Frequently Asked Questions
Domain Names
How long will it take for my new domain name to become active?
Domains are registered as soon as you order them, however it can take between 24 and 72 hours for a domain name to become visible on the Internet as each DNS updates its database of domain names..
Can I buy a domain name, but not buy web hosting?
Yes, you do not have to buy the web hosting when you buy a domain name. If you decide to add web hosting in the future you can easily upgrade with one of our feature rich hosting packages.
Do I own the domain name?
Yes - unlike some companies we always register the domain in your name or in your customer's name if you are working on someone's behalf.
Can I transfer the domain at any time?
Yes, you can, and we provide a control panel so that you can make these changes yourself at any time and that's all included in the price.
Do I get a certificate of ownership for the domain I purchase?
In the past Nominet issued certificates as confirmation of the contract that exists between Nominet and the registrant and this continued until August 2003. Paper certificates and reply Forms have now been replaced by an online system called Registrants Online.
Dedicated Servers
What type of hardware do you use?
All our servers are genuine Dell Servers. If you are comparing us to other providers please be aware that many companies make "homemade" servers using home computer motherboards in fabricated boxes.
What level of access do I have to my server?
You will have full root or administrator privileges to manage and access your server.
Is there any software installed on the server to help me configure it?
Yes, if you have chosen our Linux CentOS installation then we automatically install WebMin. WebMin is a web based control panel that allows you to do system administration tasks such as configure Apache or setup users. If you want the easiest management possible then we would suggest you add cPanel to your server.
I need to reboot my server, how can I arrange this?
You can reboot your server any time you like. Just visit the "Manage Dedicated Servers" area of your control panel and click the real time reboot option.
How much bandwidth do I get?
Your server comes with a 10mb connection to the Internet (10240 Kbps), It's just like having your own leased line. You can transfer as much data as you like within your 10mb line. Don't get this confused with your broadband at home or work; you don't share your 10mb with anyone else. 10mb is a huge amount of bandwidth which can support a very busy website, it roughly translates to 2560 GB of bandwidth a month.
Do you have any restrictions on what I can use my server for?
No, as long as anything you do on the server abides with UK law then you are free to use the server for any purpose.
Can I use my server to host videos, stream audio or store large backups?
Yes, you can use your server for any purpose you need.
Where will my server be located?
Your server will be based in our UK Data Centre.
Does the server run RAID disk mirroring?
Yes, all our servers are setup with hardware level RAID mirroring. In the unlikely event of a disk failure this means your server will continue to operate normally. We will be notified of the disk failure and will replace the broken disk for you with no cost or impact to your data or service.
Web hosting terminology
New to web hosting? Here are some of the most common terms used...
Bandwidth
A term used by web hosts to describe how much data can pass from the server your website is hosted on to people visiting your web site. This includes the files that make up your website as well as any data downloaded from databases or media files.
ccTLD
A country code top level domain name. These domain names are associated with a country or geographic location e.g. .co.uk (UK), .fr (France and .cn (China). The ability to register these domain names from another country depends on the registrar's rules. For example, co.uk has no restrictions whereas .it (Italy) demands you are based in Europe.
Domain Name System
The system that maps domain names to the corresponding machine's IP addresses. This system is essentially a phone book that translates human friendly names into computer friendly numbers. Because this information is stored across multiple computers any updates to a domain (including registration and ownership details) can take up to 48 hours to work its way across all of them.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
Once you are ready to see what your website looks like online, uploading the files to your web space is really easy and is often as simple as clicking, dragging and dropping. The method you will use to get your website online is called File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Don't be put off by the name, all this does is take the files from your computer and put them on to the web host's server for people to access. Simple!
In order to do this your web host may offer an upload function though your account with them, but that means you have to log in every time. A quicker alternative that most people use is FTP software. Some HTML editors come with this built in (e.g. Dreamweaver & Microsoft Expression Web) but even if yours doesn't there is the industry standard stand alone (which is free) to download called FileZilla.
HTML
HTML (Hyper Text Mark-up Language) is the first layer of a web page and deals with the content (the text, any lists, tables, quotes...).
LAMP
LAMP is an acronym used to describe a set of open source software used by many people and businesses to save money and to prevent platform lock-in. Linux: Operating system
Apache: Web server
MySQL: Database
PHP: Program
MySQL
MySQL (owned and developed by Sun Microsystems) is the world's most popular open source database. It is also part of the open source software stack known as LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP).
Sub-Domain
Sub-domain names are domains that are part of the parent domain name. They are free to set up and can be useful if you have areas of your site you want to categorise e.g. dictionary.domain.com, thesaurus.domain.com
TLD
Top Level Domain Names have no association with any countries and were amongst the first to be created. E.g. .com, .net, .org.
Web Space
The amount of space allocated to your website by a web host to store all your files and data. The more web space you have the more information you can store.