When you’re managing an online presence for your business or organisation, it helps to understand the key building blocks that keep your website running.
Think of your site as a chain of interconnected parts. When everything works in harmony, visitors have a seamless experience. But if there’s a blip, knowing the basics can help you identify where the issue might be coming from.
Here’s our handy glossary of terms to keep in your back pocket (or in your bookmarks bar!)
Domains
Simply put, a domain name is a unique address that is used to identify a website or email server, and is what people will use to search and find you online.
For example, our domain name is www.vitamin.ie, and when you search it via a search engine (Google, Safari, Bing, etc.), you land on the website you’re on now.
This domain name is actually a numerical IP address, but thanks to DNS (Domain Name System), we can apply human-friendly names to it that will route customers and users to your website.
Who manages domain names?
Domains are managed by domain registries or hosting providers, with some of your standard providers including Smarthost, Hosting Ireland, Blacknight, Register365, LetsHost and Maxer, for example.
So, in practice, when you decide to have a website developed, you would go to a registry and purchase your desired domain name (typically the closest name you can get to your business or organisation), and this will then subsequently be used for finding you online and for your email address(s).
Your registrar of choice will be the one issuing your invoices, making it vital to make a note of your payment due dates and renewals, avoiding a missed payment where possible. Otherwise, your website and its users could likely face service disruptions.
This provider will also become your first point of contact for any technical support regarding any domain and server issues.
Domain Transfer
There can often be situations where it may be necessary to transfer your domain to a different provider, and there are a couple of common reasons for this decision.
- Ownership
Although convenient when an IT provider or web agency sets up a domain on your behalf, it can lead to complications if it is technically registered under their account as opposed to yours.
Making you or your business the official registrant will give you full control over renewals, DNS settings and domain transferring if required, without having to rely on a third-party.
Think of it like the deed to your house; you want to make sure you’re the one officially in charge.
- Having Everything Under One Umbrella
Sometimes we encounter situations where a domain may be registered with Provider A, website hosting with Provider B and email service with Provider C, and in our experience, this can get quite messy and cause headaches.
Situations like this lead you to having multiple different platform logins, dashboards, billing systems and support teams, making management, updates, renewals and troubleshooting time-consuming.
By transferring your domain to one provider, you centralise all of this management in one place and alleviate the stress of juggling too many third parties all at once.
- Pricing
As you might expect, different providers will have different pricing structures for common registrations and renewals.
Transferring your domain in this case will help you to take advantage of more competitive pricing options, which can often see huge pricing differentials, maximising your savings in the long run.
EPP Codes
It’s important to note that in order to complete a domain transfer, you will need to have an Extensible Provisioning Protocol code or EPP code, for short.
This is an alphanumeric authorisation key that allows the transfer of a domain name from one registrar to another, confirming that the person requesting the transfer (likely, you) is the actual owner of the domain, for security purposes.
Accessing your EPP code is relatively straightforward, by simply identifying your current registrar, making contact to request the code and then issuing it to your new registrar (i.e the one you’re moving to).
Where your domain is a .com, you will be required to complete an extra verification, which will predominantly require verifying your new or updated contact details, in line with the policies and guidelines set out by ICANN.
It is imperative that you complete this step to avoid the possible suspension of your domain.
When retrieving your EPP code, you will need to have access to the email address you registered this domain under. If you lose access to this email address, you may be required to forward legal documents for verification.
Web Hosting & Servers
Your web hosting is a service that allows your website to be visible and accessible on the internet by storing your website files and subsequently making them accessible to users when they search and visit your website.
Web hosting is not a free service, and as such, you will have to pay for a subscription service to keep your website online (monthly, annually, bi-yearly, etc).
It is important to note that there is not one set cost for web hosting, and the cost will depend on the needs and demands of your website.
As with many subscription services that have tiers, web hosting follows a similar model, with pricing varying based on required storage space, SSL certificates, and customer support, for example.
Other factors such as your contract period, type of hosting (managed or self-managed) and server location can influence the price you pay.
There is also nothing standing in the way of hosting providers increasing or decreasing their prices upon renewal, and as such, we recommend being prepared to face price increases, as they are becoming more commonplace.
SSL Certificates
An SSL certificate will allow a website to use the secure version of HTTP, HTTPS and in simple terms, does two key things: encrypts data and verifies authenticity.
It creates a safer and more secure website for the end user, ensuring their data is secure and encrypted, which is particularly important on websites where you may be requesting names, emails, addresses, payment details or any other sensitive data.
You will know a website is SSL certified when the website address is “https://” as opposed to “http://”.
Having an SSL Certificate and HTTPS is also necessary to include some additional functionality on your website. For example, if you plan to have people purchase from your site (via services like Stripe, PayPal, etc.) but it’s not secure, it likely won’t work properly or at all, because these third-party providers can deny access to use their services.
From an SEO perspective, Google has previously stated that HTTPS is also a ranking factor in its search algorithm, positioning secure websites higher in search results.
DNS Records
Your Domain Name System (DNS) records are like the equivalent of an address book for your website domain, responsible for controlling when and where your website should load when searched by end users.
It also acts as authentication for email providers using your domain name, and for allowing other 3rd party services to act under your domain name, such as newsletters, for example.
The best way to think of it is like your home address and eircode, which direct where your post gets sent to, including a PO box, and where it is pinned if looked up in maps.
To put it more technically, a DNS or Domain Name System is a directory system that translates your domain name into a numerical IP address that servers can understand.
While humans will access a website by name (vitamin.ie), browsers do it by IP addresses, which is also an address, but a long alphanumeric version.
Your key DNS Records are:
- ‘A’ records: Point your domain to your website’s server IP.
- MX records: Route your domain’s emails to the right email server, i.e. your web server, M365, Google Workspace, etc
- CNAME records: Redirect one domain name to another.
- TXT records: Text that gets associated with the domain name. Can be used to authenticate 3rd party services for integration purposes, such as Google Search Console.
Configured DNS records are imperative for instructing the internet on how to route your domain, as misconfiguration can lead to bounced emails, websites going offline and issues with connections to third-party services.
Nameservers
Nameservers are an essential part of this system, playing the role of manager.
Simply put, nameservers decide who controls your DNS records and where they can be found.
Your domain’s nameservers can either be provided by your domain registrar (mentioned above) or if preferred, you can have your records managed by a third-party service like Cloudflare or Sucuri, which will add another layer of security.
So, for example, you could buy your domain from Maxer and by default, your nameservers will automatically be managed by Maxer, but if you opt to, you can point them to Cloudflare; this is completely at your own discretion.
Wherever your nameservers point to will determine where your DNS records are being managed, thus controlling the traffic of your domain name.
Without correctly configured nameservers, your website or email services might not work at all.
CMS (Content Management System)
A CMS, or content Management System, is a platform that allows you to create, manage and update website content without the need for coding.
One of the most common CMS that you may be familiar with is WordPress, with approximately 43% of all websites globally running on WordPress.
A CMS will streamline the website content updating process for you, whilst also adding functionality through trusted and reliable plugin options.
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
SMTP is the protocol that sends emails from your website, often connected to services like Brevo, MailChimp, etc, ensuring your contact forms, newsletters, and automated emails sent by your website actually reach inboxes.
An incorrect setup can lead to emails from your website bouncing and/or being marked as spam.
We would recommend that if you switch hosting providers or email services, you check that SMTP settings are updated to prevent disruption. We may also advise setting up a 3rd party SMTP provider to ensure there are no issues with contact form submissions.
These are all critical things that run in the background that you need to get your website up and running.
We at Vitamin can help you set up and manage some of these items listed above in your name and advise on what provider and pricing should best suit you for your website’s requirements,.
Considering a web project? Get in touch today!