I took some time to chat with Ashur Lazar from Insynch Web Design about the very sexy topic of domain name and blog hosting. Here’s how it sounded:
How do you search for available domain names?
I use either http://whois.ausregistry.net.au/ if it’s an Australian domain or any of the hosting providers like CrazyDomains, Melbourne IT.
How do you buy your domain name?
I usually purchase them from http://www.crazydomains.com.au/ at the moment, they are dirt cheap, give you a lot of space and access to do most things yourself, not sure if it’s suitable for all people though as their customer support isn’t the best. If you needed some hand holding then Anchor Systems are fantastic but a lot more expensive.
Why are .com.au domain names more expense than .com?
The difference before was a lot more pronounced then it is now; it’s only a $6 difference at crazydomains. But really I think the main reason historically they have been more expensive is competition. There were few places you could purchase .au domains so they could charge more because you couldn’t go anywhere else. .com domains have always been much more competitive.
Is having a .net domain name a disadvantage? Does it affect SEO?
Historically yes, but today no. People are much more accepting of any domain name as long as they know what it is and it’s not too long. As for SEO, it’s hard to say these days; I feel yes it still does but I think there are many more important factors that influence SEO then your domain name.
For a newbie, what is hosting?
The remote computer where the files of your website are stored. As simple as can be.
There is different pricing for hosting. What should bloggers be looking for? Pricing and package.
It depends on your level of knowledge, if you are comfortable with computers and don’t need much assistance from technical staff then places like crazydomains and their competitors are really best value for money as you can get 25Gigs (way more then 95% of websites will ever need) for less then a cup of coffee a month.
If on the other hand you are not in the know or would feel better with good technical help then I would recommend Australian hosting companies with technical support staff that are in Australia, it makes a big difference. I’ve been using Anchor and the tech support is fantastic.
What kind of tech support should blogger’s expect?
You get what you pay for in most cases. So don’t expect the best tech support if you aren’t paying reasonable prices.
Is there a limit on bandwidth? How much should bloggers be using?
Look if you’re concerned about bandwidth then you’ve hit the big time and can afford the best hosting package. Bandwidth for the majority of bloggers will never be a concern.
Does cheaper hosting mean more likely there will be downtime for your site?
Not in my experience, I’ve used some of the most expensive hosting packages and some of the cheapest and I’ve noticed no difference in downtime. In general most hosting companies these days are very good at keeping your website up. Most will guarantee something like 99% uptime so again unless you’re website is mission critical you will never see it down.
Can the same company take care of the domain name and hosting?
Yes most of them do and I recommend you do that if you can as it saves any hassle of speaking to two separate companies about your website.
Is it worthwhile to have your site on various servers around the world to assist with upload times?
Sure if you’re Facebook or Google but for 99% of businesses it’s unnecessary because again you will never get that amount of traffic to need it.
Is there any other advice that you think is necessary that I haven’t included in my questions?
Make sure you’re email address matches your domain name, it’s easy to setup with your hosting account and most will either have online instructions or will walk you through how to do it over the phone.
Try to stay relevant with the domain name; if you’re blog is about cars don’t have a domain name that is called bobsworld.com.au. Bad for SEO and also makes it harder for people to find you.
Purchasing multiple related domains and pointing them to the same host is a good idea if you can afford it. So don’t just get the com.au, get the .com, .net and so on. It will help in SEO and make it easy for people to find you and also for you to expand the business into other areas if you do become successful.
Insynch has been in the game for over 10 years now. A small boutique web firm who service small to medium sized businesses.
Website design or redesign, SEO or online advertising, content management systems or ecommerce, mobile web or apps.
Insynch has it covered.
Contact us for a free online assessment of your current website or let us know what you want to create and we’ll be there to give you free advice.
[...] For those of you who are thinking of migrating from your blogspot or wordpress blog to your own domain I interviewed Ashur Lazar a web designer from Insynch about the basics of hosting and domain names. [...]