Mouse Will Play
Skipton Web Design & Development
Planning a Website
Choosing Hosting
In order to get your website 'live' on the internet, you need two things:
- A domain name - an address for your site, e.g. mousewillplay.co.uk. See Choosing a Domain Name.
- Hosting - some physical space on a special computer (called a server) to store your web pages and images.
We're always happy to help purchase domain names your behalf (registering them in your name). All our packages include a domain name and hosting for one year. You will then need to renew them on a yearly basis.
If you want to know a bit more, here are a few points you should consider when choosing a hosting and package and hosting company:
Choosing a Hosting Package
'Free' hosting
Some companies offer 'free hosting'. In return, most place advertising on your site to cover the cost of the hosting. This doesn't look professional and as you have no control over the type of adverts that are placed on your site, we wouldn't recommend using free hosting. Besides, quality web hosting isn't expensive. We use Web-Hug.net Hosting Plans which are approximately £45.00 per year for the basic package and you can pay monthly to spread the cost.
Linux vs Windows
There are two types of hosting: Linux and Windows. If your website is very simple, with a few static pages, it doesn't really matter. However, if you want some sort of interactivity - from a simple contact form to a full content management system, then the type of hosting you choose is important. For most websites we prefer to use Linux hosting. The technical bit: Linux runs Apache and supports PHP and MySQL; Windows runs IIS and supports ASP and MS-SQL.
Space
You need to buy enough space for your site. In most cases, a basic or economy package is more than adequate. Check that you can add more space (upgrade) should you need to in the future.
Limitations
Some packages come with limitations such as the amount of data you can transfer each month, whether you have direct FTP access, the number of databases (if any) allowed, maximum size of a single file, types of files that can be uploaded. Check these carefully before you sign up.
Choosing a Hosting Company
The good, the bad and the ugly
Over the years, Mouse Will Play have worked with many different hosting companies. We've had our preferred hosting company Web-Hug.net for years but often clients have already purchased hosting before they come to us so we work with what we're given. Honestly, we've had some horrible experiences: hosting not properly secured resulting in sites been hacked, terrible or non-existent customer support, server problems causing sites to go offline for days - we could go on... Although hosting is cheap and readily available, your choice of hosting company is a very important business decision. If your online shop goes down for three days in December, you could loose thousands of pounds in Christmas orders. The golden rule: research - talk to people - lots of people, ask them about their experiences. These are our 'must haves':
- 24/7 Customer Support - not by email, not be submitting a ticket online - by picking up the phone and talking to a real, knowledgeable person at any time of the day or night.
- Low downtime - sites do go down from time-to-time but this should happen VERY rarely and for a very brief period of time
- Excellent security
- Competitive pricing
- Well established - you really don't want your hosting company to disappear!
- ICANN-accredited domain registrar
The link between the domain name and hosting
It is possible to register your domain with one company and host it with another. It should be as simple as getting a special address - called a nameserver - from your hosting company and giving it to your domain registrar. However, some domain registrars don't always make this so easy - they would obviously prefer you to buy their hosting! For simplicity and easier admin & billing, it's often better to use the same company for domain registration and hosting.
