How to Make a Website Available to Others

When you design a website on your computer, you're the only one that can view the site until you upload it to a hosting company. This company stores your files and displays them when someone tries to visit your site. Making your website available to others is a fairly simple process, assuming you have the right tools. It will only take a minute or two of your time.

Step 1

Purchase a hosting plan through a web host. You will have a choice of sharing the server (for a lower cost) or having a server that is dedicated to your website. If you are just starting out, the cheapest option will probably suffice. You can always upgrade at a later time.

Step 2

Set up your domain with the hosting company. You need to tell the hosting company that you own the domain name. The process for this varies based on the hosting company, but there is typically a "Add a Domain" link within your control panel. Contact technical support if you don't know how to do this.

Step 3

Find out the name servers for your hosting company. You'll need these for the next step. These should be available in the control panel, or you can ask customer support for the information.

Step 4

Tell the domain registrar where you are hosting the website. The company that you purchased your domain from is the domain registrar. When you log in to your account there, you will be able to make changes to your domain. One of these is to change the name servers. This is what tells the registrar where your files are. Enter the name servers here.

Step 5

Establish a connection between your FTP software and your web host. File transfer protocol (FTP) software allows you to easily upload your files to your web host. After you open the software, you will see a "Open Connection" link. You'll need to enter your domain name and the username and password that you received when you signed up for the hosting company.

Step 6

Drag and drop the files into the FTP program. Highlight all of the files for your website, then drag them to the main box of the FTP program. This will initiate a file transfer.

Tips

• After your site is online, check through all of the pages to be sure that you've uploaded correctly. Sometimes, there is a broken link -- a link that goes to a page that you didn't upload.

Warnings

• It can take up to 48 hours for your domain registrar to change the name servers over to your new hosting company.

References

• Hosting: How Do I Upload My Files Using an FTP Program?

Resources

• Cyberduck: FTP Program

About the Author

Maggie McCormick is a freelance writer. She lived in Japan for three years teaching preschool to young children and currently lives in Honolulu with her family. She received a B.A. in women's studies from Wellesley College.

Photo Credits

• internet image by peter Hires Images from Fotolia.com