Web Hosting 101 with Patrick McNeil
Alphabet soup
Why learn the technical side? To help your clients solve problems To help you work better with your tech team To better understand how the web works To help you deal with hosting
Who am i? Find me on pmcneil.com or on twitter @designmeltdown I am a writer, designer, teacher and developer I have worked in the web community for around 12 years now I started in the IT field and my foundation in the web started with the hardware I love to write books, talk about design and teach designers about the web
3 parts to hosting a web site A domain name DNS A web host
Part 1 Domain Names
Registering a domain name There are many ways to get a domain name: Through registrars such as Name.com Through all-in-one hosting services such as GoDaddy Through hosted CMS systems such as Squarespace
WHOIS A query to the registrar database Domains are registered in a database WHOIS lets you search the database It's easy; knowing where to start is 90% of the battle. Go here: http://whois.domaintools.com
WHOIS sample Contact information: Registrant Administrative Technical Billing
WHOIS privacy
Transferring domains You can move domains between registrars A little work A little money Why?
Part 2 DNS
DNS Stands for Domain Name Services Points a hostname to an IP address
DNS is the glue that connects a domain name to a web server
URLs Stands for: Uniform Resource Locator It is a very specific location on the internet A sample URL http://www.howinteractivedesign.com/site-of-the-day Protocol Sub domain Domain name File path
What is a hostname Some examples of hostnames: pmcneil.com www.pmcneil.com mail.pmcneil.com www2.pmcneil.com intranet.pmcneil.com anything-i-want.pmcneil.com many.sub.domains.pmcneil.com
Where do you setup DNS DNS servers are setup via the registrar
Actual DNS records
3 key types of records There are many types of DNS records These are the best ones to start with Hostname CNAME MX Record
Hostname record Points a hostname to an IP Address, Also known as an A record
CNAME record Points a hostname to another hostname an alias intranet.pmcneil.com test.pmcneil.com www.pmcneil.com 128.2.2.12 mail.pmcneil.com
MX records Used to route email
TTL Trick Manipulate TTL when changing hosts or launching a new site
Part 3 the web host
Web Hosting A web host stores the documents that make up your website. Web servers are computers connected to the internet at all times. Each web server (an actual computer) can host dozens, hundreds or thousands of sites. A web host stores your site s documents and sends them to people's computers as they are requested. You pay a host to store and deliver your site's files.
Types of hosts Three key types of web hosts: Shared Dedicated Cloud
Shared hosting
Shared hosting
Shared hosting This is your typical $2.99 unlimited hosting plan: Least amount of control Hundreds and even thousands of sites on a single server Cheapest option Slowest option Often they offer unlimited sites Backups are not trustworthy Speed can be impacted by the other sites Often the servers are extremely cheap computers
Dedicated hosting
Dedicated hosting This is the most expensive option: Your own private server A physical computer just for you Total control you can install anything and host tons of sites Backups are typically an add-on Price is based on the server you configure (memory, disk etc) The ultimate in power and control!
Cloud hosting
Cloud hosting A mix of benefits Almost always priced per site Powerful, reliable and very affordable Extremely reliable Backups are typically an add-on Price is based on the plan you configure (memory, disk etc)
You get what you pay for All hosts are not equal: Carefully consider the price point What about backups? Consider the business needs What about security?
What about email Email has to be hosted as well: Often bundled with web hosting (you'll see it in a plan "with X email accounts") Typically not included with dedicated servers and sometimes with cloud hosting It can be separated from your web host MX records route email and can point anywhere you want
All in one hosts These hosts combine all of these services: Domain registration DNS Web hosting Email hosting
Have a Strategy
My strategy Separate the components into three groups: Domain registration & DNS Email hosting Web hosting
Why? Benefits to separating the components: It lets you shop around. You select components based on your needs. You select providers based on their key strengths. Managing many sites and domains becomes easier. Above all, changes are easier.
Recommended services Services I use and love: Domain registration Name.com DNS Via name.com Email Google Apps - http://www.google.com/enterprise/apps/business/pricing.html Rackspace Email - http://www.rackspace.com/email-hosting/ Web hosting http://www.bluehost.com/ http://mediatemple.net/ http://www.rackspace.com/ http://www.firehost.com/
Questions? Get in touch: mcneilp@gmail.com
View this presentation View this entire presentation online: http://pmcneil.com/
Thank you