Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Hosting : Advice on host/e commerce..

[sonicdissolve]

Hi all.

Great site. I am looking to launch my first site in April to sell my sports traing DVD`s. I have a few questions (some dumbass - sorry new ground for me)..

1) If i purchase a domain from 123-reg today, will i be free (and do i have to) transfer the name to my chosen host at a later date?

2) I would like the site to feature a 20 second wmv promo clip of the DVD`s. It does not have to be brilliant quality, but decent. Will i need a large bandwidth just for this?

3) I predict my bulk of sales will come from the states, so should i look for a host in the U.S. or stick with the U.K. where i am based?

4) What in your opinion is the best hosting/e-commerce package for my needs?(or should that be how longs a piece of string?) I am swaying to fasthosts because of their e-commerce package, but have read so-so reviews here, have they improved lately?

Thanks for your replies. WHT rocks..

[webair-gene]

1: You can purchase your domain at any time from registrars such as godaddy, namesecure, enom with no obligation to buy or have hosting from them or anybody else.

2: This depends on the amount of visitors who will be viewing your clip, if you keep it small (few hundred kb) then you may not have too much to worry about.

3: Personally, I would go with a host in the U.S. but ultimately it is up to you, afterall, it's YOUR site!

4: This I cannot comment on, I have no experience with any e-commerce hosting providers.

Welcome to WHT, and Good Luck!

[njean]

Originally Posted by sonicdissolve

Hi all.

Hello and welcome!

Great site. I am looking to launch my first site in April to sell my sports traing DVD`s. I have a few questions (some dumbass - sorry new ground for me)..

1) If i purchase a domain from 123-reg today, will i be free (and do i have to) transfer the name to my chosen host at a later date?

If you want a .com/net domain, use namecheap. And yes, you can transfer the name to the host you pick easily when you want.

2) I would like the site to feature a 20 second wmv promo clip of the DVD`s. It does not have to be brilliant quality, but decent. Will i need a large bandwidth just for this?

Well, if it's only that file, I don't think you'll need a huge amount of bandwidth. All depends on how many visitors you'll get. Have you got a rough idea?

3) I predict my bulk of sales will come from the states, so should i look for a host in the U.S. or stick with the U.K. where i am based?

If your customers will come from the US, then get a server in the US maybe on the east coast so it's great for europeans too.

4) What in your opinion is the best hosting/e-commerce package for my needs?(or should that be how longs a piece of string?) I am swaying to fasthosts because of their e-commerce package, but have read so-so reviews here, have they improved lately?

Thanks for your replies. WHT rocks..

My advice is to find a host who will allow you an upgrade in the future if things go well. Start with a relatively small package and then expand!

Good Luck

[WireNine]

1) If i purchase a domain from 123-reg today, will i be free (and do i have to) transfer the name to my chosen host at a later date?

You can most certainly transfer the domain to any web host from your registrar, but I doubt it will be free. There are charges for transfering. You do not have to do so.

2) I would like the site to feature a 20 second wmv promo clip of the DVD`s. It does not have to be brilliant quality, but decent. Will i need a large bandwidth just for this?

Most likely yes, but it depends on how many visitors you get on your website viewing those videos.

3) I predict my bulk of sales will come from the states, so should i look for a host in the U.S. or stick with the U.K. where i am based?

If you think most of your visitors will be from U.S, a U.S based host would be more reasonable.

[bithost(NET)]

Guessing there is a little unclear-ness about what is meant by "transfer" your domain name.

You can register your domain name at any registrar you want to use. Personally, I use Dotster, GoDaddy and Enom for my domains. Use whomever you want.

Once you decide to sign up for website hosting, no matter whom you sign up with, you do not have to "transfer" your domain name to them. This might be the #1 misconception with domain registrations & hosting. You can (and should) leave your domain name right where it is at with your registrar.

What you will need to do, no matter whom you host with (unless it is with the registrar) you will need to change the nameservers on your domain name so that the domain routes to its new server. This is not the same as "transferring" a domain name -- it's not even remotely related. This is called "updating your nameservers" and is very easy to do. When you sign up for a hosting plan, your web host will tell you what your new nameserver settings are, so you can update your domain right away.

Changing your nameservers is free, it should never cost you money to do.

Transferring a domain name to an entirely different registrar will likely cost extra money, usually the price of a year's extension to the registration.

However there is honestly absolutely no reason to transfer a domain name anywhere just because you have signed up for a website. I have long argued that a domain name should stay separate so there is no chance that anybody but YOU has the power to make changes (or block changes, if you need to make them) to your domain name. There are some crooked hosts out there who will actually block domain name changes to keep you from leaving their company.

Bailey

[bluedreamer]

You can run an ecommerce site on any host. What you should be looking for is the right script to to the job.

What sort of products are you selling?
How many products?
How are you going to take payments?
Do you need any special shopping cart features?

[Website Rob]

sonicdissolve, Hello and Welcome to the Forum.

Adding to what 'bithost' posted, a bit more information on what, exactly, is a Domain name? It is more along the lines of a Business name and in many respects, an extension of one. You can Registrar a Business name with City Hall or proper Goverment agency, providing correct & accurate details related to the business. Once that is done and along with any Registration fees, you can then "operate" your Business at a location of your choice. And so it is with a Domain name.

As to your other questions;

- never have a Flash page as your site Index page without providing people a way to by-pass it

- no matter what location your site is physically located at, it will always be faster for some than others

- the best hosting/e-commerce package for your needs is one that can easily be maintained by yourself -- after it is setup -- and provides a way for people to easily purchase your Products/Service

One Shopping cart that fits the needs of people is ZenCart. Freely available and provided by most Hosters as a one-click install.

[sonicdissolve]

All really helpful stuff, cheers.

Just found out my chosen domain name is taken..

Have a few questions on this but will head for the right section.

Thanks again.

[vito]

bithost, thanks for saving me a whole bunch of typing.

sonicdissolve, your WMV movie shouldn't be too much of a concern provided you don't have tons and tons of traffic. A typical 20 second WMV file sized at 320x240 and 360 kbps should be around 800 KB. You may want to consider encoding it to FLV file format which will presumably save you something in the file size.

Vito