What Is Website Hosting And What Does It Do?
Well first off we need to understand that it is a 2 part process to make your own website:
The first part is to get the domain name. The name has to be purchased through a Domain Registrar. The fee for registration must be paid each year (although you can register for multiple years in advance if you prefer). Registration of a name basically just gives you the rights to control the web content for that site. The second part of the website starting process is to use your rights to control the website by getting a hosting service for your domain. If you simply register a name but do not get hosting for it, there will not be content on the site. If you do not host your domain oftentimes your domain registrar will use your domain name to display their own advertisements. Sometimes people just want to register a name to reserve it for later use, in which case no hosting is needed. You can add hosting to a domain at any time in the future.
If you want to have your own content on the website for your new domain, then you will need to get a hosting account for it. A hosting account is basically renting a space on a special computer (called a server) where your website files are stored. This special computer is connected to the internet 24 hours per day and files for your website can be accessed by anybody with an internet connection any where in the world. The web browser for your computer (example: Internet Explorer) is basically a web file reader program, that can access and display webpage contents. Your website is nothing more than a series of files and your domain name is nothing more than a way of telling computers where those files are located. You pay the hosting company a fixed fee (paid either monthly or annually) in order to use space on their computer for your website files. You can think of a domain name as being like a "file name" and the hosting as the like the "file contents".
How Do I Get Web Hosting?
If you are registering a new domain name then it will be very simple to get hosting. You simply find the domain name you want by starting in the domain search box to the upper right of this page. Follow the instructions to register the new name that you select. During the ordering process you will have the opportunity to add hosting to the order. The basic plan currently costs only $4.99 per month and it has the famous Website Tonight® builder. This feature allows you to easily make a do-it-yourself website. You select from a choice of templates and then customize it with the fonts and colors that you want. You can upload pictures and logos and place your text on the pages you build. When completed it looks very professional!
If you already have a domain name registered with GoDaddy.com it is simple to add hosting to your domain. Simply log-on to your account and click on the hosting tab at the top of the screen. Follow the directions to place the order and in no time you can be building your new website. If your current registration is with another domain registrar then you have 2 options. The best option is to transfer your domain to GoDaddy. The second option is to order the hosting plan from GoDaddy and then change the DNS settings, but this is not recommended for beginners.
How Do I Get Email Service?
When you order a new domain name you can use the domain for email. Email is included with hosting. You can use it for email even if you do not have hosting. Basic Email Plans currently start at just $1.19 per month.