Domains, hosting and DNS - what's it all about?

Although there are ways to make money online without a website, most Internet marketers at some point will need to build one.

A website doesn't have to be complicated or sophisticated - a single page may be all you need, but no matter how simple or complex your requirements, it is very likely that you will want to build it on your own domain.

There are services around that will allow you to create websites for free - Blogger, WordPress.com, Squidoo and HubPages are among the most popular - but there is nothing to beat owning and running your own site on your own domain.

Many people are attracted to the free options because they are frightened of the technical aspects of setting up a website, but they are doing themselves a disservice. The free services are fine up to a point, but they do not generally allow you the freedom to do whatever you want with your own website. In fact, if you inadvertently break any of their many confusing rules, they are all very quick to delete all your hard work without notification.

It can be heartbreaking to see months of effort just be turned off because you may have broken a rule you were not even aware of.

That's why it is always best to learn to learn the very basic skills required to set up your own website that is under your own control.

The three basic things you have to learn are

1. How to buy a domain

2. How to set up hosting

3. How to link your domain and hosting together

How to buy a domain

This is very easy.

Go to a domain registrar - there are hundreds around - the biggest of which is GoDaddy, and sign up for an account. It won't cost you anything to do that.

When you are set up there, you now have to find a domain name that is available.

A domain name is the part of a website address (URL) that comes immediately after the http://www. part. (Sometimes the www is omitted). So, in the case of http://www.godaddy.com, the domain name is godaddy.com.

Note that a domain name is in two parts - the name itself (godaddy) and the suffix (.com). It is important to realize that a different suffix would make it a different domain; godaddy.org is a different domain to godaddy.com, for example.

On your domain registrar's website there will be a box for you to type in the domain name that you would like to buy. They will then check if it is available for you.

It might take a bit of trial and error and possibly the use of a hyphen (dash) or two before you find one you like.

You may want to get a domain called swedishfoodrecipes.com but find that it has already been taken, so check out Swedish-food recipes.com or swedish-food-recipes.com instead.

The registrar will probably make some suggestions of similar domains that are available, so check them out too. Eventually you'll find one to suit you.

Then you simply tell the registrar how long you want to register the domain for - 1 year, 2 years, 5 years or more, and then go to their checkout and pay.

Note that you do not ever own a domain; you only rent it for a set amount of time. When that time is up you are given the first offer to renew it, so if it is important to you, you shouldn't lose it in the future.

How to get a hosting account

This is even easier!

Google 'web hosting' and you'll find endless hosting companies who want your business. HostGator is the biggest and one of the best and they will be able to sell you simple hosting from about $5 per month.

You can buy hosting from the same company that you registered your domain with, but there are dangers to doing that (too many eggs in the same basket) and so it is not recommended.

The most likely scenario is that you will end up with a domain in one place and a hosting account elsewhere. Because of that you will need to link the two things together.

How to link your domain and hosting together

When you buy a hosting account, the company will inform you of the DNS (sometimes called nameserver) code for your account. This is important so make a note of it. It looks a bit like a URL and may be something like NS998.WEBSITEWELCOME.COM. They will actually give you two and the second will be one number higher - NS999.WEBSITEWELCOME.COM.