Finding a Web Host for Your Project Web Site
Before your project can publish its Web site, it needs a Web server to
host it. Web hosting services vary in the server extensions or scripting
languages they support. For example, a server that runs Linux will not
support FrontPage extensions. You should be sure your project members
can or want to use the tools and languages that the Web host offers. Alternatively,
if your project has already designed a Web site, you should make sure
the Web host will support all the features and server extensions that
your site employs, particularly if you have used FrontPage or CGI scripting.
Some hosting options are listed on this page. When you have selected
a host, let your Digital Ventures team member know who is hosting your
site and what your Web site URL is.
If you have not already done so, your project should also consider choosing
a domain
name, in consultation with your Digital Ventures team member. If you
and the Digital Ventures team member decide that your project needs a
domain name, you will need to find a Web host that will host the domain
name as well as your site, so that users who type in your domain name
will reach your site. Most Web site hosts will host domain names; however,
some do not as a matter of policy or for technical reasons.
Web site hosting options include:
UW Computing and Communications servers
University of Washington (UW) Computing and Communications (C&C)
maintains Web servers for the UW community, so that students, faculty,
staff, departments, and courses can create home pages. If you use one
of these C&C servers, your Web site's URL will look like the following:
http://faculty.washington.edu/youruwnetid, where
"faculty" would be substituted with the name of the UW server
that you use, and "youruwnetid" would be sustituted with your
project's UW NetID. C&C has guidelines
for choosing a server. They also provide information on how
to create and publish Web pages on their servers.
A UW department Web server
In some cases, a project Web site can be hosted on a department Web server
that is part of the UW system but not owned by C&C. If you use a department
server, your Web site URL will look like: http://www.servername.washington.edu/yourid,
where "servername" would be substituted by the name of the department's
server, and "yourid" would be the name of your account on that
server. These servers are maintained by the departments' respective computer
staff, so contact your department's computer staff directly to arrange
to use its server.
Your own server at the UW
Occasionally a project Web site has its own server connected to the UW
system. This allows for URLs that look similar to http://yourid.washington.edu,
where "yourid" would be the name of your server. Using your
own server will make you responsible for your own site security, equipment
cost, and technical support. The administrative process for setting up
your own server at the UW can easily take 6-12 months. If you feel your
project requires its own server inside the UW system, please discuss it
with your Digital Ventures team member as soon as possible.
Commercial Web server outside the UW
Project Web sites can be hosted outside the UW system with a commercial
Web service. Services outside the UW may support scripting languages or
other features not available from UW servers. Some reputable Web hosting
services are Seanet, Speakeasy,
and Drizzle. If you feel your project
requires commercial Web hosting, please discuss it with your Digital Ventures team
member.
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