Out Of My Mind – MadMike

Thoughts, Facts and Interesting Finds by Michael

Following up on the first post on How to a Web Presence on the Cheap, this post is for those people that have a domain name and are either wanting to upgrade from the Google Sites functionality or move to a different host (maybe for cheaper plan or due to stability issues with their current host).

About 6 years ago I was hosting on another web hosting service provider. He was cheap, but it turned out that he was also unreliable. My site would go down without warning, emails took days to be answered and eventually when he went on holiday and the server crashed, I had had enough.

It was then that I started looking for another web hosting provider, but someone that was established, offer good options and was reasonable in cost.  Doing a search can return thousands of hosts, and sifting thru them can take some time – especially when you read the horror customer service stories!  I eventually decided to give a company called WebHostingBuzz a try – for one year – and I decided that if it did not work out I would find another host.  That was 6 years ago…

They offer different hosting plans – Basic, Silver and Gold.  With each plan you also get a free domain name when you sign up (if you have not already signed up with Google Apps in the previous post).  The plans are basically the same except for the following differences:

Basic – $71.40 for 12 months – You get 400Gb Disk Space (Note 1), 10000Gb Traffic (Note 2),   Host 1x Domain (Note 3), No Backups (Note 4)

Silver (I use this) – $95.40 for 12 months – You get 750Gb Disk Space (Note 1), 15000Gb Traffic (Note 2),   Host Unlimited Domains (Note 3), Daily Backups (Note 4)

Gold – $131.40 for 12 months – You get Unlimited Disk Space (Note 1), Unlimited Traffic (Note 2),   Host Unlimited Domains (Note 3), Daily Backups (Note 4) and a Dedicated IP Address.

(* prices as at April 2011 – use the currency convertor widget  on the right to convert to your local currency)

Explaination Notes:

• Note 1: Disk Space – This is the space on the server where you can save all your files and photos that make up your website or blog
• Note 2: Traffic – Every visit to your site causes data to be transferred between the server and the person viewing the page. The more visitors the more traffic is generated.
• Note 3: Host Domains – Say you own 4 different businesses, you can then use one server to host all of them, instead of setting up an account for each of them
• Note 4: Backups – Machines crash, that is why it is a good idea that the host make backups of your site(s) should something bad happen.

What is great about having a “paid for host” for your site is that you have a greater level of control over your web presence. Want to FTP into your site – no problem. Want to host a friends website – no problem. Want to add an online store to your existing site – no problem. Want multiple blogs – no problem. Want 24 hours online competent support from a live person – no problem.

I can seriously recommend WebHostingBuzz due to the service that I have received from them.  In fact I have, and other websites I have setup for people are hosted by them.

If you are just starting off it is not neccesary to get a host immediately if you are using Google Sites.  But if you want more flexibility of your website or if you have outgrown Google Sites or considering changing hosts, give them a try.  Remember you can still host your email with Gmail and have your web presence elsewhere – like I am currently doing.

(PS: As a longtime customer of WebHostingBuzz the above post is based on my personal recommendation and for information sharing purposes only)

If you are an individual, think how cool it would be if you could have your own email address like “your_name@your_surname.com“.

If you are starting up a business (or currently have one), think how more professional it would look to have an email address like “your_name@company_name.com” than the current one of “company_name@service_provider_name.com”

If you don’t already have a web presence, chances are you have thought about it in the past. You may have been put off at the perception that it will cost a lot, and you need to be a professional web designer to have your own domain. Well I have a secret for you…it could cost you only $10 per year – and you don’t need to be a pro!  (Use the Currency Widget on the right to convert to your local currency)

Not many people know it, but you can use Google to host your email, letting you have the same functionality as your Gmail account but for your domain. They throw in the ability to create your own basic website via and easy clickable interface with lots of templates – Google Sites.  You can have a shared location to save/create/edit your company files in the cloud, so you can access it anywhere in the world – Google Docs. And for business even setup shared calendars between staff – Google Calendar.

But the best thing is that they will register a domain for you and set it all up for you in minutes! No mess, No fuss!

If you already own a domain Google can host the email for you also.

The magic URL is:

https://www.google.com/a/cpanel/domain/new

How do I know about this? Well about two years ago I was looking for an easy way to synchronize this domains emails with my cellphone as well as have a cool interface like the Gmail one. The host had the ability to check webmail using Horde, SquirrelMail or RoundCube – but is was just not the same for me.  I did a search for Gmail hosting email and about 10 clicks later discovered the magic URL above. 10 Minutes later I had my email setup for Gmail, and about 30 minutes later on my host to redirect all my emails to Gmail.  I have never looked back.

Recently while visiting a friend of mine in East London, we got on the topic of websites, and she asked how easy was it to setup her own website and blog.  I told her about the Google offering and when I got back home I sent her the magic url.  She was up and running in no time with her new website and has just started her own blog – no mess, no fuss!  Check out her blog at http://www.simplybwell.com

In part 2 of this post I will explain how to move to a more advanced web site offering and you will be amazed at how affordable it is!

(PS: I am in no way affiliated to Google, but just like to show people how to save a few $$$)