Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Hosting : Total newbie that needs help!

[goatpiper]

I am currently researching web hosts and how to get a web site going. I have a number of questions.

Is it a big deal to register your domain with one company and host with another? I've heard from a few places to register with someone like Godaddy and host elsewhere. I've also heard that you should register your domain name with the web host you plan on using - which is the better way to go, considering that you may want to change hosts at some point if things go sour?

I am a freelance writer and the website I will be creating will be for my freelance business. I don't expect it to be a very big or intense site. There will likely be a number of pages, and one will be for clips of work I've done - PDFs of magazine articles and such. I have absolutely no experience with creating a website, so I don't know how much space I will need. There won't be sound or video, though. Based on this loose description, what companies can you recommend? I do plan on eventually building my own site (I'm reading the Missing Manual - Creating Web Sites), even if I first use a host's site building tool.

This is crazy - I've seen so many good reviews for certain companies, just to see them slagged off elsewhere by someone else. I guess negative experiences are inevitable with any given company, but I just want to make the best choice out the gates so I have a minimal amount of headaches to deal with along the way.

Thanks so much ahead of time for anyone that offers up advice!

[VWH-Troy]

Generally speaking, I would think it would be best to purchase a domain from a domain name expert, for example Godaddy. As domains are their expertise, although this could be said for a select few web hosts.
Especially, if in the long run you will be acquiring a few domains, at least with Godaddy you can manage all your domains in one place by your own means.

Others may find that it is of convenience acquiring a domain with the hosting package, especially if it is offered for free.

[David]

goatpiper,

Personally I think it's an excellent idea to keep your domain & hosting separate 'just in case'. No, most companies won't cause hassles if you attempt to exit but consider the fact that if the company disappears.. it could become a slight hassle as both your data & domain will be potentially under someone's control.

I wouldn't recommend GoDaddy though, try namecheap.com instead. As far as your resource & website requirements go: It sounds like you'll just have a basic site, just about any provider should suffice Until you have a few months of statistics under your belt you won't be entirely 100% certain of your immediate & future needs.

One day at a time, start small & dream big

[allanon]

Yes, keep your domains and hosting separate unless you want to be held hostage by the domain company.

GoDaddy hosting is so-so, nothing spectacular, nothing too bad.

I wouldn't get too caught up in negative reviews. Just pick a host with mostly good reviews And make sure you don't sign-up long-term until you have a good "feel" for them. I got stuck in a 2 year contract I wasn't too happy about in the beginning (but it turned out alright in the end)

[MrRadic]

Originally Posted by allanon

Just pick a host with mostly good reviews And make sure you don't sign-up long-term until you have a good "feel" for them.

Great advice. A long term sign up is always tough when things are going bad.

[Martie]

I also definitely recommend registering your domain name seperately. godaddy.com,namecheap.com or 000domains.com are all priced reasonable.
If you go ahead and register the name seperately then if things do not work out with your webhost, at least your domain name registration will be *safe*
All you would do is login to your domain management interface and update your own domain record with your hosts DNS info. Very simple to do. A good host will guide you through registering your name somewhere.

You will have options with just about any host nowdays as far as sitebuilders go, as its pretty much become a standard feature. Air on the side of caution when selecting and dont feel as though you NEED GIGS of space. Average websites still consume 100MB space OR LESS.
I highly recommend sending some pre-sales emails if you are able to make a short list of hosts and I would also run the co. name through google.com.
Best of luck!

[ldcdc]

try namecheap.com

I will second/third that recommendation.

[Jedito]

Stargate.com get my vote for domain registration