Domain Name and Web Hosting Hell
by: Ed Zivkovic
Does
GoDaddy really suck?
I
am in the process of registering more and more domain
names so it seems natural to look for the best pricing
deal.
Registering
multiple domain names can add up quickly, especially
if you register both the NoDashVersion.com and Dashed-Version.com
names.
Each
domain name represents a new site concept which will
in most cases involve the selection of a web hosting
plan.
It
also makes sense to pay a little less for web hosting
right? After all, all these new projects add up.
How
much do you really save?
The
answer to this question depends on how much value we
place on our time, and our ability to determine what
other software tools are required to run the type of
website we have in mind.
In
other words, if we think that our time is valuable,
we will not mind investing an extra $50-$400 per project
per year, especially if there is a lot of value added
services and software tools included in the price.
What's
the point in saving 50 bucks a year on some bare-bones
web hosting if our time gets wasted with support issues
or we need to buy additional products and services in
order to run our site effectively?
Example
of Web Hosting Hell:
http://www.godaddysux.com/web_hosting_hell.html
I
do not know about you, but after I read one of these
bad web hosting reviews, I start to become very cautious
about that company. In this case, it is GoDaddy.
Research
your new Web Host or Domain Name registrar
I
remembered that GoDaddy has been mentioned a number
of times in some of the Internet Marketing courses and
SEO books that I own, so I decided to check GoDaddy
out. By check them out, I do not mean just visit their
web site, swallow their sales pitch and click through
to the checkout patting myself on the back for a job
well done.
I
did a search at Google.com for the term godaddy review,
and discovered some interesting results.
After
reading a few of the results, I decided to search for
the term "do not use godaddy" (this string
was searched enclosed with "inverted commas"),
and discovered even more negative feedback not only
about their web hosting services but also their domain
name registration and associated services.
Is
it all about Price?
No
way. Do we *really* save? On one hand it looks like
a saving but on the other hand the saving can be offset
by extra costs elsewhere.
As
a result of this little study, I have no desire at this
time to change my domain name registrar or my two web
hosting companies that I use just to save a few bucks.
At
the moment, I enjoy the following benefits from my web
hosts and domain name registrar:
Everything
works to my satisfaction 99.99% of the time
Very little support needed in the first place
Support queries attended to quickly
Support queries always solved to my satisfaction
I never suffer from emotional disturbance as a result
of dealing with rude support staff
I am never accused of being the problem
Example of excellent support
I
created a new directory and installed a PHP script on
one of my sites. All the file permissions were set correctly
and the files were uploaded in the correct format.
So
I edited the HTML user interfaces and tried to upload
them to this new directory. For some reason I was denied
access to this new directory. Permission Denied!
I
emailed my web host with a description of the problem
and within a few hours my web host sent me an email
saying that the problem has been fixed and that I can
now proceed to upload into that directory. Wow!
A
good Web Hosting and Domain Name service is worth it's
weight in Gold
Who
really wants unnecessary dramas with web hosting and
domain name registrars? Nobody does! (except those that
cannot survive one day without chaos)
The
peace of mind for a few extra bucks a year buys is priceless.
Besides,
even if I select some of the platinum (no extras to
buy) web hosting deals out there, it still only costs
about 10-30 bucks a week to run a business on the Internet.
Imagine
that, for a few extra bucks, I need not worry about:
Content Management Software, web design, domain name
registrations, expensive keyword research and SEO tools,
search engine rankings, and the list goes on and adds
up *real* quick.
Compare
this to a regular bricks and mortar business where you
pay thousands a month in rental fees just for a bit
of floor space.
Sometimes
it pays to do the sums. It might *appear* to cost more
money at first, but does it really cost more after you
calculate the out-going dollars over the whole year?
When
I was in the process of building my first web site,
I would not have had the capacity to answer that question
because I had no experience. But you know that old saying:
"When
someone with experience meets someone with money, the
one with the experience ends up with the money and the
one who had the money, ends up with an experience"
As
a result, I have ended up spending thousands of dollars
on eBooks, software, scripts, courses, private memberships,
DVDs, VCDs, MP3s in an attempt to complete the Online
Marketing mystery. This is all now part of my experience.
Conclusion
When
we go looking to buy a car or a house, we do not base
our decision on price alone. Otherwise we would all
be driving around in smokey old $200 bombs. We look
for features which we then translate in some way to
benefits.
So
why waste time looking for cheap-as-chips deals for
the very important job of setting up an Online Business?
We would do much better to look beyond price when buying
services on the Internet.
Copyright
2004 Ed Zivkovic
About
The Author
The author, Ed Zivkovic is based on the Gold Coast in
Australia.
Contact
details are available at his web site along with many
helpful webmaster articles: http://www.ezau.com
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