Greyfort Communications

Relationship
Connection
Creativity

Getting Started

So you want to make a web site. Start by registering your domain name. There are lots of possibilities: whatever.com, whoever.net, whichever.org, citizen.us, whomever.ws. These days the registration fee has gotten so cheap there is no reason not to get your own name.

Registering your Domain Name

I like to use godaddy.com or Registerfly for registering domains. Less than $10 a year. Just go to their site, put your first choice into the search blank and they will tell you if it is available. Keep trying until you find one that is satisfactory and available.

Before you can register a domain each registrar requires you to sign up for a username and password (free). That way any and all domains you register with that company will be conveniently accessible in that account. Save your username/passwords in a safe place. I like to keep them organized in a little address book. (Then lock it up.) It saves lots of time shuffling through papers.

I always recommend that you register your own name instead of asking me to do it because that way you will be the registered owner, not me, and just in case you should want to move your web site, there will be no question or trouble about it. It's your name; you control the setttings.

Then continue on with the purchase. You will need a credit or debit card. Put your own information in the blanks for contacts, etc. Then save and/or print out the information page that comes up after the purchase.

A word of advice: if you are using my hosting service you will not need to pay for any extras with your registrar. Repeat, no extras - you won't need them.

Domain Name Servers

When you register your domain you will need to set your name servers. When you find the form for these you might see other addresses in the blanks. Simply erase whatever is in the blanks and put in your new ones.

When you sign up with us these should be your settings:

Nameserver 1 should be ns1.greyfort.com
Nameserver 2 should be ns2.greyfort.com

Setting the nameservers is included in your registration fee. There are blanks for them in the registration process. A note from experience...don't pay extra for "directDNS" or any other extras. If you have already registered your domain name then you will need to log in again to your registrar account and reset the name servers.

A note from experience: to avoid delay don't "lock" your domain until you have set all your settings. One time I unadvisedly locked my domain at godaddy.com and had to wait till morning for the account to finish locking before I could unlock it again and set the name servers. As soon as you have done that and waited 24-48 hours your name servers should have propogated across the internet and your temporary index page will show up under your domain name. If you need to upload your site immediately let me know and I will give you your temporary access.

Username/Password for Your Server Account

Besides your domain name you will need to choose a user name and a password for your account on our server. Username should be different than your domain name and has a limit of eight letters. Your password should be a mixed up jumble of upper and lower case letters and numbers (avoid any actual words) to prevent hackers. You can always change your password via your cpanel, but remember to keep it jumbled, OK?

Be sure to keep a record of all usernames and passwords because if you lose them . . . well, let's not talk about that.

Important Note:Be sure to keep your email address current in your account at your registrar. A friend of mine used an address with an email service called "tennesseemail"...the service went defunct and he found himself with no access to this address anymore. His previous web provider (a domain reseller) neglected (or didn't know) to update his address. Then they sold all their accounts to another company, which made matters even more confusing. So then, when my friend wanted to change registrars to take advantage of lower cost, he could not receive his confirmation email plus he couldn't log in to change it because he didn't have the password and so he was (is) stuck. Two lessons (well, three): register your own name yourself (don't use a reseller); keep your contact info up to date, particularly the administration email; and don't lose your username/password, of course.

Copyright © 2003 Joseph Perry, Greyfort Communications