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Web Hosting FAQ
What is an ISP?
An ISP (Internet Service Provider) is a company that provides various
Internet services, such as a dial up connection to the Internet, e-mail,
and possibly web hosting.
What is web hosting?
Web hosting simply means that the files that make up your web site
reside on the hosting company's server. That server provides the rest of
the world with access to your web site through fast, dedicated Internet
connections.
In order to have a website on the Internet, you first need to have a web
server. Unfortunately, owning a web server can be very costly and
requires technical expertise that most businesses don't have. This is
where web hosts come in. Web hosting companies provide the equipment and
other technical resources that you need without the headaches that come
when you have to do it yourself.
Think of a web host as the landlord of building. A landlord rents out
storefronts to various businesses. Each business decorates and runs
their store differently, and doesn't worry about the maintenence of the
building. In a similar way a web host rents out space on a web server to
various businesses. Each business builds their own website and never has
to worry about the maintenence of their web server.
In other words, the web host provides the place on the Internet where
your website lives. It's a lot cheaper than buying you own server, and
you don't have to hire the technical staff to take care of it.
What is domain name hosting?
Domain name hosting means that the domain name you have purchased
points to the web site that is being hosted by your IPP, so that your
site can be accessed by typing your domain name into a web browser. If
you want to set up and use e-mail at your domain name before your web
site is up, this requires set up of your web hosting account. At that
point, web hosting is in effect (as well as the charges that go along
with it) regardless of the status of your web site.
What is a Registrar?
A registrar is the company that your domain name is registered with,
such as Network Solutions (previously the only option) or INWW/Melbourne
IT, or Tucows.com. They keep a record of the registered owner, the
Organizational, Administrative, Technical and Billing contacts for your
domain name, as well as a record of what server your domain name/web
site is hosted on. Even if your web hosting company or web design
company buys your domain name for you, you should make sure that YOUR
COMPANY or YOUR NAME is listed as the owner of your domain name, not the
web hosting company or the web design company! It's usually easy to
change contact information associated with your domain name, but it a
hassle to change the registered owner, and usually involved a fee of
some kind. You should also make sure that you renew your domain name
only with the company that it is already registered with, as many
registrars now engage int he practice of sending out "renewal notices"
for domain names that are not even registered with their company.
If you want to purchase a domain name, please contact Digital West
Networks, Inc. (DWNI).
What is "Catch-all" or "Wildcard" E-mail?
Catch-all E-mail means that e-mail that is sent to anyword@yourdomain.com
will go to your mailbox. So even if someone makes a mistake typing your
user name, the message will still get to you as long as they get the
spelling of the domain name right. Many clients request that catch-all
e-mail be disabled if they are receiving too much spam.
What is "Unlimited E-mail Forwarding?"
Unlimited E-mail Forwarding means that for each e-mail address you
use, you can choose anything@yourdomain.com, and the e-mail will go to
the mailbox of your choice. This allows you to forward e-mail to another
e-mail address, or organize your e-mail by the address that it's sent
to. For example, sales@yourdomain.com can go to your sales team's
mailbox, and techhelp@yourdomain.com can go to your technician's
mailbox. Or you can have it all go to the same mailbox if one person
handles all the e-mail for your company.
Is there a way to eliminate Spam?
Although there is no sure way to eliminate spam completelty, there
are ways to drastically cut down on the amount of spam you receive. If
you want more information on spam filtering, please contact Digital West
Networks, Inc. (DWNI).
What is "Secure Socket Layer (SSL)?"
Secure Socket Layer, or SSL, is what makes your web site's ordering
process secure. Once SSL is enabled, all orders placed on your site are
encrypted until they get to you.
What is a secure certificate?
A secure certificate from a certifying authority such as GeoTrust,
Thawte, or Verisign, verifies, or authenticates the security of a web
site.
If you want to purchase a secure certificate for your web site, please
contact your web hosting provider.
Why do I need a secure certificate if I already have SSL enabled?
Enabling SSL encrypts the data from an online transacion, but without a
secure certificate installed, your customers will get warning messages
saying that there is not a valid certificate for the site, or that the
certificate does not match the site name. Once a secure certificate is
purchased and installed, a logo for the secure certificate with a link
to more information can be added to your web site at your request.
What is a sub-domain?
A sub-domain is a separate doblack that can be created off a virtual
domain name. An example would be (http://subdomain.domain.com). Some web
hosting companies offer sub-domains that are created using wildcards in
their DNS. We offer true Apache sub-domains on all of our plans.
What is Search Engine?
Search engines utilize indexing software agents often called robots
or spiders. These agents are programmed to constantly "crawl" the Web in
search of new or updated pages. They will essentially go from URL to URL
until they have visited every Web site on the Internet. Search engines
read a web site's 'meta tags' and content in order to determine their
ranking.
What is the difference between search engines and directories?
The main difference between a search engine and a general directory
is that a directory will not list your URL if you do not first register
it with them. They do not make use of indexing software agents and so
have no way of knowing it's out there. As a result, their registration
form will be considerably longer than just your URL. Directories are
usually subdivided into categories and you have to submit your URL under
the most appropriate heading.
What is domain propagation?
When a visitor types your domain name into their Web browser, their
request is referred to a nameserver that indicates the physical location
(the IP address) of your domain on the Internet. When your site location
changes to a new IP address, or when a new domain name is added,
nameservers around the world must be notified of the change. This
process is referred to as propagation.
Propagation normally requires 24-48 hours. During this period, if you
are transferring your domain, some nameservers will refer to the old
location of your site and some to the new location. Therefore, a visitor
accessing your site may be directed to either the old or new location.
It is usually best to keep your previous hosting company until your
transfer is verified as having taken place.
What is a parked domain?
Parked domains are not separate accounts, they are merely pointers
to an existing web site rental account. Parked domains do not have their
own IP address, SEPERATE EMAIL ADDRESSES or their own control panel.
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