Choosing a WebHost
After you have chosen a blogging program, the next step is to choose who to host the blog. There are plenty of options out there, it is just a matter of finding what suits. I had a few criteria
- One click install of WordPress (plenty do, so there was no point making it harder for myself)
- Able to handle multiple domains
- Unlimited space and bandwidth
- Able to handle multiple email domains, addresses and accounts
- Provided domain registration (at a price I could locate before I sign up)
- Price
I was also looking at trying to make the both the web and email hosting services upgradable- it wasn’t a big deal because it all seems pretty transportable, but if one looks like it has better, or better priced higher level features I’d take that into account. My host doesn’t seem to offer Exchange email hosting, which I could end up deciding I want, but I don’t at the moment so it wasn’t a big deal.
I’m not convinced that unlimited space and bandwidth really is that- there are always exceptions (mine says that I’ll be cut off if I use moire than 10% of the server’s CPU or memory. I have no idea what that means in a practical sense, but I can always revisit it if this site somehow gets busy. In the meantime they all seem to day they will handle a sudden spike of traffic if you site gets referenced somewhere else, and I can only believe them.
Price can make quite a difference. I have ended up paying $2.95 per month, plus any additional domain will cost me $15 (when I work out what I want my personal mail to be, or maybe if I want a personal one for photos etc (although Facebook is perfectly good for that). I paid $70.80 for 2 years and now don’t really have to think about it. a a couple of dollars per month adds up that way.
Before you sign up make sure you leave the site- a lot of them with throw discounts at you as you leave the site. Mine was quoted at $4.95 (a special, normally 6.95 per month, they claim). When I left the site a window popped up offering me a discount to $3.95. I got halfway through the sign-up and left again for some reason, and they offered me $2.95.
When you do sign up, use a hotmail or other email address separate from the domain the is hosted by the provider you are signing up for. If you forget a password, or there are service issues, you will ne a contact address you can get to without being dependant on the provider.
They all seem to be pretty much the same, especially for my needs. There are plenty of comparison sites out there, so use a couple of them to see what is available. But make sure you don’t get too hung up on features you won’t actually use. I really don’t think this is the the biggest decision to make when you are getting set up.