It Was the Nameservers

If you're following my website building adventures, I had built a website, but was having trouble getting it uploaded to the internet.

I submitted a ticket to my host, HostGator. It only took a half hour to receive a reply explaining the problem. Not bad!

The problem: I hadn't pointed the nameservers to HostGator.

Okay, that's happened to me before. The first time I heard it, I felt like I was reading a foreign language. At this point, I should know better. But this is exactly the kind of thing that made me want to create Website Building 4 Newbies. If you've hired a web designer, he/she will probably do this for you. And I would guess that if your host is also your domain registrar this will be done for you (though I'm not sure). Otherwise, you need to know this.

How to Point Your nameservers to Your Host

When you create an account with your new host, the host will tell you what your nameservers are. Usually there are two. It's just a string of characters.

Go to your domain registrar, log in, and go to your domain name. Somewhere, you'll find a place where you will tell the domain registrar what your nameservers are.

Simply input the nameservers and save the info.

If you can't figure out where to input the nameserver information, do submit a ticket for help or telephone help.

I just did this about an hour ago, with my domain registrar, NameCheap, and frankly, I didn't find it easy to find the info. I just kept stubbornly clicking things until I found it. But it's definitely easier to just ask for help.

For NameCheap, here's what I did (I will need to click around again to figure it out, but I will do that for you!).

After logging in, I'm choosing "manage domains" from the top menu. A screen comes up with the two domain names I have registered there.

I click on www.heartbeat-childrens-music.com and another screen comes up.

On the left there is a menu. Okay, the second item down is an obvious giveaway: Domain Name Server Setup.

I don't remember that being there before, honest!

Okay, I click on that, and a screen comes up that has five different fields so that you can add up to five nameservers. I've never had more than two.

Click on "save changes" and logout. You're done!

If you want to see how my website looks now that I've finally uploaded it, visit www.heartbeat-childrens-music.com. Frankly, I do not like this template. But it's a start.

I'll be updating this blog as I make progress.

Janet

My Progress So Far

By now I had hoped to have at least a website template up at www.heartbeat-childrens-music.com.

No such luck.

I did find a music-oriented template at XSitePro . I don't really like it. But it's a start.

Now all I need to do it publish it, using XSitePro's automatic publishing page. It asks for a bunch of information. And apparently, I'm getting at least some of it wrong. Because I keep changing the info and hitting "publish" and there's still no site up.

At this point I have three choices:

1. Submit a ticket to HostGator asking for the right info.

2. Call HostGator, asking for the right info.

3. Spend hours trying to figure it out myself.

For may years, I've chosen option 3. Maybe I have more testosterone than most females, because it's a bit like men refusing to ask for directions (yeah, I've done that too).

But I'm ready to try one of the other options. Be back later today with the results.

Janet

Update: I just submitted a ticket at 10:33am. They have been VERY prompt with their replies, so I expect to have an answer within a few hours at the most. I will let you know how long it takes to get the right info.

Time to Make That Website

Okay, I've got my host and my domain name. Time to bite the bullet and get something, anything up there.

I'm going to use XSitePro to design the site. I'll start with a template and then I'll work on changing it to meet the site's needs. So please bear with me as I finally turn HeartBeat Children's Music into a real website.

Janet