How to Use Godaddy for Web Hosting

GoDaddy's Web hosting plans offer standard features, such as personalized email addresses, as well as other features like blogging tools. Start by setting up a hosting account. Once you've done this, you'll be able to access services like support for SQL databases, forums and email forwarding.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer with Internet access
• Online form of payment

Choose a Hosting Plan

1. Determine what you plan to use your Web site for. GoDaddy hosts small business and personal Web sites. Visit the GoDaddy "Hosting Plans" Web page to view your options (see Resources below).

2. Decide how much storage and transfer capacity you need as well as how much you're willing to pay. Your storage and transfer needs will be dictated by how large your Web site will be and how much traffic you expect to get. You will also need to decide whether you will be using a Linux or Windows platform for your site.

Set Up a Hosting Account

3. Visit the GoDaddy home page (see Resources below). Give yourself a little more than two hours to set up the basics of your Web site. Simple details like password activations can take about 30 minutes to complete.

4. Drag the mouse over the section in green that reads "Hosting and Servers" to begin the process of setting up your hosting account. Click on "My Hosting Account."

5. Select the highlighted option in blue called "Setup New Account." This will send you to the section to begin your Web site registration process.

6. Type in the requested information, such as address, phone number and name. If you are starting a small business, be sure to enter the applicable information.

7. Click on "Create a New Account" to submit the information.

8. Select a package by checking the applicable box with your mouse. Finish up the process by clicking "Checkout." Then enter payment information.

Use Your Web Site

9. Create and upload your Web site. The software you use to create and upload your site will depend to some extent on the platform you chose. For example, if you choose a Windows platform, you can use FrontPage software to create and upload a site.

10. Access the Metropolis Hosting Community offered by GoDaddy to learn about, find or install third-party applications for your site.

11. Investigate some of the features GoDaddy offers in addition to standard features such as email addresses. For example, GoDaddy offers free blogging tools.

Tips & Warnings

• Get an SSL certificate from GoDaddy for security purposes if you plan to use your Web site for secure shopping transactions.
• Use GoDaddy's Help Center for assistance during setup (see Resources below).
• Beef up your passwords to ensure online security. GoDaddy recommends that account passwords be at least 8 letters or characters long and include at least one number.
• If you're using FrontPage and are experiencing difficulties uploading your site, make sure you're not trying to use FTP to upload. The permissions settings in FrontPage are incompatible with using FTP.

[jogold]

on 2/28/2009 If you are going to purchase web hosting, many companies will offer discounts on the purchase of a domain name (including GoDaddy I believe). This is something I neglected to pay attention to when I purchased my first domain.