Questions about creating a first website

[HappySnail]

Hi, I'm trying to make myself a website and am just trying to clarify a few things before I begin.

I'm using wordpress, I found a theme I liked from Theme Trust and most of the web hosting companies seem to offer wordpress support.
The main question sits with these web hosting companies, I've been looking around. A few stand out as good (if you have any recommendations, i'd highly welcome them).
The site that came up time and time again as good was hostgator.com, now this is an American hosting company, i'm UK based and was hoping for a .co.uk domain.
Buying a domain seems easy enough to start with but the companies that sell domains give you hosting packages with them it seems and some talk about transfer fees, I just want to be able to buy a domain cheaply to use with hostgator. Would this be possible or should I look at a UK based hosting company (they seem to be more pricey and i'm going for as cheap as possible really).

Thanks if you can help me.

 

[blevins321]

I'd highly recommend JustHost. They're a UK company that has both American and British data centers. (American center is in Delaware..not sure about UK one). Their invoices even come with a British address. You can find a code to give you up to 50% for the first year, then it's pretty cheap if you pay upfront instead of monthly. It includes a domain name and annual renewals in the price quoted on their home page (currently $4.45/month when you pay I believe 3 years in advance).

 

[HappySnail]

Ah, that's odd. I've just been scrolling through literally hundreds of negative reviews for JustHost - It has no uptime guarantee and seems to lie about the % money off you could save until you try to leave the site as you get attacked by popups when trying to leave the website. They can't be that bad if you're recommending them but experiences have been mixed to say the least, thanks for the suggestion though.

WebzPro seems to be another good site but they don't seem to do Wordpress unfortunately. Although I'd happily go for hostgater if i find a solution to the domain problem. Anyone else has any suggestions then thanks.

 

[windowstomac]

I think with any hosting company with thousands of customers you will find as many negative as positive reviews....let's face it, if somebodies email went down and they missed an important client communication they will have been angry, and likely to post a nasty review.

If you are using Wordpress, look for a host which offers an easy 1 click install of it, it will save you a lot of hassle.

I personally use Dreamhost, and am very happy....but I'm sure you will be able to find bad reviews of them too.....

 

[HappySnail]

Yes I think you will get negative reviews from being a big company but I think that JustHost seems to be especially bad (205 Bad/13 good reviews on webhostingreviews.com) and I have nothing else to go on but reviews and suggestions right now.

Is buying a domain to use with one of these companies possible without buying it through the company itself? When signing up for hosting there's an option "I Currently Have a Domain Name". Where would i easily buy a cheap domain i could use for this?

 

[windowstomac]

Well you could.....but given that domain registrations are pretty cheap anywhere, I would rather pay a few quid/bucks/euros extra and have it all in one place, rather than dealing with registation with one company and hosting with another.

If you have your domain registered elsewhere, you have to point your DNS at wherever you end up having your hosting.

B

 

[HappySnail]

Well the problem is the hosting sites that I like the look of don't offer a .co.uk domain as they're all US based. How difficult would pointing a DNS at wherever be? Would it be worth just giving up on those hosting companies and looking for somewhere that does both hosting and a domain together?

 

[windowstomac]

It's straightforwardish, depending on your level of knowledge.....as far as I am aware, Dreamhost, although US based, recently started offering registration for .co.uk domains.....

 

[Wheaty]

http://www.wiserhosting.com/

I use wiserhosting for My domains. I've been with them for quite a few years now. They dont offer the best value for space, but I found them best for flexability with options to use. Wordpress is also one of the packages on their auto install site.

I own my domains and they go to the DNS for wiser hosting, its east to do.

My domains I bought from 123 reg, and free parking. This way I own them and controll them. Moving servers is easy if I ever need to.

I have used wiserhosing support a few times, the occasional technical issue mainly relating to me re-jiging things, and they have always been helpful. I have even spoken to real people on a phone!

Wheaty

 

[dduggan]

I've used Fasthosts and EUKhost in the past