Alabama Web Site Design
Building a web site can be an overwhelming task if you are
not sure where to start. We have developed a list of questions
and definitions to help you through the process.
What is a domain name?
A domain name is used
to uniquely identify your web site to the internet community.
A domain name generally takes the form: www.yourwebsite.com
where "yourwebsite" is an identifier
for your business or organization. The dot com extension
at the end of the domain name is called the "top-level" domain.
There are many top-level domains available such as:
A domain name has to be registered with an ICann accredited
company. If you are ready to register a domain, please visit
the website of Magnolia
Development Group. If you want to register a domain yourself,
visit one of these sites:
GoDaddy
ItsYourDomain
NetworkSolutions
What is a URL?
URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. The URL is the address
that your browser would use to reach a particular web site
or file. For example, to browse directly to the products page
for the "yourcompany" web site, you would type: http://www.yourcompany.com/products.html
How do web pages work?
Web pages are constructed in a language called HTML. A typical
page contains many HTML "tags" which define all the
elements, graphics, colors and text. The HTML pages for a web
site reside on a web server. When a user browses to your web
site, the requested HTML pages are download to the user's computer
and displayed as a document based on the HTML code.
How are web pages written?
Web pages can be written in a simple text editor, however,
most people use page editing software such as Microsoft Front
Page or Macromedia's Dreamweaver. Editing programs provide
a very simple way to define and layout the elements of a page
without having to manipulate the underlying HTML code. Most
professionals use Dreamweaver to develop and manage websites.
Do all web pages look the same in all browsers?
Web pages do not appear the same in every browser. There are
particular nuances with the way browsers handle errors and
render certain HTML tags. There are also variations in these
nuances between different versions of the same brand of browser.
What are the costs involved in setting up a web site?
The first step in setting up a web site is to register a domain
name. The cost for registration begins at about $10 per year
or more depending on the registering agent. The larger cost
is the development of the web site itself. Development costs
can vary between a few hundred dollars and tens of thousands
of dollars depending on the complexity and requirements of
the site.
What kind of website should I build if the information changes
frequently?
There are numerous technologies available to publish "dynamic" information
on a web site. Most technologies will use a database containing
the information for the site and a series of pages containing
specialized code which reads information from the database
and formats it for display.
Can an e-mail address be setup from my domain?
A web hosting provider will typically allow for one or more
e-mail addresses to be setup under your domain. This will allow
you to setup personal mailboxes or general mailboxes such as info@yourcompany.com.
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