There are a number of different parts that have to be hosted that make a website work. We provide hosting for all of them, if you choose to host with us. You are free however to host your website with another company, or even in-house if you already have the infrastructure set up.

Domain Name
Do you already have a domain name? If not, you need to decide who to register it through. We use and promote GoDaddy, as they offer the lowest prices and ease of use. If you are not comfortable with registering the domain yourself, we can walk you through it, or even do it for you if you like. Domains typically cost about $10.00 per year, depending on the top-level domain (.com, .net, .info, etc) and who you register it through.

DNS
DNS is the system that changes a name that is easily remembered -- your domain name -- to a number that computers understand (IP address). DNS controls many things - which server the website is on, which server mail should go to, and which servers to ask for this information. You set your DNS servers at the registrar that you bought your domain through.

We provide full service DNS hosting, with multiple redundant servers around the world to make sure your website and e-mail are always available.

E-mail
If you choose to have e-mail addresses for your website, you will need a server to handle that e-mail. We can do that for you. There are several options for hosted e-mail, and they can be mixed and matched as you choose:

• Fully Hosted
  E-mail comes to our server and stays there. You can check your e-mail using any e-mail client (Outlook, Thunderbird, etc) or our easy-to-use web-based interface. It includes powerful spam-reducing tools to help clean up your inbox. More Information

• Forward to Another Address
  E-mail to certain addresses will be forwarded to the address you choose. This makes it easy to have e-mail addresses for certain roles rather then individuals - the e-mail can forward to a new person when the position changes.

• Catch-all
  Any e-mail to any address on your domain will all be forwarded to a single address. The downside of this is that you tend to get much more spam.

Whatever option you choose, e-mail addresses can be configured and changed easily. Depending on your needs, you may choose to pay per e-mail address, or to get an unlimited number of e-mail addresses. If you host your website with us, we'll generally give you several e-mail addresses for free.

Website
The website can be hosted nearly anywhere. We prefer that you host the website with us, as it eases setup and maintenance. If, however you choose to host the website elsewhere, we will assist you in setting up the website on that host.

Depending on the website, the host will need to have certain features available. We provide all of these features:

• FTP Access
• Apache/Unix host
• .htaccess Support
• MySQL database
• PHP4
• Server-side Includes (SSI)
• PERL CGI w/ Suexec
• Unlimited Space (within reason)
• Unlimited Bandwidth (within reason)

Our servers are located in the United State of America, and as such anything that is illegal in the USA is strictly prohibited. Files are reviewed regularly.

If you choose to have a dynamic website, we will let you know which specific features you will need available.

Now that you know what you need in a website, you can submit the Quote Worksheet to us at quotes@alteredeclipse.org