Comments on: Do You Own Your Website?

By: Marcus

Marcus — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 20:42:24 +0000

I use wordpress, so I donâ€™t have to create a website from scratch but it offers a lot of flexibility too.

By: ralph kessler

ralph kessler — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 03:11:42 +0000

bottom line is i want my own website,and to do business the way i want,with the companys i want.

how can i biuld my own and make it profitable.

ralph

By: ralph kessler

ralph kessler — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 02:58:49 +0000

i’m new to computers and so i’ve been messing around with ebay,and then thought hey why don’t i own my own website,so the search was on and i saw lots of stuff that made no sense, but what would,i don’t know what i’m looking at any way,so to make this short,i saw an advertisement to own your own website and i would have acess to many products and i could even put my own items on my site,and they advertised, that they were the only one’s who allow that,and i bought the website for 200.00 dollars,so then they explained i could use thier retailer id account or my own,so i picked to use my own through paypal,and when i called paypal the representative said that i would have to apply the cart and buttons to each item, or i could utilize one of thier approved third party vendors who would manage the products for me and it could be totaly automated,but that i needed to get the api’s from the company i bought this website from,and then they would take care of processing payments and applying updates,but when i got ahold of the host company they said they wouldn’t do that,but yet they offered the two plans that detailed that plan b would allow me to capture my customers payments,but there is so many products i need to use a thrid party vender to do so, i am worried i’ve just been had.
sick in texas

By: denny jay jordan

denny jay jordan — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 07:59:15 +0000

I just started doing my own site but I am still compiling things and thinking what will be the appropriate things I can put in it.

By: Ken Simpson

Ken Simpson — Thu, 06 May 2010 17:16:21 +0000

Hi! this might be a little off topic but thought you might comment .I had a web page including a shopping cart desingned for me, the developer hosted my page.I decided to change to another server ,and I am having problems getting him to give me all the nessesary files to get my site live on the other server does he have a legal obligation to give me the files

By: Onaje

Onaje — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:38:22 +0000

Thanks alot for the information this is very helpful to me. I came to your sight and am very satisfied with your comments. Will be back.

By: dave

dave — Thu, 21 May 2009 23:13:30 +0000

I use wordpress, so I don’t have to create a website from scratch but it offers a lot of flexibility too.

By: Marcus

Marcus — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:17:32 +0000

I agree self-hosting is the way to go. You leave too much in the hands of someone else when you host with Yahoo or Homestead.

Domains are cheap, hosting is cheap (I second your HostGator recommendation), and WordPress is easy to install – even for most non-techies.

That said, if someone wants to go the easy and/or free route, why not setup a free blog on Blogspot, register a domain at GoDaddy, then point the domain to the free blog? Total investment < $10.

By: Maryam Hand

Maryam Hand — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:56:00 +0000

Thank you Dawud. That was informative and timely. Maryam

By: Dawud Miracle

Dawud Miracle — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 12:53:52 +0000

Penny, Great. I just wanted to be sure that people understood the difference. Pre-made sites and hosting offer a great way in. And at some point you'll want your own. If I can be of any help, or if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.

By: Penny Gould

Penny Gould — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 05:24:56 +0000

Thank you for explaining this so clearly. I chose the option of using a site hosted by a large company, and knew that I probably wouldn’t be able to easily move it should I decide to change hosting options. So far I am very happy with my choice, as a beginning webmaster I appreciate the prebuilt templates and customer support. Your encouragement to “own my own” website will stay with me as I learn the business. Thanks!

By: Dawud Miracle

Dawud Miracle — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 14:01:46 +0000

Cory, You wouldn't believe how inexpensive it can be to host your own website. You can regularly find hosting for $5/mo. Check out HostGator. Great reputation, phone support and WordPress. And you can easily port your Blogger blog to WordPress through a simple import. Domains cost less than $10/yr. So for as little as $70/year you can host your own domain at a reputable host with blog software one-click away from installation. Then, with WordPress, you can easily install one of the thousands of free WordPress themes that are available. Doesn't take too much work or know-how, really, and you can be blogging on your own domain - sending traffic to the domain you want to build long-term. Just a thought. Contact me if you have any questions.

By: Cory Huff

Cory Huff — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:44:51 +0000

This is the first time I’ve actually understood the argument for self hosting. I’ve been trying to decide whether to self host or not for a few months, since so many people have told me to, but now I get it.

Once my revenue has built up enough to support it, I will definitely be moving to self hosting.

Thanks Dawud!

By: Dawud Miracle

Dawud Miracle — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 11:33:07 +0000

Gary,
Great points. I recently had a conversation with a new grad from the University of Michigan with a degree in graphics and web design. I was amazed that she knew very little about web standards – specifically CSS. It appears that a highly reputable school like UofM is still teaching font tags and table layout. Why?

And don’t get me started on usability, accessibility and business development – all skills a web designer needs to aid their clients and build quality websites.

By: Gary R. Hess

Gary R. Hess — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 23:56:33 +0000

People get suckered into quite a few things. There are plenty of web designers out there who have no experience whatsoever with SEO, SEM, W3C standards or know anything about hosting/domaining.

I was searching for jobs around here for web development and with just about every single one the only requirement was a Graphic Design degree. I almost fell out of my chair!

A nice looking website is great and all, but if they don’t know how to code it, it’ll only look good to about 10% of people! Not only that, no one will find it in the first place.

By: Carma Dutra

Carma Dutra — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 15:51:54 +0000

Thanks Dawud. This information is very helpful.

By: Dawud Miracle

Dawud Miracle — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 12:36:08 +0000

Carma, If you began using a domain name you likely own it. You probably bought it through Yahoo! One way to find out is use whois.com to find out if you're the listed as the domain's owner. Then, all you need to do is make sure your registration is up to date with Yahoo! - which you would do through the login they sent you.

By: Carma Dutra

Carma Dutra — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 18:56:39 +0000

Hi Dawud,
I have another question. What about the domain name? Quite a few years ago, I was going to build my own website through Yahoo. Well, I never did complete it and really forgot about it except for the monthly charge on my credit card.

I’m under the impression that I own my domain name. How can I find out if this is true?
Thanks.

By: Dawud Miracle

Dawud Miracle — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 12:39:43 +0000

Debby,
One thing, you need to actively find your niche. Yet, you have two niches, in a sense. You need to populate your database of sitters AND you need visibility with people looking for sitters. Seems like it would be necessary to populate your database first so that your site has value to your second group.

Site looks great. I might make a few changes – like with making sure buttons look like buttons (submit would be a good example).

You’re welcome to contact me and we can talk about your specific needs.

By: Debby

Debby — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 22:03:12 +0000

Hi Dawud,

I have just began the adventure of a new website. SittersLink.com is only a few weeks old. My current problem is the marketing of this site in my target area. I have my branding i.e. logo and I am doing print advertising but I know there is a better way to get the message out on the net. Any suggestions? Take a look at the site if you have a few minutes and I would love to hear back from you with your comments.

Thanks,
Debby
SittersLink.com