EdmontonWebDesigner.com | Sunday, May 20, 2012

Web Design Questions and Answers

Translating Geek-Speak to Plain-English

What is a web host and why do I need one? What is DNS? What is a domain name? Find out the answers to these questions and more below!

1) What is a web host and why do I need one?
2) What is DNS?
3) What is a Domain Name?
4) What is HTML, PHP, ASP, etc?
5) What is SQL, MYSQL, etc?
6) What is a Site Map?
7) What is SEO and/or SEM?


1) What is a web host and why do I need one?
A web host is like a TV station. You can shoot a commercial yourself, but you need a TV station or network to broadcast your message to the world. Web hosting providers have the resources required to plug your website into the World Wide Web, and provide all of the technical requirements such as website traffic reports, website security, backups, @yourcompany.com email hosting, and more. Chosing the right web host is a very critical part of your website design process.


2) What is DNS?
DNS stands for Domain Name System or Domain Name Service. In a nutshell, DNS translates a website address (like www.yourcompany.com) into an IP address. That IP address points to your web host. Let's say you want a few different versions of your website so that you can display different text and colors to customers in the USA and Europe. You could create, via your DNS provider, usa.mycompany.com and europe.mycompany.com. It is your DNS provider that would set this up for you, and your DNS provider is usually your web host or your Domain Name Registrar.


3) What is a Domain Name and a Domain Name Registrar?
A domain name is your website address, like mycompany.com or mycompany.ca. Your domain name is purchased from a Domain Name Registrar. There are many Domain Name Registrars like Godaddy.com, DomainsAtCost.ca and NetworkSolutions.com. Your best bet is to have your domain name registered by your website designer as they know what they're doing, however make sure the domain name itself is registered/owned by YOU and not your website designer. Most Domain Name Registrars consider the owner of a domain name to be the person who owns the Administrative Contact Email Address provided at the time of your domain name registration.


4) What is HTML, PHP, ASP, etc?
These are called "programming languages". Every web designer has learned at least one of these programming languages and that is the "code" they build your website in. Next time you are visiting a web page, watch the URL or address bar in your browser. It will likely read something like: mycompany.com/services.html, which is indicative of the programming language that website was coded in. The most common programming languages are HTML, PHP and ASP. It does not matter what programming language your website was built in, but you'll probably want to use one of these 3 as over 90% of web designers out there are familiar with them. Should you have to use a web designer other than the one who initially built/coded your website, you'll have peace of mind that the next web designer will understand your websites code and easily make changes/updates to your website.


5) What is SQL, MYSQL, etc?
These are databases, just like Microsoft Access. Chances are, your website doesn't use a database unless you have something "functional" running on your website, like an online order form, and shopping cart, a secure sign in area, etc. When considering your website growth, and where it will be in 5-10 years, you might want to ensure you chose a web host that provides database support - aka can provide an SQL or MYSQL database whenever you need it without any hassles.


6) What is a Site Map?
Web designers refer to a "Site Map" when they are talking about the pages within your website. It is an organized heirarchy of your website that provides a summary of what web pages are contained within your website.


7) What is SEO and/or SEM?
These, respectively, stand for "Search Engine Optimization" and "Search Engine Marketing". If that still doesn't make sense, it can further be defined as the art of getting your website #1 (or as close to that spot as possible) in a Google search.



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