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For the beginner, creating a website might seem to be an overwhelming
task. We have designed this
Simple Start tutorial to take away some of the fear, teach you about the
basics of site development,
and to motivate you to create a site that will be functional and
successful. Simply follow
these eight steps and you will be on your way to becoming a "web master".
If you have already chosen a domain name, or already own a domain name, proceed to step 2.
I don't have a domain name, how do I choose one?
Choose a name that reflects the content and purpose of your web site or business. Try to keep it short and snappy. Say it out loud, as if you were telling someone at a party to visit your web page.
Keep in mind the image that your domain conveys. When seeing your
web site in search engines, your domain name is one of the ways a surfer
may decide whether or not to visit your web site.
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Congratulations, you are already on step 2! Now that you have
chosen a domain name, you will need a web hosting service to store all your web
pages and graphics. That is why you need us, Simple Host!
Signing up is SIMPLE... There are no setup fees, and we offer a 30 day money back
guarantee. Our simple step-by-step sign up process will have you online
in no time. If you have any questions about this process, please
feel free to contact our Sales department.
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It is very important that you do not skip this step. You will not be able to use any of our services, unless your DNS servers are correct. Even if you have a good general knowledge of the DNS system, we highly suggest reading our DNS tutorial as you may learn something you did not know.
If we registered a NEW domain name for you when you signed up with Simple Host, we
have already setup your DNS correctly. You can proceed to Step 4.
If you already own a domain name, or are moving from another web host, you will have to change your DNS so your
domain name will point to our servers.
Please visit our DNS tutorial on how
to change your DNS.
When will my domain begin working?
New domains begin working 24-72 hours after initial registration. DNS changes
to existing registered domains can take 24-72 hours after the DNS change
has taken place. Therefore it may take up to 3 days before your web site
services at Simple Host begin working.
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Within 24 hours of signing up with Simple Host, we send you a "setup letter". This letter contains all the information on how
to use our services successfully. We strongly recommend reading this letter in full detail, as it discusses how to upload your web site, setup email accounts, how to get support, and company policies. By reading your setup letter and this web page we hope to make hosting experience simple and successful. DO NOT DELETE this letter, as you may need to refer to this letter in the future.
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The first step in setting up your email accounts, is to setup/define your email addresses on our mail server. Our simple to use
Control Panel allows you to login and setup/manage
your email accounts 24 hours a day. Please watch the "Creating a POP email account" tutorial for instructions on how to use our mail control panel.
Once you have setup your email accounts on our mail server, it is now time to configure your email client software.
We have written various tutorials on how to setup email clients like Outlook, Netscape, Eudora, etc.. Visit the tutorials area
to find the tutorial for your specific email client software.
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You are ready to get started building your web site. First, you will need to decide
if you are going to design your web site by yourself, or hire a professional web site designer.
Most people choose to do it themselves, as they want more control and professional designers can
be expensive. We are not going to lie, building a web site is very hard work,
yet very enjoyable and satisfying.
If you are going to create your site using HTML, FrontPage or Dreamweaver,
we
suggest
reading our
"How to Build a Web Site" tutorial. Within this tutorial we discuss all facets of
building a web site, from HTML, web page building software, and graphic editors.
If you are have decided to inquire about a professional web designer, we highly recommend
LuLu Digital.
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As you create your web site, you can begin uploading and making changes at anytime.
We have made the entire process of uploading very simple.
The recommended way of uploading is using FTP (file transfer protocol).
Any FTP software suite will work, and a search on download.com will result in many possibilities. The most popular FTP clients are
probably CuteFTP or WSFTP, and Fetch for Macintosh.
Yet, we recommend SmartFTP, as it is one of
the more advanced FTP clients, and its FREE!..
After you have downloaded and installed your choice of FTP software, read
the corresponding FTP tutorials on how to connect to our servers.
FrontPage Users:
If you are using Microsoft Frontpage, the FrontPage extensions must first be installed on
your account. This can be completed through our control panel software. Please refer to the "Installing FrontPage extensions" tutorial.
After you have installed the extensions, we advise watching our other Frontpage tutorials that cover many topics including uploading, other management topics.
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When you have your web site online, it is time to
let people know that it exists. Search engines are the most popular way that people find what they are looking for on the internet.
Therefore, one of the best ways to promote your site is to submit it to the search engines. This is an essential part of building your internet presence.
Search engine submission can be a very difficult and time-consuming task, therefore we
recommend using an automated search engine submission service. Our favorite is "AddMe.com" which submits your web site to 18 major search engines for free.
There are literally thousands of ways to market your web site, and hundreds of resources giving instructions on how to do so. Listed below are some of our favorite Internet Marketing resources/services.
Add Me - Free Search Engine Submission Service
Search Engine Watch - SE Info, How to get higher listings, etc.
Search Engine Help - SE Info, How to get higher listings, etc.
Wilson Web - General Online Marketing Site with over 8,000 articles.
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