information. Instead of your name, email, phone number, and address showing up when someone does a WHOIS on your domain, people see ones generated by the WHOIS guard service. People can still contact you...but only through the service. It is more than sufficient to protect your privacy.
The registrar may offer other options, such as support for Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or hosting your website. I’ll cover SSL in Chapter 6, but for now, just stick with the domain name and WHOIS guard. Depending on the registrar you use, you might have to wade through several pages of offers before you’re actually able to check out.
To finish the registration, you’ll need to create an account with the registrar and provide payment information. When you’re finished, you’re the proud owner of the domain name of your dreams. At this point, the domain name is parked until you sign up with a hosting service.
Domain Name Parking
Namecheap.com does provide a way to customize your parked domain page, but be forewarned that with some registrars, the parked domain page can be filled with ads. If you don’t want a page filled with ads for your domain name, and your registrar doesn’t provide a way to customize the page, be ready to start at a host, right away.
Using Hosting Companies
A hosting company provides the physical server and Internet access for your website. There are many hosting companies, each providing a set of services. Some companies only provide shared hosting services, others are site builders, and and yet other hosting companies specialize in dedicated servers or virtual private networks (VPN).
Types of Web Hosting
A dedicated server is a leased computer maintained at a hosting company website. One of the more well–known dedicated server companies is Rackspace. Though the company provides the hardware and Internet access, you’re controlling what’s installed on the server and are responsible for maintaining it. You can contract with the hosting company to provide setup and maintenance, but it’s expensive. The dedicated server itself isn’t cheap.
A virtual private server (VPS) is a system where you have all the advantages of a dedicated server, including administrative privileges, but you’re sharing a physical server. My own VPS is hosted with Linode. You’re still responsible for maintaining your slice of the server pie, but it’s less expensive than having a dedicated server.
A website-builder host is one where you don’t have to have your own domain name. The Wordpress.com host is a site like this, as is Weebly. Instead of yourdomain.com, you’ll get a domain like yourname.weebly.com. Most site builders provide a free option with very limited functionality, though they also provide an upgrade into a more traditional shared hosting service.
A shared hosting service is one where your website is one of several running off the same web server. The hosting company manages all of the server functionality for you so you can have both a website and email without having to bother with maintaining the server software. Unless you’re proficient with web server software and operating system maintenance, or can hire someone to do this for you, a shared hosting service is the best bet for you. The next section discusses what to expect when you sign up for a website at a shared hosting service.
Finding Your Hosting Company
You have a wealth of choices when it comes to choosing a hosting company. Following is just a partial list of the companies I’m most familiar with:
To find the one best for you, you can ask friends what they use, explore “best of” online articles related to hosting services, or check out who shows up at the top of the search engine results. In each case, you’ll want to check out reviews for the company and ask folks you know if they know the company and if they like it. Just be forewarned that people either love their hosting companies unconditionally, or loathe them, so any personal reviews you get can be skewed.
Reviews of Best Hosting Companies
PC Magazine put together a great side-by-side review of several different hosting companies, providing a good starting point in your company search.
Shared hosting systems are typically Linux-based, though you can find hosts that support Windows. I recommend a Linux website even if you’re most familiar with Windows, as Linux is the most common type of system with support for the largest number of software and service options. It’s also the less expensive option, and you don’t have to touch the Linux operating system until you’re ready for more advanced functionality—all of the basic website management functionality can be managed via a control panel. I would suggest only going with Windows if you really want to use Windows-specific functionality, such as ASP.NET.
Each hosting company offers packages that contain support for various website services, including bandwidth (most offer an unlimited amount), storage space, domain and subdomain support, pre–packaged shopping carts, mailboxes, spam filters, and control panel support.
Subdomains
A subdomain is a subset of a domain. If you’ve seen URLs like http://doc.somecompany.com, or http://technology.anothercompany.rocks, the “doc” and “technology” represent subdomains. These subdomains can use different applications and even have more restricted access. They’re a way of partitioning your site while still only having one domain.
What package you choose depends on your needs. If you want support for more than one domain, you’ll need to ensure the package allows for multiple domains. If you want email support with your domain, the package needs to provide mailbox services. If you’re putting together a small, online store, having access to shopping cart functionality is essential. FTP support is a must, as is database support if you plan on eventually using weblogging software or a content management system (CMS).
Regardless of your unique needs, one service you must have is a control panel. This is an online interface that allows you to easily control your site, as well as set up the individual services. I strongly recommend that you get a shared host package with support for cPanel, the most frequently used (and well documented and supported) control panel.
Plesk Control Panel
Another well-known control panel is Plesk. Though I cover cPanel in this book, the procedures when using Plesk should be similar.
In the next section, we’ll take a look at setting a site up using BlueHost as the shared hosting company.
Signing Up with a Host
Focusing in on one host, BlueHost, I’ll walk you through the sign-up process and how to connect your new domain name with your new website. As with the name registrar, signing up for a hosting service is similar across all of the companies.
Most hosting companies provide different packages, and BlueHost is no exception. It provides three options for shared hosting: Starter, Plus, and Pro. Note that the price quoted is if you sign up for a three-year package, so be forewarned that the price per month is higher if you decide on a 12- or 14-month package.
Since you’re just starting, and you only have one domain, let’s go with the Starter package. You can always upgrade at a later time (most hosts allow upgrading, so start cheap, and work up). In the sign-up page, you’ll either provide a domain for BlueHost to register for you or type in the domain name you registered with a name registrar. Since you’ve already used a name registrar to park a domain, go with the second option.
The next page collects account information, including name and address, as well as payment information. With rare exceptions, shared hosting companies require payment upfront for at least a year’s worth of hosting.
BlueHost, like the other hosting companies, also provides optional extras you can add to your account, including enhanced backup support and site security. For now, unless there’s an option you’re absolutely sure you want, go with the basic service (you can add most extras at a later time).
The last page presents a receipt and asks you to provide a password for accessing the new website. Be sure to record this password. You’ll then be taken to the login page, where you can log in using your domain name.
Congratulations, you’re all signed up. Now comes the fun part.
Your Website’s Address and Connecting Your Domain
You have a domain managed by one company, and your website hosted in another. How do you connect the two? Easily. All you need to do is point your domain to BlueHost’s name servers. Before we make the connection, though, let’s take a closer look at how domains get mapped to server locations, and what a name server is.
The Internet addressing system consists of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that usually look like four sets of three numbers, separated by periods. My site’s current IP address is 173.255.206.103. You can type this address into a browser and my default website displays, since I have a dedicated IP address. The system for the address is IPv4, which has been the primary Internet addressing system for years. Recently a new addressing system, IPV6, was created because the popularity of the Web is depleting IPv4 addresses. An example of an address under IPv6 is:
FE80:0000:0000:0000:0202:B3FF:FE1E:8329
Definitely not for the faint of heart. And not something you want to type into a browser address field. Or try to remember. Neither address system provides addresses that are easy for humans to remember.
What we need is a way to map these network addresses to domain names humans do understand. That’s where the Domain Name System (DNS) enters the picture. The DNS maps network addresses to domain names via a hierarchy of name servers that maintain this pairing.
BlueHost provides two name servers: ns1.BlueHost.com and ns2.BlueHost.com. In these name servers, the company provides the information that maps the domain name you provided when you signed up with the IP address you share with other BlueHost customers. All you need to do now is transfer the DNS management for your parked domain at the name registrar to the hosting company. You do that by replacing the name servers the registrar lists with the name servers the hosting company provides.
Returning to Namecheap, look for the menu option Manage Domains, listed in the menu under your account name. In the left side of the page is a View Domains option. Clicking this will list all your domains to the right. Click the domain you’re having BlueHost manage. Select “Transfer DNS to Webhost” from the left side in the page that opens, as highlighted in Figure 1-3. In the page that opens, you’ll see five text fields in the middle of the page. Enter the web host’s name servers (in this case, ns1.BlueHost.com and ns2.BlueHost.com) into the fields, as demonstrated in Figure 1-3. You need to enter at least two, but you can enter up to five if your hosting company provides more than two name servers.
Figure 1-3. Selecting Transfer DNS to Webhost opens a page where you can enter the host’s name servers
That’s it. You’re all done. The same process works regardless of web hosting company and name registrar:
- Register your domain at the name registrar.
- Sign up with a web host, providing the domain name when prompted.
- Find the web host’s name server names. Typically these will be available via site documentation or FAQ. Or you can search for the name of your host and “name server.”
- Transfer DNS from the registrar to the host by copying the name server addresses into the spaces provided at the registrar.
Again, if your host is also your registrar, you can skip the DNS transfer process. But if you want to switch to another host, you’ll have to go through a DNS transfer at that time.
If you enter the domain into your browser once the DNS is transferred, your website may not show up right away. It can take a day or two for the transfer to propagate throughout the name server hierarchy. An interesting effect of the propagation process is that a friend or family member might be able to access the domain at your website before you can.
Follow Your Domain Name
Domain propagation is the process where the domain/IP address makes it way throughout the Internet. You can follow your domain name as it propagates through the DNS in the Global DNS Propagation Checker. Checking your domain over time, you’ll see the IP address associated with your domain slowly change from the registrar’s IP address to your web host.
When the DNS transfer is complete, the host’s generic hosting page shows up. This page displays until you upload your own content, covered next.
Communicating with Your Server Using FTP
You’ll need to use file transfer protocol (FTP) to upload content to your new website. You can create new FTP accounts via your cPanel control panel.
Introducing the cPanel
Most hosting companies use cPanel, the most popular of control panels. However, not all cPanel installations look the same, because the software allows each hosting company to brand the tool with its own look and feel, as well as refine what options are displayed for its customers.
For the most part, though, if you’ve used cPanel at one company, you can easily use it at any other. Or if you’ve used the cPanel company’s own demo installation, you can easily use the hosting company’s version.
Logging back into BlueHost (or whatever hosting company you’re using) using the direct home link, your account’s cPanel management system is displayed, as shown in Figure 1-4.
Figure 1-4. The cPanel home page at BlueHost
Across the top are several options, including access to the Server. Other cPanel installations may not have the topmost set of links, in which case you’ll need to look for the service icons within the cPanel page. Each should be clearly labeled.
When you click the Server option, BlueHost asks you to verify your account for the first time. Hosting companies have been trying to shut down spammers with extra steps, and this is one of them. It’s a pain, but thankfully, you only have to verify your account once (this process does differ across hosting companies). Verification is easily accomplished by calling a given phone number using the phone associated with your account, and providing the last four characters of your password or last four digits of your credit card.
Once verified, clicking the Server option opens a page with links to check your disk space usage, bandwidth usage, and so on. It’s a way to keep track of what’s happening with your website. The other cPanel icons along the top (e.g., Email, Website, FTP, Databases, and Manage IPs) are links to options located elsewhere in the cPanel page. They’re ways of managing website software, email accounts, FTP logins, databases, and unique IP addresses, if you ever purchase an individual IP address.
Clicking the FTP option opens a page that prompts you to create an FTP account, which I’ll cover in the next section. I’ll cover other cPanel options in later sections and chapters.
Setting Up and Using an FTP Account
When you first set up your website, unless you’re using packaged software such as Wordpress, you’ll need to upload at least one web page. You’ll need an FTP account in order to use FTP to transfer the page from your home computer to the server.
An FTP account is a way of using client-side software to create a connection between your computer (or tablet or smartphone) to your website on the hosting company’s server. You can use any FTP software, as long as it supports the type of FTP you’re using. By default, an FTP account is nonencrypted, which means that any data you send or receive from the server is sent without encryption and can be seen by any hacker who may have tapped into the system. In Chapter 6 I’ll cover how to set up SFTP, or secure FTP, for your account. SFTP adds encryption so that any snoop can’t peek at the data. For now, though, we’ll stick with FTP, just to get you started.
When you signed up for BlueHost, the company created a default FTP account for you. You’ll see this FTP username in the welcome email. The password is the same password you created to access cPanel. The email also provides the FTP URL for your site, which is the domain name with an ftp subdomain. For blipdebit.com, it’s ftp.blipdebit.com.
Any FTP client software can provide access to your server. The one I use is Filezilla, a free application that works in all platforms. Once downloaded and installed, opening the application provides a page listing a local subdirectory (on your computer) and files in that subdirectory in windows to the left, and directories and files on your server to the right. To establish a connection to your server, you’ll either type in the host name, username, and password at the top (i.e., ftp.blipdebit.com, blipdedi, and whatever password), or you can click Site Manager in the File menu. Using Site Manager allows us to create persistent accounts for the servers, rather than having to re-type the account information each time we want to connect. Figure 1-5 shows the Site Manager entry for ftp.blipdebit.com.
Figure 1-5. FileZilla Site Manager entry for ftp.blipdebit.com
You don’t have to specify the port when you create the entry, because FileZilla will use the default port (21) for FTP. I’ll cover the concept of ports later in “Quick Review of Web Server Basics”.
A second way you can configure your FTP client is download the FTP client configuration files that cPanel provides for each FTP account. In the FTP Accounts page, click the Configure FTP Client links associated with an account. A page section opens beneath the account, with links to three different FTP clients: Filezilla, Core FTP, and Cyberduck. Click the one you wish, and save the file to your local PC. To use, open your FTP client and import the configuration file. For Filezilla, do this by selecting File, and then Import. A new site configuration is created automatically for you.
Clicking on Connect creates the connection to your server. If you used a configuration file, you’ll be prompted for your password. The right side of the FileZilla window now shows the subdirectories and files in your server. The default FTP account created when you created your hosting account opens the server connection at the topmost level of the file hierarchy for your account. Just like in Windows, the Mac OS, or any other environment, file subdirectories on the server are created in a tree-like hierarchy. The subdirectory you’ll focus most of your effort in is named public_html, as shown in Figure 1-6. The files in this subdirectory are publicly accessible by people accessing your website.
Figure 1-6. The blipdebit.com website opened in FileZilla
You can transfer files from your computer to the server, or transfer files from the server to your computer, once you connect to the server. You can transfer web pages, graphic files, or other document types that you want to make accessible from you server.
If you want the web page or other document to be publicly accessible, you’ll need to place it in the public_html subdirectory. This subdirectory forms the root for your website. In fact, since most of your work is in public_html, it’s handy to have an FTP account that opens directly into public_html, rather than at the higher account level. It’s a simple matter to create a new FTP account.
In the cPanel page that opens when you click on the FTP icon, you’ll see a form for entering information about the FTP account. Type in whatever name you’d like to use for the FTP account and a password. Note that the account name is for a specific use, not necessarily a person. When you create an FTP account, the system automatically provides a separate subdirectory for that account name, so you can upload files directly to the subdirectory. If we type in “boss” as the account name, the form automatically creates a new subdirectory reflecting the account name, as shown in Figure 1-7.
Figure 1-7. Creating a new FTP account
Since we want the account to load files directly to public_html, we’ll delete the added boss subdirectory. Clicking Create FTP Account creates the new FTP account. When you use this FTP account in your FTP application, you’ll need to use the full FTP account name of boss@blipdebit.com for the username. Once connected, the software opens directly into the public_html directory. Now you’re ready to upload your first web page.
Uploading Your First Web Page
The BlueHost generic page is better than an error of 404 Not Found, which is what people get in their browsers when they access a web page that doesn’t exist. But you’re really going to want to start putting up your own content.
We’re going to start small. Using your favorite text editor, copy the following text (including angle brackets and other annotation) into a new document, and name it index.html:
<!DOCTYPE html><htmllang="en"><head><metacharset="utf-8"><title>The HTML5 Herald</title><metaname="description"content="Blip de Bit!"></head><body><h1>Hello, World!</h1><p>How do you like my new site, eh?</p></body></html>
The text is Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), which is the language used for most web pages. This specific web page is based on the latest version of HTML, HTML 5. I’ll cover HTML in more detail in Chapter 2, but this page basically creates a plain web page with “Hello, World!” in large text, and “How do you like my new site, eh?” in smaller text underneath.
Open your FTP client, connect to the server using your public_html account, and transfer your new HTML document to your server. Now when you open your new website, you’ll see a web page like that shown in Figure 1-8.
Congratulations! You’re now an official webmaster. And since people want to send email to webmasters, let’s set up an email address to use.
Figure 1-8. Your very first web page
Setting Up an Email Address
Nowadays, people are more likely to use their Gmail account for all site-related email needs, but it’s simple to set up an email address if you want one associated with your domain. In fact, it’s not unusual for websites to have a webmaster@domain.com email for people to send emails about potential problems at the site (or to spam you, unfortunately).
Click the Email icon in cPanel to create a new email address. In the page that opens, enter the information for the email account, including email username, password, and the size of the email mailbox, as shown in Figure 1-9.
Figure 1-9. Creating your webmaster email account
Once you’ve created the new email address, it’s listed in the Email accounts table at the bottom of the Email page. You can change the email account’s password or mailbox quota by accessing the email account in this table.
You can also access the account’s email. At the end of the table is a drop-down menu from which you can choose to either configure an email client, or access Webmail: an online web email client built into cPanel that allows you to manage your email directly in the web page.
In the page that opens, you’ll be given options to access your email using various web-based email clients, as shown in Figure 1-10. You can use any of the clients you’d like, or you can set up your email to automatically forward email to your Gmail or other account. You can also configure client email software from this page. For now, let’s access the Squirrel web-based email client. I’ve always been fond of small, furry rodents.
Figure 1-10. The various web-based email clients available to you from cPanel and other options
You don’t have any email, of course. From whatever email system you use now, go ahead and send yourself an email. You’ll see the new email show up in your email client almost immediately. Clicking on the email opens it in the client, as shown in Figure 1-11.
Figure 1-11. Your first webmaster email
Quick Review of Web Server Basics
We covered a lot of ground in one chapter.
You started out by registering a domain with a name registrar. You then signed up with a new web hosting company and transferred DNS management from your name registrar to your hosting company.
You also created your first FTP and email accounts, as well as uploaded your very first web page and sent an email to your new email account.
I wanted to briefly touch on some of the technology behind the scenes of all this activity; just enough so that if people mention any of it, you’ll know what they’re talking about.
Your domain name is a combination of name and TLD, or top-level domain. It’s part of the URL you type into a browser address bar. The other components of the domain are the protocol used, typically HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol), and possibly additional text following the domain for a specific website article. An example is:
http://www.somedomain.com/some-article
The www in the domain name used to indicate URLs in the World Wide Web, but such use isn’t necessary nowadays. It’s more of an artifact than a requirement, and many sites completely forgo its use. The domain name, and the www subdomain should point to the same site if the hosting company configures the domain setting correctly.
We also briefly touched on the FTP protocol, used for transferring files to and from the server. Though we didn’t mention it, email is dependent on yet another protocol: the simple mail transfer protocol, or SMTP.
Moving on from the URL and protocols, let’s take a look at your physical website server. Your hosting company is likely using the most commonly used web server there is: Apache. It’s ideal for shared hosting because it allows hosting companies to create many different domains off the same server. In addition, the hosting company we covered in this chapter is using Linux-based servers. Again, this is the most common type of servers for web companies. One major advantage to the Linux system is it allows the host company to host several customers on the same server, yet keep each of your files safe and private from the other customers. The host company also has a plethora of tools to monitor what’s happening in your site, many of which you can access directly in cPanel via the System link I covered earlier.
Your web pages are served up by Apache, but different software is used for FTP as well as handling email. Email servers are some of the most complex servers to set up, and a major reason many people really don’t want to maintain their own web-based systems. Which email server your host is using is, thankfully, something you’ll never have to deal with.
In the background are a host of other services busy keeping your site safe and secure. There are firewalls to keep the bad guys out, and backup programs to help you recover your site if it gets trashed. Most hosting companies provide good, basic security, spam protection for email, and backups for free, but if you want to have more in-depth control, you’ll most likely need to purchase an optional service. Again, these services should be available on cPanel, and you’ll recognize if they’re for pay or not by the addition of “Pro” to the icon title.
If you run into problems, you can check out the hosting company documentation. Most provide excellent documentation, how-tos, and FAQs. In addition, you can open a ticket via cPanel and either submit a question, note a problem, or ask for help. Be aware, though, that hosting companies won’t manage your website for you. But then, that’s why you have a book like this: to understand how to manage your first website yourself.
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