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I, Brian · 01-12-2004, 11:18 AM

Well...with your own domain name you have branding and improved marketability. After all, think of how you would communicate your domain name to prospective customers over the phone. The shorter the better. ISP names in a domain - in my personal opinion - make a website look amateur. So does free web hosting, such as tripod and geocities, where host advertising distracts from the content of your own site.

Even more simply - a business (again, IMO) neesd to look professional about absolutely everything, wherever possible. On the internet, that means a decent domain name for starters (you should be able to pick one up from most places of around £10-£15 - - - or try www.123reg.co.uk for les than half that).

Then webhosting - again, the costs are absolutely minimal - if you host from the US you could get a decent starter package for around £3/month - check out somewhere such as www.fluidhosting.com in Boston - close enough to be well connected to the internet backbone crossing the Atlantic. Connectivity issues with the US for a website such as yours should *not* be a problem, so long as you're not hosting from a backwater datacenter.

So - for your own domain name, and proper webhosting (which will include a range of jiucy features - not just stats packages all inclusive) - it would cost you the princely sum of around £7.50 - and £3 month after.

Even the poorest business should be able to pay for that. And, in return, you can a better basic presentation, plus various professional hosting goodies to boot.

For example, a favoured technique of mine is to add a directory to new sites (for some webhosts this is merely a single click from an admin panel to set up). That way you can set up a proper link exchange program with non-competitors, and siets of related interest (for example, tourist attractions may consider listing you on a page of recommended accomodations - and if they don't, recommend they do - the smaller ones may just take your suggestion on board.

There's a real freedom you can have as a webmaster - much of which you simply cannot have on free ISP space. Have a look, and feel free to run some questions by on potential hosts.

01-12-2004, 11:18 AM	#6 (permalink)
I, Brian Inactive Join Date: 10-26-03 Posts: 2,466 iTrader: 0 / 0% Latest Blog: None	Well...with your own domain name you have branding and improved marketability. After all, think of how you would communicate your domain name to prospective customers over the phone. The shorter the better. ISP names in a domain - in my personal opinion - make a website look amateur. So does free web hosting, such as tripod and geocities, where host advertising distracts from the content of your own site. Even more simply - a business (again, IMO) neesd to look professional about absolutely everything, wherever possible. On the internet, that means a decent domain name for starters (you should be able to pick one up from most places of around £10-£15 - - - or try www.123reg.co.uk for les than half that). Then webhosting - again, the costs are absolutely minimal - if you host from the US you could get a decent starter package for around £3/month - check out somewhere such as www.fluidhosting.com in Boston - close enough to be well connected to the internet backbone crossing the Atlantic. Connectivity issues with the US for a website such as yours should not be a problem, so long as you're not hosting from a backwater datacenter. So - for your own domain name, and proper webhosting (which will include a range of jiucy features - not just stats packages all inclusive) - it would cost you the princely sum of around £7.50 - and £3 month after. Even the poorest business should be able to pay for that. And, in return, you can a better basic presentation, plus various professional hosting goodies to boot. For example, a favoured technique of mine is to add a directory to new sites (for some webhosts this is merely a single click from an admin panel to set up). That way you can set up a proper link exchange program with non-competitors, and siets of related interest (for example, tourist attractions may consider listing you on a page of recommended accomodations - and if they don't, recommend they do - the smaller ones may just take your suggestion on board. There's a real freedom you can have as a webmaster - much of which you simply cannot have on free ISP space. Have a look, and feel free to run some questions by on potential hosts.