Session 8: Publishing & Final Project

A domain is a rented name, not a purchase. You pay a registrar annually — a `.com.ng` or `.ng` domain through a Nigerian registrar such as Whogohost or QServers, a `.com` through any international registrar — and if you stop paying, you lose it and anyone can register it. This is the single most important thing a client needs to understand, because a business that lets its domain lapse loses its email, its search ranking and its links all at once. Set the renewal to auto-renew and make sure the client, not you, holds the account.

Behind the name are DNS records, and there are three you need. An A record points the domain at a server's IP address. A CNAME points a subdomain, such as `www`, at another name — which is what you use when a host gives you a URL like `yoursite.netlify.app`. An MX record says where email for that domain should be delivered, which is why changing hosts can break a client's email if the MX records are not carried over. That last one is the mistake that costs real money: a domain moved without the MX records takes the business's email down, and they discover it when a customer's enquiry bounces.

The practical advice is unglamorous and important: keep the domain and the hosting in accounts the client controls, with you added as a collaborator rather than as the owner. A client who cannot access their own domain is a client who cannot leave you, and that is not a foundation anyone should build a business on — professionally or reputationally.

A static business site — HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images — needs no server of your own, which makes hosting cheap or free. Netlify, Vercel and GitHub Pages all host static sites on a free tier, deploy in a minute, include HTTPS automatically, and are fast globally because they serve from many locations. For most Nigerian small-business sites this is the right answer, and the cost saving is real: it turns a recurring hosting bill into zero.

Shared hosting — the cPanel-style hosting sold widely in Nigeria — is what most local clients already have or expect, and it works fine: you upload the files over FTP or through a file manager. It is slower to deploy and less reliable than a modern static host, but it is familiar, it is cheap, and it lets the client keep email on the same account, which simplifies things. WordPress hosting is a different thing again and belongs to the WordPress course.

Choose based on the client, not on your preference. If they have no infrastructure, put them on a free static host and register the domain separately. If they already have hosting and email with a Nigerian provider, deploy there rather than adding a second bill and a second thing to manage. Explain the trade-off in one sentence and let them decide; a client who understands why their site is on a free host is a client who does not panic when they see the invoice is zero.

On a static host the deploy is genuinely simple: drag the project folder onto the host's dashboard, or connect a Git repository so every push redeploys automatically. The site is live within a minute at a temporary URL such as `yoursite.netlify.app`. Test it there before connecting a domain, because it is much easier to debug on a URL you control than on a domain whose DNS is mid-change.

Connecting the custom domain is a DNS change made at the registrar, not at the host. You add an A record or a CNAME pointing at the host's stated address, and then you wait — DNS changes propagate over minutes to hours, occasionally longer, and during that window some visitors see the old site and some the new. Nothing is broken; it is genuinely gradual. Check progress with `nslookup yourdomain.com` and you will see the answer change when it takes effect.

Then confirm HTTPS. Every modern static host issues a certificate automatically once the domain resolves, and you should also set the redirect so `http://` and `www` both land on one canonical address — otherwise the same page exists at four URLs, which splits search ranking and confuses analytics. Test the padlock in the browser and confirm it does not warn. A site showing 'Not secure' loses Nigerian customers immediately, because they have been taught correctly to distrust it.

Email is the one that causes trouble. If the domain moves, the MX records must move with it or the business's email stops. Where the client uses Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, those providers publish the exact MX records to set; copy them precisely. Then send a test message to the address and confirm it arrives, because a bounced customer enquiry is a silent loss that can continue for weeks.

Analytics should be added before launch, not after, because you cannot recover data you did not collect. A free tool such as Google Analytics or a lightweight privacy-respecting alternative gives the client real numbers, and session five of Social Media Management covered how to read them. Add it once, in the head, and confirm it records your own visit.

Backups are the discipline that saves a business. Keep the source files in a Git repository — which is a complete history and costs nothing — and keep a copy of anything the client edits themselves. If the site is on shared hosting, download a copy quarterly. A client who edits their own prices on a live server with no backup is one accidental deletion away from a rebuild.

Finally, a Google Business Profile. For a local Nigerian business this is often worth more than the website, because it is what appears in a map search with the phone number, hours and photographs. Set it up, verify it, and make sure the name, address and phone number match the website exactly — inconsistency between the two confuses search engines and costs local ranking.

The deliverable is a live, published website for a real business: planned from a stated goal, built with semantic HTML and clean CSS, responsive from 360 pixels up, accessible and fast, with a WhatsApp-first contact route, published on a custom domain with HTTPS, analytics recording, and the client able to edit their own content.

Present it as a case study rather than a URL. Show the goal, the structure decision, the mobile and desktop views, the measured page weight and load time on mobile data, and the accessibility and SEO checks you ran. Those specifics are what distinguish you from the large number of people who can put a template online, and they are what justifies a professional fee rather than a template price.

The handover is the last and most undervalued part: the domain and hosting accounts in the client's name with you added as a collaborator, a plain-language note explaining how to change a price or a photograph and what not to touch, the analytics login, and a short maintenance agreement if you are offering one. A website is not a product you deliver once; it is something a business lives with for years, and the quality of the handover is what determines whether that relationship continues.