Some of our clients
- Drop Zone Military
- Mr Stripy
- Benton Arboriculture
- Delta Products
- LandRoverOneTen
- Xy User Group
- Leterpart Ltd
- 24th Dorking Scout Group
Contact Us
Please get in touch if you are interested in a website for your business.
- T: 01306 627 128
- M: 07940 508 417
- E: info@digitalessence.net
Customer Links
Frequently Asked Questions about Website Design, Hosting & Domain Names
We understand how confusing all of this "Webtalk" can be and feel that a customer who has a clearer understanding of what they need with regards to their companies website, domain name or hosting, will be more comfortable and more likely to ask for what they need. This makes the website design or hosting process quicker and easier for everyone.
We have therefore created this Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page where we hope to answer any questions you may have. If we have missed anything off or you would like further clarification, please do not hesitate to call or email us. We love talking tech!
What is web hosting?
What is hosting space and bandwidth?
What is a Domain Name?
How do I register a Domain Name?
Why don't you offer unlimited bandwidth/space/transfer/emails etc?
How do I track how many hits my website gets?
What are Perl, PHP & ASP?
What is MySQL & MS SQL?
Do I have to change my domain if I change my host?
How do I get my site online?
What is DNS?
What is web hosting?
Web hosting or a hosting package is the act of renting space on a server and bandwidth (the amount of data per month you use) through a company such as ourselves so that you may upload your website via FTP for the world to see. You can get free hosting which is ok for a personal site but they can never guarantee reliability, support or any of the important details vital to a company website.
What is hosting space and bandwidth?You will see these terms a lot in your search for a website hosting company. The space quoted is purely and simply disk space. Your hosting package rents you space on a server's hard drive to store your website.
Bandwidth is incorrectly used to describe the amount of data you are
allocated, usually on a monthly basis. The correct term is monthly data
transfer. To give you an idea on how much you need compared to what we
offer: We host a site that gets over 7000 pageviews a month and has a
According to the Wikipedia, "A domain name is an identification label that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet, based on the Domain Name System (DNS)". At Digital Essence we are here to help you, not confuse, so let us put that into plain English for you!
Simply put, a Domain name is a unique address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator) that refers to a particular website. For example BBC.co.uk, Amazon.co.uk etc. It is also the information after the @ in your email address.
You rent a Domain name through a Registrar for a period (minimum 2 years for .co.uk) and that domain name then points to your website which is hosted on a server. A Domain name and hosting package are both required for people to see the website you have created.
How do I register a Domain Name?Registering a Domain name is very easy. First of all you need to check if it is available using a site such as UKReg.com then you need to decide on your Top Level Domain, i.e. .co.uk. .com etc. We recommend taking both .co.uk and .com for your company so that you have control over both. Once you have decided on a Domain name you can either purchase directly through UKReg.com or speak to us and we can proceed from there on your behalf.
Why don't you offer unlimited bandwidth/space/transfer/emails etc?Good question! The reason we don't offer unlimited resources or quote huge amounts of Web Space is that you simply don't need them. Take this site for example, it isn't huge it is a decent size. It only takes up 1.6Mb of space. We just don't see the need to parade huge numbers in front of our customers. If on the slim chance you do have a large site that requires more space, talk to us. We are very flexible to your needs.
How do I track how many hits my website gets?We recommend two different options here. The first is StatCounter.com who offer free, easy to use statistics for your website. The other option is Google Analytics which is more complicated and really for those looking to run pay Per Click Advertising campaigns. Both options require adding code containing a unique code to each page of your website. We are more than happy to provide this service for you and can also talk you through traffic metrics in greater detail.
What are Perl, PHP & ASP?Perl, PHP and ASP are all programming languages which lend themselves very well to the web. Each has its own benefits and uses and we recommend you research which would suit your website the best. Of course we are more than happy to offer advice if you want to contact us.
What is MySQL & MS SQL?MySQL & MS SQL are database systems that provide a backend to your websites front end (html). Blogs, for instance Wordpress use MYSQL as a backend to store all the posts.
Do I have to change my domain if I change my host?No. Providing your existing host has registered your domain name in your name, as they should do. Then all you need to do to move your domain from one hosting company to another is to change the nameservers. During the transfer there will be a period where you site can not be contacted and emails won't be received as the nameserver records are updated across the internet. This can last for up to 48 hours although we aim to complete more quickly, subject of course, to the rest of the world.
How do I get my site online?So you have created a website and are ready to let the world see it but don't know how to get it online?
When you signed up with a host they should have given you your FTP details. These will comprise a host (address such as ftp.digitalessence.net or an IP address such as 217.168.156.33) a username and password. Using an FTP Client, (we recommend a free FTP client called Filezilla) you upload your files to your root directory using drag and drop.
What is DNS?Each machine connected to the web has a unique IP address which consists of 4 sets of numbers separated by full stops, for example 217.167.223.145. This may be good for the machines but us humans are not very good at remembering numbers so we use easy to remember addresses instead, called urls. DNS, or Domain Name Service is the system by where your website url is resolved to the server your website is hosted on. It changes the human readable address such as www.digitalessence.net to a machine readable IP address.
If you would like to discuss your requirements, please call 01306 627 128
