Procedure for creating a website

[Polyamorph]

Hi fellow physicists,

I'd like to create my own website. I already have my own webpages currently hosted on a university server but my account will soon be deactivated and I will no longer be able to use that server. So I would like to transfer my personal webpages elsewhere. The trouble is I have no experience doing this and don't know where to start.

I think that I would need to do the following:

1) Buy a website domain - where is the best place to buy this and would I need to keep paying every year or once I buy the domain name do I keep it forever?

2) Find a host server - again where do I find this and is it costly

3) Upload my webpages - what's the best way to do this, currently I use an SSH client to update my website on the university server and this works well, just replacing the html files when I update them. It would be good to find an equally easy way of doing this.

I'm hoping it will be a relatively simple process but as I said I've never done it before so don't know where to start doing a simple google search doesn't really help because there are so many commercial sites out there. I just want to know the procedure and tips on the best hosts etc. to use. Hope that's clear,

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[fss]

1) Buy a website domain - where is the best place to buy this and would I need to keep paying every year or once I buy the domain name do I keep it forever?

Domains are usually purchased for 1-3 years. It costs about $5-10 per year depending on the name and top-level domain you want. GoDaddy, NearlyFreeSpeech, and numerous other businesses sell domain names and register it for you.

2) Find a host server - again where do I find this and is it costly

You'll most likely end up buying hosting server space from the same place you buy the domain from. These plans vary depending on what level of service you want and will be charged monthly or by bandwidth.

3) Upload my webpages - what's the best way to do this, currently I use an SSH client to update my website on the university server and this works well, just replacing the html files when I update them. It would be good to find an equally easy way of doing this.

FTP clients do this quite easily.

 

[jtbell]

I would think that any reasonably up-to-date Web-hosting service would support both FTP and SSH (scp) for uploading files. You would have to find out from them, the exact destination folder or path name on the server.

 

[tiny-tim]

Hi Polyamorph!

… I would like to transfer my personal webpages elsewhere.

If it's a personal website (not a commercial one), can't you find a free host?

There are plenty in the UK.​

 

[phyzguy]

For example, Google sites will do this for free.
http://sites.google.com

 

[Polyamorph]

Hi, thanks for all your replies. Basically if I do a search there are literally thousands of hits. I don't know where to start and who to trust. The google host sounds interesting. the problem is it will be located at the: https://sites.google.com/site/ url whereas I'd like my own personal domain name. Like www.Polyamorph.com Cheers

 

[Cosmo Novice]

Hi, thanks for all your replies. Basically if I do a search there are literally thousands of hits. I don't know where to start and who to trust. The google host sounds interesting. the problem is it will be located at the: https://sites.google.com/site/ url whereas I'd like my own personal domain name. Like www.Polyamorph.com Cheers

If you need your own domain name then you will need to buy a domain name - they are available from most sites. I personally recommend 123reg - to check if a domain is available do a whois lookup on mxtoolbox. If the domain is unavailable then purchase it for the year - have the same company as you buy the domain from host your site - 123reg also do hosting. Then just transfer existing site over and use their ftp for uploads.

You will need to buy your own domain name if you want a specific one. If you need anymore help just let me know.

 

[rcgldr]

Do a web search for "web hosting" or "shared web hosting". Most web hosting sites also offer domain name registration. Which one is "best" depends on what you want and also changes from time to time. I currently use hostgator, but I have used ipower in the past (ipower went through several takeovers, so I'm not sure who owns them now). If download speed is important, see if the web hosting service provides a test site with a test download file. You didn't mention if you need any client / server type software, some of which will be running on the host's server, which would change your requirements for a web hosting site.

 

[netometry]

1&2)
I use Yahoo! It's 9.99 for a domain name and 12.99 per month for hosting(less expensive if purchased for a yr). I think if you buy the hosting plan as you buy the domain they waive the 9.99. They also waive the yearly registration fee with hosting.

Good things about yhoo, unlimited space and bandwidth. Trustworthy, as far as my experience goes(years), + customer service is relatively quick.
Bad things, slow to implement new tech such as new versions of php or mysql. This may be a problem if you want to run a CMS with all the bells and whistles but if your website is simple html files you'll have no problems.

3)FTP or the control panel also has a file up-loader and editor.

I've heard good things about hostgator & bluehost as well but from me it's heresay.

 

[DaleSwanson]

NearlyFreeSpeech was mentioned above and I like them for hosting. They are particularly good for small sites that won't use a ton of bandwidth or storage. You pay per GB used, and that means you may pay about $10 per year for hosting (another $10 for domain name).

https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/services/hosting"

 

[phinds]

For one of my web sites, I use GoDaddy services for a full hosted site and I pay $5/month and it's month-to-month if you want or pay by the year for a small discount. I registered the domain name with them for $5 when they were having a sale, but even not one sale it's about $10 (but yes it that much every year for as long as you want the name).

For another MUCH bigger site, I pay almost $400/yr for a VPN.

My son has a nice site that he gets for free. They are readily available, but as was said above, only if you are using modest disk space and connection bandwidth.

My point is, the range is enormous.

Unless you have a big site, go for a free site and bite the bullet on buying the domain name.