Morgan Web Design (FAQ)

Frequently Asked Questions

Domains
What is a domain name?
Do I have to have a domain name?
Why would you want a domain name?
Can I have any domain name I want?
How much does a domain name cost?

Web Pages
How do you make a web page?
Can I make my own?
What is a static page?
What is a dynamic page?
What is Java, JavaScript, VBScript, etc.?
Can I have a search engine on my own site?
Does it matter which server my web site is on?
Can someone access a web page on my computer?
How do I transfer web pages to the server?
What makes one domain space provider better than another?

Data Publishing
What is data publishing?
How do I go about getting my data on the internet?
Does it have to be a special kind of data for the internet?
How much data can I put on the internet?

Domains

What is a domain name?
A domain name is a name that allows people to easily find your site. For example, www.ford.com is the domain name for Ford Automotive. You've probably seen many different domain names in advertisements and on TV. You can get a domain for your business as well, as long as no one else has already registered it.

Do I have to have a domain name?
No. You do not have to have a domain name for people to access your site. The reason that you would want a domain name is so that it is easier for people to remember, but it is by no means required. You can start off without the domain name and later purchase a domain name without any problems.

Why would you want a domain name?
Domain names are much easier to remember that standard URL paths. For example, it is easier to remember www.mycompany.com than it is www.somecompany/users/mycompany/. While they do exactly the same thing (reach a web site), it is still easier to remember and tell others about the first. There are also companies, such as V3 that offer free redirect URLs. With one of these you can use a new URL (such as come.to/mycompany) that redirects the user to the actual URL. These are almost as easy to remember as a domain name.

Can I have any domain name I want?
Yes and No. Domain names are registered with the InterNIC and must be unique. Therefore, you can have any name you want so long as no one else already has it. Once you've received your name, you can also be confident that no one else will be given the same name also.

How much does a domain name cost?
It varies. The InterNIC charges a certain amount for the registration of a domain name. The last time I checked, it was about $80 to $100 for 2 years. However, almost every Internet Service Provider (ISP) also charges you to set the domain name up on their system (normally $50 - $200).

Web Pages

How do you make a web page?
Web pages are simply text files with codes imbedded in them to give the format you want. This formatting is known as HyperText Markup Language or HTML. There are many books written on this subject from very basic to advanced topics. There are also many tools available to help you get a good head start on creating your own pages. For books, search for HTML on Amazon.com.

Can I make my own?
Absolutely. You can create web pages on your own computer quite easily with the many tools available on the internet (many free or shareware) or even a simple text editor (notepad). Then, you must contact your ISP about transferring your pages to the web server so that others can view it from the internet.

What is a static page?
A static web page is one that does not change -- on its own, anyway. This web page, for example, is static. It will not change until I edit it manually and then you will see the change. It was not created from a database or does not change based on time, etc. It is the same everytime you come to it until it is manually edited.

What is a dynamic page?
Dynamic pages are web pages that change based on given parameters. Take for example, a search engine. Each time you do a search, the web browser displays a "newly created" page with your results. This "newly created" page wasn't just sitting there waiting for you to search for it. It was created after you typed in your search. This page is said to be dynamically created.

What is Java, JavaScript, VBScript, etc.?
There are many programs and programming code that can be stored in web pages today. Your web browser executes these programs and can make your page seem to come to life. For example, this site contains some JavaScript code that tells your web browser to "light up" the buttons as you move over them. There are countless things that can be done with these programs inside web pages from displaying today's date to changing a page counter or even e-mailing someone.

Can I have a search engine on my own site?
It depends on your Internet Service Provider (ISP) whether or not you can build a search engine for your own site. Each ISP is in control of their own server and what services they will provide you. Many offer database services which would allow you to build a search engine and many also allow CGI scripts (programs run on the server) that would also allow search engines to be written, but often these services are an additional charge. You can, however, register your site with the major search engines on the web (Altavista, Yahoo, Excite, etc.) so that people can search for your site.

Does it matter which server my web site is on?
Not at all. In fact, you probably don't know where this page came from, do you? It could be located on any server anywhere in the world. You can even move your domain name from one server to another and it can still be reached as it was before.

Can someone access a web page on my computer?
Generally, no. Everytime you logon to the internet, you a given and "identifier" known as an IP address. This number identifies you on the internet at that point in time and it is conceivable that someone could read a web page off your computer if you were running a web server and your ISP was not running a firewall (a program to keep people from accessing your computer while you're on the internet). However, the next time you logon to the internet, you a given a diffent IP address and the person trying to access the web pages on your computer would not be able to find you.

How do I transfer web pages to the server?
Web pages are transferred to the server via ftp (file transfer protocol). This is simply a copy type procedure. There are many programs available on the internet that make ftp much easier. There is also a command line utility included with Win95 that allows you to ftp files to the server. At a DOS prompt, you can type ftp -help for instructions.

What makes one domain space provider better than another?
Services, speed, reliability, knowledge. These things are all a factor in choosing your web space provider. If you need database services, of course, you would need and ISP with the specific services you require and the knowledge to help you get your site going.

Data Publishing

What is data publishing?
Data publishing is putting the contents of your database on the internet so that other people can access it. For example, say that you have a business and you want people to be able to look at your part numbers and descriptions online. You can publish your data (statically or dynamically - see questions above) to the internet without changing your data. It will probably require a new program to publish the data, but you can continue to use your current system.

How do I go about getting my data on the internet?
Basically, what you have to do is get the data in HTML format. Many database programs today have some type of HTML export, but they are always flexible with the way the data is formatted. { Here comes my plug :-) } If you need a specific format or would like your data to be searchable with your own search engine, I would be glad to talk to you about designing programs to do just that.

Does it have to be a special kind of data for the internet?
It needs to be in HTML format, but the data you see on the internet today is stored in many, many types of formats. You could take data from MS Excel or MS Access and publish it on the internet, or you could even take numbers out of your own catalog and publish them. It doesn't matter where the data is now so long as it ends up in HTML.

How much data can I put on the internet?
It all depends on your ISP. ISPs generally charge so much money for x number of megabytes of data and so much more for more data. It also depends on how you publish your data. If you're using a product that exports to HTML and you copy the files to the server yourself, the charges end with the ISP. If someone writes programs and search engines to do this for you, they will charge you also.