Registering+Domain+Names

Custom Domains and Web Hosting
The world of domain registration and web hosting is fraught with confusing information, hidden pricing and unethical practices. Be careful of specials and introductory offers since they usually expire in a year. Switching registrars and/or moving a website from one host to another can be painful and time consuming, so make sure you know what the real renewal price is (the prices listed in the chart below are all renewal prices).

If you're just registering a domain name, we recommend NameCheap. But make sure whatever vendor you choose offers email aliases or email forwarding as this is how you will be creating custom email addresses (i.e. jsmith@yourname.com). If you're going to use a themed portfolio hosting service (like Cargo), you will most likely want to connect your custom domain to their server. Many portfolio hosting services will charge you a premium to use your own domain name (Adobe Portfolio and Tumblr are free).

If you're not using a portfolio hosting service, we recommend using one vendor that offers both domain registration and web hosting. This way, you don't have to deal with the technical issues of trying to connect the two services. When shopping for web hosting, look for "shared hosting" packages (this just means that you will be sharing the server with other clients).

Here are some of the more popular vendors and their pricing (as of January 2015):

$120–$600/yr ($240 for students) ||
 * **Vendor** || **Domain reg** || **Web hosting** || **Disc storage** || **Notes** ||
 * Tumblr ||  || free || unlimited || limited free themes ||
 * Adobe Portfolio ||  || free || unlimited? || Adobe CC subscription required:
 * Bigbytes.net || $11/yr || $10/yr || 25MB || bare-bones starter package ||
 * Bigbytes.net || $11/yr || $20/yr || 200MB || economy package ||
 * Mocha Host || free || $30/yr || unlimited || wordpress optimized ||
 * Midphase || free || $36/yr || unlimited || full featured ||
 * Arvixe || free || $48/yr || unlimited || full featured ||
 * Go Daddy || $15/yr || $84/yr || 10GB || poor reputation ||
 * No Support Linux ||  || $12/yr || 1GB || wordpress optimized, no support ||
 * Namecheap || $11/yr ||  ||   || popular domain registrar (see knowledgebase) ||
 * Google Domains || $12/yr ||   ||   || includes email forwarding ||
 * Weebly || $20/yr || $96/yr || unlimited || popular themed website builder ||
 * Squarespace || $20/yr || $96/yr || unlimited || popular themed website builder ||
 * Wix || $16/yr || $120/yr || 3GB || popular themed website builder ||
 * Crevato ||  || free || 30 images || additional images and custom domain requires $84/yr upgrade ||

Start by registering your domain name with one of the above companies. One of the benefits of registering your own domain name is to be able to set up a permanent email address (i.e. jane@yourname.com). Most people prefer to have their permanent email forwarded to their existing account (or set up a new Gmail account to manage multiple email accounts).

Tip: As soon as you have your own permanent email address, you should start sending all email from this address in order to promote your domain name. Adding a signature to all your emails will also help.

Additional resources:
 * Ultimate Guide to Web Hosting (in depth article)
 * Best web hosting services (PC Magazine review)
 * Web hosting comparison chart (with user reviews)
 * Website builder reviews
 * Google mail fetcher (private email tutorial from Namecheap)
 * Connecting domains to Adobe Portfolio