Posts Tagged ‘starting a new website’

The Perfect Web Hosting Company? Part II

So, here’s where we left off…  I’m on the Justpages.com site and the virtual agent popped up when I tried to leave the site (see screenshot below) and she kept copying and pasting the same 3 discounts over and over no matter what I asked her. Here is a conversation I had with one of their virtual agents:

Connecting to Agent…

You have been connected to Megan

Megan Says: Hey Wait! We would hate to see you go without seeing what’s made us Award Winning Web Hosts, so just this once we would like to offer you a 20% discount on our unlimited hosting plan. To take advantage of this last minute offer just CLICK HERE

Megan Says: When you are ready just say “Hi” and we can get started….

You: I was wondering what the difference is between the basic and premium plans

Megan Says: Here at Just Host with our unlimited hosting plan you receive unlimited disk space, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited email accounts and you can host unlimited domains.

Megan Says: We do also have a premium version of this you can checkout HERE,

Megan Says: For dedicated server solutions which you can customize to your own needs. Check these out CLICK HERE

You:Yes, I looked at those. However, the only difference I can see for the more expensive plan is the 3 free domains vs. the 1 free one with the basic. Is this the ONLY difference?

Megan Says: You can host unlimited domains on just one account.

You: why should I get the premium vs. the basic?

Megan Says: We have a premium package which you can view HERE, which also gives you unlimited disk space and unlimited bandwidth but with 2 more FREE domains!

As you can see, getting a different agent on a different day produced the same useless results. I could only see 1 difference between their basic plan and their premium plan – the number of free domain names. The basic plan offers 1 free domain per year. The premium offers 3 free – an annual savings of $10/yr/domain, so $20 savings per year over the basic account if you have 3 or more domains to host. HOWEVER, the plan COSTS $3.45/month ($41.40/year) and the premium plan costs $6.95/month ($83.40), so they are actually charging you MORE for those domains per year than if you just got the basic account and paid for the domains separately if that is the ONLY difference between those two accounts.

I couldn’t imagine justhost.com would so blatantly rip people off, so I tried to call customer service to ask about this discrepancy. I waited on hold for 5 minutes and 50 seconds and then hung up. I clicked their “chat” button, in hopes that it would route me to a different call center than the virtual agents. It seemed to route me to more specialized help where I had the following conversation with tech support, which was emailed to me in a transcript after the chat:

The following is a transcript of your chat session.
General Info
Chat start time Feb 5, 2010 3:49:37 PM EST
Chat end time Feb 5, 2010 3:56:09 PM EST
Duration (actual chatting time) 00:06:31
Operator Name Removed by Apryle
Chat Transcript
info: All our operators are currently assisting others customers. You are currently in position 1  Thank you for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
info: You are now chatting with ‘Usher Abott’
Usher Abott: Welcome to Live Chat support, how may I help you?
Apryle: I was wondering if the 3 free domains
Apryle: are the only difference btw the basic and premium plans
Apryle: It’s tough to flip back and forth and compare.
Usher Abott: Yes, that’s the only difference
Apryle: I am also wondering if you know what the average hold time is before being able to speak with a representative.
Apryle: I am considering switching my clients over
Apryle: to a different host
Apryle: and I am considering Justhost
Usher Abott: The average hold time on chat is less than a minute
Apryle: yes, you were very prompt on chat but I am wondering what is like on the phone. thank you.
Apryle: I just waited on the phone for 5 minutes 50 seconds and then hung up and tried chat.
Usher Abott: The hold time for phone is bit high than chat, but its not the same all the time
Apryle: yes, I understand, that’s why I was hoping for an average wait-time. But it seems like you don’t know or are not supposed to provide that information.
Apryle: thanks.

So, I didn’t want to waste any additional time on this hosting company. I am very disappointed that they are overcharging for their domains and then calling them “FREE”. Despite it’s great reviews, JustHost’s website and customer service were really concerning; if they can’t answer questions about their own products to win me over as a customer, how are they going to answer my technical questions if I have a problem with my website hosting? Are they going to try to pull one over on me like with their “Premium” plan?

Verdict on Justhost.com: I will not switch to JustHost.com or recommend them until their customer service improves.

…when I continue, I’ll discuss the other hosting companies I looked at…

web hosting

Step one in building a new website is to choose and purchase a domain name.  Step two is to choose and purchase web hosting. 

Hosting Accounts
If your domain name lives with a registrar, where does the website live? The website/webpages live in a different apartment complex called a hosting account. Your domain name has a code called Domain Nameservers (DNS) that tells the internet where to find the webpages associated with that domain name. You can purchase your domain name at GoDaddy.com and your hosting through Yahoo. Then log into your GoDaddy domain name account and change the nameservers on the account to point to Yahoo for your website/webpages.

Oftentimes Registars offer hosting accounts in addition to domain names which is like going to an all-inclusive resort. Although domain ownership and hosting may seem like it’s one-in-the-same, in this case, the domain name is automatically coded to point to you’re their company’s hosting – no changes needed. These all-inclusives are convenient for managing your overall internet solution.

Many hosting accounts offer 500 or so free email accounts with your hosting package.

Security
To make any changes to your hosting account (including creating or updating your website) or registar, you’ll need to log in.

Always keep a record of your username and password for your registrar and hosting account. If your web designer signs up for the accounts on your behalf, insist that they provide you with this information.

choosing a domain name

There are two necessary components to getting a new website up and running – purchasing a domain name and purchasing a web hosting (or sometimes just called hosting) account. I recommend discussing both purchases with your web designer before making either puchase.

Domain Names
Domain name examples include www.allyourssolutions.com or www.myday.org. Your domain name is the word or group of words you want folks to type into the address bar of their internet browser to find your site. This is different from the word(s) you want people to type into the search engine and find your site – those are keywords and are a different topic.

Business owners often try to have their domain name the same as their business name. For instance Stone Studio may try to purchase www.stonestudio.com. If www.stonestudio.com is unavailable, that means somebody else already owns that domain name. You may want to try www.stonestudiodesigns.com or some business owners opt for www.stonestudio.net or .biz.

Checking Domain Name Availability
You check for domain name availability by going to www.domaintools.com or a similar domain search and typing in your preferred domain name. You can also check availability at any of the domain registrars (aka. the companies that sell domain names). Note that it is not sufficient to type your preferred domain name into your internet browser address bar and if a page comes up blank to assume that it is available. Domain names return blank pages (or Page Unavailable) for many reasons and it is not necessarily because they are unowned and available for purchase by you.

Purchasing a Domain Name through a Registrar
Domain names are purchased through companies called Registrars. Examples of registrars are GoDaddy, Bluehost, and Yahoo. Domains are purchased in increments of years with 1 year of registration being the minimum.

Whichever registrar you choose to purchase your domain name through, it will be the home of your domain name. Imagine that company as an apartment building and your domain name lives in one of the apartments. Should you choose to move your domain name to a different registrar in the future, you must wait 60 days – think of it as your minimum stay – before being able to transfer your domain name. Often, the time remaining on your registration transfers with the domain name. For example, if you purchase www.livinghealthy.org with GoDaddy on June 1, 2007 and decide to transfer, you must wait 60 days from June 1, then start the transfer. Your new registrar may ask you to pay for another year’s registration upfront so you’re domain name is now good through June 1, 2009.

But wait! Sometimes you’ll get a free domain name with the purchase of your hosting account so don’t go straight to GoDaddy and purchase your domain name yet…  Click here to learn about web hosting, the next step in building your new website…