Newbie Domain Registration and Hosting Questions

Hi everyone,

Sorry if these questions are really basic but I'm new to the whole domain reg/hosting world. I've been hosting my own website (Apache+PHP+MySQL+Some other bits & bobs) from home (ADSL) using a dyndns domain which has been working really well.

However, I need to provide higher bandwidth for a short period (3-4 months) and I'd prefer to provide a better domain name than foobar.dyndns.org etc.

So, questions!

* Is it possible to register a domain (.com) and retain ownership so I can point it at my home server once the hosting period is over?

* Is short term hosting like this possible? How much should I expect to pay for a basic level of hosting?

* Is it possible to get hosting which will point to virtual domains (ie. wiki.domain.com, photos.domain.com)?

Thanks for your help,

All Work

* Is it possible to register a domain (.com) and retain ownership so I can point it at my home server once the hosting period is over?

Yes, probably the best way is to use a separate domain registrar (e.g. 123-reg) to register the domain. When you change hosting companies all you have to do is login to your chosen registrar's control panel and change the nameserver entries to match the ones given to you by the hosting provider.

This also has the benifit that if there is a problem/dispute with your hosting provider then you can easily move the domain without having to fight to get control of the domain from the hosting company.

* Is it possible to get hosting which will point to virtual domains (ie. wiki.domain.com, photos.domain.com)?

Yes, most hosting companies will allow you to set up subdomains as part of their packages.

Try to use registars like godaddy.com they will be independent of your hosting so if you want to move back home hosting then you can just modify the name server entries.

Im personlly not a great fan of 123reg cos ive seen clients domain's registered at 123 reg and not show up on say godaddy whois!!

As for subdomains yes most will allow you to set them up - various hosting do it from unlimited to 5 or lesss - depends on who you buy from. If you get a cpanel based provider you can have like [email protected] emails addys which is quite cool

In reply to:

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Yes, probably the best way is to use a separate domain registrar (e.g. 123-reg) to register the domain.

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I would avoid 123-reg. They are cheap, but do not provide any useful support. 2 years ago they were excellent, but were taken over by Pipex and turned into a non-support organisation.

Try someone like Easily - support is contactable and helpful, but they do cost a little bit more.

For hosting, the US hosters are much cheaper than the UK. I use MonkeyWrenchHosting, and pay $7.95 per month for a reseller account and host 6 domains there. Support is via email, but usually answered within a couple of hours, and they are technically competent. Account is paid per month by Paypal with a 1 month contract. I have been with them for 3 months and am satisfied - all problems sorted within 24 hours.