Small Business | Forum « What Web site hosting and Web site design tools do you recommend?

What Web site hosting and Web site design tools do you recommend? (28 posts)

Topic tags: Microsoft Office Live Small Business Web site replaceme

Debbie Lynn Butler said
1 year, 4 months ago:
A number of my friends and clients currently have Microsoft Office Live Small Business Web sites, a free service being discontinued April 30, 2012. What reasonably priced Web site design program and/or hosting service do you recommend and why? (Please, no affiliate links.)
@debbielynnava | # | Top
Melissa Agnes said
1 year, 4 months ago:
Im not sure if this is exactly what you’re looking for (Im not familiar with the Microsoft program), but WordPress has a TON of free and paid templates to choose from for a simple web design. If you know HTML, you can also tweak them and customize them.
As for hosting, I always recommend the company Ive been using for 4 years: Netfirms
Hope this helped…
@melissaagnes | # | Top
Mac said
1 year, 4 months ago:
I agree with @melissaagnes about Wordpress and add that you can host on a service like GoDaddy. There are a lot of people that vote against GoDaddy for hosting, but GoDaddy has the size to supply every service you could possibly need.
@richardmclaughlin | # | Top
Dea Irby said
1 year, 4 months ago:
We had quite a bit of discussion on this thread: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/clubs/blogging/forum/topic/best-blog-hosting-site/ @debbielynnava @melissaagnes @richardmclaughlin IMO, It really depends on the purpose of the site and goals of the business.
@deairby | # | Top
Debbie Lynn Butler said
1 year, 4 months ago:
Thanks for the input @melissaagnes @richardmclaughlin @deairby.
@debbielynnava | # | Top
Jenifer Swanson said
1 year, 4 months ago:
I have bigcommerce for website and only needed limited html knowledge. The basic is under $30.00 month plus I have ecommerce for about $20.00 more monthly. I’ve made a profit every month but can’t help but feel it’s weak on quality and customer experience. But that would be from my lack of knowledge not the webhost. I heard GoDaddy was bad because the link juice was going to them not you.
@jeniferswanson | # | Top
gizmodesign said
1 year, 4 months ago:
I’m a big believer in WordPress sites and have been designing corporate, retail and e-commerce sites for it since about 2008. I’m even doing a training session on it in a few weeks
I like Dreamhost, Bluehost, Gatorhost… depends on what the client needs.
@gizmodesign | # | Top
Dea Irby said
1 year, 4 months ago:
Jenifer, do or did you pay for SSL for your commerce or is it included. And, I’ve investigated many website hosts and godaddy IS highly recommended. ( @kristi-hines is using godaddy with satisfaction) @jeniferswanson @gizmodesign
@deairby | # | Top
Jenifer Swanson said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@deairby i’m pretty sure bigcommerce has a blanket policy but I probably paid a fee with payleap (the credit card processor) up front. I’d need to check my files at work. Also here’s the blog link on godaddy http://www.floristseo.com/seo/godaddy-linking-scheme hth
@jeniferswanson | # | Top
Dea Irby said
1 year, 4 months ago:
That link was quite interesting. Hmmmmm. May be back to square one. @jeniferswanson
@deairby | # | Top
Moin Shaikh said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@debbielynnava agree to @melissaagnes for wordpress. Apart from this, if you wish to go big, you can go for linux hosting and can have handy and free cms installed on your website. CMSMS (CMS Made Simple) is one of the best cms tool which allows to customize and maintain your site even if your clients are not that much tech savvy and are non programmer.
@moinshaikh | # | Top
Rich Brooks said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@debbielynnava
Wordpress. Wordpress. Wordpress.
Free, scalable, powers 14% of the known web, and you have millions of developers you can work with who are familiar with the platform.
As far as hosting goes after 15 years in the biz I’d have to say all hosting companies suck…some suck less. Right now that’s how I feel about RackSpace.
(Feel free to disagree. Anytime I think I have found a great host they get bought out by some giant corp who kills the golden goose by cutting back on customer support. And please, nobody tell me how great Bluehost, Dreamhost or GoDaddy is. I’ve got too many battle scars.)
BTW, on GoDaddy, fine for small sites w/little traffic and little database needs, but we pulled a site that was hosted there and put it on Rackspace and went from 12+ seconds load time on the home page to under 5. #justsayin’
@rich-brooks | # | Top
Debbie Lynn Butler said
1 year, 4 months ago:
Thank you so much for adding your wisdom and experience @jeniferswanson @gizmodesign @moinshaikh @rich-brooks. Each of my clients and friends have different online presence needs and tech-savviness, so all this information is good.
@debbielynnava | # | Top
Kristy C. Cartier said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@debbielynnava Hi Debbie, for domain purchasing I used Hover.com and really like it. They only buy domain names but associate with hosting companies. It is free to redirect the domain and keep your contact information private. They are very easy to work with.
As I have not hosted my sites yet (they are redirected to my LinkedIn page), I can only mention, not necessarily recommend, a few hosting companies.
Fat Cow, SquareSpace, 1and1, OnePager, HostMonster (a friend of mine uses them) and Webhost4Life (a friend of mine used them in the past).
Whatever you do, don’t search for domains on GoDaddy!! Apparently once a domain is searched for, they place it in the premium category because someone showed interest in it.
@kc_kreative | # | Top
Debbie Lynn Butler said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@kc_kreative Thanks for the warning about GoDaddy. I’ve wondered about that practice.
@debbielynnava | # | Top
Alf Delli Fiori said
1 year, 4 months ago:
Hi Debbie
I had a few website providers and we finally settled on JaguarPC they provide you with a start up plan and give the ability grow as large as you want , I have been with them for a few years now and the also have tools to grow your business..and the support system the have second to none.. hope this helps..
@donalfdellifiori | # | Top
Debbie Lynn Butler said
1 year, 4 months ago:
Thanks @donalfdellifiori. It’s always nice to have options.
@debbielynnava | # | Top
Keri K Silk said
1 year, 4 months ago:
I have hosted on bluehost for years. It is reasonable, great customer support and allows unlimited domain names (for $12/yr each).
I originally chose it because of the great reviews and it was one of the few (in the early days) that supported wordpress. Now I choose a domain name and clck in my blue host panel on wordpress — install and I am up and running. I have several very small business clients that otherwise couldn’t afford or understand how to make the magic work.
Have fun and share your success!
@kerisilk | # | Top
Debbie Lynn Butler said
1 year, 4 months ago:
Thanks @kerisilk. That “otherwise couldn’t afford or understand how to make the magic work” is a good endorsement.
@debbielynnava | # | Top
Ben said
1 year ago:
I recommend HostGator as a hosting, they are great, they have really good customer support, great uptime and as far as tools I suggest Wordpress they are easy to use, you got to pick the theme that you want and follow some instruction to build your site
@webhostingreviews | # | Top
Michael Pingree said
1 year ago:
My first site was on GoDaddy and my next 19 sites were on Hostgator. I have only had two support tickets with HG in 4+ years. They are great for smaller, lower traffic sites. Great customer service.
WordPress is the only answer for a platform.
@rich-brooks Have you checked out WordPress specific hosts WPEngine or Page.ly. They are more expensive, but are super fast and totally managed. You don’t have to do anything with regards to hosting. If your sites are getting some traffic, you can’t go wrong with either of those.
@michaelpingree | # | Top
Julia McPherson said
1 year ago:
I’m just adding my two cents here. I also recommend a WordPress self-hosted site. Please do not use the “one button” Fantastico or other “instant” WordPress install as it can leave a large gapping hole in the security for your site. Take the time and do the five minute install outlined on WordPress.org. Or have someone do it for you.
For hosts both HostGator and BlueHost are great options for WordPress users. Steer clear of Godaddy.com as a host provider and far away from 1&1.com — they are awful as host providers. I love Godaddy.com for purchasing domains and use them frequently. Good luck Debbie!
@innerspacejulia | # | Top
KR McGee said
1 year ago:
Okay, this discussion is an example of how I can tell many of the folks here haven’t been online for very long. I can tell by the product recommendations.
If you want good quality tech support, reliable servers, low prices, go here: http://www.ipowerweb.com/
I hosted my professional site there ages ago, including a WordPress blog that played nice with ipowerweb’s cpanel.
I’ve created my own business model of not paying money for online real estate, so I no longer own any registered domain names.
14% is a pretty decent slice, especially considering how small the pie really is. I guess this means I’ll be getting a WordPress blog again.
If you host a store bought domain on a server, I recommend using Dreamweaver to design & code your .html pages. You’ll also need a good ftp client to upload and download your website files. I honestly can’t remember which one I used, so I can’t help you there.
I wonder if Criticular has realized it made a bad web hosted decision? Their site’s down way too often and I think they serve as a good example of how a bad web host can hurt your business.
@krmcgee | # | Top
KR McGee said
12 months ago:
For anyone looking for quality free hosting, I recommend Zymic. They were ranked in the top 5 free wp hosts last year. I’m using them to host my new blog and am very pleased with the speed and reliability of their servers. Here’s what they offer for free:
• 5000 MB disk space (I got 6000 MB)
• 50 GB bandwidth
• 3 MySQL databases
• PhpMyAdmin
• ZHCP control panel
• No advertisements!
You get to choose from a list of domain names to host your site on. I chose 99k.org because it fits my theme.
I used the 30 day trial version of smartftp to upload my files.
@krmcgee | # | Top
Mike Morton said
12 months ago:
I use Host Gator for most of my sites. Always good support and reliable service with lots of features. Don’t have to spend a lot on hosting.Don’t like Godaddy. Load time for sites that I have had on Godaddy is almost double those of any other hosting company I have used. I do however use GoDaddy for domain registration.
I love WordPress, it is so easy to customize and extend. The community of developers is plentiful and great to work with. Like one of the comments above, I recommend you do not use Fantastico to install WordPress or Joomla. I always manually install.
@mikemorton | # | Top
Dawn Kelly said
12 months ago:

@debbielynnavaI agree with @mikemorton- HOSTGATOR is definately the place to start. Packages include unlimited everything – emails, bandwidth, databases … everything! It’s the only hosting solution that I recommend to clients.
I am also a fan of WP, it’s esy to learn and there are so many premium templates out there that are good. I’ve been using Theme Blvd for newer projects and am very pleased with how the templates are set up and child themes are easy to make. The website is here: http://www.jasonbobich.com/tag/themeblvd/
Theme Forest also has a large selection of themes and they are here: http://themeforest.net/
@roguecitrus | # | Top
Vince Diaz said
12 months ago:
I use HostGator with Wordpress. So far I’m very happy with the service.
@vincediazjr | # | Top
Michael Goes said
12 months ago:
I use Contegix for hosting. I’ve been with them since 2004 and have never had a problem that wasn’t fixed almost immediately. The longest I’ve waited after submitting a ticket was maybe ten minutes. They are true professionals.
@mgoes | # | Top