Good choice of domains?? stuck..

[razer121]

Hey guys, not sure where this should be so if it is in the wrong place can a mod please move it to the correct one?

So anyway i need a domain, a cheap but decent one, it is going to need to be for a friends bisness, so nothing to special just a few pictures and maybe price drop down section and such. not sure how much bandwith id need for it or how much space as i could use something like photobucket to link the images to the site?

So thoughts?? suggestions? ive found one but its all so confusing! not done it since i was about 13....now im 23 XD

[peterb]

Do you mean a domain name or a hosting service (or both)?

[j1979]

Hey guys, not sure where this should be so if it is in the wrong place can a mod please move it to the correct one?

So anyway i need a domain, a cheap but decent one, it is going to need to be for a friends bisness, so nothing to special just a few pictures and maybe price drop down section and such. not sure how much bandwith id need for it or how much space as i could use something like photobucket to link the images to the site?

So thoughts?? suggestions? ive found one but its all so confusing! not done it since i was about 13....now im 23 XD

I guess you are referring to hosting as apposed to domains.

It depends on a lot of factors. a lot offer "UNLIMITED" but be wary. as the bandwidth may well be unlimited but usually comes at a cost. For instance the a mountain stream may well have an unlimited supply of water but if they only give you a thin straw to drink with it becomes worthless.

I have 3 hosts,

plus.net (no longer open to new people) fast but basic
qiq.co.uk - fast and good service
cloudnext - good value, unlimited, but not so fast

You also need to think of server location. Qiq are located in Australia but my server is in the USA. but this works out well for me as a lot of my customers are American.

If you are intending to have a UK site with uk traffic a UK based server is a good idea.


As for size and bandwith it probably won't matter too much as a little goes a long way on a small basic site. Be wary of using a photo host as you will lose valuable traffic to the site. Because people who click on images in search results will be directed to the photo host not your site.

[Noxvayl]

I apologise if this makes things worse but I'll have a go at giving you some advice...

When you say you are searching for a domain, do you mean someone to host that domain or are you also looking for domain name registration?

After you've clarified that you have a huge amount of things you can get caught up in: bandwidth, features, site capacity, tools, service etc.

My focus has always been on service, how well the hosts respond to you and what times they are likely to be working. To find this out I send everyone I'm interested in a message, ask them a number of questions to find out what tools I can effectively use and how much assistance they will give me. Make sure these messages go out during peak times(5-8pm) so you can get as accurate an idea of the response times you can expect as possible, when you reply to them be sure to use obscure ours to test where their limits are. I like to know if I can expect a response at 2am or just leave it until later.

Moving on I find features are more important than bandwidth, you can always ask for more bandwidth but you can't expect to receive more features if you ask. So something with the features you need is paramount.

Next on my list would be how many sub domains you can have, linked to features but important enough to mention alone. You might not need them now but you never know how many you might want to use in the future. I ended up using 5 at one point, back down to one now but it's great to have that option.

After that it's at your discretion. I didn't pay much attention to other things so have no advice to give for them.

Having said that these are the sites I use for my domain name and webhosting:
Real-Hosts - Still using them now, recommended.
123reg - Got my domain name registered with them, they didn't offer webhosting when I first looked.

Here are some threads from Hexus on recommended webhosts:
http://forums.hexus.net/software-web...s-summary.html
http://forums.hexus.net/software-web...-web-host.html
http://forums.hexus.net/help-technic...-web-host.html

EDIT: Thanks to j1979 for the mention of server location, completely forgot about it.

[razer121]

wow thanks for that advice so far guys!

Well i believe i will be looking for a host then? basically the site needs to have it so people can click on the images to view a larger version. a price dropdown list and maybe a searchbar? searchbar not so much but a possible option.

So i know she wants to name the site herself, so what do i need to do to make sure she can do that? what is the difference between a domain and a host then? and more importantly which one do i need?

[peterb]

A domain name is a name you register with a domain name registrar - usually through an agent. There are lots about, just google domain names. I have used www.123-reg.co.uk and www.netscanuk.com. The domain name has to be included on a nameserver to be part of the DNS system, and the agent will usually host that for you.

Hosting is where you have your web site. You can self host if you have your own server - you then tell your agent your IP address and they set up the nameserver to point to your IP address. Your can have your site hosted anywhere, but the nameserver must point to it. The two agents I have mentioned also do hosting as well, and may offer commerce facilities. This will be at a cost, but relieves you of the hassle of maintaining a server and worrying about security and so on. Many ISPs offer domain registration and hosting facilities too.

[razer121]

So would i be better of just hosting on someone else's domain then? would i still be able to name the site?

[Splash]

your domain name is the bit that people type into their browser, however without hosting there is no content.


If you want to be able to have a name like www.mydomain.com then you need a domain, if you want a website to be there then you need hosting.

[this_is_gav]

You need both the domain name and the hosting.

In order to simplify things, it's probably best getting both from a single supplier (most hosting companies offer to register the domain name too), though you might pay a few quid per year more for the domain name.

Personally I use Dream Hosting to host our school's website, and I'm happy with them.

[razer121]

Thanks for the help so far im just looking into the dream hosting! cheers guys no doubt will be back if i need anymore information

[rob_in_notts]

I use CSNewMedia for my hosting. Maybe you could look at a Content Management System for the content or maybe something like Gallery if it just pictures

[freakyshadows]

I've always used 1and1 for my domain registration and hosting, never had any problems. I think they are marginally more expensive but you get what you pay for!

Theres also a lot of free hosts you could use who will place adverts on your site. So you could register a domain, .co.uk is not expensive, and use a free host?