Purchasing a domain name and hosting are among the first things you'll do when setting up your online business. Before we get into the different types of hosting plans, let's do a quick recap of what hosting is.
Your domain name is your online business address and hosting is like the house that sits at that address. When you purchase hosting you are renting the right to store files on an internet server. When people go to your address (type it in their browser or click a link), they are in effect visiiting your house only instead of a building with furniture they're seeing the files you're storing on the server... all neatly organized into your website. Got it?
So in order to do do business online, you need both a domain name and hosting plan. We covered domain names in the article Why You Need Your Own Domain Name, so let's get right into the types of hosting.
Hosting plans can be divided into free and paid options. Let's start with ways to host your website for free and then we'll talk about the paid hosting options later.
Free Hosting Options
Yes, you really can host your website free! Here are some popular options along with my tips about how to use them.
Social Media - This isn't really a hosting plan, but some businesses do use social media platforms such as MySpace and Facebook as their company website. MySpace is especially well suited for artists and musicians and some of them do quite well using only this platform. The up side to this is that these services are free and you're probably using them anyway so it's pretty easy to add a page for your business and then just tell your friends. The down side is that it it's not really your own website so you are limited by what the platform allows, it's not as professional as having your own site, and you can lose potential customers who don't use that particular platform (hard to believe that there are people out there not on Facebook but trust me... they do exist).
So while it may be a quick and easy way to get started, for the long term I don't generally recommend using social media platforms as your main website. Short term however, they can work and here are some tips to make the most out of using them:
- Think of social media sites as a short term strategy until your own website is up and running. Part of your marketing strategy will likely include social media anyway, so go ahead and set up your Facebook, MySpace or other pages and start promoting your business. Then when your own website is built you can simply refer people there via links on your social media pages.
- When using multiple social media platforms, designate ONE platform as your "official site" and link all other platforms to that site. Then make sure that main platform stays updated. This will come in handy if you don't have time to update all of the platforms all of the time.
- Always use your own domain name, redirecting that name to your social media page. We talked about the whys and how's of this in the article Why You Need Your Own Domain Name and it's really important to do this. That way you can go ahead and have business cards, literature, etc. printed with your actual domain name which will eventually lead to your finished website rather than your social media page.
Free Blogging Services - There are millions of blogs on the internet today and blogging is a great way to share information and even to build a website around. You can get a free blogging account in many places and in a very short amount of time be up and running. The advantages to using this type of service as a website (other than the fact that it's free) are that they are extremely easy to set up and use, they usually include a variety of templates to customize the look of your blog, and they often allow you to add multiple pages, images, etc. too. The down side to these services is that some of them advertise on your blog whether you want them to or not and you are at their mercy if they decide to change policy, features, or services they offer. Additionally, some of them limit what you are allowed to do (for instance you are not allowed to sell things on a Wordpress.com hosted site and you also can't add things like sign up forms for your e-mail list). Even still, they can be a quick and easy way to get up and running in the beginning. Here are some tips to make the most of free blogging services:
- As I said above, use your own domain name and have it forwarded to your blogging site
- Take advantage of little extras these services may have. For instance, Blogger allows you to put Google ads right on your blog. If your marketing strategy includes Google Adsense (you get a little commission when someone clicks one of the ads on your site) then this can be useful. In addition many blogging services will automatically post links to your updates on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. This is a handy little time saver.
- Consider using a service that is already in your niche. If you're in the physical fitness niche for example, you may want to set up a blog on a site that caters to people interested in physical fitness and health. By doing so you'll become an active part of that community which is a great way to grow a following.
If you're thinking of going that route, the two top free blogging sites are www.Blogger.com (my first choice) and www.Wordpress.com. There are others of course so look around and find one that works for you.
Free Website from a number of places that offer this service - There are companies out there that will host your website free of charge. Just do a Google search for "free website hosting" and you'll have plenty to choose from. Many of these free hosts have templates and easy website builders that help you create your website, and they often have paid plans when you're ready to upgrade. The down side is that most of them also put an advertisement for their company on your site, the code used to build your free site using their templates isn't easily transferrable to another host, and their paid hosting plans tend to be rather expensive. Also you often can't use your own domain name (though you can redirect a domain name you own) and you will probably be limited as to the size and features of the free site as well as the bandwidth. Be sure to compare features before choosing a free hosting plan, and make sure that you can back up your files on your computer in case you decide to switch servers later.
Free Website from the place you bought your domain name - This is similar to the option above, except it is a free website offered with the purchase of a domain name. If you purchase your domain name through my hosting service for instance, you'll have the option to get a 5 page website for free. The upside to this is that you have your own website using your own domain name that you can design however you want and there are generally a good selection of templates to choose from so you can have a decent looking site without knowing anything about programming. Having your own website also gives you a more professional appearance and allows you to start building your brand. The downside is that free hosting plans are often limited, either to a certain number of pages or amount of memory you can use, or the number of files you can upload. Additionally, the hosting company often places an ad for their own services right at the top of your website. Honestly paid hosting is so cheap these days that I never recommend this option to anyone. If you do choose to go this route though, you'll be able to upgrade later to a paid hosting plan that removes the advertising and gives you more options to work with.
Paid Hosting Options
While the free hosting options can get you started, I always recommend that people invest in paid hosting if at all possible. It's not terribly expensive and it gives your business a much more professional appearance. I know that with my own hosting service you can get basic hosting for less than $50 bucks for a year. If you opt for the deluxe plan which is just a little more, you can host multiple domain names and websites on one hosting account, saving you even more money. Some of the advantages of investing in a paid hosting plan include:
- You have full control over the files you upload to the site. This means you can create a website that is truly unique to you and your business (no more being limited to templates).
- At the same time, most hosting providers offer a lot of templates and website builder tools which makes it easy to get your website up and running and to customize it to your business.
- These plans are fully scalable so that as your business grows you can upgrade to meet your changing needs.
- They fully support things like forms, the ability to install shopping carts & credit card processing, scripts, and other custom things you may need.
- You can centralize your domains and hosting plans to one company. This can really make your life easier since you don't have to remember that the domain name came from here and you're using that blogging service for your website over there and this other service for something else over here, etc. Centralizing domains and hosting is not only convenient but saves you time and money too as you can get discounts for having multiple products with one company.
- You can use these plans to host blogs, content management systems, and a whole host of other applications. In fact many of these hosting plans make common applications available for free (and they're relatively easy to install).
- This type of plan will give you the most professional image and allow you to brand yourself and your business.
So which type of hosting should you choose?
When considering the options available to you, think about your short and long term goals for your online business and how the different types of hosting will best serve you. If you're eager to get started it may make a lot of sense to use a free hosting platform or service for a little while until you can get your own website built. For people who are really serious about doing business online however, it makes good business sense to invest in paid hosting with a reputable company.
Which hosting company should you choose?
Whether you decide to go the free route or paid one, you still need to decide which hosting company to use. I offer a hosting service through GoDaddy, the world's largest provider of domain names and hosting. In my experience, GoDaddy provides eveyrthing my clients and I need at very reasonable prices. Their products and services are also fully scalable so you can start with free hosting and scale all the way up to dedicated servers if you need to. Additionally their customer service is excellent and they've always been extremely helpful when I've called them.
If you choose to use GoDaddy I suggest you go through my reseller hosting service. This is a service I purchased through GoDaddy which allows me to offer their products and services to you at reduced rates (sometimes up to 30% less than the rates on their direct website). It's one of the ways I try to help you get the best deal as you launch your own online business.
Although I highly recommend GoDaddy because I think they're the best out there, I also know that there are many other companies offering similar products and services. If you choose to shop around then be sure to compare prices, storage space, bandwiidth, and other fees that may apply to your account before making a decision. While it is possible to transfer a website to a different host, it can be a bit complicated if you have lots of files and applications so it makes sense to take the time to make a good decision right from the beginning.
Note - If you need help creating, updating, or maintaining a website then let's talk about how we can work together to get your business online. Details about the website services I offer can be found on the work with me page.
