• What do I get with a web hosting account?
• What is the difference between web hosting and web design?
• Who owns my domain (www.mycompany.com)? Do you register domains?
• Do I still need to pay my internet service provider if I get web hosting?
• What do I need to provide to set up web hosting?
• Will you set up my email accounts for me?

What do I get with a web hosting account?

At its most basic, you get the following with a web hosting account:

• A place on the internet network for you to store your web site files (the HTML files, graphics, and other files that make up your web site). This place on the internet is identified by your domain name (your web address, such as www.mycompany.com).
  
  
• Unlimited email accounts that use your domain name (mary@mycompany.com). Emails that are sent to these addresses are received at our servers, and you can either:
  
  - Pick them up there with your own email program (such as Outlook)
  
  - View them using a web browser interface (similar to HotMail or Yahoo mail)
  
  - Have them automatically forwarded to your existing email account.

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What is the difference between web hosting and web design?

A web hosting service simply provides you with a place to store your files so that people surfing the internet can get to them.

Words Connect also offers web site design services, where we help you come up with the look and the content of your web site. You do not have to use us to design your web pages, but we would be happy to help.

For more information, see our article on the difference between a web designer, a webmaster, and web hosting.

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Who owns my domain (www.mycompany.com)? Do you register domains?

You retain ownership of your domain name (mycompany.com). Words Connect simply tells the routing servers on the internet that your domain lives at our servers.

Only a small number of companies on the internet actually register domains. These domain registrars keep track of which domains are available, and which are taken. Words Connect can help you register a domain if you haven't done that.

Domains are registered for a specific time frame (usually one or two years), and you must renew the registration periodically to keep your ownership. When it is time for you to renew your domain name registration, the registrar will contact you, not Words Connect.

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Do I still need to pay my internet service provider if I get web hosting?

Yes! Web hosting simply provides a place on the network of the internet for your web site files to reside.

Web hosting does not replace your relationship with your internet service provider. You still need an ISP to provide you with dialup or high-speed access to the internet.

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What do I need to provide to set up web hosting?

To set up a hosting account, we need:

• A signed application form
• A check for the first quarterly payment and the setup fee
• If you have registered your domain, we need the domain name (mycompany.com), and the user name and password provided to you when you set up the domain (this is usually in a welcome email)

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Will you set up my email accounts for me?

Words Connect will initialize your email by setting up one administrative email account. You will set up the rest of your accounts using our Control Panel.

For instructions on setting up email, see our Web Hosting Support page.

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