Web Hosting?

I wrote a lot and then deleted it! So, to sum it up, I guess I am asking:
Which web hosting service do you use that does not cost an arm and a leg, has personal email, has the ability to purchase through, is easy to navigate, etc?
I am going to close my smugmug and try my hand at an actual website and get my butt in gear and shoot more. Have a few things lined up and figured this is a good way to go.
any suggestions for a decent web host??

http://www.godaddy.com

Well I use portfoliobox..not sure if you can purchase through it though. Besides that, it's an awesome website. I just have the free version, but will be upgrading to the 'premium' account soon. My website is kmrphoto.portfoliobox.​me if you care to see what can be done with it.

Ty Katie! I like what you have there. Are you able to email from there or from a POP3 client?

1downfall wrote in post #15540842
Ty Katie! I like what you have there. Are you able to email from there or from a POP3 client?

You can have a contact form (which I have) and the messages go straight to your email and the inbox on the website. With the upgraded account, you get your own email (info@yourwebsite.com) which is managed by Google Apps, I believe.

I've been using Total Choice Hosting for a little over 10 years now. I've never had any issues. They have a great support system in place and have always responded very promptly with any questions that I've ever had. As you will find on their website (under Shared), I currently pay $44/yr ($3.95/mo) for 5GB of space, and $12.95/yr for my domain name.

That said, I design/build and maintain my own site. When I first started out I was literally designing my own graphics and templates (in Photoshop) and doing layouts for all of the pages. I found that this was not the best thing for me, as it was simply too much work for me to update on a consistent basis. Within the past few months I've switched it over to using the Wordpress framework, which is a lot easier for me to manage.

I will also note that the site is not for photography as this is currently just a hobby for me, but I do have some plans for that too...

drvnbysound wrote in post #15545572
I've been using Total Choice Hosting for a little over 10 years now. I've never had any issues. They have a great support system in place and have always responded very promptly with any questions that I've ever had. As you will find on their website (under Shared), I currently pay $44/yr ($3.95/mo) for 5GB of space, and $12.95/yr for my domain name.

That said, I design/build and maintain my own site. When I first started out I was literally designing my own graphics and templates (in Photoshop) and doing layouts for all of the pages. I found that this was not the best thing for me, as it was simply too much work for me to update on a consistent basis. Within the past few months I've switched it over to using the Wordpress framework, which is a lot easier for me to manage.

I will also note that the site is not for photography as this is currently just a hobby for me, but I do have some plans for that too...

Thank you for the additional feedback! I have not had much success in spending the required time to review the various sites/options/costs etc. However, will try over the next few days to make a decision.

KatieMarie99 wrote in post #15540636
Well I use portfoliobox..not sure if you can purchase through it though. Besides that, it's an awesome website. I just have the free version, but will be upgrading to the 'premium' account soon. My website is kmrphoto.portfoliobox.​me if you care to see what can be done with it.

Can't view from iPad?

Adam

Godaddy with Wordpress. Super easy navigating between the two and if you don't know how to setup Wordpress, Godaddy (or whoever you go with as a provider) can help you set it up.

Agreed - Wordpress can be very easy to setup, especially with many of the automated scripts (e.g. Fantastico) which can do the setup for you. Having said that, make sure you do some Google searching regarding the security of your Wordpress site too. When the whole setup is automated it does make things less secure.

While you might not be worried about someone stealing your content (though most people here are - a la copywritten photos), hackers aren't necessarily doing it just to steal your content... many of them are doing it because it's fun for them. What this means... if one of these individuals gains access, they could simply replace all of your website images with inappropriate material (e.g. pornographic images). Then, all the visitors to your site see this content and frown upon your business...

1downfall wrote in post #15547144
Thank you for the additional feedback! I have not had much success in spending the required time to review the various sites/options/costs etc. However, will try over the next few days to make a decision.

I probably won't change hosting providers unless something goes wrong with mine. Having said that, it would probably be good information for others if you post your decision and reasons why you selected that company.

I have NO experience with GoDaddy, but be sure to check out this thread as well: https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1264977

It may not be representative of all experience, but it may be a data point to take into consideration.

I use www.photium.com

They are very reliable,extremely helpful, fast to respond to support tickets, easy to use, customise and allow discounts for multiple sites!

That service appears to be in the UK. Since you're in the US you might want to stick with a service provider closer to home.

I can confirm the fact that hackers can change your web page. It happened to me recently. Godaddy was able to bring up the backup files and get it back to the way it was, figure out who made the changes, and block the IP addresses associated with the culprit (apparently a college student). That being said, it may have been due to my neglect of not logging out of my web site (which I do now). Supposedly if you don't log out then someone can find a back way in through WordPress.

Also, don't allow commenting if you plan on having a blog. I know it's useful to have people commenting on your work but when 95% of the posts are SPAM then there really is no point to allowing comments.

All you need to do is once you have your website the way that you want it, make sure you look at it every week to make sure no one has crawled in there and made changes without you knowing.

A wealth of information here all! I really do appreciate the experiences and feedback you all have offered. I do intend to use Wordpress and will not allow Blog comments...I too have seen those spammed.
Once a decision is made, I will def. post here and say why!

Agreed. I do have comments enabled, but users must first be registered to post a comment, and comments have to be reviewed/approved before they are posted. I don't have a LOT of traffic on my site, so I prefer the control that this setup provides.