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View Full Version : Which website host should I start off with?



KaliStar
05-23-2010, 02:33 PM
Hi,

I am planning to start my business off on eBay while I get more solid plans in place. I do want to get a domain name though and I want to get a business email acount so I figured I should sign up with a webhost so I can have the domain name in my email address and I can start playing around with ideas for my website.

So basically I am looking for something fairly cheep (under $10 a month) to start off with - but it does need to be reliable and user friendly. I realize I can always transfer my domain in the future.

I was looking at:

Web Hosting, VPS Hosting, and Dedicated Servers by InMotion Hosting (http://www.inmotionhosting.com/)

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you

vangogh
05-23-2010, 04:00 PM
It's a hard question to answer. You find there's one best host and even within a given hosting company there are different servers and different sites on those servers. A lot of the specs (how much space, etc) are the same or similar from one host to the next. Often what separates one company from another is their service.

You might want to email InMotion and one or two other hosts with similar questions and see who responds the quickest and who has the best answers to your questions.

I don't know InMotion specifically, but looking through their plans quickly they seem competitive with the industry. Since you're just starting out you'd probably want to choose their Business Class Web Hosting, and if I'm not mistaken you're going to want to sell directly through the site so you'd want their $7.95 option since it's ecommerce ready where the $5.95 plan isn't.

What you'd be getting is commonly known as shared hosting. Your site will be on the same server as hundreds, sometimes thousands of other sites. Most websites you see are probably using some kind of shared hosting. In time as you're attracting more visitors to your site and your needs increase you may want to increase the level of hosting you get. I do think there's an element in you get what you pay for when it comes to hosting.

I generally think it's better to register a domain in a different place than where you get hosting, though maybe it's more preference than a rule you need to follow. The reason is with some smaller hosting companies when you register a domain they sometimes keep more control of the domain than they should. I'm not suggesting that InMotion does that all and it's probably more a thing of the past.

I prefer to register most of my domains with one central company since it becomes easier to maintain them if you buy a few. Again probably not an issue for you.

Hope some of the above helps.

dynocat
05-24-2010, 12:46 AM
Couple thoughts if you're just starting out and don't want to spend a lot.

I'd recommend GoDaddy for domain name purchase. If you don't see a discount on their site, call them on the phone and ask what discounts are available. I believe I read their prices are going up, so I'd act soon. Last time I bought from them, .com domains were $10 - $11 a year. You can add private registration at the same time (they are affiliated with Domains by Proxy) for either another dollar or possibly free with purchase of the domain name.

I would not recommend GoDaddy for hosting. Have read numerous negative reviews on that. They are a good domain registrar though.

To get your feet wet with a site, I'd suggest Yola. It offers a free sitebuilder, but unless you are already savvy with html and css, it's a great way to go. I've set up sites for clients who want to maintain their own sites, but don't want to spend much. For $25/year (note, that's yearly, not monthly) you get their next level builder, which gives you the option to upload your own css or js files.

For web designers and experienced coders, you would find things to criticize about Yola, but, for a beginner, it's a great way to get a site up quickly and learn while doing at a low or no cost. I can testify that their reputation for excellent and fast support is just that. There is also a users/employees forum, that is also find helpful if you get stuck or have questions.

Yola does not offer a shopping cart, per se, at this time. You can however, set up an online catalog using Paypal and/or Google Checkout. You don't need to pay for an SSL certificate for your site because payment transactions are handled off site.

Best of luck to you, Kalistar.

jimr451
05-24-2010, 01:45 PM
I've had good success with 1and1.com for hosting and domain registration. Though it's nice to keep domain registration separate, there's a small savings by going through the same place for both.

1and1 charges $9.99 / month for a full featured business hosting account, though you might get away with one of their cheaper plans if you don't need ecommerce / database capabilities..

Anyway, I've used them for 4-5 years now and they are pretty solid.

-Jim

billbenson
05-24-2010, 11:02 PM
I'll take a stronger position. NEVER register your domain with your host, and ALWAYS use a good domain registrar. I use godaddy, but there are others. Some hosts in the past have prevented clients from moving their domain to another registrar without getting a lawyer involved. Works like this. Call "I'd like to unlock my domain so it can be moved" "ok, I'll transfer you to that department" hold music for 30 min then a disconnect.

Use godaddy or a good registrar for your domain and host somewhere else. Your cost $10. Cheap insurance.

Harold Mansfield
05-25-2010, 11:01 AM
Another way to look at it is, if you register a lot of domains like I tend to do, they are actually currency...meaning that they could feasibly be worth more than registration costs to the right buyer.

I've never hosted and registered domains from the same place, but I've always wondered what would happen if you fell on hard times and couldn't pay your hosting bill, would you be locked out of your domains as well?

Also, if you have both at the same place, what happens if the hosting company takes a dive? You could possibly, with the right database information, or back up files restore your website elsewhere, but what about if you lost your domains?

As long as they are separate, you run less of a risk of loosing both at the same time.

If my hosting company disappears from the face of the earth, just like an end of the world movie with Morgan Freeman as the President...as long as I have my domains, I can rebuild anywhere and relatively quickly and in the mean while set up a quick splash page to redirect or inform any potential traffic that the site is down for a day or so.

Between the 2, a hosting company has a greater potential for failure than a larger domain registrar.

mattbeck
06-17-2010, 01:14 PM
Just piping in to add to this...

Really, buying your domain and hosting from the same company is just begging for trouble.

It's like buying a car that only ran on Ford Gasoline.

I've had numerous clients who did this before we started working with them and it always causes problems (usually when you need something changed, want to change hosting companies or do a domain transfer).

amir
06-17-2010, 03:01 PM
Godaddy does hosting. Cheap too. Do you mean to say one should not buy the domain AND hosting from godaddy?

I think if you go with a reputable company, like godaddy, it doesn't matter.
The problem is of course, most of the people that start a business, don't have cash to spare, and so trying to look for 'cheap' deals on hosting.

For a small business that's like suicide. I explain: a small business reliance on website and online activity is huge! But if the website is down/slow or the email isn't working, you're going to be losing many potential clients.
It's like buying a second hand truck with water damage for a transport business, for the same of saving money. It's not a question of if it will break. It's a question of when!

Don't get me wrong. I provide web hosting. It's not a service that I promote. I am more expensive than companies who provide web hosting for a living. But the value we add to our clients is such that they don't care whether we charge them $10 or $35.

Make sure you choose your web hosting provider wisely, and no, it's not something you should save money on, if you're going to rely on your website to make you money :)

vangogh
06-17-2010, 03:46 PM
I think the idea not to get both hosting and domains from the same source comes more from past practices when a lot of hosting companies would register the domain in their name and not yours. As long as you're listed as the registrant and the admin contact on the domain (The admin contact is actually more important since any change has to go through that person) and you can readily access the control panel for the domain to make changes you're fine.

Where people got into trouble was when they purchased hosting and a domain together to later find they didn't actually own the domain and were then either tied to their web host or forced to start over again with a new domain.

billbenson
06-17-2010, 03:48 PM
Godaddy is a good place for domain registration. There are others and a ton of scam registrars. Godaddy doesn't have a great reputation for hosting, but in the case of godaddy you are pretty safe hosting and registering there.

With so many scams around domain registration it is important to use a good registrar. You are also opening yourself up to problems if you host and register your domain at the same place. It's just good practice.

Domain registration is about $10 from Godaddy and a good shared host is about $5 to $10 per month so if you are paying more, look elsewhere. Don't commit to contracts in excess of 3 to 6 months. That way, if you don't like your host, you don't loose much money if you walk away.

billbenson
06-17-2010, 03:53 PM
Posted at the same time VG. That was one practice, but both Network Solutions and 1 and 1 wouldn't give you access to your domain to unlock it and move it. If you called them, they would just put you on hold. It took a lawyer to get control of your domain. I don't know if they are still doing this. I'd say its still good advice to keep them separate.

vangogh
06-17-2010, 04:52 PM
I've seen the locking thing happen with other web hosts as well. You can get them to unlock it, but they'll resist as much as possible. Any registrar that doesn't allow you to unlock your domain is evil.

RMMarketing
06-29-2010, 06:30 AM
Ill throw out a recommendation for Hostgator. I have been using them with a reseller account which is nice since I can setup each client individually with their own login credentials. I have not had any down time with them (that I am aware of at least).

vangogh
06-29-2010, 03:26 PM
A couple of my clients use Hostgator as well and have been very happy with them.

FreshFishDesign
07-08-2010, 10:16 AM
I've heard good things about Hostgator as well, though based in the UK I tend to use UK hosts.

The best advice I ever had on this was not to make your decision based on price. And any host that offered unfeasibly huge web space, like hundreds of gig for a few dollars, is probably one to steer clear of.

Also, when you're comparing different hosts and packages, look at things like guaranteed uptime and service level agreements. Try going through to technical support desks with a query before you sign up - this will give you some idea of what kind of support you'll receive after you sign up.

vangogh
07-08-2010, 11:33 AM
The best advice I ever had on this was not to make your decision based on price.

Agreed. There's really not a huge difference between spending $8.95 a month and $5.95 a month. One thing you could do is email each host you're thinking about (or use their contact form or give them a call) and ask a few questions. Sometimes based on the difference in response time and the actual response it's an easy decision which to go with. And this isn't to say the more expensive host is automatically the better one. Just that price alone shouldn't be the determining factor.

prova.fm
07-08-2010, 08:12 PM
I've done hosting for a decade & learned you get what you pay for. Plus add in the cost associated with losing a customer because your site was too slow. (I don't think the unavailable option happens too often with new technology. Everyone seems to offer 99.9 percent uptime). But sites like GoDaddy, 1&1, & other Unlimited Hosting sites end up being way too slow. They simply pile as many accounts onto 1 server as they can.

I've also learned in business, spend the money on technology that will make your life easier. $25/month for top hosting means you won't have problems is better than a host that creates 12 hours of problems for you in a year. Having those 12 extra hours will allow you more time to spend growing your business. Of course, it's wise to start with $5/mo hosting since you will probably have more time than money... But plan into the future so you can easily expand into a quality host.

vangogh
07-09-2010, 12:06 AM
They simply pile as many accounts onto 1 server as they can.

Definitely a problem with some shared hosting account. It's certainly not all hosts and a little bit of overselling is perfectly fine. I think sometimes shared hosting is something of a crapshoot. You could end up on a server where the sites aren't demanding too much resources or you could end up on the server where a few sites are taken down everyone else.

In the beginning most sites aren't going to need anything more than what an inexpensive shared hosting environment provides. It's where you start. As your business grows you should start thinking about upgrading to something more though. Even at $25 a month hosting is not a huge business expense.

Lyrafire
07-29-2010, 04:13 PM
I swore off Go Daddy after I had trouble getting a parked domain reassigned. It reassigned OK, but for a while, every time I typed the address in the browser bar, it would show up saying that it was hosted by Go Daddy, rather than showing my meta description. It also bugs me when I try to negotiate their site. It's not clean in that you always find yourself faced with buying this or that rather than just getting something done. My WP blogs are hosted by BlueHost, and so far, so good, but it's only been a month. I also bought my last two domain names from them for $10 each, and that way avoided the reassignment problems. I own the domains and am the administrator. I paid $83.40 for the year, and I can host as many sites as I want for that money. If I want, I can also buy a dedicated IP and secure socket, but I use PayPal as my payment solution so I've got that covered for now. I can also have email connected to the domain name, and they have stats programs and a bunch of other stuff. I really like their live chat service. My questions have been correctly answered lickety split. I chose them from a list of WP-approved hosts; I'm sure others are good also.

billbenson
07-29-2010, 10:48 PM
I swore off Go Daddy after I had trouble getting a parked domain reassigned. It reassigned OK, but for a while, every time I typed the address in the browser bar, it would show up saying that it was hosted by Go Daddy

Thats most likely the domain name resolving and is a network issue which godaddy has no control over. Its usually quick, but can take 48 hours.

Harold Mansfield
07-30-2010, 10:50 AM
I have to say that I've used Blue Host on more than one occasion and it really seems to run smooth and I never had a problem with dealing with them. Very professional and phone support too.
Go Daddy on the other hand..definitely not my first choice, but an easier sell to someone who has no idea what hosting is because it has recognition. But I hate the way that they have their accounts structured with the folders and subfolders from the main account domain and other domains on the account. Sucks.
Not too impressed with the back end either, I actually stay away from it whenever possible and just access the account via FTP.
Can't say that they aren't helpful though...I have had nothing but good customer service from them regarding client sites....I just don't like their system.