I know strange title for a blog post, eh?

Well that’s how I look at my website domain name and hosting.  Your website domain name is the address of where it lives, like www.lauras.com where lauras is the address.

And the hosting is where is resides the property so to speak.

I’ve had some folks say they don’t see why the need a domain name or hosting for them to build a website. Well this is probably true, you can of course use Notepad or even Wordpad to build a complete website with HTML. But what they don’t realize is that by doing this no one is going to see the website but them or if someone is standing behind them and looking at the computer.

So it is essential to have both a domain name and hosting to have a functional website. There are of course, just like everything else, research has to be done. You have to find just the right domain name that explains what your website is about, not just any name either, take your time to really think about what your website is about.

And of course if you intend for others to visit  your website and learn what you are about and what your website has to offer them, you need hosting.

Think of hosting like you think of your rent or mortgage, you have to pay it monthly or you will lose it. The one difference is that with a hosting company you can pay for a year at a time, or up to 6 months, where I don’t know of a mortgage company or landlord that allows this, but you get the idea.

Just like when you are looking for just the right mortgage company or landlord, you investigate them and their company, you have to investigate the hosting company also, Not all hosting companies are a like. Don’t always take what is on a website to heart, anyone can write anything, Investigate them!

You can do a google search for the company name, see how it ranks.

Look to see what others are saying about them in the testimonials

Is there a Real address and not a po box

Is there an actual phone number you can call and talk to a Real Person not some voice mail stuff, do they offer email support. If they do call them and/or write the support desk, how do they respond. How long does it take them to respond.

A good reliable hosting company will usually respond within24 hours, the max is 48 hours and with curtious and friendly people not some automated stuff either.

There are thousands of good hosting companies online, it take time to research and find the right one for you and your needs. Think not only of your needs now, but of your future needs as well. Will the hosting company provide you with all the support you will need and be able to grow with you and your business.

I’ve been online for a few years now, and believe me I’ve been through a few hosting companies, some good and some absolutely terrible. And for the ones I’ve worked with the best one as of today has got to be Hostgator.

Hostgator is always there with quick responses, usually less than 24 hours. They work with me until the problem is solved. They are patient and curtious and don’t treat me like a dummy. They’ve been able to accomadate my needs with my business as it grows.

So if you are looking for a good reliable hosting company I would definitely recommend you take a good look at Hostgator put them through the test and see for yourself just how reliable and good they are.

Just remember not all hosting companies are the same!

I hope you’ve learned something from this post and will leave a comment below to let me and others know.