Money Online, The First Steps - Establishing Net Presence (2)

07 Jan

Posted by Alex as My Journey

After purchasing my domain, www.net-entrepreneur.com, I had to find web-space for rent. I needed an affordable hosting provider in order to host my domain. Having a domain without a hosting is like having a house without a piece of land to put it on. I knew it is going to be another investment in my business, so I went googling for a provider.

Despite not having prior knowledge and experience, I was able to come to several personal preferences:

I would need a Unix/Linux server. Just because these hosting plans are much cheaper, and I am not planning on doing any .net, c# programming or having a MsSql database to justify the additional expense of having a Windows server.
I would rather have a hosting provider that allows to host unlimited domains. This will secure my future development and I will not need to purchase additional hosting plans for my other domains.
I would need a provider that allows numerous databases and email accounts, to support my numerous domains.
Customer Service is something that comes up as an important issue, but they all claiming to be 24/7, so until I try I won’t know.

Finding a hosting

A whole lot of technical information also comes up, but I don’t have a clue anyway. The only thing I knew for sure is that I would use Wordpress for my blogs, and, in the future, Joomla! for my sites, so I checked whether the final few choices have the necessary requirements.

One important thing to keep in mind. You will have to prepay your hosting for a year, or if available more to get the best price. The more you prepay the cheaper your plan will be.

Tell you the truth, I was a little startled by this, but after a minute I came to my senses: I am an entrepreneur! I don’t plan to quit after a month, so, why pay more in order to have an escape hatch after a month? And besides, most have money back guarantees. That way, you have a month, or sometimes more, to check if everything is as promised.

My final choices were:

Bluehost - $6.95/month

First impression: presentable, business oriented design.
Unlimited domains
600Gb of space
6,000Gb or transfer
2,500 email accounts
Includes a free domain name, with free privacy option (doesn’t show your personal details on WHOIS searches)
30-day money back guarantee

Hostgator - $7.95/month

First impression: nice, friendly design
Unlimited domains
600Gb of space
6,000Gb or transfer
Unlimited email accounts
45-day money back guarantee

HostMonster- $6.95/month

First impression: friendly, but serious design
Unlimited domains
600Gb of space
6,000Gb or transfer
Unlimited email accounts
Includes a free domain name, with free privacy option (doesn’t show your personal details on WHOIS searches)
30-day money back guarantee

Finally, after a follow-up research I went with HostMonster. Hostmonster offers a package that answers my requirements, can install Wordpress for you in a click of a mouse, it offeres a good price and a friendly (inter)face.

Give them a visit to view their full technical features.