Domain Name Prices + Setup Help!

[LAPTOPER]

Hey Guys!

For one of our school assignments, we are to reach out to other teenagers and help prevent/cutdown/whatever on a recognized problem such as drugs, alcohol, sex, etc... I brought up the idea of creating a website for our class that I would do everything for. Through some domain name comparisons, which weren't very helpful, I figured for a good site, I would be paying anywhere from 35-60 $$'s! For me to pay and everything, and for each year, that is a lot of money.

Do any of you have your own site and pay a reasonable amount of money? Do you use .Mac accounts? Is there a way to get them cheaper, and quicker... I would like to be able to work on the site asap. Please, if you do, include how their site designs choices are, and cool looking ones. Usually mac websites are awesome, you know, dark, just cool looking websites! I don't really want other suggestions what to do with the assignment, just need help finding a reasonable priced (about $20-$40 max?) website that I can pay for.... Thanks for all your help in advanced!!!


Also, I have seen MANY sites claiming to host for you for $5 a year? That seams to good to be true! Is it? Do you have any experience with one?

LAPTOPER

[seabeast]

Hmm... I can't think of any right of hand...I'll look.

[Monoman]

Not to take away from the idea but have you thought of doing the initial site on a free host. Unless you plan on using the space for more than just a basic site you probably wouldn't need alot of features. By using a free host you can get up and going right now. Then later maybe after the assignment is due and you want to continue with the project you could move to paid hosting. Also you don't have to buy hosting to have a domain. You can have a domain and use a free host.

As for pricing, it will probably be around $50/year (basic plans) from most places. And that is just the hosting not the domain renewal. The domain pricing can vary depending on how many years you buy in advance and type of domain like .com, .info, etc.

[DarkRaverNL]

If you realy want to be found by search engines properly, i think its best that you atleast get a domain name, i use godaddy to buy all my domain names, they are pretty good and cheap.

You could go with a free hosting, but you can get up and running for a few $ a month already.

Check out these hosting plans: http://xn-host.com/?pid=2

[Dirk Gently]

have he site on your mac and use some DNS software to host it.

[LAPTOPER]

Wow! Thanks everybody! I do have a free site on freewebs.com, but you have to type www.freewebs.com/yoursite/ ....

have he site on your mac and use some DNS software to host it.

Can you explain more on this? Like which applications and stuff? Which cheap domain site would you go with?


LAPTOPER

Thanks so much!!

[Dirk Gently]

Wow! Thanks everybody! I do have a free site on freewebs.com, but you have to type www.freewebs.com/yoursite/ ....

have he site on your mac and use some DNS software to host it.

Can you explain more on this? Like which applications and stuff? Which cheap domain site would you go with?


LAPTOPER

Thanks so much!!

My friend uses this: http://www.dyndns.com/
it has a mac version, choose your URL name, then make your site using whatever program. Enable web sharing or web hosting in the firewall and system preferences, then port forward your router. I personally don't know more than that because I have never done it myself. And the only thing you pay for is your internet.

[LAPTOPER]

Wow! Thanks everybody! I do have a free site on freewebs.com, but you have to type www.freewebs.com/yoursite/ ....

have he site on your mac and use some DNS software to host it.

Can you explain more on this? Like which applications and stuff? Which cheap domain site would you go with?


LAPTOPER

Thanks so much!!

My friend uses this: http://www.dyndns.com/
it has a mac version, choose your URL name, then make your site using whatever program. Enable web sharing or web hosting in the firewall and system preferences, then port forward your router. I personally don't know more than that because I have never done it myself. And the only thing you pay for is your internet.

But would you only be able to host when your computer is on?


EDIT: Through looking through the site, it looks like a could register a .net account for $15 dollars a year! Not bad, but do they provide you with good looking templates? I think, one of the best ones I have seen were from a mac account because of the "Made By A Mac" in the corner of the page. It looked awesome, but aparently, it is expensive. I need a good domain price, and tools to help me build it! Like, I wouldn't mind at all paying that $15, but is that site going to provide me with good templates? or is there another free service that will work with that?


LAPTOPER

[Dirk Gently]

Wow! Thanks everybody! I do have a free site on freewebs.com, but you have to type www.freewebs.com/yoursite/ ....

Can you explain more on this? Like which applications and stuff? Which cheap domain site would you go with?


LAPTOPER

Thanks so much!!

My friend uses this: http://www.dyndns.com/
it has a mac version, choose your URL name, then make your site using whatever program. Enable web sharing or web hosting in the firewall and system preferences, then port forward your router. I personally don't know more than that because I have never done it myself. And the only thing you pay for is your internet.

But would you only be able to host when your computer is on?


EDIT: Through looking through the site, it looks like a could register a .net account for $15 dollars a year! Not bad, but do they provide you with good looking templates? I think, one of the best ones I have seen were from a mac account because of the "Made By A Mac" in the corner of the page. It looked awesome, but aparently, it is expensive. I need a good domain price, and tools to help me build it! Like, I wouldn't mind at all paying that $15, but is that site going to provide me with good templates? or is there another free service that will work with that?


LAPTOPER

yes, your computer would have to be on for the site to be hosted.

[LAPTOPER]

Darn...

DarkRaverNL:

The site you provided me with looks alright and the prices are good. Do you have previous experience with this site?


LAPTOPER

[P!ckoff]

Googlepages works well, but yes you have to type out xxx.googlepages.com.


I dont think thats a big deal tho.

[cQuence]

go on google and search cheap domains?

[LAPTOPER]

go on google and search cheap domains?

I did that, and things that say "$5"'s a year!!!!!! sounds to good to be true. That is why I posted here and asked if anyone had any personal experience with one...


LAPTOPER

[P!ckoff]

My mom has a website and she pays about $30-$40 dollars for it every 2 years.

[LAPTOPER]

Yeah, thanks Pickoff, but we talked and releaized that you have to build the site from scratch....

Anyway, I may have mentioned it, but I have a freewebs account and I clicked their "make this a domain" button, and it led me through some stuff so that I can have my own domain for $20. I am not going to accept it quite yet, as I am not sure whether this covers the domain and their hosting, or just the domain. Do any of you have any idea?

Freewebs offers some pretty cool templates, and it would be cool to be able to be hosted from them. (Is that the right word) Yeah, so I think it would be cool to go through them, but I am not sure if the offer covers all their hosting and the domain just for $20. Any help?


LAPTOPER