Rule number one: Don't buy your domain and hosting from the same company.
This is the first and foremost advice I would like to give for those
who are starting their website. Because in the course of your website's
life you will be changing your web hosting at least 2-3 times for
variety of reasons and that is if you are lucky to find soon enough
that delivers excellent service. Otherwise you might change several
hosts in one year only. Some of the issues you might face with the your
hosting in the future are:
- Service not good, it takes weeks for them to reply you.
- Not enough bandwidth, your website got popular.
- It's too expensive, your budget is not enough.
- It's too slow, your clients and friends are frustrated by your website's loading.
- ...etc
When you face these kind problems you will start to look for another hosting, since your domain name is also registered with them, switching to another hosting will be a painful process. To minimize these kind of problems it is important to keep separate accounts. You need to keep separate account (that is separate service provider) for your domain name and separate account (again separate service provider) for your hosting. So when you want to change your hosting, it will be a lot easier to redirect your domain name to a new hosting. You will just have to log into your account, change the DNS (Domain Name Settings) and within 24 to 48 hours your new website will be accessable. It will save you time and possibly money, because usually when you transfer your domain name to another company they will charge you transfer fees.
So if you have a separate account for your domain name, you will have a peace of mind. Also you will not be afraid to change your hosting anytime you want.
| It's important to keep separate accounts for your hosting and domain name. It will save you time and money. |
Rule number two: Check company background.
When you are looking for a hosting company it is important that you
make a little research on the company background and on the reliability
of their service. You should not right away believe whatever they claim
to be on their website, rather read what independent sources have to
say about them. Websites like Netcraft.net monitors major web hosting companies' performances. For example they publish every month List of Most Reliable Hosting Providers.
So if the company that you want to host your website is not mentioned
in this list then you might want to make a little more research.
Because you don't want to change your hosting again after one month of
unsuccessful hosting.
| If you don't find your host in this list of 50 leading hosting providers' sites then make a little more research on the company. |
Sites: Recommended sites for web hosting and domain registration.
Here are the sites that you might want to consider for your hosting and domain name registration.
Web Hosting:
Pair.com - One of the best hosting providers online. Very reliable.
Ipowerweb.com - Relatively new company compared to Pair.com. However it has been one of the most reliable hosting companies since 2003.
Rackspace.com - Excellent customer service. Zero Downtime Network.
Powweb.com - Reliable service. Offers Zero Downtime Hosting platform technology.
Land1.com - Reliable service. Offers very competitive pricing.
Domain Registration:
GoDaddy.com - Offers variety of domain name related services for a very competitive price.
Networksolutions.com - A lot more expensive than GoDaddy.com, but you will have the peace of mind.
Register.com - Another more expensive service provider. But they are the specialists in this field.
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