Month: March 2018

Step One: Signing up for an Account

The first step will be to sign up for an account at Reclaim Hosting.

• If you had a student account, use this Student/Individual Hosting plan option.
• If you were faculty or staff, use this Faculty Professional plan option.

– If you already have a Top-Level domain (i.e. yourdomain.com) choose the I will use my existing domain and update my nameservers option.

– If your current website content exists on a subdomain (i.e. yourdomain.usnh.domains), select the Register a New Domain or the Use a subdomain from Reclaim Hosting option.

– Enter a new top-level domain name if applicable.

– Complete the sign-up process/pay invoice.

Step Two: Let Reclaim Hosting Know

Send a support request to support@reclaimhosting.com with the following message:

Hello Reclaim Hosting Support,
I am graduating from (your school) and I would like to migrate my account, (your domain), to Reclaim Hosting. Please let me know if you need anything else from me.
Best,
(Your Name)

A member of Reclaim Hosting support will respond & help you get your account migrated ASAP.

This article only if you own your own top-level domain. If you have been using the free subdomain option with usnh.domains through Back to University System of New Hampshire, this does not apply to you.

Similarly, if you’re migrating your content to Reclaim Hosting, this article does not apply to you.

Transferring a domain you already own is not too much different from registering a new domain, except the transfer process requires an EPP code, or an agreement code between your old registrar and your new registrar that allows the release of your domain. Your new registrar will have information on how to transfer in a domain. When you start that process, you will be prompted to enter your EPP code.

How to find your EPP Code:

1. To get started you’ll need to login to your control panel (https://usnh.domains/dashboard) using your USNH Domains username and password.
   
2. Once you’re logged in, you’ll see the cPanel interface.  Now click on the Manage Your Account menu at the top of your screen and select Migration Information.
   

3. Click the Lock button to unlock your Back to University System of New Hampshire account.

4. Click Get Code. Once that’s done, the system will send you an email with your EPP code.

At this stage, here are a few items to note:

• You’ll receive a series of emails from both your old and new registrars asking you to authorize the transfer. Please act on every email you receive in a timely fashion– even if the emails look like duplicates.
• If you do not authorize the transfer in a timely fashion, the domain transfer will expire and you will need to start over.
• The domain must be older than 60 days.
• The domain must have no other transfers in the last 60 days.
• The domain transfer process can take up to a week, depending on how fast your registrars work.
• Once the domain transfer completes, you’ll receive a notification.

Exporting an Individual website or other application

To export your website or application, create a backup of both the files in your domain and the databases that your domain draws from.  First, click on the ‘Manage Your Account’ menu at the top of your screen and select ‘Migration Information.

1. To get started you’ll need to login to your control panel
2. Once you’re logged in, you’ll see the cPanel interface.  Now click on the My Apps option in the Tools panel at the top of your screen.
3. Choose the “Backup” option for your application
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4. After backing up your application, navigate to the “My Backups” tab at the top of the Installatron panel
5. Download the backup of the application that you’d like to save by choosing that option from the hamburger menu at the end of the row containing the back-up.
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6. Remember to delete all unneeded backups since they take up allotted storage space.

Alternative option: after logging in to your cPanel go to Tools and first navigate to “File Manager”. From here you can download all of your site files. After downloading site files, under Tools > Databases choose phpMyAdmin. From within phpMyAdmin you can export the application databases(s) as well.

You can also generate a full cPanel backup:

Generating a full cPanel backup allows you to download a complete archive of your entire cPanel account, including all files, databases, email accounts, and settings. This is most useful if you’re migrating to another cPanel-based host and need a portable copy of your account. It is not intended as a method for restoring specific files or applications. For that, JetBackup 5 is a better option for individual files, and Installatron Automated Backups are better suited for restoring specific applications.

However, if you’re looking to create that portable cPanel copy, you can generate and download a full backup of your cPanel account through the following steps:

• Log into cPanel.
• Head to the Files section of cPanel, click on the Backup icon.

Choosing your domain name is the first step in getting started with staking your claim on the web. Your domain name is a unique web address (e.g. yourname.usnh.domains) that can be used to build out your own digital presence. As you make your choice, there are a few considerations to keep in mind:

Your Domain Name Must Be Available: Domain names must be unique, which means in order for you to claim your own, you need to be sure that it is currently available (and not being used by anyone else or any company or organization). There are lots of tools to check on domain availability, and Reclaim can actually do the checking for you when you sign up for a custom domain account. But if you’d rather spend some time thinking about your choice, you can always check domain availability here: whois.com.

Choose a Domain You Can Live With: You should choose a domain name that you feel you can live with for quite some time. You should pick something that you won’t find embarrassing in the future. A good rule of thumb is to pick a domain that you would be comfortable putting on a future job application.

You May Wish to Include Your Name in Your Domain: There is no requirement that your domain reflects your specific identity in the form of your first and last name. However, choosing a domain name that includes your name may make it easier for you to achieve higher rankings in search engines when someone queries your real name.

Pick a Domain you Like: At the end of the day, your domain should reflect you. Pick a domain you like and are proud of. It can reflect your interests, sports you play, or your hobby. Or it could just be your name. The “right” domain for you is the one you’re comfortable with.

Once you have chosen your domain name, it may be difficult to change it at a later date, especially if you have already installed software such as WordPress and have begun building out a website.

Review the Guidelines

Before you get started, we recommend that you review our information about Choosing a Domain Name.

The Sign-Up Process

Once you’ve reviewed the guidelines, you can proceed to the sign-up page.

• If you are unsure of which type of site best suits your needs, click the appropriate starting page depending on your use. Students should use the “Student Sites” link and Faculty & Staff should use the “Faculty & Staff Sites” link (see below)

• If you know that a self-service domain is the correct choice for your site, click on the “Login” link at the top of the Domains landing page to register a new account or log in to an existing one.

You will be redirected to login for verification. You will use your USNH Single-Sign-On username and password to log in. Users who have already authenticated via USNH SSO will automatically be authenticated and will bypass this step.

• You are now ready to create a domain. For student sites, you will be prompted to select your desired domain name as shown below. Faculty and Staff may be redirected to a TeamDynamics form to request your domain. The latter allows EH&S Software to help you evaluate your needs and offer you either a usnh.domains domain or other services if they’re more appropriate for your request.

Option 1: Free Subdomain

For no cost, you can create a subdomain of usnh.domains.

To create a free subdomain of usnh.domains enter the subdomain name you want for your website. When you’ve found an available subdomain, click the button labeled “Create.”

Wait at least a minute without clicking buttons or closing the window for the account to register. You should now see a screen confirming that your subdomain is ready. Once your domain is ready you will be able to access your cPanel  by clicking “login” from the Domains home page again to navigate to the account dashboard, then choosing “Login” in the row listing your domain to open your cPanel.

Option 2: Buy a top-level domain from Reclaim Hosting

It is easy to create your own top-level domain. This allows you to select a URL for your website that is easy to remember and share.

While you are at Back to University System of New Hampshire, this is available for a nominal cost (currently $15/year). You can continue to use this domain after leaving USNH Domains, although the cost may increase.

To register a top-level domain log into your newly created cPanel, navigate to the Domains section, and click Register Top-Level Domain.

This panel offers a step-by-step guide to registering and adding a new top-level domain to your new cPanel account.

Option 3: Connect an existing domain to your cPanel

If you already have an existing domain that you’ve previously registered elsewhere, simply point your domain’s nameservers to ns1.reclaimhosting.com and ns2.reclaimhosting.com.

Your cPanel Account

Your Application Administrator Accounts

Other Types of Accounts

What you add to your webspace rests entirely with you. You can choose not to pick a domain that reveals your name. You can use a pseudonym on your actual site. However, when you sign up through the default process, your name does get published as part of the public record about your domain name. Anyone can find it by looking up details about the ownership of that domain name through a public “Whois” request.

This is NOT an issue if you’re already planning on using your name openly on your site (in your domain name or elsewhere). This option is aimed, specifically, at those who, for whatever reason, feel they want to take every precaution to hide their identity on their site.

Your ability to do things on this web space is dictated to a large degree by the limits of your imagination. That said, there are some technical requirements and limitations that you should be aware of and might want to review.

To spark your imagination, here are some ideas that might help you get started:

Install a Web Application in Your Space

This hosting space makes it very simple to install certain Web applications in your cPanel account. Web applications are just special software that run on a web server. Usually, they allow you to build and manage a website. The kind of site you can build depends on the type of application you install. Here are some examples of applications that you can easily install within the usnh.domains web hosting interface:

WordPress: WordPress is a simple-to-use blogging application. The tool also comes with a huge array of plugins & themes to allow you to create virtually any kind of website imaginable.

Drupal: is a free, open source software that can be used by individuals or groups of users — even those lacking technical skills — to easily create and manage many types of Web sites. The application includes a content management platform and a development framework.

These are just a couple of the open-source applications that are available to you in your hosting space.  We encourage you to read more about what Web applications are and which ones are available to you through.

Organize Your Site with Subdomains and Folders

Through this project, you’ve received a domain name that you can actually subdivide and organize anyway you like. One easy way to organize your domain is to create subdomains, in which you can then install other applications. In addition, you can just set up subfolders for your site (which can also have their own applications installed in them). Here’s an example of how you might organize your site (using the subdomain vs. the subfolder approach)

This is just an example of a way to organize your site and then use different sections to do different things. There is no one solution to this challenge, and what you do should be driven by what makes sense to you. To start, you may just want to install one thing at the “root” of your domain, and then let the rest evolve as you get to know more about what’s possible.

Map Your Domain (or a Subdomain)

If you already have a digital presence that you’d like to pull into your hosting space, domain mapping is an option you may wish to explore. This allows you to assign your domain (or a subdomain) to another service. Some services that work with domain mapping are:

• WordPress.com
• Google Sites
• Tumblr
• Blogger

When you map a domain, users who visit your URL will automatically see your space on one of these services. It’s a great way to incorporate your activity elsewhere into your domain, and it might be a good first step if you’ve already established a presence somewhere else and just want to point your new domain to that space.

In the most general terms, a Web application is a piece of software that runs on a Web server. A Web server is a just a specialized computer designed to host Web pages.

Most Web applications are comprised of two components: files and a database. When you install a Web application, you will need to make sure all of the files are copied over into the appropriate location AND that a database (and database user) has been set up to connect to those files. Often, you will have to do some configuration to make sure the application knows how to access the database.

The system we use for this web hosting space uses a special script installer called Installatron (in cPanel) that allows you to automatically install dozens of open source applications. When you use Installatron, you don’t need to worry about moving files, creating databases, or doing the initial configuration. It’s all taken care of for you.

In order to run on the this web hosting server, Web applications must be able to run on a LAMP server, which is the particular kind of Web server that we use. Occasionally, a Web application may require additional components or modules that need to be installed on the server.

Dynamic Websites

Dynamic vs Static Content

A Side Note about Separating Content from Presentation: Style Sheets