Basic website questions

[steppinthrax]

I just registered my business and I need to register a domain, email, etc... I"m not too familiar with what services are normally used. My thinking is just use godaddy.com and get a domain.

Initially the site will be a simple, just the logo and some blur. I will also need an email address. My thought is register the domain and go with someone that provides web hosting?

Just curious what's the normal process?

[turboguy]

GoDaddy would be fine for the domain registration. The email would be free with the domain name. I have about 16 names registered with GoDaddy and most seem to recommend them for Domains but not for hosting. Actually I use them for hosting some sites as well and have been quite satisfied. For me their support has been awsome. The other popular domain place would be NameCheap. I have domains registered a few other places as well and like GoDaddy the best.

Doing what you talked about would be the normal process. I can't really recommend anyone for hosting. I have been happy with GoDaddy but have sites hosted 6 or 8 different places and all have been fine with none standing out.

[thewebwriter]

Don't just get a domain, get one that works.

What is the theme of your business?
Your websites theme, ergo its name, should reflect the business theme?

When you figure that, then go register it. You can register it through most hosts.
Now, at least you will have your email to start communicating.

Don't rush into building the website. There are a lot of things to consider to get it right first time.

Talk with a web consultant. There are quite a few of us on this forum. They will be able to get you in the right direction moving forward.

Good luck

[Harold Mansfield]

You can do domain registration, website hosting, and get a certain number of email accounts (or space) for free with most of the major hosting companies. I believe Go Daddy gives you at least one email address with your domain registration and hosting.

I think Bluehost gives you free domain registration (first year) with a new hosting account and I believe up to 5 email addresses for free.

All of their email interfaces suck, so you'll probably want to use a 3rd party email client like Outlook, Thunderbird or whatever Mac's have.

There's all kinds of deals out there, but I wouldn't stray too far into the unknown, smaller or reseller hosting providers.

[farluhan]

Steppinthrax,

Here is your full solution. You can depend on my words because i have been in the tech industry for around 3 years. I even have my Web Development course in Udemy too. I saw a lot of people here suggested to use GoDaddy but my suggestion for you is to go with namecheap.com. They are cheap and the most important part, they are helpful. GoDaddy is costly and there are hidden charges in GoDaddy.

Here are the things that you will need:
1. A Domain
2. A Hosting (Buy for 1/2 year at once which will cost around $45 at max)

You can buy both of them from namecheap but you can also use hostgator.com for hosting as they are the most famous one. All domain sellers will give you custom emails such as admin@yourwebsite.com and so on. If you need help with web development, you can give me a buzz.

Best of luck

[Harold Mansfield]

Steppinthrax,

Here is your full solution. You can depend on my words because i have been in the tech industry for around 3 years. I even have my Web Development course in Udemy too. I saw a lot of people here suggested to use GoDaddy but my suggestion for you is to go with namecheap.com. They are cheap and the most important part, they are helpful. GoDaddy is costly and there are hidden charges in GoDaddy.

Here are the things that you will need:
1. A Domain
2. A Hosting (Buy for 1/2 year at once which will cost around $45 at max)

You can buy both of them from namecheap but you can also use hostgator.com for hosting as they are the most famous one. All domain sellers will give you custom emails such as admin@yourwebsite.com and so on. If you need help with web development, you can give me a buzz.

Best of luck

I really don't want this thread to start being just a bunch of people recommending their own or favorite host, but it needs to be said that you get what you pay for.
No one wants to pay more than they have to, but hosting and domain registration is basically already pretty affordable in the grand scheme of what it costs to open a business AND build a website.

Do you really want to place your most important (and most expensive if you have a website built) web asset on the cheapest possible hosting service?
I mean seriously is that the place where you want to cheap out?

Trust me, it matters. I work in and out of various hosting companies every week and $3 ( or less) a month hosting is not going to give you all star service when your website is loading slowly or you keep getting constant database interruptions that take your site down and make you look like an amateur in front of new customers. When you have to pay someone like me $75 an hour because you decided you couldn't pay more than $5 a month for hosting you'll understand that you haven't saved anything.

This is not an area where you want to get the cheapest thing out there and just hope it's enough and reliable.
JMO of course.

[thewebwriter]

Absolutely. Couldn't agree more.

[Owen]

I just registered my business and I need to register a domain, email, etc... I"m not too familiar with what services are normally used. My thinking is just use godaddy.com and get a domain.

Initially the site will be a simple, just the logo and some blur. I will also need an email address. My thought is register the domain and go with someone that provides web hosting?

Just curious what's the normal process?

BEST DOMAIN REGISTRARS:
5. NetworkSolutions.com
4. Register.com
3. eNom.com
2. Namecheap
1. GoDaddy

BEST SHARED HOSTING:
5. x10Hosting.com
4. GoDaddy
3. Inmotion Hosting
2. Arvixe
1. HostGator

BEST VPS HOSTING (For more server control/traffic)
5. VPS.NET
4. X10VPS.COM
3. VPSDime
2. HostGator
1. Inmotion Hosting

BEST CLOUD HOSTING (Perfect for scalability)
5. Google Cloud
4. Inmotion Hosting
3. Amazon Web Solutions
2. QuadraNET
1. Rackspace

BEST DEDICATED SERVER PROVIDERS (for big businesses)
5. ServerHub
4. Limestone Networks
3. Liquid Web
2. Singlehop
1. Rackspace

I have personally hosted with all the shared, VPS, and cloud hosting companies (except Rackspace, I have heard from many people they're very good). I have only hosted with Singlehop for dedicated servers. Now, if you want it to be easy and don't have much experience, go with shared hosting. Those companies will help you through the process to help get your site online.


Steppinthrax,

Here is your full solution. You can depend on my words because i have been in the tech industry for around 3 years.

Thank you, Bob Parsons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Parsons).

[Randall1022]

Godaddy is fine. They are extremely cheap.

[billbenson]

Godaddy is fine for domain registration if you don't mind the cluttered pages and the fact that they are always trying to upsell you. There are other good ones, I just happen to use godaddy.

I use a cheap webhost.I've had some website outages and on hack years ago. The hack turned out to be because someone on the shared server had a very simple password and got in that way. No hacking problems after that.

I don't get a lot of traffic although although I do get a lot of business. If I got a lot of traffic, I would consider moving my site to a different host. I've had a couple of outages over the years. Hours not days though. Depending on your application I disagree with using cheap or small hosts. Some of them give good serve. Mine only gives email support. I think you need telephone support at this as well. I have rarely needed telephone support except when I was just starting out.

I have three business domains supporting my main business right now.. One is my main site, an ecommerce site with a lot of products. Another site with the same host but on a different server that I use only for email.And a backup site. I think this is a good approach since I always have email.

Never host with the company your are registering your domain with. There have been a lot of scams with this

So I think their are some cut and dried things mentioned above that are very accurate . Hosting with the very large companies like Network Solutions and 1 &1 I would never do.

[Harold Mansfield]

Never host with the company your are registering your domain with. There have been a lot of scams with this




Actually one of the main perpetrators back in the day was Namecheap. That's why I'm so surprised to see people recommending them again as if the last 7 years or so never happened.

I've been registering my new domains with Google and it's pretty smooth. No fluff. No BS. Just registration with free privacy. Admin them from your Google account just like everything else Google.

[Harold Mansfield]

BEST DOMAIN REGISTRARS:
5. NetworkSolutions.com
4. Register.com
3. eNom.com
2. Namecheap
1. GoDaddy

BEST SHARED HOSTING:
5. x10Hosting.com
4. GoDaddy
3. Inmotion Hosting
2. Arvixe
1. HostGator

BEST VPS HOSTING (For more server control/traffic)
5. VPS.NET
4. X10VPS.COM
3. VPSDime
2. HostGator
1. Inmotion Hosting

BEST CLOUD HOSTING (Perfect for scalability)
5. Google Cloud
4. Inmotion Hosting
3. Amazon Web Solutions
2. QuadraNET
1. Rackspace

BEST DEDICATED SERVER PROVIDERS (for big businesses)
5. ServerHub
4. Limestone Networks
3. Liquid Web
2. Singlehop
1. Rackspace

I have personally hosted with all the shared, VPS, and cloud hosting companies (except Rackspace, I have heard from many people they're very good). I have only hosted with Singlehop for dedicated servers. Now, if you want it to be easy and don't have much experience, go with shared hosting. Those companies will help you through the process to help get your site online.
Is this your personal list or is there a source to link to?



Thank you, Bob Parsons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Parsons).

That was funny :)

[Owen]

Is this your personal list or is there a source to link to?




That was funny :)

Personal list based on experiences, reviews online, support, etc. Rackspace took the last two due to their support as GoDaddy took #1 because of their docs and how easy their DNS management is.

[MateoKingler]

I have over 10 domains all registered under GoDaddy, as for web hosting well, I am my own web hosting business ;)

[Owen]

I have over 10 domains all registered under GoDaddy, as for web hosting well, I am my own web hosting business ;)

Your profile picture totally didn't give that away ;)

[turboguy]

It sometimes seems to me that the hosting company that everyone recommends one year is the one everyone is saying to avoid a few years later. HostGater would be an example of this. I believe the ownership has changed which is probably why the change in sentiment. They used to be a company that everyone liked and now I hear more negative than positive. Still if you pick a host that is good and the ownership changes it is sort of a pain to keep switching. I would suggest people avoid what I have done. I have 16 domains with GoDaddy, 3 or 4 with Network Solutions (who I really don't like much) and one or two other places. I have hosting accounts with maybe 6 or 7 places. It is a real pain to keep up with what is where and I would strongly suggest you find one domain place and one hosting company and stay there. I really think everyone has given me good service however and I haven't had problems with any of them.

[Owen]

It sometimes seems to me that the hosting company that everyone recommends one year is the one everyone is saying to avoid a few years later. HostGater would be an example of this. I believe the ownership has changed which is probably why the change in sentiment. They used to be a company that everyone liked and now I hear more negative than positive. Still if you pick a host that is good and the ownership changes it is sort of a pain to keep switching. I would suggest people avoid what I have done. I have 16 domains with GoDaddy, 3 or 4 with Network Solutions (who I really don't like much) and one or two other places. I have hosting accounts with maybe 6 or 7 places. It is a real pain to keep up with what is where and I would strongly suggest you find one domain place and one hosting company and stay there. I really think everyone has given me good service however and I haven't had problems with any of them.

HostGator was the first paid hosting company I was with due to their 1 cent hosting. Nothing was wrong with them other than the fact live chat wait times are usually 30 - 60 minutes and their prices are a little up there. If those two issues were resolved they'd be a good company.

[MateoKingler]

Your profile picture totally didn't give that away ;)

I could be a party hosting business for all you know :p

[turboguy]

I could be a party hosting business for all you know :p

Well when you host a big party be sure to invite all of us. I could use a good party right now.

[Owen]

Well when you host a big party be sure to invite all of us. I could use a good party right now.

I'll provide the DJ. ;D

[Harold Mansfield]

Hostgator, Justhost, Bluehost and Hostmonster are all owned by Endurance International Group.
They also own FatCow, Domain.com, Arvixe, iPage, iPower, JustCloud.com, Dotster, Typepad and a crap load of other web services companies.

[Owen]

Hostgator, Justhost, Bluehost and Hostmonster are all owned by Endurance International Group.
They also own FatCow, Domain.com, Arvixe, iPage, iPower, JustCloud.com, Dotster, Typepad and a crap load of other web services companies.

Endurance is basically the monopoly of web hosts. Want to start a web host? Chances are your parent is gonna end up being Endurance.

[Harold Mansfield]

Endurance is basically the monopoly of web hosts. Want to start a web host? Chances are your parent is gonna end up being Endurance.

He does seem to be building a little web cartel. "Nothing goes online in this country unless I know about it", kind of empire. If he ever decides to hold us hostage, the web is screwed. But hats off to him for building what is almost a monopoly before the government catches up to how bad it is for one company to own all of the hosting companies.

My hosting company isn't part of EIG, but when I'm asked to recommend a host to someone who doesn't need what I have, I'm hard pressed to name anyone that isn't EIG owned, 1&1, Go Daddy, or Network Solutions.

[Owen]

He does seem to be building a little web cartel. "Nothing goes online in this country unless I know about it", kind of empire. If he ever decides to hold us hostage, the web is screwed. But hats off to him for building what is almost a monopoly before the government catches up to how bad it is for one company to own all of the hosting companies.

My hosting company isn't part of EIG, but when I'm asked to recommend a host to someone who doesn't need what I have, I'm hard pressed to name anyone that isn't EIG owned, 1&1, Go Daddy, or Network Solutions.

Network Solutions and Register.com are subsidiaries of Web.com, so in reality the only people who don't have parent companies that i can think of are 1&1 and GoDaddy, but if you want a website builder you got Wix, Weebly, SquareSpace, etc. It seems like EIG hasn't ventured into website builders either because they just don't want to or it's too risky.

[Brian Altenhofel]

EIG is not anywhere close to a monopoly. They're more like the Pepsico of cheap hosting. Of course, as soon as your website gets into a position to generate revenue for your company, they like to cut you off for "excessive usage" on their "unlimited" plans.

[Harold Mansfield]

EIG is not anywhere close to a monopoly. They're more like the Pepsico of cheap hosting. Of course, as soon as your website gets into a position to generate revenue for your company, they like to cut you off for "excessive usage" on their "unlimited" plans.

That's usually most people's wake up call to stop using the cheapest solution possible for your most important business asset.

[billbenson]

EIG is not anywhere close to a monopoly. They're more like the Pepsico of cheap hosting. Of course, as soon as your website gets into a position to generate revenue for your company, they like to cut you off for "excessive usage" on their "unlimited" plans.


That is kind of a 'depends' (not talking about adult diapers) statement. If you have a small targeted niche, you may not use up that much more bandwidth when you become successful.

[MikeSweeney]

I've registered domains with GoDaddy. Use a couple others as well, namecheap, domaincheapters, cheapname etc.

As for hosting, there is a slew of options, but you will want one that is reliable, offers good support in the event something may happen. I'd also check into what other marketing tools they may include for your business. Spend the extra for hosting, you'll be glad you did.

Think about the theme behind your website, how you want your business represented online. Are you connecting social media accounts with it (recommended).

The process to register a domain and get it online (hosted) is quite easy. Have the right tools and online marketing in place as well.

Mike

[webcrest]

Chose any local hosting provider to get server. Buy a domain and find a suitable wprdpress template. It is the easiest way to stand a website in a day. If you want bit more professional look for your website, hire a wp designer and ask him to setup the site, remove template garbage and create your site. Create a logo for brand identity and you have online business.

<removed>

[Owen]

Chose any local hosting provider to get server

Unless that company has been around and you know for a fact it isn't gonna shut down, it's a bad idea.


I can help you with that if you feel difficulty in setting up the site with wordpress.

Not sure if this counts as advertising, but if it does, kindly take it to Google Adsense (https://www.google.com/adsense). :)

[journalist55]

I think GoDaddy is a good option. You could also create your website on WordPress, it's a very self explanatory platform that is easy to edit, etc. You also do not have to pay for the site unless you want to upgrade.