1 Web Technologies Website Publishing/Going Live! Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.

What to Consider Before a website can be published, or go live, you must consider a few things. What is the domain name of the site going to be? Where is the domain name going to be registered? Where is the website going to be hosted? What type of server is needed? What hosting services are needed? How do I protect data/security? Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.2

Choosing the Name The domain name must be available Check the name from a register. Just because you enter the domain into the address bar of your browser and nothing comes up does not mean the name is available be easy to remember/short You want visitors to be able to remember your domain name without having to write it down Especially important for business websites Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.3

4 Choosing the Name The domain name must be related to the business the site represents or the topic of the website not include hyphens or numbers Generally, hyphens and numbers are allowed to be part of the name, but they make the name harder to remember

Domain Name Registration Many sites allow you to register a domain name Using your favorite browser, do a search for domain name registration The domain name registration site will let you know if the domain name you pick is available Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.5

Domain Name Registration Practice You are creating a website for a club of your choice The website will provide information about the club, meetings, activities, and anything members or prospective members would need Search for a top-level domain name ending in.com,.net, or.org for your website that properly represents your club Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.6

Selecting A Register You should carefully consider the company that you will be registering your domain name through The company should be accredited Location There are accredited registers all over the world; you should choose a register located in the United States  US based companies are easier to work with and easier to contact. They are also bound by US laws. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.7

Reputation Check for any complaints against the register Check online for other reviews of the register; however, take online reviews with a grain of salt Generally, only dissatisfied customers write reviews, and the complaints were not always checked for accuracy Price Domain registration ranges between $10 - $35 per year. Expect to pay the low end of that range Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.8 Selecting A Register

Easy to Manage You will need to use your register for more than just registering the domain name  You need to be able to easily renew the name  They should remind you when your domain name needs to be renewed  You will need to manage the website the domain name points to Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.9 Selecting A Register

Practice After you have found a site for domain registration, gather the following information:  What is the cost to register a.com domain name for 1 year?  What is the cost to register a.org domain name for 1 year?  What is the cost to register a.net domain name for 1 year?  Why do you think the.com domain is more expensive? Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.10 Selecting A Register

Website Hosting Hosting Options Website hosting refers to where your website files are kept and accessed from the Internet You can run a personal web server You can use a commercial web server Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.11

Website Hosting Personal web servers Any computer can become a web server Research the different web server software that is available Install and run the web server software you have chosen if you want to have the site running from your personal computer Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.12

Website Hosting Why run personal web server Does not cost anything to put a site online Provides a secure, private environment for developing and testing websites before transferring to a commercial web server Domain names will not point to personal web servers Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.13

Commercial web servers Free website hosting Some companies provide website hosting for free You will usually have very limited services Ads are usually placed on your website May not work with top-level domains Shared servers A web server running multiple websites Dedicated servers A web server running one website Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.14 Website Hosting

Commercial web servers Shared servers Runs multiple web sites; less expensive as the cost of the server is divided among other website owners The server software gives the appearance that your site is the only one running on the server You have limited control over the server settings for your site Generally lower space and bandwidth allotments Can run slow, depending on the other sites Best option for sites with low website demands Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.15 Website Hosting

Commercial web servers Dedicated servers The entire server is dedicated to your site More expensive, generally $150 or more per month High storage and bandwidth capacity Full control and highly customizable Suitable for businesses with high website demands Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.16 Website Hosting

Practice You need website hosting for a small website, so a starter package would work for you Do some research on web hosting sites What is the monthly rate for shared hosting? How much storage space is provided? How much bandwidth is provided? Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.17 Website Hosting

Transferring Files Before a website can be accessible, it must be transferred to your web server When you register for web hosting through a commercial host, they will provide you with the access information FTP address username password directory Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.18

Protocols Rules. Internet protocols are established rules that any program offering a particular service will follow. Allows for different software applications running on different computers to communicate When your browser views a website, you are using hypertext transfer protocol To upload files to a website, you will use File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.19 Transferring Files

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) When you transfer files to your server, you need to use a program that can connect to the server and allow you to copy your files onto the server The web server will run a program called an FTP server that will allow other computers to connect to it to transfer files over You will need to have an FTP client on your computer to connect to the FTP server Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.20 Transferring Files

Some applications have FTP capabilities built into the software This makes uploading your website extra easy Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.21 Transferring Files

To get the files from your computer to the web server: 1. Log into your FTP client 2. Select the location on your computer where your files are stored 3. Open the www directory on your web server 4. Drag the files you want to transfer from the left side of the FTP client to the right side Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.22 Transferring Files

Protecting Your Data Websites with top-level domain names are constantly under attack Hackers will try to gain access to your site for several reasons Some want to host malicious phishing web sites They can run spam scripts using your domain Hackers may simply want to deface or destroy your website Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.23

You can take several steps to protect your data Use a complex password consisting of random digits including letters, numbers, and symbols Periodically change your server password Adjust your server settings to automatically block the IP addresses of users with 5 unsuccessful login attempts. Back up your content regularly Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.24 Protecting Your Data

Passwords First line of defense in protecting data Passwords with only letters or numbers are easily cracked by brute-force hacking software Passwords should be at least 7 – 10 characters in length Quality passwords should resemble  dh3w&#12)w Change the password at least once a month  This will add an additional level of difficulty in cracking your server’s password Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.25 Protecting Your Data

Adjust your server settings to block the IP addresses of users with 5 unsuccessful login attempts Brute-force hacking software are programs that make multiple attempts at cracking your server’s password. It is the most common tool used to gain access Most commercial servers allow you to block the IP of anyone that makes multiple failed attempts to access the server This tool will virtually eliminate the hacker’s ability to access your web server Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.26 Protecting Your Data

Back up your content regularly When your files are accessible online, it is impossible to make them 100% secure Hackers can bypass the password and compromise the server from backdoors or other means You should regularly back up your files to an external location, such as your computer Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.27 Protecting Your Data