Rediff Guide to the Net has put together a two-part feature on the A-Z of domains and Web hosting, to help you book your domain name and find the right service to host your site.

Step 1: Booking a domain name

First things first. Decide on a name for your domain. Your own of course, would be the most likely option! Use a service called Whois to find out if it's available. If a domain ending in .com is already taken, try variations like .org, .net, .edu or .biz.

For example, to book a domain in my name, I would look for availability of anitabora.com. Do not include any prefixes such as www when searching.

Until 1999, a domain name was limited to 22 characters, but can now have up to 63.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is responsible for controlling IP (Internet Protocol) addresses and their associated domain names. It also maintains a list of domain name registrars.

More: FAQ on domains | Creating and maintaining a domain name | Domain Handbook | Domain Conquest | Domain Guru

Step II: Finding a Web host

Booking a domain is like buying an 'Occupied' sign and fixing it on your plot. You now have to find someone to 'host' your plot in cyberspace. The hosting service will place your site (a set of pages located under your domain name) on the Internet through a server and make it available to anyone online.

You'll need an account with the hosting service or a server of your own. The second is not really necessary, especially in the case of personal or non-commercial sites

. When looking for a hosting service, these are the questions you need to ask:

1. What is the purpose of my Web page?
If you are looking for a site to put up your resume and portfolio, or maintain a Web log, you'll need a relatively small amount of disk space. Between 2-10 MB and 1-10 GB of data transfer (per month) should be sufficient. Movie and sound files, visuals and animation will take up additional space and bandwidth. But if your site is text-based, you have nothing to worry about, as text takes up very little space.

2. Do I need a virtual or dedicated server?
Dedicated servers are typically used for sites that handle a high volume of traffic, enhanced security and run customised software and applications. As a general rule, dedicated servers are ideal for large sites. In case of a small one, virtual hosting would suffice. Your site will share space with others on one of the servers provided by the hosting company.

3. What does the service offer in terms of software, support and platform?
You will have to find out whether their server, software and support services are compatible with your needs. The platform your host uses is very important since UNIX, Window NT and Mac all run different applications. Check out the essentials required to launch your site and make sure the hosting service plan offers the ability to implement them.

4. Is the hosting plan flexible?
List all the features you might want to add to your site in the future. Like if you have a small personal site that you would like to later expand to a business site and add an online e-commerce option, you will need to upgrade your requirements. A provider who will give you a commercial Web solution such as shopping card software or secure online payment would be the right choice. Find out what the terms of the hosting service are, as it will be easier to upgrade than to change your hosting service later.

5. What are the hosting service's customer support policies?
Check out the options available in case you need help with your account. Most hosting services will be available on email and phone, and some via 24/7 Web-based chat. However, if your hosting service is located overseas, phone might not be feasible. As a beginner, you are bound to come across teething problems and it's best to choose a company that offers constant support.

Step III: Indian Vs overseas hosting providers

While there are several hosting services in India, many still prefer to host with overseas companies. The factors that usually arise in case of hosting are reliability, response time and the costs involved.

Nilesh Chaudhari, who has his own domain at www.nilesh.org, was dissatisfied with an Indian hosting company and switched to an overseas one. He cites his reasons:

a) Bandwidth: "Most Indian hosts use shared bandwidth for their clients. Normally this is a 2 Mbps leased line hosting about 500 sites, which is definitely poor. Compare this with overseas hosts who have at least a T3 (45Mbps) line shared."

b) Cost: "Even if the cost has reduced over time, Indian hosting is still expensive from a TCH (total cost of hosting) perspective. 250 MB of Web space will cost at least Rs 30,000 from an Indian host compared to Rs 3,000 from a US host."

c) Features: "Many overseas hosts offer domain control, flexibility in configuring the site, telnet access, scripting options, email filtering and database options."

d) Support: "I had this problem of mails not reaching my mailbox and I emailed the helpdesk attaching the error messages. They could not figure out the problem for two weeks. I then contacted the technical manager complaining of incompetence and the matter got resolved in two days. Compare this with my current host. When I had a problem with file permission on my site, the helpdesk emailed me everyday about the status of the issue."

e) Security: "Indian hosts have most of their servers unpatched with the latest security fixes."

The only disadvantage is the legal aspect, feels Nilesh. "Legal issues, if any, have to be handled in the hosting service's country. This includes fights over ownership of domains, spam cases, change in terms of agreement, payment issues, misuse of credit card information, etc."

S Anand who registered his site at Namezero.com has been hosting his site with Geocities since 1996. He says it was the best service at that time and there were only a few providers around. What would he do if he had to decide afresh? "In the short-term, I wouldn't mind settling for a 110 MB, no-ad, free hosting service. If I'm looking medium-term, I'll go for an ad-serving host with Yahoo or a paid hosting service. If I'm looking long-term, I'll go for my own server."

Kiruba Shankar who booked his domain at Net4domains.com at Rs 450 per year is satisfied with an Indian host. Five friends (including himself) bought 500 MB space from a Net4India reseller to hold a bouquet of 10 sites costing Rs 500 per domain (per person).

An Indian host is preferable feels Shankar, "You can have someone accountable. Whenever my site goes down, I call up the person and enquire and so far I have been getting reasonable response. Hosting with international services proves to be expensive as payment is in dollars and since most of them charge monthly fees, all added up it comes to a heavy annual fee."

You could ask friends and family who have their own domain names and are using a paid hosting service, about their experiences. Once you have made this decision, you can take the next step of finding the right host to set up and maintain your own personal space online.

Resources:

-- Hosting Chat | Hosting Seek | Hosting Forums | Hosting Talk
-- How to avoid getting hurt by a hosting service
-- The challenge of Web hosting
-- Sites that help you find Web hosts
-- Host Directories

Tomorrow: Part II - Hosting plans, changing your hosting service and tips on maintaining your domain

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