To get a new website online, you’re going to need 3 things:
- Domain name (a web address like yoursitename.com).
- Hosting (a service that connects your website to the internet)
- Website template (which I assume you already have)
Since MotoCMS does not provide domain name registration and webhosting services, you will need to purchase them separately.
Let's assume, that web is a phonebook and all contacts in this phonebook are domain names. Phone numbers assigned to each contact (domain name) are the servers provided by hosting company (where your website will be placed). By entering domain name in the browser you call the website on the server associated with it, in the same way you call a specific number by choosing a buddy in your phonebook. Without domain name it will be hard for visitors to actually find your website on the web (like searching for buddy's number in the phonebook without knowing his name). Obviously, your buddy should be able to pick up the phone - if his cell is off, you will not be able to reach him, even if the number is correct. In the same way website should be always online and reachable for your visitors, which is hosting company is responsible for.
So you should register a domain name (which will be your website address) and subscribe for a hosting plan (where your template files will be stored).
Owning a domain name looks far more professional than having your site on someone else’s domain (like yourbusiness.my-free-website.com), and it’s super affordable, too.
Plus, having your own hosting will also make sure your website loads quickly and won’t go down for hours at a time (pretty important for everyone who visits your pages.)
Choosing a domain name
Main advice - if you make a website for your business, your domain name should match your company name. For example: YourCompanyName.com (i.e our company name is MotoCMS and our domain is motocms.com)
Domain names usually end with .com, .org or .net, but in recent months, a huge amount of domain extensions (the end part of the web address, like .com) have come out, ranging from .agency to .pizza.
I advice to avoid the weird extensions and go with .com, .net or .org unless they perfectly describe what you offer – and even then, check if you can find a more common name.
While .com, .org and .net are commonly used and easily remembered, the domain extension craze hasn’t really gone mainstream yet – so people may not find you if you use a really different domain extension.
There are few things that can help you to choose your domain name:
- Is it brandable? For example, if you make a site about poker club then best-poker-website.net is not a good choice: pokeracademy.com or pokerclub.com is much better.
- Is it memorable? Short, punchy and clear domain names are much easier to remember. If your domain name is too fuzzy, too long or spelled in a strange way, visitors may forget it. An remember, your domain needs to be spelled even by a kid so people can get back to your site later.
- Is it catchy? You want a domain name that rolls off the tongue, describes what you (or your business) do and sticks to the head. Coming up with a cool name can be a bit tough since there are approximately 150 million active domain names in the world right now – but don’t give up.
There’s one rule that always applies to domain names: If you like it, go for it.
Where to go?
We mostly recommend www.hostpapa.com as a web hosting and domain registrar for our clients. And, of course, their servers a fully compatible with any MotoCMS templates! Their web hosting has competitive prices and they offer you a FREE domain name (a nice perk to have).
Pay attention to the available domain zones when register a new domain (after dot, ie .com, .net, .com.br and so on). Each domain registrar has it's own restrictions (and HostPapa too!), so always double check this before sign up for hosting & domain. Some registrars do not provide registration of the domain in certain domain zones or the price may differ. Keep in mind, you may always get needed domain name with desired domain zone from your local registrar and then host this domain with HostPapa (as HostPapa offers only several domain zones for registration, you may still host any other domain with them).
It is especially crucial when you already own a domain name and you are going to connect it to the new hosting.
Of course you can try other web hosting providers and even try to host your site by yourself, but it’s very complicated process and often wouldn’t be capable of serving your website visitors. So save yourself some money to get a proper web host.
When you get a domain name, you’ll also get a personal email account(s):
you@YourSite.com – way more professional than a generic Gmail or Yahoo address.
As an example, our domain name is motocms.com and contact email is marketing@motocms.com.
Furthermore, you will get a bunch of handy tools in additional to the pure webspace for your website. I'm talking about hosting control panel, where you can manage domains you own, website files, databases, email accounts and so on. Hosting support team is always willing to help if you are new to those things.
By the way - it is a good idea to double check hosting requirements of the template with hosting support team before making a purchase. Make sure hosting is ok with those requirements, if you determine that it is not later - you will be forced to look for other hosting for your website.
It sounds a bit complicated, but in most cases there is no need to dig into this, especially after the website is launched live. Go ahead and pick one of MotoCMS 3 templates in order to start working with your future website. You can get a hosting account here. Everything else can be resolved with MotoCMS support team ;)
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