Hi everyone. Can anyone suggest a place for purchasing/registering a domain name? I'm a complete dummy when it comes to the technical web building items. If I purchase a name can I then choose somewhere else to host my site or are they tied together? I've seen GoDaddy and mydomain, are those reliable sources?
Thanks Guy and Michael, appreciate the responses. Can you share what service they typically provide other than providing the onramp to the superhighway?
Either of those 2 companies you list would do an excellent job. GoDaddy is one of the cheapest that I have found on the net, and yes you can buy a domain name from one place, and have another host it. I recently made a website for my business and purchased the domain name, the hosting , and bought the software to create the site from the same company, Webstudio 4 / IHost just to make things easier even though the hosting fee per month is alittle higher than other places. I pay $ 7.50 a month for their hosting services once I signed up for a year. It is $ 9.95 a month with no monthly commitments. Very helpful staff via emails or phonecalls. You might check them out!
"Reply posted by Darren Kilgore on 05/09/07 at 6:58 pm EST
Do not use the same outfit for hosting and the domain. Go through separate vendors for each."
Why, Darren?
Posted by Ken Atkinson on May 10, 2007 at 11:54 AM
I had a site once that I used for a small business. I registered the domain name with register.com and had another company host the site.
Maybe someone can answer a question that I have. If I live in Maryland and want to register a car, I do it with the Maryland DMV that controls all such things in the state of Maryland. How do different companies have the power/authority to register names on the net, and what control do they actually have over your name?
As I understand it, ICANN (International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)licenses authority to domain name purveyors. In the beginning, this authority was given only to NSI (Network Solutions Inc, now owned by VeriSign). Then, various companies complained that NSI was monopolizing the selling of domain names, so ICANN allowed many comapnies to sell them.
Also, as I understand it, the only authority the issuer has over your doman name is that they can resell it if you either abondon the name, or don't renew it.
It definitely pays to register your domain with a reputable registrar and to have your site(s) hosted by a reputable and stable company. NSI and Web.com (used to be Interland/HostPro) have been very good to me. They are a bit more expensive than other vendors, but it's been worth it in terms of being able spend time/money on things other than web induced Excedrin headaches.
I've been really happy with Lunarpages.com. Beaucoup web space that I will never use up, reasonable rates, never been down in 2 years, growing company (not dying). My account includes numerous services that I don't even understand (being a Frontpage user), such as hosting various scripts, etc.
I purchase all my domain names from GoDaddy. I haven't had any problems with them. Right now I own about 20 different site names all registered through them. I have them all renew on the same date for simplicity's sake.
I host my site through a different ISP. You don't have to host your site where you purchase your domain name. Domain name registration and web site hosting are separate things.
What's important though is to purchase and register your domain name under your own name, that is do this yourself not have someone else do it. I have met several people who had their web designer purchase and register their website name for them, and who as a result lost the domain name when they stopped working with the website designer. What frequently happens in that case is that the website designer keeps the domain name because it was registered in their name...
I use foliosnap.com...they will give you a free website name under them or you can purchase a domain through a parent company. It's very user friendly, especially for those of us that don't have web building skills...but it doesn't limit those who know some HTML or want to download logos.
I've been happy with Dotster for my domain names. Used them for years, with no problems.
I use Lunarpages for my hosting and have been pretty happy with them, also. I second Darren's recommendation to use separate companies for domain name registration and site hosting. Too many potential headaches if you have them through the same company.
Discussion
17 repliesHelp!
Guy
Either of those 2 companies you list would do an excellent job. GoDaddy is one of the cheapest that I have found on the net, and yes you can buy a domain name from one place, and have another host it. I recently made a website for my business and purchased the domain name, the hosting , and bought the software to create the site from the same company, Webstudio 4 / IHost just to make things easier even though the hosting fee per month is alittle higher than other places. I pay $ 7.50 a month for their hosting services once I signed up for a year. It is $ 9.95 a month with no monthly commitments. Very helpful staff via emails or phonecalls. You might check them out!
Do not use the same outfit for hosting and the domain. Go through separate vendors for each."
Why, Darren?
Maybe someone can answer a question that I have. If I live in Maryland and want to register a car, I do it with the Maryland DMV that controls all such things in the state of Maryland. How do different companies have the power/authority to register names on the net, and what control do they actually have over your name?
Thanks for your info.
Ken
As I understand it, ICANN (International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)licenses authority to domain name purveyors. In the beginning, this authority was given only to NSI (Network Solutions Inc, now owned by VeriSign). Then, various companies complained that NSI was monopolizing the selling of domain names, so ICANN allowed many comapnies to sell them.
Also, as I understand it, the only authority the issuer has over your doman name is that they can resell it if you either abondon the name, or don't renew it.
It definitely pays to register your domain with a reputable registrar and to have your site(s) hosted by a reputable and stable company. NSI and Web.com (used to be Interland/HostPro) have been very good to me. They are a bit more expensive than other vendors, but it's been worth it in terms of being able spend time/money on things other than web induced Excedrin headaches.
-PB
I host my site through a different ISP. You don't have to host your site where you purchase your domain name. Domain name registration and web site hosting are separate things.
What's important though is to purchase and register your domain name under your own name, that is do this yourself not have someone else do it. I have met several people who had their web designer purchase and register their website name for them, and who as a result lost the domain name when they stopped working with the website designer. What frequently happens in that case is that the website designer keeps the domain name because it was registered in their name...
I use foliosnap.com...they will give you a free website name under them or you can purchase a domain through a parent company. It's very user friendly, especially for those of us that don't have web building skills...but it doesn't limit those who know some HTML or want to download logos.
www.geolightphoto.com
Cynthia Spence
I use Lunarpages for my hosting and have been pretty happy with them, also. I second Darren's recommendation to use separate companies for domain name registration and site hosting. Too many potential headaches if you have them through the same company.