WebSpawner.com Blog

In today’s post we take a look at domain names and how you can use your own domain name with your website.

If you’ve spent any time at all on the internet you’ve likely encountered many domain names, whether you were aware of it at the time or not.

When a computer connects to a web site it does so through use of an IP address (or “Internet Protocol address”) which is a unique string of numbers that identifies a particular server (the host of a web site). IP addresses consist of a string of four numbers between 0 and 255, separated by periods. For example, one IP address for the popular search engine Google is 72.14.205.147 - so if you enter 72.14.205.147 into your browser’s Address bar you will be connected to the Google site.

While using numerical IP addreses may be simple enough for a computer, few humans are going to remember all those numbers every time he or she would like to visit a particular web site. The solution to this dilemma is a domain name.

Domain names are a wise investment for businesses large and small or even individuals who wish to have a presence on the world wide web. Not only is it inexpensive to register a unique domain, but the domain can help promote a business name or brand. For instance, eBay.com, Apple.com, and Jeep.com are all domains which reinforce the company names of the respective businesses and are easy for people to recall, helping contribute to the success of both the web sites and the businesses themselves.

Perhaps the best thing about domain names is that they are available to anyone. Any individual or business may affordably register a chosen domain (as long as it has not been registered already by someone else). Domains must be registered through a domain name registrar, which is a company accredited to register internet domain names.

If you register a domain name of your choosing and have an Enhanced Web Site account with WebSpawner, you can have your domain connected (or forwarded) to your website at no additional cost in just a few easy steps.

First you will need to register your domain with a domain registrar, such as Misk, DomainsNext, or DNbuy . Simply go to a registrar’s site and follow the instructions provided to select your unique domain name and register it. Domain registrations cost just a few dollars per year.

After you have registered your domain name, you will need to change the Name Server Settings (aka DNS Settings or Domain Name Server Settings) for your domain. This is done through the login area provided to you by the domain registrar you selected. The Name Server settings will need to be changed to the following:

Primary DNS: ns.webspawner.com
Secondary DNS: ns2.webspawner.com

If you need assistance with changing the Name Server Settings for your domain, ask your domain registrar for help and provide them with the settings above.

When the Name Server Settings have been adjusted, login to your WebSpawner account using your Account Name and Password. Next, contact WebSpawner Customer Service through the orange “Customer Service” tab in the Members Menu. Advise Customer Service of your registered domain name and confirm that the Name Server Settings have been changed - WebSpawner will take care of setting up your domain from there. In just a short time, your domain address will be functioning with your web site!

So you’d like to build a web site, but it’s all a bit new to you? By keeping a few key tips in mind you can design a site with viewer-friendly pages that will not only help your viewers enjoy visiting your site but will also help present your message more effectively.

1. Use proper grammar

A site which uses proper grammar creates a more professional impression on the viewer; conversely, a site with grammar mistakes can make a very negative impression. Always use proper sentence structure and punctuation. Check for correct spelling of all words; use a spell-checker if your computer has one. Avoid using all capital letters, as this is the online equivalent of yelling at the viewer; rather, use upper- and lower-case letters as is appropriate. Have someone else with good grammar skills proofread your pages to catch mistakes.

2. Break it up!

A web page which contains too much text causes the viewer to have to repeatedly scroll down to continue reading. Even worse, it can cause a viewer to lose interest and skim instead of reading, or leave and move on to another site. Keep your text concise and to the point. Use multiple shorter pages linked together for easy navigation rather than one long page filled with pages worth of text.

3. Use images effectively

A site overloaded with images may appear gaudy, and can take a long time to load for viewers with slower internet connections. Slow-loading sites cause viewers to grow impatient and move on to another site instead. Keep your site loading efficiently and present your message best by using images sparingly and only when directly relevant to the site’s content. Resize images so that they appear at an appropriate size; large images like desktop wallpapers will load very slowly for dial-up users and should be sized down. Use a standard optimized image file format such as .gif or .jpeg for saving your images; these formats provide a smaller file size which loads more quickly for the viewer.

4. Keep it clean!

Provide a professional-looking site by keeping it well-organized and clear of distracting elements such as blinking or scrolling text. Select text and background colors that have enough contrast to make for easy reading… for a great article with further detail on color selection, see Color for Coders . Keep a check on all links you have included and remove any which become “dead” or outdated. Use a consistent design with the same background and text colors from page to page for a uniform-looking site.

For more tips on good web site design, see Good Web Design Features and Web Hints: Web Design . See Original Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design and Bad Design Features for common design mistakes.