The death of a web host; the Internet says goodbye to GeoCities

Posted by kent on October 27th, 2009

In the relatively short history of the web, GeoCities is a bit of a marker. The service has been providing beginning web publishers with free web hosting since 1994. That is, up until yesterday when Yahoo! finally shuttered the site. Things on the web have changed in the last fifteen years, and the ad-supported service was feeling like a relic from a time before blogs, Facebook, wikis, and inexpensive web hosting.

In my usual role of 'old guy on the web' at NextAdvisor, I remember when a lot of sites were hosted on GeoCities (along with the surprisingly extant Angelfire). In 1999, when was I testing search engine relevance for one-time search-giant Inktomi (coincidentally, it too was bought by Yahoo!), GeoCities sites were often in the results. By 2009, as they say, not so much. Now, GeoCities is a custom 404 page.

In 1994, no one would have thought web hosting was important enough to justify spending $60 to $120 per year. Only universities and a few well-known web-savvy brand names had their own domains. Now many people count web hosting costs as a necessary expenditure, right up there with their cel phone, cable, TIVO, and NetFlix fees.

So, farewell GeoCities. You helped make the web what it is today.

New web hosting reviews added, Register.com hosting gets discount

Posted by kent on October 20th, 2009

It's been a big week in web hosting. Last week we launched four more hosting reviews: iPage, BlueHost, Register.com, and Dreamhost. Both BlueHost and iPage shake out at the cheaper end of things. Register.com, the stalwart domain registrar also offers web hosting. Normally it's one of the more expensive plans (at $11.95 per month for a single year), but an exclusive NextAdvisor discount brings the first year down to $4.95 per month.

To see what we thought of Register.com and the rest of the new additions, check out our web hosting reviews and comparisons.

Yahoo! 50% web hosting discount still active?

Posted by kent on October 13th, 2009

The official word was that Yahoo!'s great $4.99-per-month web hosting discount was supposed to end last Thursday. But it seems like the deal is still going strong. We have no idea for how long you'll still be able to get this price (which amounts to 50% off for the first twelve months). It's a really great deal, particularly for beginners looking for an easy, user-friendly entry into web hosting. So, if you'd been thinking about, but feel you waited for too long, give the link a try.

If you're curious about Yahoo!'s web hosting, and why we recommend it for beginners, take a look at our review. You'll notice we've published their regular discount in the review and comparison chart.

Yahoo! Small Business Web Hosting: 50% off

Posted by kent on September 10th, 2009

Yahoo! Small Business Web Hosting has dropped a nice little surprise discount by offering the first year of its web hosting package for $4.99 per month. That comes in at 50%-off of their normal price of $9.95 per month. This marks a substantial savings from one of our best reviewed web hosting providers. Yahoo! keeps its web hosting under the monicker of Yahoo! Small Business, which is a bit unfortunate, as it probably drives away individuals looking to host personal sites.

For individuals or businesses new to web hosting, Yahoo! Small Business gets our top recommendation. They don't boast the fastest data transfer speeds around, but their interface and customer service are top notch. While we reviewed a number of compelling web hosting services, only Yahoo! takes you through the process step-by-step; you always know exactly what to do and when. Our main complaint had been the price of the service, but with the current discount, that argument is moot.

In the grand tradition of offer notifications, here are some details you should know: the price is good for the first twelve months. The offer expires October 8th, 2009. It's also for new accounts only. Also, registration and setup are free, but domain privacy (which we recommend) will cost you an extra dollar per month.

To get this price, just follow any links to Yahoo! Small Business from NextAdvisor, such as this link right here. Or, you can read our reviews and see how Yahoo!'s web hosting stacks up against the competition.

Lunarpages coupon: $50-off makes a sweet deal

Posted by kent on September 8th, 2009

Highly rated web hosting provider Lunarpages is offering a $50 coupon which essentially cuts the cost of a year's hosting in half. We're not sure how long this will last (the coupon code is LABORDAY, after all), but it works as of Today at 11:30am. $57.40 per year (or $4.78 per month) is a real bargain for a host of this caliber. In our tests, Lunarpages showed excellent data transfer speeds, and we were impressed with the user interface and site builder as well.

To get the $50-off coupon, just follow one of our links and enter the code LABORDAY at check-out. You can see how Lunarpages compares to other web hosts we reviewed with our web hosting reviews and comparison chart.

The 60-Day Domain Transfer Rule

Posted by kent on August 13th, 2009

Let's say you registered a domain last month with Register.com. Now, let's say you want to transfer that registration to another registrar, maybe to a web host that you found while reading our reviews. If you did try, you'd find out that you can't. As weird as it sounds, there's a 60-day waiting period between domain purchase and transfer. ICANN, the non-profit corporation that governs Internet naming standards, set down this rule for all its accredited domain registrars.

So, if you bought your domain last month, you have to wait another month before you can move that domain to a new registrar (which would be the case if you're transferring to a webhost). Usually this is where we put in a common-sense reason for the rule, only we haven't found one yet. It probably prevents nefarious web site owners from shuffling around their shady domains to different web hosts. Either way, it's something to be aware of.

If you really feel like you can't wait to get your site up and running, consider signing up with a web host that offers you free lifetime domain registration. Since most web hosts will let you run multiple domains off of one hosting account, you can register an alternate version of your domain (such as a .org or .net). This will allow you to get to work on your site right away. When your 60-days are up, you can transfer over your original domain. It's a good way to protect your brand from typo-squatters, though it does mean you're responsible for two registrations, and any yearly registration fees associated with them.

While you're waiting for your 60-day waiting period to elapse, check out our web hosting reviews and comparisons.

The cheap web hosting challenge

Posted by kent on August 11th, 2009

The world of web hosting can be a confusing place. On the one hand, all web hosts do pretty much the same thing: they allow you to publish a website on the Internet. But, as our reviews show, there are also a lot of differences. All those variables aside, sometimes what you want is cheap web hosting, an inexpensive domain to upload your site to. While the race for best bargain web host was pretty tight, this month we have a clear winner: 1&1.

No, we don't know what the name means (but for that matter we don't know what a HostPapa or a WebHostingPad is either), but they have one compelling offer: two years for the price of one. With one year coming in at $4.99, that's like paying only $2.50 per month for two years. Plus, you get two free domain registrations, meaning you can score a .com and a .org version of your site for one price (assuming they're both available). And domain privacy, that's free too.

In our review, we loved the user interface, the shopping cart creator, and the site builder. We had some reservations about the quality of the out-source support and it didn't rank up there with our performance champs (upload and download speed were good, but not great on large files). But it is the most affordable web host you're likely to find, as long as your comfortable with a two-year commitment.

Check out our web hosting ratings and reviews to see how 1&1 stacks up against the competition, or click here to get started with 1&1.

New Jersey man hawks stolen domain on eBay, nets basketball player

Posted by kent on August 4th, 2009

P2P.com is a website that started out in 1997, before the term P2P became known as peer-to-peer (a type of file sharing popularized by Napster). Back in 1997 it was the website of Port to Print, an online printing firm. Sometime around July 12th, 2005, the domain underwent a conversion. It was either bought from Port to Print, or the registration ran out—but someone with an eye towards the domain's potential value bought it. Suddenly, no longer the home of Port to Print, it became what's known in the business as either a placeholder domain or a domain squatter, a domain that just sits around waiting to be bought. Only, it seems, it wasn't bought. It was stolen.

Daniel Gonclaves allegedly hacked into the account of the domain holder and transfered ownership to himself. According to an AP report, that happened in May 2006. In September, LA Clippers star Mark Madsen bought it for $100,000 on eBay; that's about when the site got another makeover. On December 16th of the same year, the site assumed its current look (you can see the site here, but be warned that it will spawn a pop-up window if you try to back out of it or go to another site). To recap, it went from print business, to domain squatter, to hacker, to NBA star in ten years. Not only did the site go through four owners, the site's name went through two definitions in its lifetime. It also went from a legitimate business to a spam site designed to net unaware web surfers in a fake web directory and send them off on monetized links (this seems to have been done under Madsen's ownership).

And yes, you can add domain names to the list of dicey purchases you can make at the online auction house eBay. In fact, it may be one of the dicier things you can buy. After all, domains are entirely virtual products. Right now eBay is stocked full of Michael-Jackson-related domains.

Reportedly, this is the first time anyone's been arrested for stealing a domain (though the actual charges are: "theft by unlawful taking or deception, identity theft, and computer theft"). The big lessons here are: always make sure to renew your domain every year (or set it up for auto-renewal), and don't buy domains off of eBay. Understandably, Madsen probably thought p2p.com was a pretty good buy, even though he paid over $100k and never did much with it, except put spam there (bringing us to a third lesson: NBA stars, even in a terrible team like the LA Clippers, make way too much money).

You can register and host brand spanking new domains at any one of the web hosts we reviewed, and not worry about buying stolen property.

Is it wrong to lie on your whois info?

Posted by kent on July 28th, 2009

When you register a domain with a web host, you're asked for your name, address, and telephone number. And, as we've pointed out before, this becomes part of the public record (which is why we talk about domain privacy in our reviews). But maybe you're wondering why you should bother putting down the correct information anyway. Why not register every domain to "Jon Doe at 1234 Anystreet, Anytown, anystate 99999"? In other words, do you have to tell the truth when you register the domain?

Sure, most of us have given a purposefully incorrect piece of personal information to someone when we feel it doesn't matter (just why does the Pottery Barn need my zipcode, anyway?). But there are times when it does matter (i.e., every April 15th when the Government wants to know your real income). If you lie to the IRS you can go to jail. What if you lie to the people who collect whois info? And who is asking for that whois info anyway?

Contrary to popular belief, the Internet is not a lawless land. Not entirely. All domain registration is governed by ICANN, the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. One of their big jobs is governing the creation of tld's (top level domains) such as .org, .com, .biz. Here's what they say about themselves:

"It is a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation with participants from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet's unique identifiers."

Part of that "keeping the Internet secure" involves an interest in domains being registered to real people at real places. Whois info is used to keep people accountable for their websites. Even if you've privatized your whois info, law enforcement can go to your web host with a subpoena to get that information.

Truth be told, there's nothing stopping anyone from lying on their registration info. If someone's going to illegally distribute pirated copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price, they're probably going to lie. So, why shouldn't you, the honest and upstanding website owner, lie and hold onto the $10 per year you're paying your web host for domain privacy?

Besides that it's just "the right thing to do" (whatever that's worth in this day and age), it does go against ICANN's rules and can have consequences. Now, ICANN isn't out knocking on doors and taking away domains when no one answers. But violators can be reported, and in such cases they can lose their domains. If someone wants your domain, and they find out that you're reporting false whois info, they may report you. Also, since ICANN requires your domain registrar to collect the correct info, your web host probably requires it too. Putting down the incorrect information probably violates your terms of service with them.

Now, the web is full of stories of people who have been successfully lying about their domain registration for years. But keeping your whois info up-to-date (and private) is probably the best way to stay out of entanglements. It at least keeps you on the right side of the ICANN policies, keeping you in a good position if your domain is ever under dispute.

Check out our web hosting reviews for more on domain costs, web hosting, registrations, and domain privacy.

Next Advisor web hosting guide: The cPanel

Posted by kent on July 15th, 2009

Web hosting is a service that allows you to put content (such as a blog, website, photo album) on the Internet, at a specific domain that you own. Sounds simple enough, but what does that actually look like? Once you pay your fee, what do you actually get, and what do you do next?

The first thing you should do is get comfortable with your web host's control panel. The control panel is the fundamental way you manage your web hosting. This includes installing your blog, looking at visitor statistics, changing settings, managing files, installing web site creators, adding subdomains, the list goes on. In fact, there are so many things that most control panels are a little overwhelming. Here's the popular cPanel control panel, which powers a number of web hosting solutions, including Web Hosting Pad, Just Host, Host Gator, HostPapa, IX Web Hosting, and others :

There are a lot of choices here (click here for a full view). In fact there are way more than you probably need, at least right now. The good news is that you don't really need to know all of them. On the left you'll find a bunch of statistics related to your account. You'll find this more useful further down the road. Right now, a lot of it will be blank. Taking up most of the page is the menu of options, looking a bit like a Windows operating system circa 2001. The nice thing is, you can actually rearrange these panels, so you can drag the ones you use least down at the bottom.

The most common modules you'll probably want to use first are Email Accounts (located under Mail), and the various blog and sitebuilding add-ons grouped together as Fantastico Deluxe (under Software/Services).

Email is very easy to set-up on cPanel, simply choose a user name and a password (it will even create one for you, if you prefer). The mailbox quota is optional, and best left at its default. cPanel will create your email address and then provide you with the configuration settings for your email program.

Fantastico De Luxe is a different beast altogether, in fact it's a whole other control panel. It's your one-stop shop for add-on modules like Wordpress (for blogging), CubeCart (for creating a shopping cart), 4Images Gallery (for building an image gallery), and Soholaunch (for creating a website). It looks like the Macintosh operating system circa 2001. On the left you see your options. Next to that, you see the add-ons you have installed (if any).

For the sake of demonstration, let's install Wordpress. Wordpress is the web's most popular platform for blogging. First, click the WordPress link on the left. When you see the WordPress installation screen, click "new installation."

Now you need to make some decisions, the most important being where you'd like to install your blog. If you want it to be the page that people see when they arrive at your website, just leave this space blank. If you plan on having the blog as part of a bigger website, you might want to put this at a directory like: blog (so type "blog" into that box).

You'll also need a username for the blog. It's also time for another password. Since Wordpress does not ask you to confirm the password make sure you write it down. Or, better yet, copy and paste it into a text file. Your admin nickname will be visible to people who view your blog, so choose something you want people to see. Next, enter an email address (notifications will be sent to you at this address). Your blog needs a name, which doesn't have to be the same as your domain. Finally, you can enter a description, which can be as simple or complex as you want. You can always change title and description later.

You will get one more screen telling you everything is working right and ready for installation. You can ignore the bit about the MySQL user, because you won't need to know that. Just click "finish installation." When it's been installed correctly, you'll see a confirmation of your information, including the url where you will administer your blog. As Fantastico suggests, you should bookmark it.

The process of installing other modules will be similar. If you want to get back to your cPanel, just click the "control panel" icon at the upper left.

Those are the basics. If you've done the above you'll now have your own email address and blog set up.

What's next? Try building a site. Depending on your web host, some site builders are located in the Fantastico panel, and some will be found in the cPanel. Or try an offline site builder like Adobe Dreamweaver, Apple iWeb, or Microsoft Expression.