registering domain name with hosting?

[SnowSurfer]

I'm making a website for my aunt's store and was wondering what was the best way to get a domain name and dedicated hosting on the cheap.

Is godaddy the best? its not going to be a high traffic site, I am just going to have some pictures of the store, specials, print out coupons etc.

thanks :)

[redcolours]

how much are you willing to spend?

there are webhosting companies that include free domain names with their packages, provided the domain name is original and not a transfer or had existed before.

some promos like what godaddy has can be cheap, and can go as low as $2.99/year, but that comes with a caveat - sometimes by getting another service from them (like a $5.99/mo simple hosting that can be up to 3 pages only or something like that). That being said, they ARE cheap, but since i dont have any sites hosted with them, i cant speak for them.

for convenience, you may want to go for an all in one package (hosting + domain name), but ive found that its easier and more flexible if i had them separate. Lock in a 5 or 10 year domain name plan with a domain registrar, and shop around for a seaprate host. That way you can go from one host to another without tying up your name.

google yahoo's offers - usually you can find either $2.99/year or $1.99/year. cheapest domain name regisrar ive seen wthout any catches, and you know yahoo will be around for a while.

im using lunarpages (http://www.lunarpages.com), and they offer $6.95/mo hosting, and recently theyve added 1 domain name with it. 5GB space, 4000MB bandwidth, yadda yadda, but what i love about this host is that their tech support is amazingly fast (in the very few times i needed them), and not to mention that their uptime is excellent (never had a problem in 2.5years ive been with them), and lastly their servers are very fast. i constantly update my tiny website, and ive never had major issues.

one thing ive learned about hosting: Price is NOTHING if you keep having problems with your uptime and your servers are slow, and if you cant reach reliable and great tech supprt.
*cough*globat*cough*

[brainsmile]

doteasy.com is free lifetime hosting if you transfer it there

[SnowSurfer]

/start stupid question

now here is a dumb question....once you have a domain name how do you point it to the place where your website is hosted

/end stupid question

[redcolours]

your domain name comes with a control panel from your registrar. it will ask you for the nameservers (usually 2). you can get the nameserver from your host. it takes up to 24hours for the domain name to settle with your host. sometimes sooner.

[mechmike0034]

I have been happy with 1&1, and would be happy to send you a referral link. Their $3/month should do you just fine...

[SnowSurfer]

thanks for the link mech, ill let you know if i use it, i actually have to build the website now..lol

[GilbertsGrape]

i like 1and1.com and i also like webhostingbuzz.com

[blueindian]

i've been using midphase for about 8 months now. i pay $10/mo and can host as many domains as i want.

[BigJon]

I have a stupid question as well. I'm looking at the 1and1.com page and notice they have "linux" and "MS" hosting. I noticed that the difference is that the linux hosting features PHP and MySQL support. The MS hosting only features ASP support.I currently use PHP 5 and MySQL to run things like my page and photo gallery. I am assuming that I would be best to look into the linux hosting? I only get confused at this because I assumed linux was only an operating system. But in this case they are talking about how the web server is run...correct? So myself using Windows XP would have no issue at all with their "linux host" because they aren't referring to my operating system.... ?

Nevermind...found the answer to my question:

Both can work for you
The operating system that you use on your computer should not govern your choice of hosting platform. All 1&1 packages come with FTP access and a wide range of web page publishing options. If, for example, your computer runs on Microsoft® Windows®, you are not obligated to choose Microsoft web hosting.

Compare the advantages
Both technologies are suitable for beginners, professional web developers, and everyone in between, but it is essential to choose the technology that is more suited to your style of web building. Each technology has its own distinct advantages for users.
Linux hosting

Linux is widely considered to be the best operating system for web hosting servers. Characteristically reliable, stable and efficient, Linux has been proven in the most demanding web and mail server environments.

If you plan to incorporate work that uses PHP, Perl or MySQL, Linux is the solution you should choose. Linux is also ideal for the kind of websites that display information as a brochure, in newsletter format or as data sheets. Linux works well for 'brochure-ware' sites that offer interaction via inquiry forms, online purchasing and other e-commerce functions.

Essential programs such as Microsoft FrontPage® can also be successfully used with Linux technology. In fact, 1&1 offers FrontPage Extensions with Linux hosting packages.
Microsoft hosting

Microsoft should be your choice of platform if you plan on utilizing Active Server Pages or other Microsoft applications to design your web pages. MS hosting also offers an advantage if you wish to incorporate searchable databases into your website. The Microsoft platform delivers reduced development time and better functionality for databases.

[GilbertsGrape]

there are lots of web hosting programs that run off of linux and linux is what is run in the backbround. apachie or somthing like that. you want their linux hosting.

[jaja]

If I'd like to host my personal family website and mainly is for the photo gallery. Does anyone know any good hosting sites? Thank you.

[Thesifer]

I personally dislike the "Hosting + Domain" Packages, as that means that your webhost usually retains the rights to your domain name. So if you are planning on the site getting bigger or ever wanting to transfer it could involve a fee, or be impossible. Buying your own domain name through GoDaddy is rather cheap and you can find really cheap hosting. I offer some decent packages for hosting, and work with people all of the time for some specialized hosting.

But it all depends on what you are looking for and what you are looking at doing.

[blueindian]

I personally dislike the "Hosting + Domain" Packages, as that means that your webhost usually retains the rights to your domain name. So if you are planning on the site getting bigger or ever wanting to transfer it could involve a fee, or be impossible. Buying your own domain name through GoDaddy is rather cheap and you can find really cheap hosting. I offer some decent packages for hosting, and work with people all of the time for some specialized hosting.

But it all depends on what you are looking for and what you are looking at doing.

I've never heard of a host retaining rights to a domain
name...at least not in a long time. I remeber when one of the big registrars, can't recall which, had free registrations for a week and they held the right to recall the domain name after a year..but that was way back at the begining of the .com boom.

true, you might have to pay a fee to transfer your domain to another registrar..but that's usually in the neighborhood of $10 or less.

[jaja]

I personally dislike the "Hosting + Domain" Packages, as that means that your webhost usually retains the rights to your domain name. So if you are planning on the site getting bigger or ever wanting to transfer it could involve a fee, or be impossible. Buying your own domain name through GoDaddy is rather cheap and you can find really cheap hosting. I offer some decent packages for hosting, and work with people all of the time for some specialized hosting.

But it all depends on what you are looking for and what you are looking at doing.

Thank you, it's good to know. So, is there anyway we can get our domain name back if we had "hosting + Domain" package? if we decided not to have the hosting. I've been registering thru Godaddy but I've changed it to Omnis 2 years ago. I like Omnis's tech support. They are pretty knowledgeable and quick response. The only thing I like them to improve is their email downtime. It happened once a while, but...

What kind of the packages that you have for hosting? are they expensive? any backups or archives available?

[Thesifer]

Thank you, it's good to know. So, is there anyway we can get our domain name back if we had "hosting + Domain" package? if we decided not to have the hosting. I've been registering thru Godaddy but I've changed it to Omnis 2 years ago. I like Omnis's tech support. They are pretty knowledgeable and quick response. The only thing I like them to improve is their email downtime. It happened once a while, but...

What kind of the packages that you have for hosting? are they expensive? any backups or archives available?

As for Hosting+ Domain , it really depends on the company these days. Sometimes you will have seperate logins for your Domain even with the double package and you can get on there and change the nameservers. But I know of a few people that had the hosting/domain package that didn't have direct access to change nameservers and then were charged a fee to "Move their domain" So that they could use it with another host. Basically a catch to have people pay more money to not use the company they started with.

I offer three packages that fit most peoples needs. www.privnett.com We do automatic backups on a seperate harddrive.

[jaja]

Thank you, Thesifer.
I'm going to take a look now.