About Websites, Webhosting and Domain names

I don't have my computer on all the time, so I can't have a website can I?

Yes, you can have a website, websites are not kept on your own computer, they are hosted on places called servers - servers are just computers with special software on them, that are turned on and online all the time, well they maybe rebooted once or twice a month.
So you can have a website, and not even have a computer if you have a website designer to build your website for you.

So how do people contact me if I'm not online?

Many businesses that do have an internet connection for email etc, are choosing just to have their snail mail addresses and phone numbers listed on their contact page.
Spam is becoming such a problem, that these business' have decided that emails will be used after the initial contact, and if someone is serious about using their services, or buying their products, they will use the alternative means to contact the business.

Ok, so how much does a website cost?

Asking that question is a little like asking how much a house costs, it just depends on what you want your website to do.
If your website is just more or less an online brochure with say 3-4 pages 4 pictures per page, with a banner at the top of each page. You are looking at around $1-1,500, which could include the website domain name and hosting. If you want that same website to have all the bells and whistles, and do all sorts of tricks, you could be looking at $3-4000

So what is a domain name?

A domain name is the website address, it's also often referred to as the url. A domain name is unique to your own website, no-one in the world has the same one.

What's the .info or .net part about?

When the internet first began, I sure their were only .com's but unfortunately all the good names got used up quickly, so they needed new ones, so now we have .info .net .org .biz .us .mobi, which are the main global or top level domain names, then you can buy country specific names as well.

How come some websites have different domain names but it looks like the same website?

Many websites have several domain names, the might have a .com and then a local domain name like .co.nz plus they may have domain names with different ways of spelling their business name. So business' buy all the domain names they want and point them to the same website.

So where do you buy a domain name?

The best way to buy a domain name is to go to a search engine like google, and do a search for something like "domain name registration" or "register a domain name" and have a look at the places that register domain names. You will have to search for the name you want, then you will be invited to buy the name if it's available, or if it's been taken already often a registrant will show you similar names you might like to buy instead.

How much do domain names cost?

As for cost, it really depends on where you buy the domain name from, global domain names like .com .info .net .org .biz .us .mobi, can cost from about $9.00 USD a year upwards. Local domain names like .co.nz for New Zealand or .com.au for Australian domain names generally cost more than global ones, but it does pay to shop around.

Do you have to host your website at the same place you buy your domain name?

The simple answer is no, many domain name registrants do offer web hosting, but often the domain name will be cheap and the hosting expensive. Again it pays to shop around for website hosting. You should not pay anymore than $10 USD a month for web hosting these days.

Does my website have to be hosted in my own country?

This is a tricky question. The easy answer is no, website hosting in America is generally cheaper, since they have so much demand.
However, if you are interested in doing well in your local country's search engines, then a local website host is a better bet. Make sure you ask your local host if their servers are hosted in your own country, if you are interested search engine results.