Domains and Hosting I provide headache free management of your web domain and hosting solution... Frequently Asked Questions Domains Where will my Domain be registered? Your domain will be registered at goDaddy.com. Can I register my own domain and manage it myself? Yes, if you are comfortable registering your own domain you can certainly do that. Things to consider... • You must be able to point your domain to our servers (change DNS records) • You will be responsible for renewing your own domain and ensuring it does not expire • There may be additional charges for services such as "Google Apps" Why would I want you to manage my Domain? • I setup all domains to auto-renew so you don't have to worry about it expiring accidentally • I handle all configurations to connect your domain to your website • I configure your domain for extra services such as "Google Apps" • When I manage your domain I handle a lot of details behind the scenes at no additional charge (annual ICANN verification, DNS setup, to name a few) Hosting Where will my website be hosted? I am an authorized reseller for HostGator. Your website will be located on HostGator Servers located in Texas (Austin and Dallas/Fort Worth). Can I do my own hosting? Yes, if you are comfortable setting up a hosting account you can certainly do that. Things to consider... • To build a website on a server where you buy hosting I will need login information or FTP access • Some services I provide may take longer on servers not under my control (Database development, Application Installation such as Wordpress, Photo Galleries, etc) I found cheaper prices for hosting, why would I want to pay your rates? Better use of your time When you purchase your own hosting the provider is assuming you are a skilled computer user who is quite comfortable with accessing and building websites. They will often give you free support, but it's quite possible for you to spend many many hours going through dozens of steps to get something done on your website. Monthly Update Minutes My Professionl Hosting plans include 5, 10, and 15 minutes per month of maintenance on your site. This means you can simply email me any changes you need each month and I will make them for you. It may not seem like a lot, but even 10 minutes is enough time for me to make minor changes on several pages or possibly create an entire new page (content permitting). Web Application Updates If your website has applications installed (Wordpress, Photo Galleries, Joomla, Web Form Creators) they need to be updated periodically to ensure they are safe from hackers and give you the latest features. My Professional plans include free updates on applications installed on your website (excludes price of software license if required - please see chart above for number of Apps Upgraded for each hosting level). Some applications may update multiple times per month - as a Professional Plan member you are covered for ALL updates regardless of how may times the software company releases new versions. Economy vs Professional Wouldn’t it be cheaper to pay the Basic Economy rate ($88 a year) and just pay for the updates as required? To illustrate the possible savings. Last year, one client with three apps paid $100 for application updates + $88 hosting + $100 for content updates as needed - That’s a total of $288. His web apps were only updated when he requested the updates (sometimes he went months with outdated software (security risk). Under the Silver plan he would have paid $180 and his apps would have automatically been updated as soon as new versions were available - additionally, he would get 10 minutes for content updates each month at no additional charge! Notes on Hosting Services Monthly Update Minutes My Monthly Update Minutes are designed to give you piece of mind knowing that you can email me updates when needed and be assured that they will be posted to your website ASAP. These minutes do not rollover. Any minutes left over at the end of the month will be zeroed out. If it is anticipated that your edit will take longer than your monthly limit you will be notified BEFORE the work is done. Application Updates If your website uses a popular web application such as Joomla, Wordpress, Gallery3, Slideshowpro, Event Calendar, etc - you will find that it is necessary to update these web applications from time to time. The more popular an application is, the more it becomes a target for hackers and spammers. Application developers will distribute updates to their software to protect from these attacks. To ensure your website is protected it is highly recommended that you keep your website applications as up-to-date as possible. In the past, I would email each client and let them know when their application became outdated. Several clients asked me to give them a flat monthly fee rather than constantly contacting them. My Professional Hosting Plans are designed to give businesses the ability to budget for their website by including the update fees in their monthly/annual payment. Most web applications that I utilize are free products and the license for the update is free. A few products do require a fee for updates. The application update feature I provide only covers labor and does not include any license fees. You will be notified ahead of time if there is a license fee involved. PAY ANNUALLY AND GET 12 MONTHS FOR THE PRICE OF 11 Custom database projects are not counted as web app updates. So, if you have Wordpress, an Event Calendar and a Custom database project that would count as TWO Web Apps. **Monthly/Annual Hosting Price is subject to sales tax. Figures shown do not include sales tax. Additional Disk Space can be purchased at $5.00 per 100mb per month.