Best host for a small, long-term website?

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I'm part of this volunteer organization that needs a website. I said I'd investigate options.

I would like this website to:

- Allow a .com or .org address (like, "www.mylittleorganization.com")
- Allow at least one email address (like, "contact@mylittleorganization.com")
- Allow for photos
- Allow for fliers to be downloaded/printed by the public
- Be stable and open to growth (though not by a huge amount)
- Allow for financial transactions (buying tickets to an event, that kind of thing)
- Be free or cheap (less than $50/ year, say).

Not all of those conditions need to be met -- the more of them, though, the better.

What do you recommend?

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This is more expensive than hoped, but the domain name is available and seems pretty easy/ intuitive:

http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/webhosting/compare.php

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sozobe wrote:

This is more expensive than hoped, but the domain name is available and seems pretty easy/ intuitive:

http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/webhosting/compare.php

I have been very happy with GoDaddy... which is inexpensive and supports all of the things you ask for. I have needed support on occasion and found them very helpful.

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That does look good. I was the webmistress of the website for a previous organization (after intensive tutoring from Craven, PBUH), and I think it was GoDaddy (the site seems to be kaput now, was looking for it for that reason). I could re-learn what I'd need to learn but the more intuitive/ simple, the better. Yahoo seems good for that but is on the pricey side.

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BM

(Been wondering the same thing...need a better host than the one I tried a while back)

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Just plonking in GoDaddy's url:

http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp

dlowan, which did you try, and why do you need a better one, if I may ask...? (Knowing what to stay away from can be valuable info, too...)

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bookmark

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sozobe wrote:

Just plonking in GoDaddy's url:

http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp

dlowan, which did you try, and why do you need a better one, if I may ask...? (Knowing what to stay away from can be valuable info, too...)

invisionfree.com

Choice was based on replies here.....but I wanted a chat room, and there is none, and I discovered that it also cleans up threads where there have been no posts for some time!

I had partly wanted it as a depository for articles and such, to free up my puter, and to be able to share them, so that was NO good! It would be even no gooder for what I kind of have in mind now.

But I guess I got wehat I paid for...which was zilch...the support was fine, though.

Methinks one has to pay if one wishes for anything much.

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Prolly right.

eBrown, how much work do you have to put into your GoDaddy site? I had to learn all of this code 'n' stuff and I got it and I'm sure if I see it it'll come back, but does it have to be built and maintained at the code level? Or can you just click something that says "insert picture here," that kind of thing?

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"BlueHost" gets good reviews:

http://www.10-cheapwebhosting.com/hosts/BlueHost.php

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iPowerWeb looks interesting, too:

http://www.ipowerweb.com/

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OK, this looks really good:

https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/hosting/hosting_build_website.asp?se=%2B&ci=416

Quote:

5-Page Economy Plan:
50 MB Disk Space
1 GB Bandwidth
1 Email Account
50 Email Forwards

2 months: Just $4.99/mo
12 months: Just $4.49/mo Save 10%!
24 months: Just $3.99/mo Save 20%!

Quote:

Overview

Each Plan Features

See it in Action

FAQs

Support

* It's easy! Just choose from over 670 professionally designed templates; add your own photos or graphics; and type in your own text. No manuals to read, no technical language to learn you'll build your site right inside your familiar Web browser!
* It's fast! You build your Web site in real time. Just open your Internet browser, select your images and type your text. In the time it takes to do it, your site gets built and/or updated.
* It's fun! There are no complicated or time-consuming steps to struggle through just point, click and enjoy! Create your own personalized Web site in minutes, complete with your choice of custom color sets and over 1,700 premium images. Or use your favorite personal photos for a site that's truly one-of-a-kind! Plus, with NEW! Flash Intros, you can add even more PIZZAZZ - choose from 30 Intros in all.
* It's affordable! A 5-page Economy site plenty of space for most anyone is just $4.99 per month. And that INCLUDES hosting and an email account, FREE. (See above for Deluxe and Premium prices.)

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GoDaddy is great; my own Daddy uses it for his engineering site. Smile

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Good research, Soz!

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sozobe wrote:

Prolly right.

eBrown, how much work do you have to put into your GoDaddy site? I had to learn all of this code 'n' stuff and I got it and I'm sure if I see it it'll come back, but does it have to be built and maintained at the code level? Or can you just click something that says "insert picture here," that kind of thing?

I am a software geek. My websites need to be built and maintained at the code level since they are built from scratch with the goal of learning or just plain fun. I enjoy the "code-n-stuff".

Easy and quick has never been my goal so I can't answer this question very well.

They do provide a neat looking CMS <<excuse me while I check the name again...>> oh yeah, Joomla that looks to be a point and click way to organize content. When I saw it I made a mental note to try it out someday.

It is in their free extras even for the economy plan... look on the plan comparison chart.

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Thanks.

What's a "CMS"?

I should probably get over my fear of code, especially if it's cheaper, and since it's a good thing to know in general. It was exhiliarating when I figured stuff out and made it work on the last site. Just, I am expecting that once I present the top few options to the board I'll be railroaded... er, urged to be in charge of the site and I want it to take as little time as possible, if so.

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CMS stands for content management system.

If I understand the claims of Joomla, making a fairly complex website is just one level more complex than managing your profile on A2K and posting. It doesn't involve writing any code-- just clicks and typing into boxes combined with uploading any images or other content you want to display.

There are also many different levels of writing code. HTML can give you a nice static webpage and is not very complex. More complex options use other languages (e.g. Perl or PHP or Java) to generate HTML. They are much more powerful, but also more complex.

But the secret to learning to code well is see it as fun. Best to have a goal in mind and then dive in enthusiastically until you come out the other side with a working (sometimes not too well) solution... then you take a breath and look what you accomplished before diving back in to make it cooler...

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It's fun, but it's time-consuming, and I am trying to pare down on things that take time rather than adding to my load.

Point: Learning code is not the goal, getting involved with the deaf community in Columbus is (with an eye towards both social contacts and future job opportunities -- have already gotten a few offers, but full-time). If spending a little time on a website will further either or both of those goals, great, but the less time, the better.

The "Website Tonight" thing that I quoted from GoDaddy a couple of posts back seems to be just what I'm looking for, with the only possible nay being price... is Joomla cheaper?

This one:

https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/hosting/hosting_build_website.asp?se=%2B&ci=416

(With the five page or maybe ten page plan.)

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siteground.com is the best i've ever found. Its cheap and support has answered all of my questions in under 10 minutes when i have a problem

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Have you looked at . . .
Have you looked at this "freebie"?

http://www.tripod.lycos.com/

If you wish, go to my profile here and check out our pages on that site. We've had it for several years and we're very satisfied. The domain name is paid elsewhere for $13.95/year.

The www you see below on this post is not one of our sites, but rather belongs to a friend. We're very proud of that one, too; however, it comes out of Germany.

Good luck! Charli[/color]

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Best host for a small, long-term website?

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