For the newcomer some of the jargon used by website hosting companies can sound so technical, that they end up passing over the chance to launch their first website for fear they don’t know enough to be successful.
Even for the more experienced website owner, the same jargon can leave them unaware of some of the features they need to expand their business, or at worse with the wrong package for their needs.
However, as ever, things that sound technical are in fact much simpler to understand than might immediately meet the eye.
In this first of a two part ‘Jargon Buster’ series, I’m going to take you through some of the more arcane sounding terms, so you can better understand what you are buying, and how to make best use of it.
Even if you are not building your own website, a little additional knowledge will help you communicate more clearly with your web designer or developer.
FTP
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol.
Yes, it still sounds technical, but simply put FTP refers to the main way by which you, or a web designer, transfers the web pages you have created, from your computer to your web host’s server.
This is done using an FTP client, which looks a little like Windows Explorer and is accessed either via your website hosting control panel, or is available as downloadable software. A great free FTP client is FileZilla.
If you choose to use your own FTP client, you will need to get the name of the server which your website is being hosted on. It should look something like this: ftp.hostname.com, www.yourdomain.co.uk or could simply be an IP Address – 100.212.67.57
An FTP client can also be used to view, rename, delete, and reorganise the pages and files which make up your website.
MySQL databases
MySQL, pronounced My S-Q-L is the most popular open source database server available, and is the power behind a vast number of database driven web sites, including Google.
So, why is it important to have it?
As a web site grows, especially sites which offer e-Commerce, forums and blogs, the pages have to be stored in a database and retrieved via an internal search engine. If you are planning on building a site with multiple pages, then it’s crucial that your hosting package offers MySQL.
This is especially important, because although there are other solutions out there, a vast majority of the best web programs available for powering e-Commerce, forums and blogs, are designed to work with MySQL.
FrontPage Extensions
They may sound like something you need to put on your home page, but FrontPage Extensions simply refer to the programs required to implement websites built using all versions of Microsoft FrontPage. Microsoft FrontPage is one of the leading programs used by home and small businesses for building websites.
If you are planning to build your website using Microsoft FrontPage, then you need check whether your web hosting package has FrontPage Extensions. Without it you will not be able to properly upload many of the features that FrontPage offers.
Pre-installed scripts
Pre-installed scripts are working installations of popular programs – otherwise known as plug-ins – available to you direct from your control panel. So, for example, if you want to install a forum on your website, then instead of searching for one online and then having to figure out how to install it onto your webspace, all you need to do is select the pre-installed ‘forum’ script from your cpanel, and click install.
Checking what kind of pre-installed scripts a web host offers, is a good way of seeing just how much you are getting for your money. There should be a good range of scripts available, and evidence that they are updated regularly, including an option to upgrade.
Transfer to and away charges
Put simply, transfer to and away charges, are fees hidden in T&Cs, charging for transferring domain names both into and away from the web host.
They are frowned upon by internet domain name watchdog ICANN, and yet are not illegal. Make sure you ask your website hosting company whether they have such fees, and if so, expect to see them clearly and transparently listed on their site.
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