Calza Posted August 12, 2006 Posted August 12, 2006 I was thinking of setting up my own website but i have no idea how much it will cost and whos reilable. I'm not sure quite what i would like to do with it, but enough space so i could have forums and stuff. I've also seen web hosting on eBay, is that a good route?
Cubechris Posted August 12, 2006 Posted August 12, 2006 Don't take the eBay route. They oversell there services bringing you a shitty service in the long run. It's best to get something small and work up as and when you need it. I use a UK based company, which results in quicker acess for both you and your visitors (I am presuming most of your visitor base will be from the UK). They have packages starting from around £12 a year for hosting. And there customer service is personal and fast. K1Z.com As for domains, it depends on what extension you want, be it .com .co.uk, make your mind up on that, then get back to me for the best place to shop. HTH.
Shorty Posted August 12, 2006 Posted August 12, 2006 I've always been partial towards http://www.dreamhost.com - they're very efficient, no downtime, friendly staff, huge archive of forums, support every type of upload and coding, give huge bandwidth/disk space and throw in a .com/net/org/info domain for free
BGS Posted August 12, 2006 Posted August 12, 2006 I find ASO fantastic value for money. I've been with many, many hosts over the years and these have got to be the best by far. Don't be tempted by any hosting company offering umlimited bandwidth or webspace because they just can't seriously offer you that and its usually an early warning sign of a bad hosting company. ASO are absolutely tremendous. When you've been with as many hosting companies as I have you find one of the BIG and most important differences between them (especially if you're starting out) is the level of after sale service. How quickly they successfully sort out your problems for you, that sort of thing. ASO are absolutely fantastic. Take a look at their forums and you'll see so many customers that have been with multiple providers switch to ASO and never look back. They support is extremely fast and they are alaways very friendly, reliable and helpful. They're also very flexible with their packages and will custom tailor a package to suit your needs if you get in touch with them. You can get one domain with them when you sign up but if you want add on domains then you need to purchase them elsewhere (I suggest godaddy.com is probably your best bet, jsut don't be tempted to purchase any of their extras as most of them are useless if you already have your own webspace. The big sign that these are a great company is that I've actually been bothered to write so much about them. Either I work for them or I'm a very satisfied customer! Click here to see a list of their packages. Hope this helps!
Charlie Posted August 12, 2006 Posted August 12, 2006 I have to say k1z.com as well. They're never let me down and I don't even think my sites been down in all the time I've been using them.
Jon Posted August 12, 2006 Posted August 12, 2006 I use Dataflame, £15 every 3 months. No problems so far.
Sarka Posted August 12, 2006 Posted August 12, 2006 I suggest godaddy.com not only for a domain but hosting aswell. They're very cheap, reliable and have quick customer service. They also give you some databases and stuff, lovely people. I think I pay $3 a month for way more space and bandwidth that I need.
Calza Posted August 12, 2006 Author Posted August 12, 2006 Well i had a idea about a uk centered anime and manga website. I'm not sure what would be better though .com or .uk. .uk seems cheaper but would i get more hits with a .com?
Cubechris Posted August 12, 2006 Posted August 12, 2006 It doesn't really matter aslong as you get your SEO sorted the URL should be fine regardless.
Calza Posted August 12, 2006 Author Posted August 12, 2006 I've looked at all the sites but i'm not sure how much i would need. It might be a blog style or it might be more like R-E & EuroFusion. Probably a medium package (1000MB?) would do me, just i'm not sure if thats enough or i would need more
Charlie Posted August 12, 2006 Posted August 12, 2006 You'll be pushed using 10mb if your site isn't image heavy. DataFlame are the best host I've ever used. They're great. Amazing support and loading speeds.
Calza Posted August 13, 2006 Author Posted August 13, 2006 I've had a look at all them and godaddy seems pretty cheap. Hosting, Domain and Email for £50+ for two years. The only thing is since its in America does that mean it will take longer to load than if it was in the UK?
Charlie Posted August 13, 2006 Posted August 13, 2006 Yeah, it will, but the difference will be very small.
Cubechris Posted August 13, 2006 Posted August 13, 2006 For what you need to begin with, you can get it cheaper than that, if you go for a .co.uk and a smaller hosting package that is, and just upgrade as you see fit.
Calza Posted August 13, 2006 Author Posted August 13, 2006 For what you need to begin with, you can get it cheaper than that, if you go for a .co.uk and a smaller hosting package that is, and just upgrade as you see fit. Thats probably a better idea, you and moria seem pretty pleased with K1Z.com, the Intermediate package looks good, and i think i'll just get the .uk domain.
Cubechris Posted August 13, 2006 Posted August 13, 2006 Tell em I sent you (HM-Fusion.co.uk/EuroFusion.net)
Charlie Posted August 13, 2006 Posted August 13, 2006 Actually, tell them I sent you. WifiGamers.co.uk (Do I get a discount or something for referring someone?)
Calza Posted August 14, 2006 Author Posted August 14, 2006 Tell em I sent you (HM-Fusion.co.uk/EuroFusion.net) Actually, tell them I sent you. WifiGamers.co.uk (Do I get a discount or something for referring someone?) I'm not sure if i could say that i was refered but i'll look for it when i'm doing it. Whats the best forum service?
Charlie Posted August 14, 2006 Posted August 14, 2006 vBulletin. But that costs £55 for a year or £110 for lifetime. We're having great fun playing around with it at the moment. Other than that go for phpBB.
Calza Posted August 14, 2006 Author Posted August 14, 2006 I don't really want to pay for it but SMF looks pretty good and in alot of reviews comes out better than phpBB. You heard of it before? http://www.simplemachines.org/
Charlie Posted August 14, 2006 Posted August 14, 2006 Yeah, I've heard of it, never tried it out then, or seen any major sites use it. It is meant to be quite good though.
Calza Posted August 14, 2006 Author Posted August 14, 2006 Do you know if its hard to make your own themes for either phpBB or SMF?
Cubechris Posted August 14, 2006 Posted August 14, 2006 Do you know if its hard to make your own themes for either phpBB or SMF? It aint the easiest thing in the world, lets put it that way.
Calza Posted August 14, 2006 Author Posted August 14, 2006 I've only used Frontpage for a couple of hours at school and since Frontpage is supposely the worst, i guess i've got no coding experience. What programs do you guys use?
Charlie Posted August 14, 2006 Posted August 14, 2006 Dreamweaver, Photoshop and Notepad. Photoshop for making the site design, then I slice it up (or try to) and import it into DW and then write any PHP code in Notepad. I also use notepad for any small changes I make as its much quicker to open that Dreamweaver.
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