From Buying a Name to a Live Website

From Buying a Name to a Live Website A workflow diagram generated by Archify. 01 / You 02 / Registrar 03 / DNS 04 / Hosting Buy Point Publish Pick a Name · short, spellable · You › Buy Pick a Name short, spellable Site Is Live · test on mobile data · You › Publish Site Is Live test on mobile data Buy the Domain · 1 year minimum · Registrar › Buy · check renewal price Buy the Domain 1 year minimum check renewal price Set Nameservers · who answers for the name · DNS › Point Set Nameservers who answers for the name Add Records · A, CNAME, MX · DNS › Point · low TTL first Add Records A, CNAME, MX low TTL first Wait for TTL · minutes to 48 hours · DNS › Publish Wait for TTL minutes to 48 hours Choose a Host · shared, VPS or static · Hosting › Buy Choose a Host shared, VPS or static Upload the Site · files or git deploy · Hosting › Publish Upload the Site files or git deploy Turn On HTTPS · free certificate · Hosting › Publish Turn On HTTPS free certificate delegate the name open the URL check availability decide where files live point at the server old answers expire Legend Your browser Hosting side Registrar / certificate Waiting step Context / trace DNS side You

Order Matters

  • • Buy the name first, then decide the host
  • • Nameservers decide who answers, records decide where traffic goes

Before You Switch

  • • Drop the TTL to 5 minutes a day before a move
  • • Never delete the old MX records until email is proven working