If you are completely new to creating a website for yourself, there are a few steps you will need to take to get set up. The essential first steps include:
Register your domain: This is a way of reserving the name you want to use for your website. The most commonly used addresses for commercial websites end in .com. You must reserve a unique name. This can be accomplished through your website hosting service (next step).
Find a website hosting service: This is a company you pay to host the machines on which your web files will be saved and displayed for your site. Some of the hosts BWD has worked with include GoDaddy.com, NetworkSolutions, Yahoo, iPage and other popular providers. Please perform an internet search to find the host that fits your budget and your needs.
Sign up for a hosting package: You generally have a minimum of at least 2 options, either a monthly fee, or an annual fee, providing a slight discount off the monthly rate. Your site will need to include the minumum features of:
PHP support
MySQL support
Disk space: at least 5GB
Web server: Apache, Nginx, or Microsoft IIS
Database server: MySQL 5.0.15 or higher
PHP 5.2.5 or higher
Save your account information: BWD will need your hosting information so that we can access your website and begin building it for you. In the bulding stages, your site will be placed in "Maintenance Mode", so that visitors to your site will see a placeholder page, rather than your site while it is a work in progress.
If you are completely new to creating a website for yourself, there are a few steps you will need to take to get set up. The essential first steps include: