Website help

Thanks for the help (again) !

Hi Jack,

There are two parts to buying a website. First, you need to register a domain name (www.islandofd.com, for example). The price varies, depending on the length of time you want to protect the name. If I recall, you can reserve a domain for something like 10 years for $200, with less money getting you less time.

There are a number of companies that provide domain name registration services. Google "domain name registration" and you should get plenty of hits. One of the choices will be VeriSign. I don't recommend them. Their customer service is astonishingly bad and I suspect they may run a bit of a "confidence game" to try and encourage you to renew multiple names. I can explain why I think that, if you're interested.

Second, you'll want to purchase a web hosting package. This will include storage on remote servers where you'll put your data and tools that help you build your site. There will be a bandwidth limit which varies with the amount you pay and the people from whom you buy the service. I wouldn't worry too much about it, though. Unless your games sell insanely well or have unbelievably huge files, you shouldn't have bandwidth problems.

You'll want to research "web hosting" via google. I highly recommend Supple Host (www.supplehost.com). Their cost is low and their customer service is outstanding. However, the tools they provide are fairly "no frills", so if you're a novice web designer, they might not be the right choice.

I hope this has been helpful. Good luck with your site!

K.

You can pay far less than that for domain registration at www.godaddy.com - and they are widely regarded as the best, from everyone I've talked to. NOBODY likes Verisign/Network Solutions, and they are really the only ones who charge the big price, too, so it's win win. Godaddy is about $8 a year, less if you buy a lot of years.

Before buying a web hosting package, I recommend visiting here: http://www.webhostingtalk.com/ - there's tons of talk about every provider out there, and you'll get good info on what's decent. It is focused more on the big guys, though - dedicated servers and that kind of thing. But I think you can probably find anybody there.

Make sure you pay attention to two things on a web host: how much storage they offer (since it needs to be enough to hold all the files you ever plan to have!), and very importantly, how much bandwidth they offer. If a place talks about unlimited bandwidth, run away. They are not the place for you! What "unlimited bandwidth" means is that, as long as you're not using a lot, you're fine. As soon as you use more than some amount that they are keeping secret, they will cancel your account immediately. So stick to a package that specifies a certain amount of bandwidth. It's always measured per month. You can probably find out through geocities what your current limit is that you keep breaking, and extrapolate that out into a month, then double it to see what you should have. Or more than double, if you're feeling optimistic! Probably 20-50GB will be more than enough, I'm guessing.

Just remember, when you pick storage and bandwidth, pick what you think you won't go over for a long time - overage charges are always very expensive.

PC Gamer had an ad a while back for "1&1" hosting (www.1and1.com) I have heard nothing about them, but they offer 1 GB of storage, 25GB/Month bandwidth and one domain name for 4.99 a month.

I haven't used it, but I'd like to hear from anyone who has, and it is a dirt-cheap option.

If your looking for website designers I recommend
www.pepfx.com

I looked for designers for months to find a good one (Pepfx)

There are a lot out there that are really no good at all for the money they charge and even some just con you.

Pep fx made my websites
www.timegeezer.com and
www.ringtoneswapperz.com
Regards
BGG

I've had several domains registered with godaddy for a few years and I've never had any problems with them. I've heard a number of horror stories, but they're one of the largest registrars out there, so there's bound to be problems with some customers.

The current price at godaddy is $9.20 for a .com. There are a few places as cheap as $6.50, but I don't know anything about them. The bulk wholesale price the registrars pay to the central registry is $6.25 per .com.

All web hosts will offer to register a domain for you and many will offer "free" or discounted registrations. I strongly recommend you not use one of these offers unless you really know and trust the host. If you run into problems with the host, there's a good chance they'll hold your domain hostage. If you register the domain on your own through a separate registrar, it just takes a few minutes to point it to a new host if there's any problems.

I know a couple of hosts I deal with that I could recommend if you're interested. You're looking at around $5/month for a basic plan that should be far more than you need. Just keep in mind that about 95% of "hosting companies" are kids reselling server space in their spare time, so be very careful in picking a host.

I'm sure there are, but I've only ever dealt with Paypal, so I can speak for any others.

This is likely because they don't have any bank affiliates in that country. I would suggest that you *don't* fake your way in then -- they'll likely not be able to pay you ... instead, you may want to send an e-mail to their support group and ask what someone from your country should do.

-Byrk