A common
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Hello all- I am wondering what the best way to go is for starting up my own social networking site. Without giving the idea away it would be similar to facebook and I would need for the website to allow people to make their own pages and also post pictures and music. It sounds like facebook but once this project is done you will see that it is nothing like facebook. I do not have prior experience to making websites but I am pretty good with using a computer. Can anybody tell me how this is done and where I should start?
Answer: It is not your fault you are confused. Finding a web host should not be so complicated. Web hosting is one of the most important part of your business and can mean the success and failure for your business.
Before we answer your question, let us review the 7 qualities to look for in a good web hosting. An excellent hosting:
- has friendly Live Chat to help you with your query,
- gives more-than-enough diskspace,
- offers no limit on bandwidth,
- gives unlimited add-on domains,
- has easy-to-use Site Builder with thousands of unique templates,
- has QuickInstall to quickly install apps like WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, OSCommerce, ZenCart and more
- can be easily upgraded to VPS or one of the best dedicated server plans if and when your business require.
To answer your question, why not try Hostgator. If you need an “unlimited” hosting plan, experts usually highly recommend going with Hostgator because they are the best hosting and domain registrar around.
With more than 4 million websites hosted, a “Hostgator sucks” comment cannot be avoided. See the drawbacks of Hostgator in the section below. Objectively, HG has an amazingly long, 45 days money back guarantee so you have ample time to test them out. They are rated A+ by Better Business Bureau which shows their commitment to customer satisfaction. You also do not have to pay for the first month. You can just try their fully functional hosting service – you pay only $0.01 (you need to use the special coupon code). Do you know any other hosting company that can give you that kind of assurance? Anybody can grab an account from Hostgator for almost FREE.
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Hostgator Complaints
No web hosting service is perfect. Some complaints about Hostgator plans include:
- No free domain name included – but you can easily get a domain name from the best domain registrar such as Godaddy or Namecheap for $10 or less. Would you agree that a website is not complete without a domain name?
- You need to pay full price after your first invoice – well, they need to make money too and all the support and great service do come with a cost. It is like they say, you get what you pay for.
If you are still not sure if HG is right for you, or you have specific query about anything at all, try the Live Chat at HG. They are fast and knowledgeable. Just ask and you shall receive.
Here’s what you should do:
1. Conceptualize the website yourself. You don’t have to dwell on the technical details, such as the programming and databases. But think of the site in terms of user experience. What would be on each page, what would it look like, and how would it be used? It would help if you could sketch out a map of the pages and an outline of content and functionality for each page.
2. Purchase web hosting. Go for an established and reliable web host such as the ones recommended on http://buywebspacetoday.com/ and sign up for a shared hosting ("regular" hosting) plan for now, as it’s the most affordable type of hosting and all you really need in the beginning. Once your site gets big, you can easily upgrade to a dedicated server or VPS.
3. Look for a web designer/developer to help you. If you choose freelance professionals, note that they may have specializations. You may have to hire a separate person for web design and for web programming. Or you could also choose to work with a company. http://sortfolio.com/ has a great listing of web design companies and their portfolios. Or you could hire someone more affordable at http://elance.com/ but make sure you choose your designer/developer carefully as the quality varies.
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You can get http://stringsofsound.com/ to build your website for you, they built mine ( http://universityreviews.ca ) for a great price and I am really happy with the result.