Starting your own business creating a website and email help

[Moominator]

Could anyone help- muchly appreciated

Where to start? Of course I'd like a professional url and a non-yahoo (professional) email address but where do you start? Any recommendations?

I 'heard' that if you type into google etc to see if certain names are available they are auto-registered and the price bumped up?

[GetCarter]

Moominator said:

Could anyone help- muchly appreciated

Where to start? Of course I'd like a professional url and a non-yahoo (professional) email address but where do you start? Any recommendations?

I 'heard' that if you type into google etc to see if certain names are available they are auto-registered and the price bumped up?

http://Easily.co.uk

[CoolHands]

Try the business forum on here.

[Dilligaf10]

We used daily.co.uk and it was a pain free experience for little cost.

[T5XARV]

Dilligaf10 said:

We used daily.co.uk and it was a pain free experience for little cost.

Site seems unable to register/take payment etc ! Shame really as it looked simple enough and cost effective. No telephone helpline until I'm registered !
Bad sign. I'm oot !
Anyone have another suggestion ?

[veevee]

T5XARV said:

Site seems unable to register/take payment etc ! Shame really as it looked simple enough and cost effective. No telephone helpline until I'm registered !
Bad sign. I'm oot !
Anyone have another suggestion ?

Namecheap
Godaddy
1and1

Theres lots of competition, so plenty of choice, domains cost £5-£10 for a year, and no, if you type them into google the price won't go up!

[nick19]

I use Dreamhost for my business hosting and email. Not the cheapest but reliable and the tech support when required is great.

[jammy_basturd]

veevee said:

Godaddy
1and1

Nice and cheap but their customer service can suck, especially if you ever want to move away from them.

A lot of PHers use TSOHost/Vidahost. Certainly highly recommended from me.

[VEX]

I use any of the cheap boys to do look ups, saves logging in.

Then when I know what I want I use TSO Host to buy.

V.

[LDN]

Hostgator; the only mainstream host and registrar that offer genuine good customer service. I wouldn't bother with Godaddy et al

[jonamv8]

Dont use 1&1 or godaddy...!

Spend £50 a year on some decent ish hosting on a shared server with a company who offer good customer support, so not 123reg either! Evo or Heart for me, not just a number and customer support are very helpful

[madmover]

jonamv8 said:

Dont use 1&1 or godaddy...!

Spend £50 a year on some decent ish hosting on a shared server with a company who offer good customer support, so not 123reg either! Evo or Heart for me, not just a number and customer support are very helpful

Just to echo the above.
However, I do have one domain hosted with 123 reg and it hasn't caused me any issues... this seems to be an anomaly though.

[Moominator]

Thank you. How do you go about checking if a website name (and email address) is available or taken? I heard (alongtime ago admittedly) that if you enter in the name into a search(es) it auto-registers (bumps up the price) then sells it back to you?

[GetCarter]

Moominator said:

Thank you. How do you go about checking if a website name (and email address) is available or taken? I heard (alongtime ago admittedly) that if you enter in the name into a search(es) it auto-registers (bumps up the price) then sells it back to you?

Just go to easily.co.uk - type in the name you want and it'll tell you if it's free. If it's not, it'll tell you who owns it.

ETA they charge upwards of £5 a year to register. I've used them for 19 years and have registered over 20 domain names with them.

Edited by GetCarter on Monday 22 February 17:48

[DSLiverpool]

Never use a third party to check URL availability always do it yourself. Once you have your URL if you need ecommerce look at shopify if you dont need ecommerce then pick a local webby for a wordpress site.

The DIY guys like GoDaddy etc are slightly cheaper than a "proper" webby but the extra is money well spent.

[Joratk]

I use TSOHost for buying domains, hosting domains and hosting email. I currently host 6 domains with them and they have been faultless all the way through. Any queries I've had I've opened a support ticket and I've got a reply within 24hrs.

You can install Wordpress onto your domain, and download a free theme to get yourself started if you're not coding savvy. There are also countless videos on YouTube that explain in great detail how to implement and create an exciting Wordpress site, along with countless features.

[feef]

This is something I can offer myself if you're interested

My £80 a year for a domain, hosting and email accounts isn't the cheapest, but most of my clients know where I live and have my personal email and phone number to sort out issues which they appreciate

Drop me a line if you want some advice (which is free)

[hora]

Interesting username 'feef

On these sort of services who owns the actual name/email/URL variation that you chose for your company name? I.e in the future can a provider up their charges and your stuck or you'd have to again reg with another and variate the email if the first decided to charge or increase? Part paranoid but thought I'd ask just incase as if I get established the email/URL name would be crucial

[JulianPH]

Moominator said:

Could anyone help- muchly appreciated

Where to start? Of course I'd like a professional url and a non-yahoo (professional) email address but where do you start? Any recommendations?

I 'heard' that if you type into google etc to see if certain names are available they are auto-registered and the price bumped up?

Do you have a server to run it from?

PM me, I'll get it set up for you in your name at no charge from me (you will obviously have to pay the registration cost - but this could be just a few quid). I've had a couple of beers (to stop myself being able to drive and see a Aston Martin DBS I would no doubt have spent £100k on this afternoon) so now is a good time!

[Innowaybored]

Dead easy

Office 365 will take care of your emails (2.50 per month) - you can set up alias email accounts so for example [e-mail] and [e-mail] even if you just have one account for [e-mail]

Obviously first you need a URL and 123-reg.com is fine - £6.99 per annum.

Then you need a web site. 123-reg hosting is fine. With this you can create a free wordpress site in about an hour as just about everything is done for you.

The great thing with all the above is that you can move it/change your site with ease without further charges or lock in. The website belongs to you.

If you need any help I am happy to give you a hand without cost to set up your email - it would literally take me 10 minutes. PM me if you want.