I think I've heard good things about them ?? Or it seems too good to be true? 7.95 for domain and free hosting w/ads or minimally more for no ads.
I have a host and usually register through network solutions... and am quite happy with both. (not that I know much about it... it just works)
Right now I just want to set up a simple info/events/updates page for a 2 yr old with cancer (don't need wiz-bang hosting or to secure the name for years ... hopefully) I hate to feel cheap about it ... and am willing to pay to not have a "free" (ad filled) site but don't need much.
is godaddy decent enough?
Posted by DianeBalch (Member # 1301) on :
Mark,
I don't know much about godaddy. Our site and domain are from Melborne IT. The total cost is $35 per year, less if you prepay.
Hi Mark, I have an account with them! A couple days after I got my Domain name, I recieved a phone call from them to ask if I had any troubles or questions with their service! I was shocked! I finally decided to get a web site for the Charitable Organization I have formed. May I suggest getting the ".org." instead of the .com! It sounds more professional. I always thought it was for an organization only. I got the 5 year domain and it cost $32.00! So far I am very pleased with their follow up and product!
I have many domain names registered through them but I don't host with them because I found a cheaper place. They are a top notch deal as far as I'm concerned. You do have to watch what you are checking though because they have a lot of tricky extras they try to add on.
Posted by Checkers (Member # 63) on :
Hiya Mark, Following the suggestions of others here, I did sign up with them to host my websites. Their prices are reasonable and their service works. Tony is right, they call you after you sign up to see if you have any questions or problems with your new account. I signed up for the economy plan. I'm not disappointed with their service and I would recommend them, but you do get what you pay for. If you do sign up with them, look around for discount codes. They are alway running specials and you should be able to at least find a 10% discount code. Another hosting company that I learned about last night is www.1and1.com. Supposedly, this is the company that web geeks use when they are not at work. The class instructor from last night highly recommended them.
Havin' fun,
Checkers
Posted by Checkers (Member # 63) on :
Oh, I forgot to add a link to my $3.95 per month website... www.oxford-court.com It's hosted on my main site, www.CheckersCustom.com and the actuall URL is www.CheckersCustom.com/oxfordcourt If you click on the forums link on my site, you can see that I can be interactive too. Free blogs and bulletin boards are included with the service, but I turned most of them off in fear that they may suck bandwidth. One last thing you have to be careful with is bandwidth. If you plan on doing a lot of photo and/or file swapping, Godaddy will charge you extra for the traffic.
Checkers
Posted by Barry Branscum (Member # 445) on :
Godaddy.com gave me my secure site certificate....and the follow ups have been really good from them.
Posted by Ricky Jackson (Member # 5082) on :
Maybe it's just me but I found their website to be thoroughly confusing and hard to navigate. Even if you have bought a bunch of extra services you still are not sure cause they keep pitching it to you like you need it but don't have it. It took me a long time to get around in the site because of all the crass advertising to buy more services.
Posted by Graham Parsons (Member # 1129) on :
Ricky is right - the advertising does get in the way a bit on their website. However, I have probably a dozen domains with them with no problems whatsover, the price can't be beat, plus Uncle Bob (Parsons) runs the place... (Not really, but I like to tell people)
Posted by Michael Clanton (Member # 2419) on :
I use www.edatarack.com for hosting ($2.95/mo.)and www.web.com ($7.95) for domains. Great service, no problems. The only experience I have had with GoDaddy was a domain transfer that took way to long to complete- but that could have been some issues with the client as well.
Posted by Mark M. Kottwitz (Member # 1764) on :
I have never used godaddy.com, so this question may be out in left field...
If I pay the $3 to register my site, is it registered to me, or them? In several books that I am reading on web design (to expand my mind), they warn that when some companys register a name, they do it for their company, and hold the name "hostage".
Something to watch out for.
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
I used them several times. They even have a "website tonight" feature where you can buy the domain, the hosting, & then build a site 'tonight" from a choice of templates... not something Mark would need... or any sign professional would want for a commercial site... but I got one for my 8 year old grandaughter & she can update it herself.
I don't think they do the "hostage" thing, but i didn't look into it that well either since i was not too concerned with the domains I have with them. They are really accessible for tech support when you have questions.I find that extremely convenient. They don't have an 800 number, & there is some hold times, but nothing unreasonable, & the accessability of their staff by phone somewhat offsets to confusion of their website.
Posted by Mark Matyjakowski (Member # 294) on :
Thank you for the info! I knew I heard good things. I will be registering through them and will be taking up an offer from Brian "the brush" to host it on his dedicated server. Thanks
Posted by Mark M. Kottwitz (Member # 1764) on :
When I typed my response in, I didn't have time to go into too much detail, but here is more on what I am saying. This is cut and pasted from my online course in web design that I am taking:
"A domain name is the most important part of the URL people will use to access your Web site.
The more memorable your domain name, the more likely people will be to remember and find your Web site.
In the past, registering your own domain name was not an easy task. An organization known as InterNIC was previously in charge of all domain name registrations. Unfortunately, InterNIC was plagued with high volumes and a small staff that was not capable of keeping up with demand.
Because of this, access to a web server was required before one could register a domain name. In addition, knowledge of technical server information was required by the registrant in order for the registration process to occur. A $35 per year fee was charged for each and every domain name registration.
InterNIC quickly realized that they wouldn't be able to keep up with requests for domain names, so they turned the responsibility of domain name registration over to a private company called Network Solutions. The result: Network Solutions became the first domain name registrar. Because no other registrars were in existence, Network Solutions promised to keep their charges consistent with previous InterNIC charges. An organization known as 'The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' (ICANN) was then formed to slowly bring other domain name registrars into existence in order to promote competition in the marketplace.
Network Solutions still handles the lion's share of domain name registrations. However, dozens of other official ICANN registrars can be used to register domain names. Each registrar is free to set its own fees for domain name registration, so you'll want to do some comparison shopping before registering your domain name.
*Note - There are many companies on the web that act as registrars but are not ICANN approved. Some of these companies offer reduced rates, but secretly register domain names to themselves, rather than to you. Because of this, I highly recommend that you only register domain names with official ICANN registrars.
To see if a domain name is available, you'll want to go to the InterNIC website, at:
Click in the text box below the words Registry WHOIS, and type your desired domain name, using all lowercase letters, numbers, and/or hyphens.
Spaces and other punctuation marks are not allowed. Also, if your web enterprise is commercial in nature, the domain name must end with '.com' or '.net'. If you are building a web site for a non-profit organization, the domain name should end with '.org'. Here are some examples:
aceplumbing.com webplumber.net usplumbers.org
When you finish typing your domain name, click the Submit button.
Another page will appear. Read down the page and see if you get a message that says No match for domain, then the domain name you asked for is available.
If you see information about a registrar and expiration dates, then the domain name has been registered by someone else and is not available to you at this time.
Once you determine which domain name you'd like to register, you'll want to choose a registrar to go with. You can view a list of official ICANN domain name registrars at:
They givev you 2 gig of space & a free domain for $8.95 per month.
Also get many email accounts & free shared security certificate.
More important - they have top notch customer service. I clicked on a tech support chat button at 11:30 pm on a Sunday & within minutes, someone answered my question & I was on my way.
Mike
Posted by Paul Bierce (Member # 5412) on :
quote:Originally posted by DianeBalch: Mark,
I don't know much about godaddy. Our site and domain are from Melborne IT. The total cost is $35 per year, less if you prepay.
I had terrible problems with Melborne IT. I accidentally lost my domain credentials and they made absolutely no effort to help me recover them. It didn't help that they were literally half way around the world.
Eventually the domain lapsed and a cyber squater purchased it and offered to sell it back to me.
Gee thanks Melbourne IT Posted by Dave Utter (Member # 634) on :
OK, the Bob Parsons link at the top of the GoDaddy site is just a coincidence! hahahaha! that's too funny!
Posted by Mike O'Neill (Member # 470) on :
If you have a good stable internet connection, hosting your own domain isn't that big a deal. My web server sits next to my file server.
Web server softwares aren't expensive, the most popular, Apache, is open source software and is free. You don't have to learn linux, there is a windows version available.
Mail server softwares are also readily available, it's nice to have a mail domain and be able to assign mail addresses to each employee as well as give generic addresses to each department. (ie. Sales@ copyshop.ca, printing@ copyshop.ca, admin@ copyshop.ca, signs@ copyshop.ca) Generic addresses are neat in that they get sent to at least 2 users ensuring that the communication gets responded to whether someone is off work or not. When you own the domain and the mail server there is no limit or charge for additional email accounts.
I did have to register my domain name ($180 for 10 years) but there's no question over ownership. Once you own you domain you can also use it for FTP. Make moving huge files around a lot easier.
I use a small Dell to host web/mail/ftp, I don't even hook up a monitor on it, got it set to reboot on power up. Any old computer PII and up would do fine, webserving for a few small business domains isn't going to tax any system. This particular machine has been running win2k continuously since Jan 2001, it's only reboots have been on power failures, I kinda forget it's there, I probably should vacuum it out, must be blocked solid with dust bunnies by now.
Explore the options...
Posted by Ray Parden (Member # 4823) on :
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
(Not really, but I like to tell people)
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)