Hosting and Domain FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions:
What's a domain name?
What advice can you give for selecting a domain name?
What is hosting and why do I need it?
What about free hosting?
What type of hosting should I buy?
What does FTP mean?
What's a domain name?
A domain name is the web address you type in your Internet browser to visit a website, i.e. SporkMarketing.com. When you type "SporkMarketing.com" into your browser, you arrive at our home page. Domain names can only contain letters and numbers; no special characters or spaces are allowed.
Domain names can be registered with a variety of endings.
The most popular domain name endings include:
- .com – This type of domain name is best for business websites.
- .net – Less desirable than .com, but a reasonable alternative.
- .org – Often associated with non-profits, .org domain names are available for any purpose and also a reasonable alternative to .com domains.
- .info – Technically no different than .com and .net, .info domains are sometimes associated with spam. Therefore, a .net or .com is a better choice.
What advice can you give for selecting a domain name?
A great domain name is reasonably short, easy to remember, and ends in ".com." Unfortunately, these kinds of domain names are getting a little harder to find every day.
Here are some general guidelines to help you find a good business domain name:
- YourBusinessName.com is the best possible domain name you can buy, provided of course your business name isn't too long (three to four words max).
- WhatYouDo.com is also a good domain name, where "WhatYouDo" is your occupation or trade, i.e., ColoradoFamilyDoctor.com, DenverTaxAttorney.com, etc.
- Avoid domain names with dashes, i,e,. Your-Business-Name.com. Dashes are hard to remember and hard to type (and they make your site look a little spammy too).
- Beware odd or clever spellings (or misspellings) of common words because they're usually hard for people to remember.
If you're having trouble finding the domain name you want, think about synonyms you can use. Look at the domainsbot.com search tool, which can be helpful in finding an available domain name.
If you offer a professional service, consider using your title and name – DrKoop.com, for example.
What is hosting and why do I need it?
If you imagine that a domain name (such as SporkMarketing.com) is like an address (say 123 Main St.), then hosting would be the house that your website lives in. Hosting is needed because without it you have no place for your website to live.
What about free hosting?
Unfortunately, there's no such thing as free hosting. There's ad-supported hosting, but it's not conducive to business and is not recommended.
What type of hosting should I buy?
Hosting comes in a lot of different configurations, and the answer will depend upon the site you're trying to build and what you're trying to do. Generally speaking, small business owners can get by with an inexpensive hosting account.
Additionally, your hosting is only as good as your designer/developer. If your designer/developer writes fast, clean code, you can get by with cheap hosting. If your designer writes poor quality, bloated website code, you'll likely need expensive hosting to get decent performance.
You can see the hosting companies we recommend listed here.
What does FTP mean?
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, and it's an excellent method of moving files across the Internet from one computer to another. If we've asked you for your FTP information, what we're looking for is your FTP address (likely your domain name), your login, and your password.
NOTE: FTP is a direct path to your website and all it's data. Be sure to protect your FTP information and choose a very secure password for yoru FTP login.
