GoDaddy - Website hosting, domain registration and website builder?

[DCIC]

GoDaddy are doing the above for £3.09 a month with 5 business email addresses included.

My website will not be used for any ordering and is more a point of reference for potential stockists to view.

Does the price sound viable? I am in the very early stages and will most definitely upgrade to an all singing all dancing designed site, but will the above tide me over until I have built a stronger customer base in 1-2 years time?

Iwas going to decline and just reguister the domains; but seeing a company email address is around £2 a month on it's own, the above seemed like a good deal.

I was going to go with Wix - is this likely to be much different?

Also, what is the omportance of having a certified website?

Thanks.

 

[Faevilangel]

godaddy are US based, the servers are so slow (websites will load so slow) and the website is going to look poor imho.

You can buy UK hosting for £20(inc VAT) for a year, £9 for the domain which will give you a few emails e.g. [email protected]

Most web hosts will have an auto install of WordPress, install that and you have a web site which will grow with you (so no need to change the platform) for £30 a year.

Please for the love of god, don't go with these website builders, they are given away for free for a reason, they are poor.

 

[KM-Tiger]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Seconded.

 

[simon field]

And thirded.

Is that a word?

 

[10032012]

And thirded.

Is that a word?

I hope so...


And fourthed.

 

[Alan]

Godaddy is often maligned as being American, but it has had European datacentres in the Netherlands for more than 4 years recognising that it needs to service Europe well.

The bandwidth from Netherlands to London is absolutely massive, so a Dutch host is about as good as a UK host.

That said, only buy your domains from GoDaddy, get your website built professionally and host /email with whomever your professional website developer recommends. A professionally developed website can be a lot cheaper than you think, if you want a simple one, and if you want a complex unique website, unless you are a professional yourself you'll never achieve it with website builder tools.

 

[astutiumRob]

GoDaddy are doing the above for £3.09 a month with 5 business email addresses included

It's keenly priced, but the site-builder produces websites which will be doing your business a disservice by being online.

If you want a 'home-brew' presence, then install WP and go for it - but remember to regularly update it (the software, how often you update the content is down to you) - with most hosts the update/upgrade is as simple as a few clicks (as is the install)

If you want a professional presence, go see a web deisgner or three and discuss the requirements

If all you want is your name and phone number so you can be 'found' on search engines, then a .tel domain plus linked-in, twitter and facebook is simple and just works.

 

[fisicx]

Why is saving a few pounds so important?

The website could be be a key component of your business so inversat sufficnet time and money into making it meet the needs of your customers.

Don't use any of the site builders. Ever. Install Wordpress or some other CMS and take control.

Note as well that using the monthly deal means you cannot ever leave godaddy. Setting up your own site means you can more it between hosts shouild there be a falling out or the service is no longer suitable.

 

[KM-Tiger]

Note as well that using the monthly deal means you cannot ever leave godaddy.

Yes, it's the lock in that is the clincher here.

Not just websites but a general business principle - never, ever, lock in to a single source of supply of anything at all.

 

[200host_Steve]

Please stay away from GoDaddy (says me as a webost )

If you are instant in using them, please buy your domain from another registrar. that way when (notice the lack of if) you want to leave, you don't lose your domain name as they wont let you keep it.

Most hosts, as already said offer wordpress as a single click install. I like wordpress for what it was designed for (blogging) but im not a massive fan of it for whole sites. It can be done, and it can be done well, but it takes time.

Rgds
Steve.

 

[LinkBright Media]

I used the GoDaddy website builder for one of my sites and the SEO capabilities are terrible - so steer clear if you want to do SEO on your site.

 

[fisicx]

I like wordpress for what it was designed for (blogging) but im not a massive fan of it for whole sites. It can be done, and it can be done well, but it takes time.

Care to explain that?

All it takes to change WP from a blog to a 'normal' website is selecting a static page as the homepage.

 

[adamo]

I have to admit, I've registered domains with GoDaddy on a number of occasions purely for the fact that they're the cheapest. Usually I'd recommend Namecheap as a domain registrar.

As far as hosting goes, you really should avoid GoDaddy as they've got a terrible reputation. I personally have my sites hosted with Webhostingbuzz, but it depends on what you want from your web host.

Hope that helps!

 

[Matthew : TekHive Hosting]

As already said GoDaddy are find for domains but I wouldn't recommend them for web hosting.

 

[200host_Steve]

Care to explain that?

All it takes to change WP from a blog to a 'normal' website is selecting a static page as the homepage.

Sure, I "personally" have found they tend to be harder to rank. Also, people tend to install a load of additional plugins that are detrimental to site performance.

I can 100% see the ease of use side of things, and I have used wordpress for building sites in the past, but I prefer not to.

 

[fisicx]

Sure, I "personally" have found they tend to be harder to rank. Also, people tend to install a load of additional plugins that are detrimental to site performance.

Ranking a wordpress site is no different to any other. In fact in many ways it is easier. The plugins people add don't make it more difficult to change the site from a blog to a normal site.

However... if you prefer not to use WP then that's fine.

 

[DCIC]

I steered clear of Go Daddy in the end. I've bought my domains but still feel a bit daunted by Word Press! Am I ok to proceed with the USA site? And do I get my hosting from WP?

 

[200host_Steve]

You can either host with wordpress.com

search google for wordpress .com with own domain

look for the first non advert link

Or you can chose from any number of other hosts. Most if not all will offer wordpress as a single click installer. (Basically takes care of all the install stuff for you and then leaves you with a running wordpress install)

Hosting with Wordpress.com will cost $13 a year to use your custom domain.

Choosing another host gives you more control.

Ideally you want your site as close to your target audience as possible.

Rgds
Steve.

 

[fisicx]

I steered clear of Go Daddy in the end. I've bought my domains but still feel a bit daunted by Word Press! Am I ok to proceed with the USA site? And do I get my hosting from WP?

A UK host may well be a better solution. They may be little more expensive than cheap US hosting but you have the advantage of phone support if it all goes pete tong.

I agree the wordpress can seem a little daunting but there is plenty of support and zillions of tutorials to help you along the way. I was a complete noob a few years back but now I can build my own themes and plugins from scratch.

If you need help then just ask. There are a whole bunch of people who can help you out here on the wordpress forum.

 

[Talay]

Nothing wrong with GoDaddy website builders if you use them as a learning and education tool. I used one (from two builders I tried).

I knew it would never give the end product I wanted but it would let me drive out more clearly what I did want.

At least with GoDaddy, as with all the monthly builders, you are limited in cost to a few pounds and if it is crap, you are down the price of a bag of toilet rolls, whereas if you've ponied up a few grand for a "well designed" website, you could find yourself equally unimpressed.

 

[adamo]

If you plan to do business for the long-term, you really shouldn't be using a website builder. You can pick up a decent WordPress theme for under £50, so there's really no excuse as regards cost.

Also, GoDaddy's hosting is known for its issues.

 

[DCIC]

Thanks all - went for Word Press. Got my partner having a play around in offline mode currently. Now to thread hunt for decent UK hosting!