Help please Domain name etc etc.

researcher

I'm a total novice regarding all this stuff, although pretty computer literate. Anyhow here's what I need to know; I'm planning to apply for broadband soon as my local exchange is to be 'unbundled', and will have to leave my dial-up email adresses behind (boooo), I'm also looking at starting up a small business so ...
who are the best providers for broadband, when it's a newly unbundled exchange and I'll want to have access for two pc's and a laptop? How do | go about everything? And would I be better using BT for the initial set-up or can I get the same service better/cheaper elsewhere. (reliability before cost).
Who should I register a domain name with at a reasonable cost, and know that I can keep that email address where-ever I go, even if abroad? And will these charges rocket after a year?
Can I build a website cheaply myself?
Is there somewhere I can get good independent information - (apart from MSE forums?)
I've done a search through these forums - but lots of stuff seems quite old, and I know how quickly things change - so any advise greatly appreciated.

joshm_2

You could do worse than to start with a look at http://www.adslguide.org.uk/
JoshM

FangKat

Can answer on what I did just before Xmas when I shut down my business and wanted to cut costs if it helps:
1. went with adsl4less at 15 quid a month, 512k unlimited. Still have 3 xp machines plus laptop plus a W2k server accessing my now small network via wires i.e. switch and router so all have access.
2. Registered a .com with [size=-1]www.123-reg.co.uk which think was about 35 quid for 2 years, and you get an email address**
3. Opened an ** email service with Nildram's v2net system, 5 email address and they av mail in and out as well - think it's about 19 quid/year.
4. Run my hobby "island walks" website from home on the W2K server, it's not flashy but has loads of data in the form of walks and (1000s) of photos hence getting unlimited was relevant for me. Scribbled the site out using Frontpage, and have protected it all with Sygate soft firewall and hard firewall via the router.

hope above helps you maybe.
rgds FangKat

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chris73

Some ISP's will give you some free webspace as part of their package, but it is still preferable to have you own independant space especially for a business website. After all, you don't know whether you will still be using this ISP in 1 or 2 years time.

If your site is just a basic website with a few pages and photographs then you wont need much webspace. try Purplecloud they offer a decent size package for a small business website for £20.00 a year!, they can even register your choice of domain name for you and set up it all up for you. Don't be put off by how cheap they are, I was hosted with them for 3 years and in that time only had 2 periods of downtime, the only reason I left was because my site outgrew their largest package. Purplecloud are helpful, UK based and unlike some hosts they reply quickly to questions and don't hide their contact information.

If you choose to host with them, you will also get webmail for your domain name, which means you can read and send emails from your domain name account from any internet connected computer anywhere in the world simply by accessing a www page and entering in your username and password. This means that you can effectively be sitting in an internet cafe in Australia and be reading and sending emails as if you were at home.

Its' always advisable to have 2 email addresses in any case. One which is used for business and family contacts etc and a 'throw-away' free web based one such as hotmail. This cuts down on spam, since you can use the free email address for filling in online forms, requesting information, taking part in competitions etc and reserve the domain email address purely for business and family use.

durain

get your broadband from https://www.e7even.com and they comes with a FREE .co.uk domain and webspace.

researcher

durain wrote:

get your broadband from https://www.e7even.com and they comes with a FREE .co.uk domain and webspace.

Can I do that when an exchange is just being enabled for broadband? And will they supply all the stuff I'll need (I'm assumimg I'll need something)?

chris73

Just be careful when taking up any webspace or free domain offers that this will remain independant even if you leave them. The last thing you want is to set up a business website and get good search engine rankings, but in 12 months time your ISP is dire or increases their prices and you want to move. When you move ISP's you may find your webspace gets cancelled as well meaning you have to start up all over again.

The same applies to domain names, if you get offered a domain for free as part of another 'deal' then make sure it is registered in your name, so that you have full ownership over it if you fall out with your host / ISP. Hosts have been known to hold domains to ransom if you decide to leave, also make sure that you have access to the domain control panel. You don't want to be emailing them everytime you need to update your DNS settings or add an additional email alias.

I'm not saying that this will happen with E7even, all I am saying is 'Buyer Beware' - ask the question before making the decision, because I got caught out when I moved from dial up to Broadband.

Debt_Free_Chick

researcher wrote:

I'm planning to apply for broadband soon as my local exchange is to be 'unbundled', and will have to leave my dial-up email adresses behind (boooo

Are you sure? I left Blueyonder 5 years ago and still get all my email sent to that address.

Who is your current ISP?

researcher

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

Are you sure? I left Blueyonder 5 years ago and still get all my email sent to that address.

Who is your current ISP?

NTL - I use their freedom package which gives me 24/7 internet access for £15 per month, I'm pretty sure I'll lose their email addresses when I leave them.

Debt_Free_Chick

researcher wrote:

NTL - I use their freedom package which gives me 24/7 internet access for £15 per month, I'm pretty sure I'll lose their email addresses when I leave them.

Might be worth checking if you can configure your email client to download your email from a POP3 server.

I've heard of problems doing this with NTL, so I'm not sure. But worth checking.

researcher

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

Might be worth checking if you can configure your email client to download your email from a POP3 server.

I've heard of problems doing this with NTL, so I'm not sure. But worth checking.

Yeh - I've just tried to contact them - but customer services has gone home until Monday morning. Thanks though