Web 101The Authors Guild offers five main web services to its members: Sitebuilder, Hosting, Site Express, Domain Name Registration, and GuildMail. The primary purpose of these web services is to create and manage your presence on the Internet. You can combine these services or use them individually; choosing the combination of web services that is right for you depends upon your needs and current online presence. 
Every site on the Internet is stored on a web server, a special computer for displaying files to the public via the World Wide Web. Choosing the Authors Guild as your hosting service means that we will allot space on our server to accommodate your website. There are a number of ways to create a site for us to host. Site Express is a great way for beginners to quickly and easily set up a website; simply fill out the Site Express application form, and we will present you with a draft of your site within one week at the domain of your choice. Once your site is launched, you'll use Sitebuilder's simple tools to change page themes and keep your content up to date. Sitebuilder is the Guild's unique website-building software, allowing you to easily create and maintain professional-looking websites without any programming. Subscribers to Sitebuilder have free access to GuildMail and web services support staff. For more information on Sitebuilder and a free test drive, click here. If you already have a website, our Hosting Only service may be the right choice for you. For more information about our Hosting Only options, please click here. 
E-mail is an important part of your web presence, and whether or not you have your own website, you should have e-mail. GuildMail allows you to send, receive, and store electronic messages. You can use your GuildMail address to correspond with other writers, subscribe to online newsletters, and stay in contact with friends, colleagues, and family all over the world. Click here for more information on GuildMail. 
Remember, the best domain names are short, easily remembered, and clearly relate to your writing or yourself as an author. We recommend something close to your own name, or the title of a work that you are particularly interested in promoting. Once you have a website, you need to give visitors a way to find it. Your "domain name", or web address, is the name of your site. For example, the domain name for the Authors Guild web site is authorsguild.org. A domain name is known less formally as a "web address." Domain Names, like social security numbers, are unique. Once you register a name for your site, no one else will be able to use it. Sometimes the terms "domain name" and "web address" are used interchangeably with the acronym URL (Uniform Resource Locator). A URL is a more complete desciption of where on the world wide web a site resides. For instance, the URL for the Authors Guild's website is http://www.authorsguild.org/, while the domain name is simply authorsguild.org. To sign up for Domain Name Registration through the Authors Guild, click here. You will also be able to search availability to see if the domain name you would like to use is available to register. 
A browser is a software program that enables you to view and interact with websites on the World Wide Web. Examples of other web browsers include Safari, Chrome, Opera, and Microsoft Internet Explorer. In order to take full advantage of the tools that Sitebuilder offers, we recommend using Mozilla Firefox as your web browser. For a free, quick download of Mozilla Firefox, go to http://www.getfirefox.com. |