This is the last installment of my Webhosting for Newbies series and I will be following this with a series dealing with list building…

Of course, all of the information I have covered so far is totally useless if you can’t get your files uploaded and your website on display for everyone. There are several methods that you can use to do this but by far the two most popular are by using FTP (file transfer protocol) or by using the file manager within your cPanel.

Of these two methods, FTP is the method of choice only because it allows you to upload one or multiple files at once without any extra effort. What I mean by that is within your FTP program you can select more than one file at a time and and upload them at the same time whereas with most file managers within cPanel, you need to click a button, navigate to where your file is located, select it and then select where you want to upload it and then click upload (like this…click image for larger size):

With FTP (programs such as FileZilla or CuteFTP), you can select as many files as you like (as long as they are uploading to the same directory) and upload them. The image below (click it to open a new window) shows you the basic interface for FileZilla:

There are several different FTP programs available, and all should be able to allow you to upload or transfer data, images, video, music, and other items to your website easily.

Before you start using FTP to upload your files you should have been provided the server name, username and password for using FTP from your webhosting company. If you haven’t got it or have lost it, contact them to retrieve it.

As you can see, there is a lot involved when it comes to web hosting. It’s not just simply a matter of dreaming up a website and then publishing it online. Making an effective, workable website takes creativity, but it also takes a real knowledge of web hosting and how it works. There are more factors involved than just a creative logo and some catchy music.

All of the elements that I have mentioned in the previous posts are important, and they all work together simultaneously to ensure that your website has an important place in the vast expanse of the WWW. Getting your site noticed is important, and a good web hosting service will help you to get the exposure you need. Whether you’ve been hosting a website for many years, or whether you’re brand new to the world of web hosting, these elements are all essential to getting the most bang for your buck, and for making sure the website you’ve created stays stable and gets the most hits and visits possible.

For more in depth and detailed information on all of this, check out the Webhosting For Newbies ebook. You’ll find much more information covered there than I have mentioned here plus a couple of added bonuses. Check it out here

Again, stay tuned for my next series of posts on List Building…should be interesting.

Thanks for reading.

Ron

I hope you enjoyed the last post and have been practicing your cPanel skills.

Today I am going to go over the basics of pointing your domain to your webhost, which is necessary for your domain to be visible on the web.

If you spend any time on the Internet sending e-mail or browsing the Web, then you use domain name servers without even realizing it. Domain name servers, or DNS, are an incredibly important but completely hidden part of the Internet, and they are fascinating. The DNS system forms one of the largest and most active distributed databases on the planet. Without DNS, the Internet would shut down very quickly.

When you use the Internet or send an e-mail message, you use a domain name to do it. For example, the URL “http://www.ron-barrett.com” contains the domain name ron-barrett.com. So does the e-mail address “ron @ ron-barrett.com.”

Human-readable names like “ron-barrett.com” are easy for people to remember, but they don’t do machines any good. All of the machines use names called IP addresses to refer to one another and domains use DNS servers.

Here are the steps in order to point your domain to your web host.

Step 1) Log into your domain registrar.

Step 2) Select the domain you want to point to your web host.

Step 3) Look for a setting called “Nameserver” or “DNS Settings”. The following are nameservers for Dreamhost.com

Step 4) Enter in your two DNS addresses in the appropriate fields. If you don’t know your DNS addresses, contact your webhost. They should have provided this information when you registered.

Step 5) Save changes.

The DNS, or Domain Name System is a huge database that stores all information communications that exist on the Internet. In fact, it is the largest database in the world. One person browsing the web can complete hundreds of DNS entries per day, depending on how many times they click on something or how much information they transmit online. The DNS server is huge, and each DNS entry relates to an individual domain name, which is why domain name registration is so important.

Each computer or device that is connected to the internet has an identifying IP address. The IP address is important since this is how the DNS recognizes which location is collecting or transmitting information across the World Wide Web.

When someone types the full URL (http://www.blahblah. com) or web address (www.whatever. com) into the address bar of their browser, the domain name and host name is converted to an IP address, so that the browser knows to direct the user to that web page. The browser actually has a virtual conversation of sorts with the domain name’s server. On some computer and Internet systems, the DNS is transmitted to the machine’s memory once you connect to your Internet Service Provider (or ISP). Some machines are actually hard wired to read the DNS and know how to talk to the domain server via the operating system. What basically happens is that the browser contacts the server and asks it to convert the domain into an IP address. Once this happens, the browser converts it over to the website, allowing the user to see it on their PC.

Some servers search for an IP address by looking for the root name server. These root servers know about the IP address already, and know what servers it handles under the top level, or main domains. Once that happens the server asks the root director for the website. It is essential that you’ve already created a master domain, had it registered, and created the root directory so that the domain name knows to go directly to your web host’s server. Registering and creating a domain name is essential to ensuring that the host communication is performed properly.

Each web hosting server can have several physical PCs or computers that each have their own IP address, and this can make up the entire server infrastructure. There can be nicknames, or aliases for the hosts which all point to the actual, physical machine. There can also be a nickname or alias for different websites that point to the master domain. This can go on and on, depending on the root directory and how many name servers there are. In effect, they can all point back to the main domain name in some way or another. It’s important to remember that the DNS can handle millions of transactions every minute of every day. Knowing how the DNS operates is helpful when learning how to make sure your domain name points back to the host or server.

Be sure your website has a good root directory that knows where its origins are. This means that any information using the DNS will ultimately point the user or person visiting the website right back to the web host. In return, you are able to better track where your visitors are coming from, what they are looking at, and how information is being transmitted from your website to the web hosting server and then back again. The DNS is the world’s largest database and is constantly changing, but with a good root directory or name server, all URL hits will bring everything back to the origin of the site, which is the host.

I have one more post coming up and that will do it for the Webhosting for Newbies series.

See you then.

Ron

I hope you enjoyed the last post…I am going to go further on working with cPanel today:

When you register your website, you’ll most likely choose a main domain name. This will be listed as the ‘main domain’ when you log in to cPanel and will be the place that you host most of the data on the server onto. This domain will serve as the root of your account, so be sure that you choose a domain that will be the main URL. There is also an option for sub domains, which is basically the secondary domain names that can help to separate different areas or parts of your website, as well as the choice to create separate accounts.

The term hotlinking refers to when someone puts links to your files on their own website and it ends up eating or using up your bandwidth. In addition, it does not give your website credit for the files being displayed or used. This can usually cause problems with images and pictures since people tend to hotlink to these.

You can prevent this with cPanel, and block access to hotlinking so that other web masters and website owners are not stealing up your data or bandwidth.

Another great feature is the option to manage redirects. Basically, this means that you can determine what link or web page will redirect people to another site.

Often, this is important when you’ve updated a page and want the users to see the new website. Managing the redirect gives you control over what people click on and how it leads them to go to another site or page.

MySQL is one of the most commonly used databasing solutions for online and is easily compatible with both Perl and PHP, making it a very user friendly and adaptable database software.

Within cPanel, you can set up new databases and also manage the ones that already exist. It is also nice to know that each database within your account has your account name as a prefix so you can easily identify and track them. You can also browse, modify, delete, and create new databases. All changes within this tool are not able to be reversed once they’re made, however, so be especially careful when making changes within your database. Also, there is no command to save these changes; they just happen as you make them, so it’s important that only experienced users are able to access the MySQL database information.

As mentioned earlier, you can ban IP addresses within the IP Manager command area. This is an important tool for protecting your website from potential hackers, or from people who want to cause a problem for your website. You can ban the IP address within the manager, but note that once it’s been banned, anyone with that exact IP address will not be able to get access to any area of your website whatsoever. It’s a nice feature but it should be used with caution.

The error log displays the last 300 errors that people have received when they visit your website. It includes all access related errors, permission errors, and any other possible errors they might experience. It provides great insight to where potential problems are coming from, and what you can do to fix or prevent them in the future. The raw log manager allows you to schedule a raw log backup or removal at the end of each month so you can keep or delete important information.

CPanel offers many more options for the web host and web designer. Its interface is simple to use once you’ve logged in and can understand how to use each of the commands. Having the ability to log in and make changes as necessary can make running and operating a website much easier and faster than imagined. With a little bit of practice and some know how, cPanel can do wonders for your website, and make operating it on a daily basis so much easier.

Again, there is much more to discover inside cPanel and the Discover cPanel Video Series are a fantastic resource for you. I highly encourage you to check them out.

Join me next time when I cover how to point your domain to your webhost.

Until then, enjoy the videos.

Ron