Learning Center
If you thought you had to master "geek speak" to build an attractive and functional web site or web store, you’ve come to the right place! Here’s an overview of web site basics to help you understand and choose the best way for you to get on the internet and build your own website.
Also visit our Learning Center Library for more in-depth "how-to" education and advice on topics like web site design, web site copywriting, web site marketing and web site promotion – all in plain language.
Domain Names
The first step in getting your website is securing a domain name. It is your identity on the internet and the name by which the world can access your website. Each domain name appended by a suffix after the dot, which is known as a top level domain or ‘TLD’ - the most common of which are .com, .net and .org. Other popular TLDs which may be registered by anyone in any country include .biz, .info, .cc, .tv and others.
How can I pick the best domain name? -
The best domain names give the public an idea of what they will find at your site. Choosing one which is the same as your company's name or brand is a natural choice when people search for you on the internet, and if the name is available, will make your web site easier to find.
As you’ll want to print your website address on your brochures, business cards and signage, it’s best to make it short and memorable even if it doesn’t exactly match the name of your business. Avoid abbreviated words in your domain name; it can make it awkward to remember and lead to mistakes when people type it into their web browser.
If the .com extension is not available in your chosen name, consider others. YouStart lets you search all the most popular domain extensions at once. All domain extensions work exactly the same in connecting to your website. YouStart’s real-time registry connection makes it easy to secure any available name. If your first choice is not available, our tool suggests available similar names and TLDs.
When should I register my domain name? -
It’s a good idea to register your domain name as soon as you have decided on a name for your web business or personal web site. With more than a million domain names registered daily, even if you’re not yet ready to begin building your web site, registering immediately is the only way to be sure your chosen name will be available when you need it. YouStart will instantly provide you with a "Coming Soon" page advising visitors that your web site has been reserved.
Even without a web site, you can immediately start using your domain name as your email identity by linking it to our Email Pro service. Customized email addresses such as YourName @ YourDomain.com – particularly if you are starting a web business - can promote more confidence and more quickly establish you as a bona fide entity.
TIP: Did you know when you buy a domain that your registration information – including your name and email address – can easily be accessed for free? No wonder spammers regularly harvest new domain records to send you unwanted email, and then sell your address to other spammers. By selecting the Private Registration option for your YouStart domain name, we keep your contact information private. This helps thwart spammers while insuring you continue to receive official updates to your domain.
What do the different levels of 'storage' and 'bandwidth' in web hosting packages mean? How much will I need? -
Storage is the amount of space allocated to you by the web host for your web site files. It is most often measured in "gigabytes" (GB) or one billion bytes. One byte is equivalent to about 1 text character. According to a recent study, the average web page including text, photos and graphics is about 130,000 bytes. Note that music and video files will take up substantially more storage space.
Bandwidth refers to the amount of data you are allocated to transfer to visitors’ web browsers. For instance, if you have 5 average-sized web pages on your site, with 100GB of bandwidth you could accommodate about 150,000 visitors a month reading every page of your site. YouStart hosting plans range from 100-200GB of bandwidth; you can always increase those levels if you need more.
Web Hosting
Web hosts provide computer (server) space and connectivity for the pages, files, graphics and photos that make up your web site. When you purchase a domain name, you direct (“point”) it to those files via the web host’s Domain Name System (DNS) server. Web hosting is a mandatory component of your website; it allows your site to be accessed and utilized.
How do I get my website files to my web host? -
Once you have created your web pages, graphics and photos, you’ll connect to your web host using FTP (File Transfer Protocol). Some web design programs like Dreamweaver and FrontPage have integrated FTP tools. You can also find many standalone FTP programs you can use to connect your computer’s files to your web hosting server; one which is free to download and use is FileZilla.
Web Site Creator
Web Site Creator is an online web site publishing tool enabling you to build and manage your site right in your browser window, without any knowledge of HTML, or software to buy and learn. With built-in web hosting included, it’s the easiest way to get your web site up and running almost instantly.
Choose any of up to 200 professionally designed web site templates which come complete with graphics, menus, text blocks, choice of fonts and other features. Each template is designed around themes like Cars, Health, Travel, Sports, Entertainment, Non-Profit Organizations, Computers, Restaurants, Personal Homepages and many more.
I don’t know anything about web design. Can I still use Web Site Creator? -
Web Site Creator’s step-by-step wizard walks you through picking your template, typing in your text, linking to any photos or files you wish to include, and adding extras like a guest book, counter, online polls or an integrated web store with up to 200 products. All the web site design work is done for you so you can have a professional-looking site quickly and easily.
Web Site Packages
Web site packages give you everything you need to launch your web site and usually consist of three items: a domain name, web hosting and email with addresses that include your domain name. YouStart offers a variety of packages with various combinations of these products.
How do I know which web site package to choose? -
If you already have web design knowledge or will be hiring a professional designer to do it for you, our Web Hosting packages have everything you need including your choice of domain names, Private Registration, email and web hosting.
Don’t know web design or HTML? Choose one of our Web Site Creator packages which not only include hosting but give you access to up to 200 professionally-designed web templates you can customize instantly with your text and images through an online point-and-click publisher tool.
E-Mail
Email personalized with your domain name gives it instant identity and credibility. It helps make your mail unique and memorable and gives more legitimacy and professionalism to your company or organization. It’s a simple and effective way to instantly enhance your image for pennies a day.
How do I know which web site package to choose? -
With so much spam sent via free services like Hotmail® and Yahoo®, the most important difference is making sure your email arrives in someone’s in-box. The address from which your email is sent could influence whether it gets there or ends up in their junk or bulk mail folder. And unlike free email services, paid services like YouStart’s Email Pro don’t attach someone else’s advertising messages to your outgoing mail.
You also get more control and flexibility with a paid email service like YouStart’s Email Pro. You can customize different addresses for different members or departments in your organization such as sales@mydomain.com, members@mydomain.com or even myname@mydomain.com. Mails sent to one address can automatically be forwarded to one or many mailboxes at once easily and privately. And each email address has its own password-protected mailbox which can be accessed via any web browser or email programs like Outlook, Outlook Express, OperaMail or Mozilla Thunderbird.
Email Pro comes in "10-packs" of mailboxes; add as many "10-packs" as you require to any domain name.
E-Commerce
According to the US Department of Commerce, in 2006 Americans purchased nearly $115 billion in retail items on the internet. Since web security has improved dramatically since the early days of the internet, the number of people who buy online increases every year. It’s also easier and cheaper than ever to equip websites with an online shopping cart and other e-commerce tools that automatically process purchases enabling just about anyone to open their business to a worldwide marketplace.
What does my website need to be able to sell products online? -
Adding and managing the various products in your web store can be done easily with an ecommerce program which you can upload to your web host. All YouStart hosting packages include at no charge your choice of 3 ecommerce shopping cart systems: OsCommerce, PHP Coin and Comersus Shopping Cart. Each can be installed with a click and are simple to configure. With YouStart’s Web Site Creator package, you can add a pre-configured web store that allows you to sell up to 500 items.
All of these integrated ecommerce systems allow you to set up advanced features like coupon codes, package discounts, automatic calculation of sales tax and shipping costs based on zip code, and many more. Our online guides make setup and maintenance easy!