by Candace S. McMorrow

Can you really register a domain for $1.99? Reading the fine print reminds me of those fast-talking voice actors reading the disclaimers on the pharmaceutical commercials:

"$1.99* Domain Names, Transfers and Renewals! with each and every new, non-domain product you buy.

Products must be new to the customer (not currently owned) to qualify. One 1 yr $1.99* .com, .us, .mobi**, .biz, .info, .name, .net, or .org domain per each qualifying product; new, transfer or renewal. Recurring billing charges, existing product, domain renewals, domain backorders, premium domain names and domain registration products (such as Privacy, Business Registration, Express Appraisals, Certified Domain, Domain Ownership Protection and CashParking), Gift Cards, photo prints and merchandise, and some "add-on" companion products (such as additional hosting bandwidth and storage) do not qualify as product purchases. Only qualifying domain names included in qualifying purchases are subject to discount.

* Plus ICANN fee of 20 cents per domain name year. Certain TLD's only.
** Only new .MOBI domain names are eligible for $1.99 pricing."

What all this means is, you can register a .com, .us, .mobi, .biz, .info, .name, .net, or .org domain name for $1.99 as long as you also order a non-domain product such as hosting or email services.

In addition, you cannot already have a hosting or email account with this company (it has to be a 'new' service to the customer, remember?), AND the $1.99 price is ONLY good for the first year! After that, it increases to the regular price.

What good is $1.99 if the price increases to $18 the next year, or you have to purchase additional services you may not want?

Things to look for in choosing a registrar:

1. What is included with the price?
   
   
   • Is the ICANN fee included?
     
     ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is a non-profit, international association founded in 1998 and incorporated in the U.S.
     
     It manages Internet addresses, domain names and the huge number of parameters associated with Internet protocols (port numbers, router protocols, multicast addresses, etc.).
     
     On May 17, 2004, ICANN introduced a 20 cent fee for .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .mobi, and .name registrations, renewals, and transfers. All registrars must pay this fee.
     
     
   • Is WHOIS privacy included?
     
     Domain Privacy (also called Whois Privacy, Private Domain Registration, and ID Protect) allows you to update your WHOIS record with non-personal information. When you enable Privacy, the Administrative Contact and Billing Contact sections of your WHOIS record are replaced with generic information.
     
     Using Domain Privacy can help to significantly reduce the amount of unsolicited e-mail and postal mail you receive. You will still be listed as the Registrant of your domain, and you will retain complete control of your domain.
     
     Many registrars charge for this. I've seen the price as much as $9 per year.
     
     
   • Is zone management/domain forwarding included?
     
     Zone management allows you to modify your dns records (Host A, CNAME, MX) that control where your domain name is hosted — website and email.
     
     Domain forwarding allows you to direct your domain name to an existing website (eliminates the need for a Web hosting account).
     
     Both Network Solutions and Register.com charge for this service. Register.com's fee is $49 per year!
     
     
2. Does the price increase at renewal time?
   
   
3. Do you have to purchase additional services in order to get the price advertised?
   

So, the first thing you want to do is compare the total price out the door. By the time you add up all the a la carte stuff, you could be looking at over $90 per year to register a domain!

Next, make sure the price is fixed; you don't want any surprises come renewal time.

Of course, when choosing a registrar, also look for reputation — 1) how long has the company been in business?  2) what is their history with the Better Business Bureau?

Finding a registrar with great prices and a solid reputation is always a winning combination!

by Candace S. McMorrow

Can I super-size you? After all, you want the best deal. More is always better, right? Well, more is not always more.

Overselling has become a huge problem in the Web hosting industry where offers of hundreds of GB of disk space for under $10 abound! How is this possible when the average shared server hosts 200 customers?

 

If a hosting company were offering 300 GB of disk space, to accommodate all the customers' disk space allowances, the server would need to have a 60,000 GB hard drive. That is physically impossible! The average size of a server's hard drive is 250 GB. That's smaller than the total allowance being offered to one customer! The hosting company would quickly go out of business if its total revenue per server were $10 per month.

So you ask, how are hosting companies doing this? Simple. They are counting on you not coming anywhere close to the allowance they are 'offering'. And to make sure you don't, their Terms of Service have limitations on how your space can be used. Here are some examples:

"Using a hosting account primarily for online file storage or archiving electronic files is prohibited."

"Using a shared account as a backup/storage device is not permitted. The use of more than 50,000 inodes on any shared account may potentially result in suspension. Accounts found to be exceeding the 50,000 inode limit will automatically be removed from our backup system to avoid over usage. Every file (a web page, image file, email, etc.) on your account uses up 1 inode."

"Included disk space may only be used for content linked or directly related to the hosted web site. Disk space may not be used at any time as a location to archive and/or backup files not directly related to the hosted web site. Regardless of the disk space quota set on a web site, a fixed limit of 40,000 individual files is enforced by file limit quota."

"It is acknowledged that your account is not to be used as offsite storage area for electronic files, or as a provisioning service for third party email or FTP hosts. All downloadable files or files stored on the server must be available for download via a HTML document stored on the Internet in a publicly or privately accessible area, and must be directly related to the general nature of the website index."

"Your account is to be used for standard web practices only. If you know your site is going to use an un-normal usage, and sign up knowing this, we will require you to purchase a dedicated server. Un-normal usage is anything that a shared server would not be able to provide."

This last example is very ambiguous. Un-normal usage is definitely subjective.

What about those who want to limit the number of files (or inodes) you can have? Do you really want to be counting your files? Were you aware that site stat programs like Webalizer generate files on a daily basis? These files are very small in size, but if you had a file limit quota, you could run the risk of exceeding the limit.

By offering ridiculous amounts of disk space, the hosting company will find itself scrambling when its hard drive maxes out. If that happens, you won't be able to update your website and you could lose data.

So, what do you do? First thing you do is look beyond the disk space allowance. Most websites use less than 1 GB. Compare other features (i.e., number of databases allowed, number of email accounts, what FREE software is included, etc.). Read the Terms of Service (Service Policy). Check customer references. Call the Better Business Bureau.

If a hosting company has excellent customer references, no complaints with the Better Business Bureau, and been in business at least 5 years, you should feel confident. Just remember, super-sizing is not always a better deal.