Web Hosting and Domain Name Confusion

[jslady]

Hi, you'll have to excuse me if some of these questions sound basic to you - You see, I've got web development experience but i've been working through a large company, so although I can satisfactorily design and build sites, my knowledge of how to set up a website is limited.

I'm building a site for a client. The site will not be dynamic. It is just html. I may go on to build other sites for people.
So with this in mind:

1) Do i need to buy web space for each client I make a site for? Or do I just buy a load of space that belongs to me and put all my client's sites on there?

2) One of the deals i've seen for domain name registration says I get:

Webmail (requires pop box) - what does this mean?
Web Forwarding (3 types!) - what does this mean?
Catch All E-mail Forwarding - what does this mean?
Up to 100 E-mail Forwarding Addresses -what does this mean?

... and the web hosting deal, from the same provider says I get:
15 mail boxes (POP3) - what does this mean?
Free WebMail. - what does this mean?
Unlimited e-mail forwarding addresses. - what does this mean?

It sounds like its offering the same thing twice, once in the domain name deal and once in the web hosting deal.

i'm sorry if i sound really naive on this... but i am, and i would really appreciate some help.


many thanks,

JsLady.

[AdamGundry]

1. That depends on your host. With my host (1&1) I control 1.5Gb of webspace with multiple domains pointing to different areas, but some hosts only offer a fixed amount of space for each domain.

2. Here's what most of the terms mean:
Email forwarding - messages sent to one email address get sent automatically to another. If it is "catch-all", that means that all emails sent to your domain (e.g. anything@example.com) get passed on.
Web forwarding - when users type your domain into the address bar their browser automatically goes to the "real" location of your page. Avoid it unless you have to use it.
POP mail box - a "proper" email account, allowing you to connect to the server and download email for an address.
Webmail - the ability to read/send emails through your browser.
Adam

[jslady]

Adam, thanks for clarifying those terms for me in plain english!

I'm interested in what you said about webspace with multiple domains. I looked at the 1&1 website.
If a package offers subdomains, does this mean that the webspace can have multiple domains?

By having multiple domains, are you able to control email settings for each individual site, or even better is it possible for your clients to be able to log in and administer their own settings.?

I'm going to be building about 4-8 sites this year in my own time, they will be about 15 pages each and just standard html/javascript. So it would be ideal if i could set up hosting for each client but then allow them to adminster their own email settings and send webmail from their addresses.

I'd be grateful for input from people who know more about this than I do and can think of things that would be useful for me to know.

cheers.

[AdamGundry]

No, subdomains and multiple domains are different concepts. A subdomain is an extension on the front of a domain name, such as "subdomain.example.com", whereas multiple domains allow completely different names. Of course, some hosts (like 1&1) offer both.

You are able to control email settings for each domain individually, unfortunately (with 1&1 at least) you cannot provide clients with email configuration access, though you can configure POP accounts, forwarding or webmail on their behalf.

Adam

[Insigma]

I'm new to web development, and I've finally got round to getting some online presence. I have webspace available to me, but I want to allocate a domain name to it.

I'm curious about AdamGundry's statement about domains with web forwarding...

Originally posted by AdamGundry
Avoid it unless you have to use it.

What's wrong with web forwarding, exactly? Why should it be avoided?

[AdamGundry]

I believe it's a bad idea because if it uses frames (they often do, to hide the real site address) it makes your website less accessible and harder to use (e.g. bookmarking pages). If it doesn't use frames you end up with an ugly, not professional-looking address (which is probably why you had the forwarding domain in the first place).

I'm not saying it's necessarily a bad thing - it's easier typing www.example.com than www.example.net/freehost/path/etc/page.html - but for most sites, a normal domain is a better idea.

Adam

[Nevermore]

If you're looking to do a lot of sites, you may want to look for a dedicated or virtual private server, which will provide you with total- or near-total control, e.g. the ability to install new programs and restart services. If you don't need this level of control, you're looking for reseller hosting. I recommend http://www.hoststock.com or http://www.frozenhosting.com for reseller hosting. They will both give you a GB or more of space to distribute to unlimited domains.

[jslady]

thank you cijori, i'll check out the links you provided.

JsLady.