A domain is like a street address, it tells the world where to find your website. It is also called a URL or address.
Domains are rented from a domain registrar, and ICANN, the "Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers", looks after the domain name system and IP Addresses. The ownership of a domain is the ownership of the rental. Domains are rented as a method of trying to ensure domains are used and not bought once and never available again. Like preventing derelict houses in a street.
Different domain endings mean different things. For example:
- .com.au or .au can only be bought by Australian businesses with a reason to by the domain, such as the name is like your trading name. This is enforced in Australia at the time the domain is bought
- .com means a commercial site, international or American.
- .org is for organisations, like clubs or non-profits
- Each country has it's own ending, eg .au for Australia, .nz for New Zealand
- Newer generation endings, like .net, .rocks, .online, .mobi, .education are also available
Website Hosting is like saving your photos to the cloud. Hosting means renting your little part of the cloud to run your website.
The cloud is a data centre with lots and lots of computer servers. So instead of having our own computer server we rent some server space in a data centre. This is hosting.
There are different types of hosting, depending on what you need to do:
- Linux Hosting - this will run any website and includes email. We recommend the premium version as it gives you
- A solid state drive (SSD)
- Unlimited emails
- Unlimited space
- A very competitive price
- Windows Hosting - this is more expensive (due to the cost of Windows Server licenses). It is generally only needed if you have a program that needs MS Windows to work
We have chosen our hosting provider for the following reasons:
- The data centres are in Australia, so your data does not leave Australia. Of course they also have data centres internationally and those locations can be chosen instead
- Gigabit (or better) speed
- 99.99% guaranteed uptime
- Excellent 24/7 support!
An SSL certificate adds security for your customers.
A website without an SSL certificate was like a postcard sent in the mail in the olden days, there was a picture on one site of the card and the address on the other, and EVERYONE could read what was written.
An SSL certificate adds a sealed envelope around the card, protecting what is sent from prying eyes.
Google thinks SSL is so important, sites without SSL get ranked waaaay down low.
Personalised, Hosted Email
Don't have a website and want your own, personalised hosted email you can access from anywhere? You will need a domain (eg myfamily.rocks) and you can stop using your gmail or live or hotmail address.
