Domain and Hosting both depend on each other. A domain is your website name and hosting is where your website lives. Your domain is your unique identity on the web; it’s how your website visitors will find you. Your hosting is your website’s home on the internet. Once you have found a domain name that you like and is available, you will need to find a hosting provider to host your website.
Domain and Hosting Complete Explanation
Domain Extensions
There are dozens of domain extensions available, but some of the most popular ones include:
.com – The most popular domain extension, most suited for businesses.
.net – Originally intended for network-related businesses, but now open to all.
.org – Originally intended for non-profit organizations, but now open to all.
.info – A generic extension that can be used by anyone.
.biz – A generic extension specifically for businesses.
.us – The country-specific domain extension for the United States.
Choosing the right domain extension is important for branding purposes and can help you target a specific audience. For example, using a .biz extension may help your website appear higher in search results for business-related keywords, while a .us extension can show your website is relevant to American users.
Domain Privacy
Domain privacy is a service that hides your personal information from the public domain name WHOIS databases. This service is provided by most domain registrars, such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, and HostGator.
When you register a domain name, your personal information is entered into the WHOIS database. This information can include your name, address, phone number, and email address.
If your domain privacy is not set up correctly, anyone can look up this information by simply doing a WHOIS search. This can lead to spam emails and unwanted phone calls. It can also make it easier for someone to steal your identity.
Domain privacy protects your personal information by substituting it with the contact information for the privacy service. This way, only the privacy service will appear in the WHOIS database.
Domain privacy is an important service that you should consider when you register a domain name. It will protect your personal information and give you peace of mind knowing that your information is safe from prying eyes.
Hosting
Hosting is a critical part of having a website. It is a service that gives you a place to store your website files and makes them accessible to people on the Internet.
There are many different types of hosting, and choosing the right one can be tricky. In this article, we will discuss the different types of hosting, and help you choose the best option for your website.
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is web hosting in which the provider houses multiple sites on a single server. For sites looking for affordable hosting with moderate traffic levels, shared hosting is a popular and cost-effective solution. When multiple sites share the same server, resources (such as RAM and CPU power) are divided among them.
Shared hosting is typically the most economical way to host a website, and it’s ideal for sites with lower to moderate traffic levels. If you’re just getting started with a new website or blog, shared hosting can be a good option. Once your site starts to grow, however, you may need to upgrade to a different host or plan that can accommodate your increased traffic.
VPS Hosting
VPS stands for Virtual Private Server. A VPS hosting environment emulates a dedicated server within a shared hosting environment. It is a way to partition physical servers so that each partition acts as its own server. By doing this, each virtual server can run its own operating system and can be independently rebooted.
VPS hosting has become very popular because it combines the flexibility of a dedicated server with the affordability of a shared hosting plan. A VPS hosting plan will usually cost more than a shared hosting plan, but it will still be less expensive than a dedicated server.
There are several advantages to using a VPS:
-You have your own operating system, which means you can install any software you want.
-You have your own file system, so you can create as many files and folders as you want.
-You can create your own user accounts and set permissions as you see fit.
-You can reboot your virtual server independently of the other servers on the physical machine.
Dedicated Hosting
Dedicated hosting is a website hosting environment that provides resources exclusively to your website. This is in contrast to shared hosting, where your website shares resources with other websites on the same server.
Dedicated hosting can provide a number of benefits for your website, including improved performance, security, and control. However, it also comes with a number of drawbacks, including increased costs and complexity.
If you’re considering dedicated hosting for your website, you should weigh the pros and cons carefully to determine if it’s the right choice for you.
Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting services provide on-demand resources that can be provisioned and released with minimal configuration and management overhead. These services are delivered through a cloud computing platform that pools resources from a network of physical or virtual servers.
Cloud hosting services are often categorized into three types: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). IaaS provides customers with access to computing, storage, and network resources that can be configured and released on demand.
PaaS provides a platform for customers to deploy, run, and manage applications without the need to maintain the underlying infrastructure. SaaS provides customers with access to software applications that are hosted in the cloud and delivered on demand.
Migration
It’s time for your annual website migration. You’ve done your research and you’ve decided that it’s time to switch your domain and hosting providers. But where do you start? The process can be daunting, but we’re here to help. In this article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about migrating your domain and hosting.
WordPress
If you’re looking for a CMS that will let you do almost anything with your website, WordPress is the way to go. That same flexibility and power can make it challenging for beginners, but luckily there’s a large community of support to help you get started.
WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that allows you to create a website or blog from scratch, or improve an existing website. It’s free and open-source software released under the GPL.
With WordPress, you can create any type of website you want: a personal blog or website, a business website, an online store, or even a membership site. WordPress is easy to use and flexible enough for just about anything. And because it’s open source, there are thousands of themes and plugins available to help you customize your site to fit your specific needs.
Joomla
Joomla is a free and open-source content management system (CMS) for publishing web content, developed by Open Source Matters, Inc. It is built on a model–view–controller web application framework that can be used independently of the CMS.
Joomla is written in PHP, uses object-oriented programming (OOP) techniques and software design patterns, stores data in a MySQL, MS SQL Server, or PostgreSQL database, and includes features such as page caching, RSS feeds, printable versions of pages, news flashes, blogs, polls, search, and support for language internationalization.
Drupal
Drupal is a powerful content management system that helps you create, manage and publish content easily. It’s free and open source, which means you can use it for anything from small personal websites to large corporate sites. And because it’s built on PHP, you can extend and customize it however you want.
If you’re new to Drupal, we recommend checking out the Getting Started guide. This guide will show you how to install Drupal and get started with creating content and users.
For more advanced users, we have the Developer docs which cover topics like theming, modules, and API.
SSL Certificate
An SSL Certificate is a digital certificate that authenticates the identity of a website and encrypts information sent to the server using SSL technology. SSL Certificates are required for websites that deal with sensitive information such as online banking and online shopping. A website with an SSL Certificate displays a padlock in the address bar of the browser, which indicates that the connection is secure.
Types of SSL Certificates
There are multiple types of SSL Certificates each designed to protect a different level of information. Depending on what type of site you have and what type of information you are looking to protect, you may need a different certificate. The most common types of SSL Certificates are Domain Validated (DV), Organization Validated (OV), and Extended Validation (EV) certificates.
DV SSL Certificates: Domain Validated SSL Certificates offer the quickest way to secure your website as they can be issued within minutes. They only require that you verify that you own the domain name and there is no further vetting process. These certificates are perfect for personal websites, blogs, or any site that is not exchanging sensitive information.
OVSSL Certificates: Organization Validated SSL Certificates offer a higher level of security than DVSSL Certificates as they require that your organization be vetted by the Certificate Authority (CA) before the certificate can be issued.
This vetting process usually takes a few days and requires that you provide proof of your organization’s existence and identity. These certificates are perfect for eCommerce sites, sites that exchange sensitive information, or any site that wants to show clients that they are a legitimate business.
EVSSL Certificates: Extended Validation SSL Certificates offer the highest level of security available. Like OVSSL Certificates, EVSSL Certificates require that your organization be vetted by the CA, but the vetting process is even more extensive. The CA will verify not only the existence and identity of your organization but also other factors like your physical address, telephone number, and more.
This extensive vetting process is why EVSSL Certificates take longer to issue than DVSSL or OVSSL Certificates – usually about 7-10 days. EV SSL Certificates are perfect for eCommerce sites or any site that wants to instill the highest level of trust in its visitors.
How to Install an SSL Certificate
An SSL certificate is a data file used to encrypt information passed between your website and any visitors to your site. When installed on a web server, it activates the padlock icon in web browsers and allows secure connections from web servers to browsers. This guide will show you how to install an SSL certificate on your web server.
Prerequisites
Before you begin this guide you’ll need the following:
-Access to a web server with a domain name configured
-A valid SSL certificate for your domain name (can be self-signed)
-Administrative (root) access to your server
Installing an SSL Certificate
- Copy your certificate and key files to your server. If you received your certificate and key in separate files, make sure to combine them into a single file before proceeding. You can use a text editor like Nano or vim to do this:
sudo nano /etc/SSL/your_domain_name.crt
—–BEGIN CERTIFICATE—–
(YourSSLcertificate)
—–END CERTIFICATE—–
sudo nano /etc/SSL/your_domain_name.key
—–BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY—–
(YourSSLcertificateKey)
—–END RSA PRIVATE KEY—–
2. Next, open the Apache configuration file in an editor:
sudo nano /etc/apache2/apache2.conf3. At the bottom of the file, add the following lines, substituting in the path to your certificate and key files:
SSLCertificateFile /etc/ssl/your_domain_name.crt
SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/ssl/your_domain_name.key
4. Save and close the file when you are finished adding those lines. If you are using a self-signed certificate, add the following line as well:
SSLCACertificateFile /etc/ssl/ca-bundle.crt
5. (Optional) If you want to enable stronger encryption, you can add the following line as well:
SSLCipherSuite HIGH:MEDIUM:!MD5:!RC4
6. (Optional) To enable client certificates, add the following line as well:
SSLVerifyClient optional
7. (Optional) To require client certificates, add the following line as well:
SSLVerifyClient require
8. (Optional) To specify the depth of certification chain verification that should be used when verifying client certificates, add the following line as well:
9. SSLVerifyDepth n (where n is a number from 1-9)