YOUR WEB PRESENCE
by: Bob Osgoodby
If you use a free service to host your web pages you could be
burned. If their advertising dollars dry up, they may simply fold their
tents and disappear into the night. Forget the free web space providers - do
you think you're putting forth a professional image with their ads
cluttering up your web pages? I don't think so.
Most ISP's provide free web storage space. This is fine unless their service
deteriorates, as many do if they grow to fast, and your response time
becomes dismal. If your ISP takes umbrage with you, and cancels your
account, you could lose all of your web pages. These providers also provide
minimal capabilities, and you will not have much more than the basics when
it comes to "bells and whistles".
Your absolute best bet is to contract for services with a provider who
provides quality service at a reasonable price. If you own your own domain,
the web site and pages are your property, and normally, if you become
dissatisfied with the provider, it is relatively easy to switch to another.
But, if the host goes out of business, and the pages are not retrievable,
you have a problem. You should always retain a copy of all your web pages
and images used on your local computer. This serves a dual purpose. It not
only provides a high degree of safety in the event of a problem with the web
server, but also assures that you will have a copy of your web pages if your
web provider goes out of business.
You basically have two options when setting up your own web site. You can do
it yourself or you can contract with someone to maintain it for you. For the
completely uninitiated, this might be your best bet. Many of these companies
provide free web page design, and will hold your hand throughout the entire
process. And, if conditions change and you need to revise the site, they are
just a phone call away. If you are a take charge kind of person, you may
want to do it yourself.
First you have to find a domain name that is not already taken. A good place
to look is http://www.betterwhois.com/
. Once you find a domain that is available, You can register it at a number
of places - http://000domains.com
charges $13.50 a year. You can register it for two years for only $25 at -
http://bitshack.com - which is one
of the most inexpensive registration that I have found.
Next you have to find a provider who will make web space available. Here,
you must find a provider who will let you start out at a minimum level, and
if your needs increase, you can upgrade to the next level. I found a site
that only charges $7 a month, however there is a $30 setup fee. You can
check this out at http://esosoft.com
but here is some better news.
Go back to http://www.bitshack.com
and you will find sites starting at $35 a year with no setup fee, and you
get 50 MB of storage which is most likely more than you will ever need..
This represents a saving of $69 a year over the closest competitor I have
found. Since you own your own domain, if you become disenchanted with your
current web space provider, you can transfer it to any provider you wish.
The bottom line here is that if you want to be in business on the web, you
must have your own web presence. Don't spend your hard earned dollars
unnecessarily, but don't think that you can get quality service without some
investment.
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