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How to Make Your Website Live

You built a website, and now you want the world to see it. This guide walks through the steps from a finished site to a live one.

Web Hosting2 min read14 steps

What does "live" mean?

A live website is one that anyone on the internet can open. Before that, your site sits on your own computer. Nobody else can see it. To go live, you put the files on a server. A server is a computer that is always on and always online. A web hosting company, like Hostvento, gives you space on one.

What you need

  • A hosting account. Your welcome email has your login details.
  • A domain name. This is your website's address, such as yourname.com.
  • Your website files, or a plan to install WordPress.

Step 1: Point your domain to your hosting

Your domain must know where your site lives. This uses nameservers. Nameservers are the signposts that send visitors to the right server.

  1. Find the nameservers in your welcome email. If you cannot find them, ask Hostvento support.
  2. Log in to the place where you registered your domain. If it is with Hostvento, log in to the client area and open Domains.
  3. Find the nameserver settings.
  4. Type in the nameservers from your email and save.
  5. Wait. It can take a few hours, and sometimes up to a day or two, to spread across the internet.

Step 2: Upload your website

  1. Log in to cPanel. It is the control panel for your hosting.
  2. Open File Manager.
  3. Go to the public_html folder. Visitors see whatever is in this folder.
  4. Click Upload and choose your files. For a zip file, upload it, then right-click it and choose Extract.
  5. Make sure your main page is named index.html or index.php.

If you use WordPress, look for an installer in cPanel instead. Ask Hostvento support if you are not sure which one your plan has.

Step 3: Test your site

  1. Type your domain name in the browser.
  2. Check that the pages, pictures and links work.
  3. Test it on a phone too.
  4. Add an SSL certificate if your plan offers one. It gives you the padlock and https in the address.
Tip: If you see an old page or an error, clear your browser cache. A cache is a saved copy of a page.

Quick recap

  • Live means anyone can open your site.
  • Point your domain to Hostvento with nameservers.
  • Upload files to public_html.
  • Test the site on different devices.
  • Ask support when you are stuck.