domain names and hosting

hi all,

i'm relatively good with coding and back-end stuff, but i've sorta learnt it on a course where webspace is provided etc

i'm looking to secure my first domain name (for a personal blog) but i dont really know how to go about it. i know there are plenty of sites out there where you can buy a domain name. just wondered if anyone had advice on the best way to do it, or who to do it with.

secondly how do you go about getting someone to host it? i've had a little experience with people like awardspace.com but i just wanted to get some advice from people in the know.

cheers

I would go with godaddy.com for buying the domain. It will cost you about $8.00 per year. Most people use them, they are great! Their hosting plans are not that bad either. You can get a good hosting plan for $4.95 per month.

I prefer tigertech.net Free domain with hosting for $6.25 per month. Great tech support, great up time, plenty of bandwith and GB's.

fasthosts are pretty good

Godaddy I use for domains and Site5 is my host of choice.

I buy domains from my host ahosting.biz, he registers them on me, .com domain is $8.95 a year, I love to keep all my eggs in one basket.

How long are you with ahosting.biz? And how do you like their service?

If you want to know more about Ahosting.biz's activity, you may read about them here: www.vistainter.com/reviews/A/ahosting.biz/.

I use 1and1 uk for my domains and host with Dreamhost.

I use simply.com for domains but I have my own reseller hosting site now, which is with eUKHost.com, - I can't recommend eUKHost since I've only been with them for a short while, but I do recommend simply.com

I buy hosting and domains at vT16.com. Its a great host in my opinion. Perfect if you're just starting out.

Ahosting.biz? Who do they register domains on? Aren't you afraid of losing your domains if you decide to leave them?

Is that a joke?

I had to use a fasthosts server once with a file upload function in PHP, and they limited the max size to 2mb. Also the max execution time for a script is about 30 seconds, which is ok for most things, but not big files like video or large images that need to be processed in anyway.I asked them if we could increase this they said "no way". Also there was no .htaccess control. In the end I had to do the file upload part on my server, then redirect back to theirs.

I use godaddy for domains and site5 for hosting. Both good service (godaddy, kindof) and both great value. By the way I will take a minute to mention how amazing site 5's tech support is. I've had a few problems with failed transfers and problems with my FTP (both my fault, I forgot to unlock the domain before transfer and I lost my FTP password) and when I submitted a ticket they were answered literally withing minutes. I doubted at first but they're amazing.

Pete.

I double that pa007! Site5 are the best hosts ive ever been with! Super fast tech support and very helpful. Plus very cheap $5 deal!

WebForumz uses www.wesh.co.uk and we never have any problems that I'm aware off - never offline etc...

Yep, simply amazing.

Look into their SLA, usually if the domain isn't a freebie, it's registered under your name and not your host's , anyway, check ahosting.bix SLA.

I think that Namecheap.com or netfirms.com can be great solutions for domain name registration, especially if you have lots of domains you host with different companies.

Do you know that Namecheap.com has introduced hosting services as well? http://www.namecheap.com/learn/webho...rom=indexpromo
More and more domain registrars try to extend the range of services they offer. Don't you think it's better to stay focused on one thing and deliver one-niche service?

I think that it would be worth mentioning that because the original poster of this thread is from Scotland it would prob. be worth while him going for a UK host.

The reason I say this is its better for SEO and the latency (time from client to server) is reduced because the two are geographically closer. This usually leads to slightly faster/smoother browsing experience.

I think it would also be worth mentioning that if you are new to creating a website and getting it hosted the chances are that you will need some support to get started so its good to make sure that you are going to get good support.

I run a UK web hosting firm myself and would happily provide advice/trial of our services but as anyone recommending themselves is not going to be taken serouisly I would recommend fast2host.net which is who I used to host with a long time a go. I still have some web design clients who are with them and they are happy with the support they get.

Hope this helps.