Internet Business 101 - Making sense of Domains, Hosting and Websites
THE BEST GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS ON THE WEB
For many of the regulars on the web, obtaining a domain name & a host account for your web site is as easy as pie. For others, it's as mysterious and hard to understand as the Kardashians framily values. It's this last group of people to which I would like to speak today.
When I am describing the process of starting up a web business I like to use the analogy of a brick and mortar business that is being ran out of a real store front. Maybe one in a strip mall. Something we can all relate to and understand. It would be helpful for you to understand that having an internet business is just like that, we are just going to use different names and terms to describe the things involved. Here's the analogy
1. EVERY BUSINESS NEEDS AN ADDRESS
A brick and mortar business
If you want to go to buy something, and it's at a business you've never been to before, you are going to need to know where to go. For this, you will look up the address of the business. Let's say that what you need is an organic widget and that the business that sells them is called Organic Widgets, Inc.
You do your homework and look up the location to learn that it's located at 1234 Main St. Wonderful! Now you know the name of the business and where it is! You can finally get that organic widget you've had your eyes on!!! You go there and a big sign over the building says "Organic Widgets". Yes! Now you know you have come to the right place.
An Internet business
If you would like to go to a website and look for something, you will also need an address. On the Internet, an address that is used for a website is called either a URL, or a Domain.
Te explain, the brick and mortar store that is in the real world (not the virtual world of the Internet) has somewhere that they can stock all of there stuff (a building) and that building will typically have a big sign over the building that says their name. This way their customers can find them and come shop... a website is no different. But instead of calling the place they keep their stuff a "building", they call it a website. And instead of a big sign over the website, they have a domain name up there. You will have to buy a domain name.
So, to be clear, the store in the real world has a building. The store on the Internet has a website. You will need to hire a website design company to design and "build" this website for you. (click this link to see our recommended web design company)
a "building" = a "website"
sign = domain name
2. EVERY BUSINESS IS IN A LOCATION
A brick and mortar business
A brick and mortar business can be found on a "lot" of land. A chunk of real estate that they are paying for and that they are allowed to build their store on.
An Internet business
An Internet business is actually a collection of computer code files that is kept in something called a Hosting account. It helps some people to think of a hosting account for a website as being a piece of virtual real estate. Here is where the files are placed that will tell people's computers what to show when the website is brought up on a visitors (viewers) screen. (click this link to buy a hosting account)
a "location" = a "hosting account"
IT ALL COMES TOGETHER
You hire a web company like EverDream Sites to design the website you will use as your online store. They can put all of the other things together for you.
FIND ONE WEBSITE THAT CAN DO ALL OF THIS FOR YOU
I review many large and small web companies throughout the year. We recommend that if you are new to the Internet business world, you use a mid to smaller-sized web company that will take the time to educate you as well as meet your needs.
http://EverDreamSites.com is a starting place for Businesses new to the web to buy a domain name, a hosting account, email, ecommerce carts or anything else they may need to get up and running and be a success on the web.
Hope this helps,
The SEO Scout
http://theseoscout.com - A blog for newbies to Internet business and SEO!
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