Setting Up Your Web Hosting Account, Starting Your Own Website (part 2)

Okay so onto step 2.....you are going to need to find someone to host your domain. Most domain registrars will have an option for you to host your domain with them. If you choose to do this, sites like GoDaddy.com will have your nameservers already set so you should be good to go on this step. However if you choose to host your website elsewhere, then you will need to do a few things to get set up.

Now as far as which web hosting company is the best, there are really a bunch of good ones out there. I personally use Hostgator, and I have been very happy with there service. My server has never been down and there C-panel is very easy to use. I've also heard good things about Hostmonster and Bluehost as well. There are many others out there so if you feel the need, do your own researching. I pay something like $7.95 a month for Hostgator's "Baby Plan" which includes unlimited bandwidth, unlimited disk space, and unlimited domains allowed. There are some out there that are cheaper but really it's all in what you are looking for.

So after you select your web hosting company and choose your plan you will need to transfer your nameservers to your domain registrar. This is very easy, if you are using Hostgator log into your cpanel and look on the left sidebar, scroll down until you see Nameservers. There should be at least 2 of them and they will look something like this....ns3423.hostgator.com and ns3424.hostgator.com.

Okay now that you have those, go to your domain registrar account. If you are using Godaddy log into your account and click where it says details next to your domain name. Next click on the nameservers icon then a box will pop up. This is where you will set your nameservers from your web hosting account. So click on the Custom Nameservers button and the plug in your nameservers exactly as they were given. You must plug in both nameservers for this to work, one in each of the boxes. You might need to give this 24 hours to take effect, but after that you should be ready to move on to the next step.