Just Ask Jean

From the desk of Jean Bedord

RE: The resources I use for my own websites

Domain Name Registrar: Hover

I recommend using a separate domain registrar, not a web hosting company to buy your domain names. This ensures you are listed as legal owner, not a third party, then you can buy hosting services separately.

The process can be confusing, but Hover has developed a straight-forward interface that's easy to understand. I've used 7 or 8 different registrars over the years, and the Hover is by far the simplest to use. They are the consumer division of Tucows, an old-timer in the web world since 1994 (pre-Google!), with good phone support.

I recommend Hover as a domain name registrar. You can get a 10% discount by using my name JEAN in the coupon code, which you can also pass on to your friends.

GoDaddy is another popular domain name registrar which advertises widely with low prices. But it's hard to find the basic service on their website, with all the up sells to increase the total price tag. Their website hosting is not as standard as other web hosting services which have comparable prices.

Web Hosting Service: Bluehost

At Blue Host, you can host an unlimited number of websites for a single price, so it's easy to have special purpose and test websites at no additional charge. You can have personal, professional and business websites all on the same host.

These folks provide excellent service 24/7 by both telephone and chat, so you can reach them outside usual business hours, an important consideration for any hosting company. They also have the industry CP control panel with one-click Simple Scripts. Free easy-to-use automatic WordPress blog installations are included, so you can have multiple blogs for the same price.

I recommend Blue Host for your webhosting. There are several pricing plans, which can be as low as $6.95 a month.

Text Editor: TextPad

Text editors are the utilities for working with web technologies. They create simple ASCII text. Basic text editors are included in operating system utilities, but are quite limited.

TextPad provides additional functionality, including a spell-checker, and multiple document windows. You can download a full evaluation copy for free, and payment is on the honor system. The minimal cost is worth keeping the software stable and supported.

I recommend Text Pad for day-to-work.

To success in establishing YOUR web presence....

Jean

www.JeanBedord.com

P.S. You can get a copy of my book I've Got a Domain Name -- Now What? A Practical Guide to Building a Website and Your Web Presence at www.IveGotADomainName.com, with a 15% discount on the print version, and 20% discount on the ebook PDF version. Also available at Amazon and other online book stores.