Domain Name

[shadowayex]

Well, there's not exactly a proper place to post this (unless I missed it completely) so I chose this forum. I want to get a domain name for my website. Problem is, I don't know how.From what I've read is I have to register a name with a host or something. How do I do that?

[justsomeguy]

Most hosts give you the opportunity to register a name when you sign up for hosting.https://secure.hostgator.com/~billing/order/orderwiz.php?v=1

[jeffman]

Your host may have something similar, but till then, go here to check for available names: http://www.internic.net/whois.html

[Jesdisciple]

Here's the free registrar I use (as of yesterday) in conjunction with my free host with a longer name: http://co.cc/ (I couldn't find any free registrar for the Top-Level Domains.)GoDaddy.com is a popular paid registrar, and I believe they do TLDs.

[shadowayex]

I should have probably mentioned, I'm running my own server here at home. I use WAMPSERVER 2.0 for it.

[Jesdisciple]

This is a wrong topic to discuss this in, but make sure you reconfigure WAMP so it's secure. By default, it's very insecure because it's not expected to go online.Check out co.cc and godaddy.com as I mentioned above. You'll need to open at least one port and give them your IP address.

[shadowayex]

I know it's insecure, but the only people who access the site as of right now are my testers. I was going to learn how to securely install apache, php, mysql, and phpmyadmin on the server step by step and then when I'm ready to release the site to the public actually install the stuff securely, but I'm having troubles finding a good article on how to do it that doesn't confuse me with words bigger than my attention span >_<. But anyways, I'll check those two out. Anyone else have some places to mention?

[justsomeguy]

If you only want to register a domain, you can use something like 000domains.com. If you want to point that domain to your home computer then you're going to need to sign up for a DNS account also so that you can change the nameserver records, if you have a dynamic IP at home then you need to use a dynamic DNS service like dyndns.com. If you have a static IP then you can use any DNS service, like worldwidedns.net. If you don't know whether you have a static or dynamic IP then ask your ISP. BTW, people take entire semesters or years at college to learn how to properly secure and administer servers, so I wouldn't expect to find an article that has a one-stop solution. Securing a server has a lot to do with the specific software on that particular server. It's worthwhile to learn, you can make a lot of money doing it (because it's not easy), but security is something you need to always stay on top of and know exactly what you're doing and why you're doing it. That's why I choose not to host my own servers, I don't want to have to read security news every week to figure out what the new exploits are and whether or not I need to patch openSSL or sendmail or whatever. I pay the pros to do that and stick to what I'm good at, which is development.

[shadowayex]

I'd run through a host but money is tight, and I had problems with a hosting site getting mad at me because I made a chatroom that used up more that 1.3% CPU on their server or something. I don't remember. I guess web development is something you really have to have money to do effectively =/.

[Skemcin]

I'll chime in a few thoughts here . . . I'll first ask why get a domain name if the only traffic you have are testers? Your testers should be able to use your IP address which you can/should problematically channel through a firewall on your network at home to a specific PC on your LAN that is dedicated to server your application(s).If you move forward with a domain name and you still host things on your home network where your network is assigned a dynamic IP from your internet service provider, then you will have to use a Dynamic Domain Name Service (DynDNS) - like http://www.dyndns.com/services/. This will allow you to register your network with a service that will constantly track your network to make sure the domain name registration always points your domain name to the correct IP address.If your last hosting service was irritated with your CPU consumption, then you need to tell us which best describes the reality of your situation:a.) your hosting provider genuinely sucksb.) your application (is this still the one your "testing") is programmed poorly and is resource intensive - hence "testing"c.) you have testers all over the globe hitting your site at an astronomical rate that simple uses that much server resourcesIf you are "testing" something that you want to eventually go live with, then avoid any and all recommendations and temptations to use any FREE online service. Do not register your domain name free. Do not sign up for with hosting that is free. If you can't pay for it, then you can't do it right now.I don't know what language you are programming in, but you have a very affordable developer shared hosting account at CrystalTech.com - $2.95 a month. You will have an environment that is clean and uncluttered. It can be upgraded to a regular full service account when you need to go live - transition is as easy as requesting an upgraded site. You can buy a domain name and manage your own domain name pointers to forward to the IP address - blah blah blah.My points really just come down to this:a.) if you want/have to do it at home, then don't complicate it just fort he sake of a domain name - just open a port on your firewall to forward to your application server and use your IP address. If your ISP gives you a new one when because your IP lease ran out or because you release/renew, then just go to whatismyip.com and forward that to your "testers"b.) if you want to do it with the least amount of pain and effort - buy a cheap legitimate hosting service and set up shop there - buy the domain name if you like, but no need to really have it point anywhere if you're not live.BTW, I know this from experience. I have a client that has been dragging their feet for three years on a project. They've wasted in excess of $1,200 (at cost) on hosting, domain name, and SSL certificate fees for a site that has yet to go live. The entire project, to date, could have been done on the developer account I mentioned above for only $100.So, analyse your essential needs and do not extend yourself beyond that point - unless you can afford it.

[shadowayex]

Thanks for the input. I'm working on starting a small time business fixing video game systems for people at a much cheaper rate that sending it in. After that, I should have some extra money to work with.After reading through stuff, I think that I've decided that (at least for the time being) paying for hosting is the best route to go. I program in PHP and the website I'm developing will be released to the public as soon as I get a few more options laid out to keep them occupied while I'm building other things. Right now I have it set up so testers access the site through the IP and everything, but a couple testers have a habit of forgetting the IP before they write it down or whatever it is they do to remember it. That's when the domain name idea came in to play. But now that I look at it, in the long run this project will cost more for me to host myself than to have someone host it for me. So I guess I'll have to look into some hosting sites.I'll let my testers know this and I'm going to ask around for some small loans to get the site off the ground. I need a hosting place that will let me use the latest PHP options, upload my existing files and database tables, and one that won't mind that my site is built in a way that users' actions are tracked using an AJAX function that fires every second (much like the chatroom AJAX that got me in trouble with my last hosting site). I'll try to ignore costs as I'm confident that someone will loan me enough money to take care of the hosting until I get my small business going. But something that will cover those needs mentioned above at a relatively low cost will be nice.I'm going to google around, but if anyone has any suggestions of places you use or have used, please let me know. And BTW, sorry for having this topic in the wrong place ^^;EDIT: Oh, and my chat room that got me in trouble was built by me, but helped along by many people from these forums. I think it was written well, but in the end I had to scrap it because of the host. The hosting site I was using was freehostia.com, because they didn't force ads on a free account. 3-4 people accessed that chat room at a time, and there was usually at least one person on it at all times. The way it worked was it fired a call to the database every second (using AJAX and PHP) to cehck for new messages and displayed them, while the form to submit messages were also ran through AJAX, but of course only fired when someone sent something. Is that clear or am I really bad at explaining things .

[Skemcin]

Sounds like you've put some thought into this and that is all anyone could hope for. The only other thing I would suggest given the requirements your application seems to have is to consider a dedicated or semi-dedicated hosting plan. Be as transparent as possible with your hosting selection. Let them know your application requirements upfront - contact their sales department and speak to someone about the nature of your site. Naturally, then will upsell you but don't let them guide your decision entirely, let them know you understand and appreciate their concerns - regarding how your site might affect other sites in a shared environment. Assure them that your intention is not to bring a server to a crawl as it affects your site as well as others - but if you start off in a totally shared environment, request to be placed on a server with low volume sites. Let them know you plan on migrating to a semi or fully dedicated solution and that their cooperation will play a vital role when it comes time to evaluate that option.Good Luck.

[Jesdisciple]

I'd run through a host but money is tight, and I had problems with a hosting site getting mad at me because I made a chatroom that used up more that 1.3% CPU on their server or something. I don't remember. I guess web development is something you really have to have money to do effectively =/.

Then I have a good excuse to recommend a site that I use: 110mb.com. Their hosting is free, but many paid extras are available (none of which I've bought yet). I have the same username (Jesdisciple) over there, so you can be my first referral if you'd like. (Whoever gets the most referrals in a week gets featured on the homepage, lol.)EDIT: MySQL is one of the paid extras I mentioned, but I don't think it's super expensive. (And the name is now obsolete; they provide 5GB of space.)

[Synook]

For some reason my school blocks 110mb.com as malicious. Though it may just be the domain name...

[turtle]

Register a new domain for free at http://www.co.ccone can have 2 domain.....And you can get one now! Before some one register it....Here is my guide:Step1:go to this page: http://www.co.ccAnd type the domain that you want to register:Then press "Check ..."if you are lucky ( your domain haven't registered yet), the result will look like:then:and finaly..lthat's all you have to do to get your own domain

[Skemcin]

that's all you have to do to get your own domain

... if you want a co.cc name of course - READ the Terms of Service if you choose to use this service.@ragaeI'm not going to get into a debate with other members about what you should or should not do - it makes me nervous when free online services are thrown around as a cost savings solution. You will get what you pay for - and that's all there is to say about that - I've been there. It appears you have and will continue to put much thought into this - good for you - keep it up and just make sure you are happy with the decision(s) you make. And remember that each decision has a short and long term effect on what and how you can grow.

[Jesdisciple]

For some reason my school blocks 110mb.com as malicious. Though it may just be the domain name...

I would guess that's because just anybody can get a subdomain of it... It's kind of like MySpace in that respect.Skemcin makes a good point. Assess your priorities and act on them.

[shadowayex]

I've made my decision. It's a painful one moneywise though. $50 a month through a place designed for websites what maybe require extra CPU and Bandwidth due to some of their services. After talking to some system administrators from InMotion, their lowest VPS service seems to fit my current needs very well, and upgrades from there are very easy and only require some back end work on their side, so downtime from an upgrade is minimal, and downtime period is extremely minimal. I won't be based on shared hosting so I need not worry about messing up other people's websites (which I expressed as one of my concerns).I would recommend that place to anyone and everyone looking for hosting. Their basic packages start extremely cheap and their system administrators are very friendly and know what they're talking about. I spoke with a few different ones and all were on the same page about my concerns and needs and all directed me towards VPS hosting to prevent any headaches due to amount of CPU my website will be using. They hate having to go through that work just as much as I do.I'm speaking to a salesperson right now, who, of course, is pointing out the benefits of a couple higher up account options that I will be looking into in the future. The salespeople even seem to know a lot of the technical stuff about their hosting environment. It's very nice. I think I'm sold on this as soon as I get my business up and running. Until then, testers will still be running off the server I set up. Good thing I don't plan public release for a couple more months ^^.

[Skemcin]

Very nice ragae - good work on researching everything and not being intimidated when talking to sales/support. Sounds like you have a good plan together and that is the most important part of getting your business off on the right foot. Even better that you found a company with individuals that you are comfortable with. Lets hope they continue to provide that level of service and don't be afraid to use the trust they sold you on in the future should you have a circumstance that deems it.Good Luck.