Alright, alright, alright… so you’re not a web master.  Neither am I.  Some of this network hierarchy stuff, domain hosting and addon subdomain - I could go on and on -  is as confusing as nuclear physics to me, and I know I’m not alone.

You know you’ll need to put up a web site in order to create your internet based business.  We’ll be talking more about Web 2.0 and other elements you need to consider as we move along, but there are some really important things you should consider right from the start.  In particular, how you register and host your site can save you money and time down the road if you give it some thought up front.

We’ve all seen the GREAT commercials and ads for “Go Daddy” just to name one we’ve all head about.  Everyone knows who they are, and they DO serve a very useful purpose.  But that attractive price to register your domain has some hidden issues you need to know about before you take the first step of registering your domain.

There is a post on blogging that talks a little bit about how critical a blog will be for your online business to succeed.  I won’t waste time going into that here… but I recommend that if you haven’t already read that one, it’s worth you taking a look.  This is going to make more sense when you get to the end of this post.

This brings me to what this post is about, which is what to think about when deciding where to register your domain and where you’re going to have your web site hosted.  There are a lot of choices for this piece of your online business, no question.  In particular, Host Gator has hosting packages that are VERY inexpensive that are perfect for any kind of online business you might be thinking about.  It doesn’t matter if you’re thinging about 1 product or 10.  The best thing about this particular solution, aside from the ridiculous (cheap!) price for hosting, is the server based applications that are offered with EVERY SINGLE account!  Even the one for $4.95 a month!

When you decide to have your site hosted on Host Gator, know up front that getting things all set up almost never goes off without a hitch.  Their solution to this is their incredible online, live chat support.  These guys (and girls) are awesome!  They’re there 24/7 to help you with any question you have, and believe me, I’ve had more than my fair share! (These dedicated folks found a way to handle support while everything around them was going under water during hurricane Ike, as their technical support is located in Houston, TX.)

Something else you might not be quite as familiar with when considering Host Gator for your hosting needs, is a less known domain registration service they have called Registry Rocket.  Now, I’ll tell you right up front - Registry Rocket is more expensive than Go Daddy, and some of the other registration services you might know about.  The hidden part is that if you register your domain somewhere else, Host Gator is going to charge you $15 to move that domain name in order to host it on their servers.  This is the part that is a no-brainer cost issue… if you register your domain with Registry Rocket in the first place, that will cost you $15.  More than the $7.99 or $9.99 somewhere else, but it’s like getting the name server change done and having the domain registration thrown in for free.  Pretty simple choice.

Now the biggest and best reason to pick Host Gator… is a thing called Fantastico.  Probably something you haven’t heard of before, right?  Well… Fantastico is where you find WordPress!! If you’ve read the post on blogs, then you know how important this is, and you know that WordPress is the best solution around.  Once you’ve got your domain name registered and your hosting service set up, setting up your WordPress blog can be done with just a few clicks of the mouse.  Then POOF!  You’ve got the foundation of your online business almost ready to go!

We’re going to take you step by step, how to get your online business off to a flying start!  Jump aboard - this is just the beginning!

Until next time,

NancyC