Domain & Hosting Services

Registrar

The subject of domains, registrars, and web hosting can be confusing for most. We try to explain it here as simply as possible to empower people to educate themselves to be smarter consumers when shopping around for internet services.

We can tell you as much as you want to know about the whole process so that you can do it yourself, or we can put together a package for you so that you won’t have to do anything!

A Registrar is a company that allows individuals or companies to register a domain name. The customer first requests the domain name. The Registrar then checks with the central registry for the domain to make sure it’s available. If the domain name is available, the Registrar will then ask for the required details from the customer and begin to process the order to register that specific domain.

There are a number of Registrars that will do the same thing for you. What you want to look for is:

•Dependability and reliability of the registrar
•Services offered and the ease of accessing your account
•The quality of their customer service
•Pricing

Do your homework

You can view all the companies accredited as registrars by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)by visiting:: http://www.internic.net/alpha.html

Often times Registrars will overcharge you for your domain registration, and not offer you the kind of service you should expect.

We found GoDaddy.com  to be the best value for the money. Their customer service is very strong, they include loads services that other companies charge for, and their prices are very reasonable.

Web Hosting

For a web site to be made available on the Internet, it has to be hosted on a web server. This is where web hosting comes in. It’s just like renting property or a storefront. There are plenty of companies that will rent you space on a web server. The wide range of services start from free hosting to buying a server for your sole use. Deciding what’s right for you depends on your individual needs. Many people often confuse domain with web hosting. These are actually 2 different things. The domain is just your web site name, which we just covered. Almost like you reserving your business name without a storefront.
Here are the different types of hostings available to you:

Free Hosting
If you need somewhere to host a personal web site then choosing a web host is should not be very difficult. There are plenty of free hosts that will host your web site at no cost to you, giving you space in a directory under their domain, ex: ‘www.thehost.com/yourname/’. In fact most ISP (Internet Service Providers) now offer free web hosting with your account. The catch is that you may have to carry some banners or mention the free hosts name somewhere on your site and in many cases, you cannot choose your domain.

Shared Hosting
Shared web hosting is the most common hosting type. It allows you to host your web site using a domain name of your choice ex: www.yourname.com. You will be given a certain amount of emails, webspace, and bandwidth all measured usually in Gb on a server you share with other people. This gives a professional image and will allow you to change hosts with minimum hassle.

The advantage of this type of hosting is that the hosting company maintains and backs up the servers on a regular basis. What this means to you is minimal administration, especially if you are not web-savvy.

Dedicated Server Hosting
A dedicated server is one whereby you rent the use of a whole machine. This can be used to host one or more of your web sites. Because you are renting the use of a machine, you have increased control over what software will be installed on the machine. You can even specify the setup. This type of hosting is generally more expensive and is preferred by larger companies or companies who have sensitive materials on their web site, those who do not want to be compromised by other web sites on the same server.

Reseller Web Hosting
Reseller web hosting plans allow you to be a web hosting company yourself. In fact, many web hosting companies themselves have a web hosting company host their server. Some web hosting companies provide a service where small companies can resell web space on their servers for a small fee. You may wonder why go with the smaller company rather than the big. Well, the smaller companies may add on certain features to make their plans more attractive and provide more services. Resellers can sometimes be better. The important things to consider are support, reliability and competitive pricing.

What kind of server is right for you?
Some things to consider are: Before you choose your hosting plan, you should identify what your needs are. With all hosting plans, there will be some features that you need and some that you don’t need. Make sure you focus on what is important for your web site. You may want all the nice extras but will you use them? It’s also a good idea to try and pick a host that will allow you to expand and increase your plan as and when your web site grows..

What kind of server is it?
Linux or Windows? Linux tends to support PHP programming language and Windows supports ASP. This might not be important if you are just starting out, but if you are transferring your web site, and have a code implemented in your web pages, you will need to know this.
How much space (GB) are they going to give you?
Hosting prices often vary based on this. Shop around. You might not need a lot of space now, but as grow, you will need more space. Find out how much additional space will cost you if you should need it later.
Do you get a database with your hosting plan?
This might not be important to you if you do not plan on using a database, but keep in mind that as your web site grows, you might want to make it more ‘dynamic’ and you will need a database. Depending on the plan, you can get multiple databases available to you.
How many emails will you get?
Having an email that is associated with your web site ex: yo*@yo******.com is a huge benefit. Not only do you project a certain degree of professionalism to your customers, you are also advertising your web site name. Find out how many emails you get with your hosting account and how much space (Mb) they are willing to give you per email account.

There are certainly other aspects to consider when choosing a hosting company. You might not know which one is right for you. Please let us help you in your decision – call us at 954-636-3132 or email us with any other questions that you may have.