NetFlint Website Services» starting

Is It Okay to Use a Free Domain Name?

Sparky — Sun, 17 May 2009 15:54:02 +0000

A lot of web hosting providers offer free domain names as a lure to draw in customers. This can be an enticing proposition to the novice website owner. There are some circumstances where this kind of arrangement may be worthwhile. However, before you leap at such a deal, consider the pros and cons of a “free” domain name. As with anything, you get what you pay for.

Why would a host offer a free domain name?

Let’s cut to the chase. The reason web hosting companies offer free domain names is to make it very difficult for their customers to switch to a new hosting company later. For about $10 a year in savings, the customer gives up control of their domain name and the flexibility to switch hosts if problems arise. By locking in the customer, the hosting company is guaranteeing a recurring monthly payment that nets them much more than that $10 a year they are giving away.

Are there any benefits to a free domain name?

For some people, loss of control and flexibility is worth a savings of 83 cents a month. If you are running a personal site or a site with a temporary lifespan, that kind of savings may be appealing.

Another benefit often touted with free domain names is the “ease of setup”. With the host controlling the domain, they are the ones responsible for making sure it is pointed to the right place. Of course they don’t tell you how simple this configuration really is. Don’t let fear drive you to give up the control you need.

What are the cons of a free domain name?

The biggest problem with getting a free domain name with your hosting contract is that generally the name is registered under the name of the hosting company. When you consider how much time and money you may invest in this name, you really want to make sure there is no doubt it is actually owned by you. Most hosting companies are sincere and honorable, they will live up to their vendor client relationships. But what if something goes wrong? What if there is a disagreement? What if they succumb to the current economy? If something should happen, or you simply find a better hosting deal, do you want there to be any questions about ownership of the domain name?

The next major problem with the hosting company controlling the domain name is that it is harder to make changes when necessary. Most hosts provide simple tools to do basic things, but will require a support request for anything else. This takes away the flexibility you get when you register your own domain name.

Many hosts will transfer your “free” domain to you on demand, but then you must pay for the transfer and renewal. Now it is no longer free. Given the time and trouble required to make the change, it seems better to start out the right way. Every hosting company is different so it is important to check out the fine print of their offers and freebies.

Should we avoid hosts that offer free domain names?

No. It is not necessary to avoid them. Many offer great deals. Just understand what you are getting into. Use the “free” domain as a secret or throwaway domain, and register your “real” domain name that represents your identity, brand, marketplace, idea, product, or organization under your own name. Only develop the domains that belong to you.

Better yet, use NetFlint Website Services. We offer a hybrid approach. We give you fantastic prices if you use us to register your domain names. This gives you control over all of your domain names, but we don’t require that you use us for hosting. Use anyone you like for hosting, we’ll even recommend some of our competitors.

However, if you do use us for hosting, you can get your domain name for as little as $1.99 for the first year. The domain is registered under your name, giving you complete control and flexibility, but you still get ease of configuration because it is automatically pointed to your hosting plan and website. If you choose to change hosting plans later, you have the flexibility you need to do that and there is no question about ownership.

13 Reasons New Bloggers Should Start with Their Own Domain and Hosting

Sparky — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:18:22 +0000

If you are considering starting a blog or a website, you should buy a domain name and hosting package before you begin. Like most bloggers, I learned this lesson the hard way. I started an experimental blog on Blogspot.com to “test the blogging waters”. It didn’t take long before I started getting visitors and I discovered the limitations of using someone else’s resources. I knew I needed my own domain and hosting but kept putting it off because of the uncertainty and inconvenience of moving. This hesitation simply delayed the inevitable and just made the problem worse. After 9 months of lollygagging, I finally got my blog moved and though it was inconvenient the payoff was worth it. In the years since, I have started several new blogs the right way and seen much success. I only wish I had seen this list before I started the first one.

13 Reasons to Buy Your Own Domain Name and Hosting Before You Start Your First Blog

1. It’s Cheap - Most people use free blogging platforms because, well… they’re free. However you can get a domain name for less than 10 bucks for a year and a good starter hosting package that automatically installs everything you need for less than 5 bucks a month. If you quit after a month you’re out less than $15. If you succeed, you’ll find that free costs more than you think.

2. It’s Motivational - When you put money on the line, it is like saying you plan to succeed. You are far less likely to quit after a month because you believe you have a good shot at success and have built the foundation to profit from your efforts.

3. It’s Easy – Web Hosts have gotten the process of setting up WordPress (and other open source website scripts) down to an art. It literally takes a couple of clicks and you have a fully working website. Security and feature updates are just as easy.

4. Image – Owning your own unique domain name carries a certain prestige, professionalism, and respect. It says you’re serious (even if your website is not). Many/most free blogs are spammy at best. Do you really want to be associated with them?

5. Ownership – Hosting your own blog gives you ownership of your success, your brand, your content, and your files. When people link to something you wrote they are linking to your domain. The more you create, the more you create value for yourself.

6. Brand Identity – With your own domain name you are building brand value and identity for yourself or your organization not Blogger or WordPress. Do not underestimate the tangible and intangible value of a good brand.

7. Earn More Money – When you own your own domain and website you have more opportunity to earn more money. Some free hosted platforms (like WordPress.com) don’t allow commercial use. Other platforms put their advertising on your blog. And finally there are more money earning programs (advertising and affiliate) available for people with their own domain and host.

8. Freedom of Design– Many free hosting platforms provide limited design choices. On your own host you have unlimited possibilities.

9. Power – Free hosted blogs limit what you can do. They choose the features. They choose the plugins. They block access to functionality according to their whims. You are left with generic wimpy features and can’t be distinguished from anyone else.

10. Flexibility – Do you want to add your unique plugins, special scripts, or a forum? Do you want to add additional pages or sub-domains? Do you want to switch to a whole new platform but keep the same address? You can’t do that on a hosted platform.

11. Control – Hosting your site and owning your domain gives you more control over your identity and your files. One invaluable aspect of this is the ability to backup your files. With free hosts you simply have to trust some stranger to do the right thing. With paid hosting you are buying a certain amount of support and accountability.

12. Value – Websites have value. When your blog or website becomes popular, you want to own that value. You can’t sell a Blogger or WordPress.com hosted blog. Popular self hosted, uniquely identifiable blogs and websites have been known to sell for nice sums.

13. Moving After You’re Successful Is Not Fun – Moving a blog from a free host is not impossible. It is inconvenient, can be tricky, and may be time consuming. But there are many people that have done it in the past and there are many resources to help you. However, you will take several frustrating steps backwards in terms of links, popularity, and audience when you decide to move. The moment you realize you want to get your own domain and host your own blog, take action. Don’t procrastinate. Or better yet, plan for your success and start off right.

What is Website Hosting?

Sparky — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:46:37 +0000

Website hosting is the service that gives your website a safe place to live and be seen (and sometimes heard). More specifically it is when a computer is configured to store the data and files that make up a website and allows them to be downloaded over a network when requested. Computers configured for web hosting are called web servers. If you want your website to appear on the internet you must host it on server that is accessible to the internet.

What do I need to know about web hosting?

Configuring a computer to host a website can be very complicated. The operating system, services, applications, and scripts must all be set up properly. The server must be kept up to date and secure from viruses and hackers. Everything must be tuned to maintain excellent performance and reliability and the hardware and software must be monitored so you know when to fix anything that goes wrong. Fortunately there are many people out there that are experts at this and will do all this work for you. They work hard to make it very easy for you.

These days it isn’t too hard to get feature rich, reliable web hosting for very little money. Most services have wizards, automated setup scripts, and tutorials that make the chore of setting up a web server simple. In addition, most web hosting companies provide entry level plans that let you try them out and then upgrade to beefier plans as the need arises.

The bottom line is that you don’t need to know the nitty gritty details of configuring and supporting your server. You simply need to understand what you are paying for and how to use it effectively.

What do I get when I purchase web hosting services?

When you buy web hosting services, you are paying for space on a web server, the bandwidth your audience uses to download content, and the services, scripts, and other features available on that server. You are also paying for the support, maintenance, and reliability of that server. Some hosting plans allow you to host a single website. Some plans allow you to host a bunch of websites that share the allotted resources. Web hosting can be as simple as a small bit of storage space for static HTML web pages accessible on the internet. It can be as complicated as fault tolerant, fully redundant, enterprise class systems that host dynamic e-commerce enabled pages powered by massive databases.

Most entry level plans will include space for your website, a certain amount of monthly bandwidth your audience uses to download your website, a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) service so you can upload the files that make up your website, a number of email accounts, access to a database server, statistics programs, basic security, support for a number of programing and scripting languages, and scripts that let you build dynamic web content easily.

How do I get web hosting?

NetFlint offers fantastic website hosting deals. Start off with one of our shared hosting plans. We have a plan that lets you run a single website for less than $4 a month. Do you want to run a bunch of websites on the same account? Get a deluxe or unlimited hosting plan. When you you outgrow shared hosting, we have virtual and dedicated server plans that can handle the most popular websites.

Feel free to check out the competition’s prices and services. Here are some popular choices:

NetFlint Website Services
Yahoo! Web Hosting
iPower.com
ServerPronto.com
Bluehost.com
Host Gator Dedicated Server