blogmaking.net http://www.blogmaking.net/blog How to make a blog and other helpful (and related) stuff! Sat, 17 Feb 2007 05:55:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.4 en Getting your domain to point to your server (host) http://www.blogmaking.net/blog/7/getting-your-domain-to-point-to-your-server-host/ http://www.blogmaking.net/blog/7/getting-your-domain-to-point-to-your-server-host/#comments Wed, 18 Oct 2006 14:33:31 +0000 catherine WordPress Hosting Domain Names WP Basic http://www.blogmaking.net/blog/?p=7 If you bought your domain name from the same place that you have your hosting then this may already be set up for you. Otherwise, you will have to change your DNS settings at your domain registry and set up your domain name at your hosting services. This part is really dependant on the specific instructions of your registry/host so check out their help settings if what it is you need to do isn’t obvious. 1. You need to make sure that your domain name at your domain registry (if separate to hosting) points to your host’s server. In namecheap.com’s interface, you clickk on your domain name and then in the left sidebar you’ll find “Transfer DNS to Webhost”, if you click on that, you’ll be taken to a screen and asked to enter up to 5 DNS names. Only 2 are compulsory but sometimes your host will provide you with more. Nameservers usually look like ns#.hostname.com and most hosts will tell you what they are in your signup email (you can find them in the host’s support/help site usually too). For dreamhost, I’d enter 3 nameservers:

  1. ns1.dreamhost.com
  2. ns2.dreamhost.com
  3. ns3.dreamhost.com

For godaddy.com domain registry, you’d click on the domain and then on “nameservers”, then click on “custom nameservers” and add your DNS names as instructed. If you went with micfo then the nameservers would be:

  1. NS1.MICFO.COM
  2. NS2.MICFO.COM

2. Once you’ve set up your server info at your domain registry, you need to actually set up your domain name on your hosting plan. Some hosts ask for this information (ie your domain name) right at the beginning on signup and so this may already be set up for you. If not, each host will have its own specific instructions. If it gets too confusing or something’s not working then don’t be afraid to send off an email to your host asking for help. I had to do that with Micfo and found out that they needed to set something up which they did quickly. For DreamHost, you’d go into their control panel and click on /Domains/Manage Domains and then there will be a link that says “add New Domain/sub-Domain” click on it. Fill in your domain name and there are a few options, I chose PHP 5 and Extra Web Security and for both http://www.domain.com/ and http://domain.com/ work. Then I clicked on “Fully host this domain now!” and that’s it. You might need to wait a few hours (they say up to 48 hrs but it never takes that long) until the DNS updates itself, but usually can go with installing stuff, you just won’t see anything when you go to the web address. For Micfo, it’s a little more complex, you have to create a package in your www.domain.com/whm and then create an account assigned to a package. It’s probably best to read their instructions.

]]> http://www.blogmaking.net/blog/7/getting-your-domain-to-point-to-your-server-host/feed/ Getting a domain name http://www.blogmaking.net/blog/5/getting-a-domain-name/ http://www.blogmaking.net/blog/5/getting-a-domain-name/#comments Wed, 18 Oct 2006 14:32:56 +0000 catherine Domain Names http://www.blogmaking.net/blog/?p=5 Even if you go with one of the hosted solutions, it is still worth getting your own domain name. If you come up with a unique title, it’s a good idea to reserve the domain because you might want to upgrade later and iloveblogs.com is a lot easier to remember and looks better than iloveblogs.blogger.com. A decent domain registry will let you redirect your domain so that when you type in “iloveblogs.com” you go straight to “iloveblogs.blogger.com” until you set up your domain on your own host. How to do the redirection will depend on your domain registry.

A domain registry, where you register your domain name, is different from a domain hosting company (host), where you host your domain, but a lot of companies now do both jobs, also a lot of hosts offer free domain registration with hosting packages. I like to keep them separate but that’s just my personal choice.

I’m currently using namecheap.com because they are quick and have a good (as far as registries go anyway) interface. I also like the fact that they don’t keep your credit card details on file but you can upload funds if you like. They also give you a year’s free privacy protection and have all the standard tools like domain and email forwarding.

Some other cheap registries:

It is also worth doing a google search on your registry’s name and “coupon” or “code” or “promo” because the big registries do specials regularly and you can save a lot.

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