5.3: Going Live with a New Website
5.3.1: Registering a Domain for a New Website
Typically you register the domain name (e.g. www.example.foo) at the same time that you pay for web hosting. It may be of some use to you to think about the important question of what to name your website - and the legal limits that may be set by existing websites with similar names.
Brainstorm a few possible domain names for your website. Use Google to check to see if these domain names are available. Remember that the best domain names are memorable, short, and do not require the user to remember idiosyncratic spellings or usages of valid punctuation marks like the underscore. Also remember that you will want your domain to be unique - if your proposed domain name is www.examplewebsite.net and there are already websites named www.examplewebsite.com, www.theexamplewebsite.net, www.example_website.foo, or other similar permutations, you should consider seeking an alternative name. When you register your domain name for business or personal branding, consider registering all similar domain names to prevent brand dilution. Once you've determined an available and acceptable domain name you would like to use, make sure that it makes sense for your website's title. You may need to change your title to reflect the available domain names.
5.3.2: Obtaining Hosting for a New Website
This brief introduction to the concept of web hosting should help new web coders begin searching for an appropriate hosting service.
There are countless options for individuals or small businesses hoping to host a new website on the Web. This article helps orient you to the selection process and gives you some directions and key concepts you will need as you seek out an appropriate host. Do some additional research into other providers before you choose a host.
Based on the information above, as well as your own research, consider what the best hosting service for your purposes would be. Once you have identified the hosting service with which you would like to work, establish your account with this service. You will most likely register your domain name in conjunction with establishing an account with a hosting service.
5.3.3: Submitting a New Website to Search Engines
In this subunit you will submit your content to popular search engines, including minimally Google, Bing, and Yahoo!. Some search engines like DuckDuckGo automatically index new websites, but it can take some time for them to find your site.
Once you have selected a hosting service and gotten your webpage live on the Internet, you will want to submit it to the Google Search Engine. This will help Google "discover" your page. Once you have done this, you can look into submitting to other, less popular search engines and look into Search Engine Optimization to help your page climb to the top of the search rankings.
Some users prefer to use search engines other than Google. Submitting to these engines, such as Bing or Yahoo, is often a good idea.
5.3.4: Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process by which you help your site attain a high level of visibility on the Web, especially in search engine results. You will want to think through SEO at length before your site goes live and will continue to leverage the "social web" to keep your site at the top of search results.
Providing sitemaps for your complex website can dramatically improve your visibility on Google Search. With the knowledge you already have about HTML and the brief reading on XML in this Unit, you should be able to understand the information about the sitemaps XML format on this site.
Using the template provided at Sitemaps.org, create a sitemap for your own website. Be sure to link it to your HTML file.