Today, there’s many simple ways of creating an online presence. There are hundreds of automatic website builders out there which relieve you of the need to grapple with coding or even resizing pictures. See the Software & Utilities site.
In this course we’ll take a look at some of the quick-and-easy apps as well as the more traditional methods.
1. QUICK & EASY
One of the quickest and easiest method of establishing an online presence is to use blogging technology such as WORDPRESS or BLOGGER.
There are also entire “instant” website generators with fancy advanced features requiring little or no html etc skills. They utilise dragging and dropping web elements. Most offer free subdomain hosting (eg http://www.yourname/their name.com) on their own sites and pro (read paid-for) versions which allow you to host the site on your own domain — examples include JIMDO, YOLA, WIX and more.
Note:
Blogs do not have to look like “blogs” – there are dozens of ways of customising them – particularly once you “graduate” from the “instant” versions
Advantages:
* Instantaneous
* Simple
* Automatically resize and crunch photos/graphics
* Lots of add-ons
* No need to master much in the way of coding
* No need to worry about FTP
Disadvantages
* Less flexible than a custom-designed website
2. THE NOT SO QUICK AND EASY METHOD
Stages in setting up a web presence
1. Registering a domain name
2. Hosting – set up, or rent space, on a webserver to host your website
3. Building your website
4. Uploading your website to your internet host by FTP
Advantages:
* Flexibility
* Total control
Disadvantages
* Need to obtain and learn software; need to master basic mark-up language including html / CSS etc
All domain names (eg: yourname.com) must be registered with an registrar accredited to the non-profit corporation, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
ICANN coordinates these domain names or unique identifiers across the world. Without that coordination we wouldn’t have one global Internet.
A list of ICANN-accredited registrars is available here. Prices typically range around US$10 a year. Some web hosting companies (see below) will foot the bill if you sign up for a hosting package with them.
The registrars I’ve used include:
- Godaddy.com (cheap and cheerful)
- Network Solutions – the original (monopoly) registrar – pricey unless you sign up for long periods
Please note: These examples are FYI only and NOT recommendations
For your website to appear on the net, it needs to be uploaded to a web server – a server connected to the internet. Some large companies run their own web servers. Others rent server space from a web hosting company. This site, for example, is hosted by AN HOSTING in the USA. I also use BLUEHOST, 3IX and IMHOSTED. None of these web servers are in Hong Kong.
Please note: These examples are FYI only and NOT recommendations
There are a number of free hosting services around – some funded by advertising. Some offer pared-down services in the hope you’ll upgrade to a paid-for service. Some require you to have a domain name (ie they want to sell you one), others don’t.
One such useful service is Bravenet.com
Also see:
Coveritlive
Scribble Live
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