I did not think I’d get to this point, where I would sign up for my own domain and hosting package, and attempt to become my own webmaster. That’s a big jump from just blogging at my old blog, where blogbus would take care of everything for me after I adjusted the design somewhat. I’d just need to care about the content after that, which is (of course) also a lot to handle because I typically make myself write in English, and then Chinese. Double the work.

 Well if you’ve followed me from my previous blog, you’ll know that the people of China are one of my target audiences. You are also my target audience too. ♥ . I also have had much “advice” from here, here and here about the advantages of having your own domain in the long run.

To tempt first timers to buy a domain and hosting package, many hosting companies have offers and discounts that will never repeat when you renew your lease. That’s why I worry about being able to afford it as the fees are likely to more than double next year. *nervous laugh*

Let me share with you what I had to do to buy my own web domain and hosting space.

#1 Decide on a domain name

You could use a company name, or a personal name. Personal names are getting more popular as domain names nowadays, no? I think people like getting to know a person more than an entity behind a company brand. Go to any hosting company’s webpage to check the availability of the domain names you’d like, as well as the extensions available (i.e. .com or .net or .org)

Now, what if you have a variety of names? My previous blog uses my Chinese pinyin name Gu Xin Xian. I love how it sounds in Chinese, so I wondered if I should continue to make guxinxian.com. But after researching on famous Asian stars who have both Chinese and English names like I do, I decided to stick with SerenKoo.com. Why? Because Chinese names can be pronounced differently in different dialects (e.g. “Koo” vs “Gu”), whereas an English name is constant. For example, Andy Lau uses andylau.com not liudehua.com, and Aaron Kwok uses aaronkwokonline.com, and not guofuchen.com.

#2 Decide on your hosting company

There are many web hosting companies out there, and many websites dedicated to reviewing which one is the “best”, and many user’s comments to study. I filtered my choices down to two. Justhost.com, and Godaddy.com

Justhost.com seems to bring an unbeatable offer of $3.95/mth for minimum 3 years, and for this summer, 20% off such that its 2 year contract would also be $3.95/mth. (They gave the 20% off when I am just about to leave the site, and up pops a chatbox window to a justhost agent). Domain and everything else is free. It says “free for life”, but I think it just means it’s free as long as you are under a hosting contract with them? Hmmm. It is also accredited by Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org/) with a rating of C+. There were “independent” reviewer websites, and Justhost had raving reviews. I was very tempted. Here were the rates when I was chatting with an agent, who might well just be a “robot”:

You are now chatting with ‘Paul’

… …

Paul: Please check the prices below for the Basic Plan

Paul: Basic Plan

Paul:

Paul: 1 month – $7.95 per month – $20.00 setup – $9.95 Domain registration  ( total $37.90 )

Paul: 6 months – $6.95 per month – Free setup – $9.95 Domain registration  (total $41.70 )

Paul: 12 months – $5.95 per month – Free setup – Free Domain registration   (total $71.40 )

Paul: 24 months – $4.95 per month – Free setup – Free Domain registration   (total $118.80)

Paul: 36 months – $3.95 per month – Free setup – Free Domain registration   (total $142.20)

Koo: I see. and the 20% discount is for the 24 month one.

Koo: there is no discount for 36 months.

Koo: is that right

Paul: Yes, right

Paul: For 24 months you will need to pay $94.80 after getting 20 % discount

Koo: what plan is this

Paul: It is for the Basic Plan

Paul: The discount is not available for the Premium plan

Koo: $94.60 divided by 24months is still $3.95 per month.

Paul: Yes

Koo: is that right

Paul: Yes, right

Koo: ok.

Koo: can you give me a list of programs that comes free with this 24month plan that is suitable for blogging

Koo: i know wordpress and joomla are 2 of them that support blogs. any others

Paul: Please check the features using the url : http://www.justhost.com/hosting-features

Koo: are these ALL the features

Koo: are there more

Koo: i’m looking specifically for blogging. Drupal?

Paul: Yes, we do provide WordPress if you want the Blogging feature

Koo: do you have any other platforms other than wordpress

Paul: No

Godaddy.com was another company I looked at, because I heard about this company many years ago. Godaddy is a really big company, and an amateur like me could sometimes hear about people talking about it on the streets. It is also Better Business Bureau Accredited with a rating of A+! But those independent reviewer sites did not think so, and there were many complaint-comments about Godaddy, especially in regard to Godaddy providing too little with the basic packages or that they keep suggesting customers to upgrade and pay more. Their unsatisfied comments really confuse me, and I wondered whether the BBB report was outdated.

Godaddy’s offers and discounts also confuse me, because they change very frequently! Like the offer only lasts for 1 or 2 days, and the offer (30% off economy web hosting, and $1.99 for new domain name for first year) I grabbed only lasted for an hour I think! Here’s that I’ve got:

.COM Domain Name Registration – 1 Year = $2.17 (After discount from $9.99)

Private Registration Services Length: 1.0000 Year(s) = $8.99

Linux Web Hosting – Economy – 1 year = $39.82 (After discount from $56.88)

Total = $50.98

That’s not bad for my first year, considering that the “reputed best and cheapest” hosting company Justhost.com offered me $71.40. But bear in mind that in the long run, Godaddy might be more expensive than Justhost, because Justhost’s flat fee includes a lot of “unlimited” stuff, whereas Godaddy only provides a specified amount of memory etc.

On a final note but important, let me tell you truthfully what the deal breaker was between Justhost.com and Godaddy.com. It’s not just about the $20 difference. I called Justhost’s helpline and spoke to an agent, and I felt that they did not understand my needs thoroughly enough, and they were not able to give me enough advice for me to continue on the conversation. I put the phone down soon after. It was a big difference when I called up Godaddy’s helpline. They were able to explain to me that I should buy a linux web hosting system rather than the windows based one because I was interested in php and other open source language based Content Management Systems. They were able to tell me step by step what to do, and they emailed me specific tutorials to look at. The two different agents I spoke to were able to reply me swiftly and precisely, like they knew the information at the back of their hand. So I bought it.

Whichever hosting company you choose, it is always easy to buy your domain name and hosting package. Just follow their idiot-proof steps and checkout your cart with your credit card. After that comes the hosting set up! Of which you can read all the steps here, so I wouldn’t elaborate further. It’s nice to have a good helpline to call if you’re stuck. ♥ Ahhhh.