Author Topic: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations  (Read 8803 times)

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Offline jgillett

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #25 on: February 07, 2018, 05:36:16 PM »
^^^

Rather than requiring you to move all the domains to them before opening a hosting account they instead require a hosting account before parking domains...which makes sense 'cause ya gotta have a place for the domains to "park".  The issue I'm running into with Godaddy is that they're getting downright greedy...$20 to renew a domain and park it.  ICDSoft is something like $13...a fair difference.  Hosting is less expensive, also.
Interesting. The last renewal I had with GD was 28 Jan '18, a .com that remains parked with them. 16 bucks.
John
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Offline jgillett

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #26 on: February 07, 2018, 05:37:53 PM »
One doesn't have to move your domains over to them to open an account. I had my account with ICDSoft a year before I moved my domains over with them.
OK, got it. Thanks to both.
John
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Offline Intheswamp

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #27 on: February 07, 2018, 07:52:25 PM »
I've got a reseller account setup.  I was told to do it that way for the best rates.  I'll be making the move in a few days...don't have many more days left at Godaddy with three of the domains...only a week or so.  It might be a weekend project for me. 

I've been wondering how the move/transfer will work.  Like I mentioned elsewhere a while back, if BeeWeather was to crash and I had to start over from scratch I'd be at a loss...but I would know exactly where to start at....HERE!!!!! :)  This group is the greatest!!!!!!!!!!   =D>

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Offline Maumelle Weather

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #28 on: February 07, 2018, 08:14:06 PM »
I've got a reseller account setup.  I was told to do it that way for the best rates.  I'll be making the move in a few days...don't have many more days left at Godaddy with three of the domains...only a week or so.  It might be a weekend project for me. 

I've been wondering how the move/transfer will work.  Like I mentioned elsewhere a while back, if BeeWeather was to crash and I had to start over from scratch I'd be at a loss...but I would know exactly where to start at....HERE!!!!! :)  This group is the greatest!!!!!!!!!!   =D>

Hi Ed,

When you login to your ICDSoft control panel, there is an icon called Migration (lower left hand corner, or it is on mine). You can use that, OR make a complete backup of your current site to your home computer, then upload it to your new ICDSoft site.  I use Filezilla for my FTP uploads here at home when working on my site.

John
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Offline Intheswamp

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #29 on: February 07, 2018, 08:27:31 PM »
jgillett, the $19.99 price got my attention enough that I instigated a chat with a GD representative.  I told him my hesitation to renew the domains at that price and he asked me to hold on so he could see what he could do for me.  It was close to a 10 minute wait (I checked a couple of times to make sure he was still there).  I was talking to him about three domains which would have been $60.  He came back to me with a price just a little under $55 for three domains.  I thanked him and told that I needed to do my due diligence on this.  His response was "I understand".  Nice guy, but it seems GD didn't give him much to work with.  Now, here I am not thinking about leaving Godaddy but rather am convinced to leave them.  They must like you better than they do me to give you that price!  ;)

John, thanks for the "migration" button tip.  I had read where some hosts have such features but I hadn't checked with ICDSoft.  I'll probably make a backup via Filezilla (nice program, eh? :) ) when I get to the shop.  I've got cable internet there and only 3Mbps DSL here.  My only concern is all the photos and videos that I have on the website.  Maybe I'll wait and see how the migration goes and forego backing up the photos and videos locally.  Shoot, it's probably time for a little housekeeping anyhoo.<grin>  I've got a couple of months to make the transition in regards to the website...I think this is gonna be a whole new chapter in my life!!! \:D/  Hopefully not the final one!!!!!  :shock:   :lol: :lol:

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Offline GregJ

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #30 on: February 08, 2018, 11:24:04 AM »
I thought I’d share my story… and a recommendation about web hosts and domain registrations…  As I said, I was with GoDanica for years.  When their performance tumbled to dialup speeds I looked around and found a good deal at Ipage.  Good reviews and they would handle my domain for free.  So I moved everything to them with like 3 years of domain registration for free.  In the 6 months that I stayed with them, it seemed like they were down more than up….  Horrible…  :evil:  So, I moved on to Lunarpages.  They were good…  Until they went down for 3 weeks and lost hundreds of our emails….  :evil: :evil: I couldn’t even get a temporary site up…  So, needless to say, when they got their servers running again I moved to InMotion where I have been since.  They have been very good.  \:D/
 
But…  In the midst of all this, I had a serious hack of my email address.  I was getting 400+ spam emails a day.  I finally had to change email addresses.  Something I have only done one other time in my life.  It is a real pain….  :evil:  So, life is going along and suddenly my site goes down.  I call InMotion tech support and after searching, they found that my domain name had been locked and abandoned…..  Ipage had my old email address and no way to get ahold of me.   :oops:  Registering a domain is kind of a set it and forget it process….  So, they couldn’t send me a bill and consequently shut down my domain.  It was a HUGE PITA to get my domain back and if memory serves it cost me around $100 in special fees….  Since then, I will always keep my domain registration with my webhost… no matter how much it costs….

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Offline yamiacaveman

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #31 on: February 08, 2018, 11:26:39 AM »
There are plenty of good hosting companies.

What I look for: cPanel  --- Unlimited webites,unlimited storage and bandwidth, unlimited ftp and unlimited Email accounts.

About four years ago I switched to http://www.webhostinghub.com/

I took their 6.99 a month plan for 3 years and never had any problems.

I did a full backup of my old site, uploaded it to them - they unpacked everything - had to adjust a few things, no big deal.

After my 3 years were up, for some reason, I could not get the price I started with so I left them and went back to my old hosting provider.

And once again I did a full backup upload to my new-old provider and they unpacked and made some adjustments.

If my rates go up with my current provider my next stop might be here: https://www.kvchosting.net/unlimited-hosting.html

If you look at all the features for there C hosting -- Unlimited:
FTP accounts
Add-on Domains and so on

I did not see anything about backups -- my current provider backs up daily and I can do a full site bckup anytime - my last host I had to pay an extra dollar a month to back p my site.

So that's my 2 cents - and remember I'm a caveman and still manage to get things to work, mostly by bothering people - which reminds ----

Good luck!!!!!
 

Offline Intheswamp

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #32 on: February 08, 2018, 12:34:48 PM »
Thanks Greg.  What a nightmare story!!!  I haven't had any experiences like that, but I think I'd rather have everything under one roof, too.  ICDSoft is not a registrar, they use a third party but still my access to the domains and payments will all be to ICDSoft.  It's hard enough for me to keep up with things as they are, the fewer accounts the better for me.

ed

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Offline Intheswamp

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #33 on: February 08, 2018, 12:43:23 PM »
Thanks Yamiacaveman.  Yeah, I need to look into c-panel.  I don't think I want to be changing hosts very often so where I choose I'll probably be at for a while...hopefully.

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Offline Intheswamp

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #34 on: February 08, 2018, 12:55:10 PM »
Interesting thing...

I just logged into my Godaddy account and the first thing I see are the items I had put in my cart at $19.99 a piece.  I had put them in the cart  *before* talking to the GD rep and *before* I unlocked/relocked and got my authorization codes for these four domains.  Interestingly now the price is showing $14.99...only a 25% discount.  Interesting.  Call me conspiracy-minded, but they've gotta be monitoring customer accounts and certain actions, like me getting my authorization code triggered a flag for them to give a better price.  Remember, I had hung on the phone for ten minutes with their rep that only came back with a hair over a dollar per domain discount.   It makes me wonder.... :-k :x

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Offline Maumelle Weather

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #35 on: February 08, 2018, 01:17:52 PM »
Interesting thing...

I just logged into my Godaddy account and the first thing I see are the items I had put in my cart at $19.99 a piece.  I had put them in the cart  *before* talking to the GD rep and *before* I unlocked/relocked and got my authorization codes for these four domains.  Interestingly now the price is showing $14.99...only a 25% discount.  Interesting.  Call me conspiracy-minded, but they've gotta be monitoring customer accounts and certain actions, like me getting my authorization code triggered a flag for them to give a better price.  Remember, I had hung on the phone for ten minutes with their rep that only came back with a hair over a dollar per domain discount.   It makes me wonder.... :-k :x

This doesn't surprise me at all with tactics like that. Plus, if they were serious about wanting you to stay, they can do better than a 25% discount. Same tactics that were tried with me from Dish, after I called them to disconnect service with them. Didn't work. Have enjoyed being satellite free.
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Offline WeatherHost

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #36 on: February 08, 2018, 01:18:17 PM »
cPanel has some advantages but it wouldn't be a make or break item.

In reality, many feel you do NOT want everything in one basket if your site is something you rely on.  If something goes bad with your hosting, you might find the domain locked out of your control where it can't be retrieved without fees, if at all.



Offline GregJ

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #37 on: February 08, 2018, 01:31:05 PM »
Ed,
Slightly off topic....  My wife has been leaving things in carts for years...  After a few days she almost always gets a discounted price...  :lol:

On topic, InMotion has cPanel....

Greg
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Offline SlowModem

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #38 on: February 09, 2018, 09:09:22 PM »
I haven't moved my site anywhere.  It's pretty basic and I've got it all saved locally.  I need to get my site going again, but haven't had time lately.  I'm curious as to how this ICDSoft works out. 
Greg Whitehead
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Offline jgillett

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #39 on: February 10, 2018, 09:31:53 AM »
In reality, many feel you do NOT want everything in one basket if your site is something you rely on.  If something goes bad with your hosting, you might find the domain locked out of your control where it can't be retrieved without fees, if at all.
That's the primary reason mine are split - WestHost in UT and GD in AZ.
John
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Offline Intheswamp

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #40 on: February 10, 2018, 12:45:41 PM »
GregJ, yeah, I think they monitor things.  I've got an account with www.camelcamelcamel.com and it will notify me of price changes in stuff I have in my cart or "saved for later" on Amazon...you can set up trigger price changes, etc.,.  Another pretty good site is www.slickdeals.com...enter in some key words/phrases and they'll notify you when the "community" comes upon a deal...sometime price glitches, sometimes short-term blow-outs, etc.,.  But, again, I do think the robots watch those carts!!!

I agree, having all your eggs in one basket can be disastrous but splitting up places I have things would just make it more confusing/complicated for me...I'm all for simplifying if I can...the brain ain't getting any younger!!!   :lol:

Greg, well, your not going to see my results with ICDSoft anytime real soon.  I just renewed four of my domains with Godaddy for $13.67 each.  I'm still confused with ICDSoft (I guess I'm brain dead).  I read where I can register a domain...I read where they're not a registrar and I have to register the domains elsewhere.  Three of these domains' registrations were ending in four days and I felt I needed to do something.  Godaddy was $1.10 but I didn't have to do any transferring or incur "transfer fees to be be calculating when..." (that was kinda vague on ICD's website).  I'm still strongly considering moving BeeWeather...I just needed more time to figure out the domain registration and I waited to late for comfort. 

$13.67 is a far cry from $19.99, eh????

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Offline jgillett

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #41 on: February 10, 2018, 01:19:57 PM »
I agree, having all your eggs in one basket can be disastrous but splitting up places I have things would just make it more confusing/complicated for me...I'm all for simplifying if I can...the brain ain't getting any younger!!!   :lol:
Actually doesn't matter how one does things - Murphy is alive and well :!:

My brain went over the top and has been slipping down the backside for some time now...

Oh - got another .com renewal from GD today. Still 15 bucks.
John
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Offline Intheswamp

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #42 on: February 10, 2018, 01:49:25 PM »
Well, you could put it in your cart, go in a turn the lock off on your domain get your authorization code and then turn the lock back on...wait a day or two and see if the price doesn't drop in your cart.  THEN...try this code CJC99COM and see if it gives you 5% off.  Stranger things have happened! ;)

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Offline Intheswamp

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #43 on: February 10, 2018, 01:50:44 PM »
And yep...over the top.....  :lol:  But...we ain't *that* far over the top! ;)

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Offline jgillett

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #44 on: February 10, 2018, 02:34:28 PM »
Remember I said Murph was still alive?? Well, no mo' renewals for this year, so outta luck.

Thanks anyway.
John
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Offline Intheswamp

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #45 on: February 10, 2018, 03:19:34 PM »
Murphy...well, we all know him so we could possibly all be kin. :lol:

What really irks me about Godaddy is "Shop our entire catalog today and save 30%.*"   That little asterisk limits the special to NEW purchases...not for renewals.  Maybe twice a year they'll have something for renewals...I think I missed one a couple of months ago.<groan>

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Offline SlowModem

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #46 on: February 10, 2018, 04:31:34 PM »
Ok, thanks.  I'll ponder this.  I don't know enough about it yet.  It shouldn't be this complicated.  But on the other hand, GoDaddy shouldn't have jacked up their prices.
Greg Whitehead
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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #47 on: February 10, 2018, 04:36:26 PM »
Murphy...well, we all know him so we could possibly all be kin. :lol:
Greg Whitehead
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Offline SlowModem

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #48 on: February 10, 2018, 04:49:47 PM »
I have no account left at GoDaddy because it expired.  My domain name should have expired now but it's showing unavailable, so I think GD is holding it hostage.  I was going to get a similar domain name somewhere else.

Has anyone ever dealt with Namecheap to get a domain name?
« Last Edit: February 10, 2018, 05:02:37 PM by SlowModem »
Greg Whitehead
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Offline pfletch101

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Re: Hosting and Domain Registrar Recommendations
« Reply #49 on: February 10, 2018, 05:44:26 PM »
On the original question: I had my websites (my own, and some sites that I managed for Charities) with 1and1.com for many years. I had few service problems, and , when I started with them, their support was good to excellent. Over the years, however, the quality of their support steadily deteriorated, to the point where even relatively simple queries frequently got stupid answers. About two years ago, I moved my hosting and domain registration to Midphase.com, and have been very happy with the change. Overall cost is about the same (though the fee structure is a bit different), there are more available free "bells and whistles" (e.g. automatic installation of web apps), and the quality of their support is night and day better. Their first level support people are not always quite as 'on the ball' as they might be, but they quickly escalate queries they can't deal with to someone who can.
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