Website hosting and domains

[Matt Koshko]

Chances are you "own" a website. If you've been involved in affiliate marketing, internet marketing, network marketing, blogging, eCommerce...or anything in-between, you probably have a website that you control. And, it's more likely you have domains than you do hosting.

 

Be careful where you register your domains. If you're looking to simply save a few dollars by registering your domain through some unknown company, you should reconsider not buying a domain at all. That also goes for registering your domain through these "free" hosting services where you register your domain through them. In many cases the domain you register will not be yours, it's owned by the company. And it's important because if you need or want to move your site to another host, they'll keep your domain hostage. Not good!

 

There are tons of options for domains but I prefer NameCheap or GoDaddy. While neither are perfect, you'll likely have no issues (beyond what's normal in the marketplace) with either.

 

Hosting? Companies like HostGator have many hosting options. Yes, they are technically owned by a much larger company, but so are most hosting companies. Many options do exist such as GVO hosting, Rackspace, Mediatemple, LiquidWeb...and many others. The level of service you need could vary, so selecting a a provider who can grow/scale with you as needed is certainly important.

 

Most importantly? Be SURE you can take your data, files, domains, and everything else with you somewhere else if needed. Saving a few dollars by using a "free" hosting option could end up costing you a lot more in the end.

[barberickson]

Hello Matt,

 

I was just wondering...WP seems to favor Blue Host. Do you have any experience with this one?

 

I have used GoDaddy and was thinking of using Name Cheap.

 

Thank you for your information.

 

Barbara Erickson

[paulserban]

I started to work with Hostgator and Namecheap and I am very pleased with their services.

I chose to have good service and that's why I've chosen the Aweber email (some people like Getresponse)

 

I don't think that WP has preferences by a site hosting, than in the case when they have common interests.

[Matt Koshko]

Hello Matt,

 

I was just wondering...WP seems to favor Blue Host. Do you have any experience with this one?

 

I have used GoDaddy and was thinking of using Name Cheap.

 

Thank you for your information.

 

Barbara Erickson

 

Hi Barbara,

 

Years ago, when I was new to the world of website hosting, I was a BlueHost customer. While their services were fine (and I had capped out my hosting at 500,000 visits in one month), they didn't have scalable options. Over the past couple years I know they began offering higher-end hosting beyond the standard, low-end shared environment. However, I would NOT consider GoDaddy hosting based on my own experience with file transfers, database management, etc..

 

HostGator has been great in my experience. Most people won't need VPS or Dedicated services but HostGator has offered them for many years.

 

NameCheap is great for those who have heavy domains while GoDaddy has been reliable for general domains. However, I've had sites with over 200,000 hits a month registered through GoDaddy. Not everyone has the same experiences of course - individual experiences vary!

[John Priestley]

So, is the answer to go to a domain registration company to ensure the domain is yours and then choose a hosting company separately? Would that make it easier to move, should the hosting company not come up to scratch?

 

I await your responses, John.