Choosing the right hosting service for my FIRST REAL website(s)

Hi, thanks for stopping by.

My objective is to find a reasonably priced, solid, long-term hosting service that i can rely on for my first and future websites. Currently, I haven't built any websites, I've done some blogger.com, and "pre-built" websites, but nothing on my own. This what I'm looking to do moving forward:

a) Build a blog/personal journal website
b) A bit more In the future, register 10+ more domains that will be more extensive, blogging channels as well. These websites will be completely different from my initial website.
c) Create a forum that can be sustained (by upgrading with this hosting service)
d) Host iPhone applications


Obviously, I'm going to start VERY small, with my blog/journal, but I do want to get familiar with one thing and be an expert at it.


Side-questions:

1) What are the most useful types of language to learn for designing both webpages with layouts (ie: engadget) and also forums (ie: digitalpoint)?
2) Are there any useful tools to help me find a blogging template for my first website (ie: wordpress)?


I know this is a lot of information, but I would be very grateful for any suggestions.


Thanks so much!

 

You should start with cloudflare hosting.

Its worth paying for these kind of hosting.

For theme you can go to themeforest to buy.

 

For a forum site you’ll want a host w/cPanel so you can get into the databases & forum scripts. Also, people expect a forum to be up 24/7 without any hiccups so get a reliable host, don’t go for the cheapest option you can find.

For starting out, BlueHost is a good option. You can have several domains hosted there & the navigation’s pretty straightforward. Then start out but putting up WordPress on your site as a good way to get yourself familiar & up and running quick.

As far as useful languages, check out some html tutorials and download a WYSIWYG editor like Kompozer to play around with html and see how things work. Get familiar with the basics before adding scripts or anything too complicated.

 

Thanks! Does cloudflare offer CPanel? I've toyed around with Godaddy and 1and1 for a little bit, but I'm FAR from having any remote knowledge about the topic.

If you're knowledgable about the topic, please feel free to provide any resources that helped you get to where you are. I'm ready and willing to learn. Thanks again for the suggestions, both of you, mentos and epicshred.

 

I would recommend that you go for a host with Softaculous(or a similiar installer).

This will allow you to install forums, blogs etc. very easily with a few clicks and is perfect for beginners.

 

There is no such thing as CloudFlare hosting. Mentos doesn't quite understand. CloudFlare is a content delivery network. You still need a web host (in which you can get cPanel through your host), and can use CloudFlare with that host. They are two completely different things.

 

v7host, thank you for the tip! I will absolutely install softaculous into cPanel when I register with a hosting service.

My experience with Godaddy was not bad, what do you guys think about Godaddy as opposed to others?
I'm currently using 1and1 and am not enjoying it as much as I did with Godaddy, but is there any others that I can choose from? I know there are hundreds.

I may go with hostgator.com since it looks OK and was recommended to me by anther user. Any comments?


Thanks again for your contributions!

 

WSWD, I just realized that as I was 'signing up' to cloudflare. Web hosting seems pretty consistent throughout--what makes one web host superior to another?

 

Price ( obviously)
Support
Uptime & Server reliability
Ease of upgrades

Loads of things, but the above ones are the most basic stuff.

 

How skilled is their staff? When you need customer service of a technical nature, you need it immediately, right? Find out the availability of their systems administrators.

 

Thank you for clarification! I'm going with hostgator... at about $5 a month, it's cheap for unlimited domains. Does Hostgator satisfy the above qualifications? I saw the CPanel and it's very user-friendly. Thanks so much again for guiding me in this process, everyone!

I'm also going to learn some basic HTML, what's a good resource?

I will also buy my first template to make it easy on myself, any other resources so I can kind of feel my way about the area?

 

Yes HostGator will work great for your site and they have a cloudflare option in their cPanel if you want to set that up too.

 

Godaddy is on #1 and Reliable Hosting for all type of websites..They have several plans also

 

You'll want a host with good customer service to help you out! Large companies like HostGator and Dream Host just don't care about you once you've paid for your term...

 

I used GoDaddy but now I am very happy with HostGator, no bad words about customer service, they replied very fast if I needed some advice.
Nowadays there are many good web hosts where you can f.e install WP in seconds, it is a matter of taste

 

I don't want to sound like a cheapo, but I don't want to pay such a large sum upfront and Hostgator's monthly program is $10. Is there anything cheaper that has a good reputation with you guys? I want to host more than one domain. Thanks so much!

 

trys bluehost and you find coupon code for get discount...

 

You can also use cloudflare with a host who provides it like us we provide it for free with our shared hosting plans and so do alot of other hosting companies you should ask around in some forums for hosting that provides cloudflare included in the hosting packages

 

No need to go with a host that provides CloudFlare. You can get it yourself for free, directly from CloudFlare and then go with any host.

 

Hi,

Thanks to people for chiming in that CloudFlare is not a hosting service.

If you're looking for hosts that have CloudFlare integrated in the hosting provider cpanel, you can find the list on the CloudFlare website (large ones are Media Temple and HostGator).