Blog BWP Under The Hood

Buying Hosting For Your Blog

July 8, 2014

Blog With Pip

What’s a web host? Maybe you already know? That’s right. A web host is a company that provides you with space on their servers to store all the data associated with your blog or website. It’s important to choose a good host, because you want to be sure that your blog is always available to your readers, that you can easily get technical support and that you have the option to upgrade (or downgrade) if you need to.

You can have your web hosting with one company and your domain name with another, but it’s much neater to use the same company for both. This means that you need to choose the best hosting package first and then buy your domain when you buy your hosting (you can do it as a package deal!)

People don’t tend to talk about hosting unless you ask. So ask. I asked my friends on Facebook today who they used and here’s what they said:

Green Geeks!  I have never not been able to get someone on their chat thing to help me out with something. And it’s wind powered!

I use Go Daddy. Since 2009 I have hosted my WordPress blog with them. I have never had my site down that im aware if. I find the back end ok to navigate but in the early days I had to get them to walk me through lots of stuff on the phone cause I’m technically challenged! I found occasionally they didn’t know the answer to a question but they would stick with it. One guy spent 45 mins with md till we worried it all out! They have a Sydney number that is till free and people answer support calls 24 hours a day. I really like that!

I have used jiffynet pip. they have hosted my domains for over 7 years, plus you can host another ten domains too, always quick support and really cheap – I think around $56 per year

I’m with Dreamhost.com We have had a good run with them. I haven’t experienced any issues with them. Touch wood!

Squarespace. Excellent. Aust Domains. Excellent.

 For hosting I use BlueHost, no issues, fantastic price and good customer service.

My domain and hosting is with DreamHost. I’ve been with them since 2009 and a part from a few hiccups (that any host could have) I’ve been pretty happy with them.

Netlogistics – they are super helpful! Very quick to respond to any issues which was such a relief at the time. We inherited our website and we were happy with their service so we kept them. I’ve also used SmartyHost, who I think are now called something else. They were not so great.

I’m with VentraIP. They’ve been fantastic for me, they are the best host I’ve had to date, eclipsing both of my previous webhosts. I do have the odd down time but they respond very quickly and help me with any problem I have.

I’m with Little Hero Hosting – fantastic service!

Panthur are the current OZ flavour of the month for cust service & up time

 

I would encourage you to ask around and get some advice. See who your friends are using. Ask businesses about their experiences. Put the word out on Twitter and see what comes back.

I have used Melbourne IT (good), Crazy Domains (not so good) and Hostgator (so far so good) for my various sites. I think one person’s experience is not always anothers, so it’s quite a good idea to search on Twitter for feedback – think #hostgator #crazydomains #dreamhost … that kinda thing. You’ll usually get an idea of people’s experiences and how the host responds.

Things to consider when choosing a web host:

Cheapest is not always best – reliability and support are equally important
Customer service  –  ask friends, research on social media and look for complaints about your proposed host.
Location – Find out if they have local customer service or if they outsource, if you can. Sometimes outsourced support is less supportive.
Ease of Use – does your web host have CPanel or similar for you to access? Or some other crazy and difficult to navigate system? Ease of use is important so check out how easy it will be for you to get under the hood, if need be.
Troubleshooting – does your host seem to have lots of support info on their site? FAQs or tutorials? It’s good if they do.
Flexibility – are their options to upgrade or downgrade your package if you site grows (or shrinks!)
Payment terms – most hosts quote you a monthly figure and then charge you for the year all at once. Some will bill you monthly (like Hostgator) – find a plan that works for you.

Want to know about domain names? Find that info here.

 

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