If you are regular follower of What’s up Fagans? then you can tell that my website has changed considerably over the last two months or so. And that is because I went from being http://whatsupfagans.blogspot.com to http://whatsupfagans.com.
I went from the Blogger platform to a self-hosted WordPress platform. And it was and still is a steep learning curve, but I am so glad I did it. I generally love how my new design works, and love WordPress and all its amazing plug-ins and features. I still have things I want to change, but some things just take a little time.
The reason I switched was to be a “real blogger.” I really do hope to make some money off this little blog, while still being completely real, honest, and not a sell-out. So, I promise I will only promote products and things that I would actually use or want. I want to be authentic and honest and that means being selective in what and whom I choose to work with.
All that being said, I want to help you out in case you too wanted to become a “real blogger” or if you want to start your own website. While I’m not a web designer or much of a graphic designer, I am a frugal, cost conscientious consumer. So, I want to help you know how to save money on web hosting costs, and even domain name costs!
Buy a Domain Name
The first thing you need to do to become a website owner is to buy a domain name. While some hosting companies throw in domain names (for free) with their packages, I took my brother Jon’s advice (he’s actually a computer guy), and bought my own domain separate from a hosting company. That way it is not attached to any hosting company – it is all mine – and if I do want to switch hosts, I don’t have to worry about what will become of my domain name.
There are several different websites you can buy a domain name from. My brother Jon suggest joker.com. But, I’m thrifty and must shop around. After looking at a few others, I went with the most popular domain buying site – godaddy.com.
BUT, I didn’t just click and buy, I made sure I shopped through ebates.com! Shopping through ebates gave me 7% cash back on my purchase at godaddy! They also list current coupon codes for godaddy.com (as well as other stores) on ebates as well. It looks like now until October 31, you can score a domain name for only $1.99 (for the first year, $9.99 for the second) by using the promo code cjcEB199. When I bought my domain name – whatsupfagans.com – I paid $13.99 for 2 years, and received $0.98 back because I shopped through ebates.com. Whatever you spend there, you’ll get 7% cash back!! It’s that’s simple and that easy.
Of course you can check out other domain buying sites, sites like domain.com. If you are buying from domain.com and want the best cash back deal, I suggest using ShopAtHome.com‘s 110% cash back guarantee. Tell them that ebates.com has a better deal (they do – ebates offers 12.5% back, ShopAtHome.com only offers 8%) and they will match it 110%, meaning you’ll get 13.75% cash back on your domain purchase at domain.com!
Buy a Hosting Plan
I asked my blogging friends who they prefer for hosting companies, and the opinions were across the board. Some love GoDaddy, others BluHost, a few BlueDomain. Others hated those same ones! So, I looked into many, many different ones. Some are way more expensive than I feel this little blog can justify. Others didn’t include things I I wanted (like advertising credits, multiple domains, unlimited bandwidth and disk space, etc). There are hundreds of hosting companies out there., so I suggest scouring the internet for reviews. I also looked at prices, because web hosting is the most expensive part about running a website. I checked to see if any would garner cash back if shopping through a third party site, and was very pleasantly surprised that some did!
Hosting Companies
Fatcow.com – the one I chose
While I didn’t hear from that many who use them, they had some killer reviews on one site. Plus, they offered cash back through a third party site and would not cost me a fortune. I bought my hosting plan for $75.60 for two years, but I saved $50 by shopping through ShopAtHome.com. Total I spent $85.59 on setting up my own website for two years, but got $50.98 cash back via ShopAtHome.com and Ebates.com. That means I really only spent $34.61 to set up my website for two years. I really, really, hope to recoup that cost in two years’ time. If not, I’m not out much at all. So far I haven’t had any problems with fatcow.com, and I hope it continues that way.
Godaddy.com
If you decide to get hosting through godaddy.com, shop through ShopAtHome.com. They will give new godaddy costumers $40 cash back on a 12-month hosting plan, $10 back for existing costumers. Plus, they run promotions all the time. Their current promotion is 50% off hosting plans with promo code cjceb50hh.
iPage WebHosting
ShopAtHome.com offers $45 cash back for new iPage WebHosting costumers. Their current promotion is $1.99/month for 24 months!
Yahoo! WebHosting
ShopAtHome.com will again give you $40 cash back if you are a new costumer of Yahoo! Webhosting. The current promotion is 35% the first 3 months of hosting.
Just Host
ShopAtHome.com offers $40 cash back on purchases at Just Host. It doesn’t say you have to be a new costumer!
Network Solutions
If you go through ShopAtHome.com for them, they have all sorts of different categories, that garner different cash back. For example, Web Hosting Annual Packages will get you $50 cash back, but you’ll get 12.5% cash back on web hosting monthly packages. This one seems a little confusing, so I’d suggest emailing ShopAtHome.com (they’re really good about getting back to you) about what you are interested in buying, and what the cash back would be for that purchase. Or, you can just go with a flat 5% cash back from ebates.com.
Domain.com Hosting
Not only can you buy a domain, you can get hosting services too. ShopAtHome.com will give you $50 cash back on an Ultra Hosting Package, $45 on a Deluxe, and $30 on a Basic hosting plan. Or, ebates.com offers a flat 12.5% cash back on all purchases.
1&1 Web Hosting
This company is currently offering deals on all of their hosting packages. And ShopAtHome.com offers 25% cash back on all your purchases!
Other Cash Back Web Hosting Companies (in alphabetical order)
- AN Hosting Company – $62.50 cash back from ShopAtHome.com!
- Dot5 Hosting –$60 CB for 1 year or 2 year plan from ShopAtHome.com
- Easy CGI.com Web Hosting – $50 from ShopAtHome.com
- Host Rocket – $40 CB for ShopAtHome.com
- iPower – $50 CB from ShopAtHome.com
- iWeb – 40% CB from ShopAtHome.com
- iX Web Hosting – $20 CB from ShopAtHome.com
- MidPhase – $40 CB from ShopAtHome.com
- MyHosting Online – $40-55 CB from ShopAtHome.com
- NetFirms – $35 CB from ShopAtHome.com on Advantage or Enterprise Plans
- NewTek – $6 CB from ShopAtHome.com
- Omnis Network –$40 CB from ShopAtHome.com
- POWWeb – $35 CB from ShopAtHome.com
- Register.com Hosting – 12% CB from ebates.com; or 10%, $56 on professional package, or $96 for premium from ShopAtHome.com
- Start Logic – $40 CB from ShopAtHome.com
- Servage – 40% CB from ShopAtHome.com
- Web.com – $15 CB from ShopAtHome.com
- WebHostingBuzz Online – $20 CB from ShopAtHome.com
I wish some of the most popular web hosting companies (Bluhost, BlueDomain, DreamHost, Hostgator and others) were offering cash back. But, many great companies still are! So, if you really need (more) affordable hosting services, or want to switch companies, than I strongly recommend buying your plans through ShopAtHome.com. It doesn’t cost you a dime or a penny to shop through them, but is an incredible way how to save money on web hosting costs! Figure out what the right web hosting company, services, and plans are for your small business or blogging needs, and then click and save!
I made my own website in high school, and after a ton of research then I went with byethost.com. I was primarily looking for something free without having to put ads on your pages and has the ability to upload via FTP (not forced to use a site builder or anything). I still use byethost for all my websites and my family’s websites. They have a great support (respond to you in less than 24 hours) which is really hard to find with free hosting, and they offer a lot. Their paid hosting is really good as well. That’s what I use for one of my dad’s websites (he’s willing to pay).
Great resources here! I’ll definitely keep this in mind!
That’s for your input! I didn’t even know there was free hosting services out there!
Great list! I already have my own domain name (I did purchase that) but I’m still through Blogger. I will get to WP one day though!
I use brain host – they’ve been great with customer service. Have to check if I can get discount through shopathome.com. Thanks for the post! I started with WP over a year ago and am still learning, but it is super worth it! Good luck 🙂
Thanks for the comment! I don’t think they offer cash back for brain host. Maybe in the future they will? Who knows. And thanks for the luck. Sometimes I feel like I need it!
Wow. Wish I had read this a few months ago. Not that I would have done much different, but you just explained everything so well. I got into my site pretty blind. I purchased my domain name. I had no idea there were coupons out there, oh, well. I am using Weebly. they offer free hosing. However, I paid (small amount) for upgrade to have some extra features. I spent months looking at platforms, and I just felt, for me, the most important thing was the learning curve. The easiest to use in my opinion is weebly. (Wix close second) Weebly is a WYSWYG (what you see …..) and for me that was the most important thing. click and drag and type and see what you are doing as you do it. I did not research any cash back options….you have opened my eyes quite a bit. For now, I am not planning to blog for money. I am happy with the small amount I have invested (domain and upgraded features) I don’t want ads or any affiliates… so this site works really well for my needs. . I may one day switch to wordpress, but will stay put for now. Thanks SO MUCH for the comprehensive list. I am going to save this info!!!!
Awe! Thanks so much! I’m glad it is helpful! I mean, who knew you could get cash back for hosting! Weebly sounds like a great way to go. Sometimes I think simpler would be better! I am really not that tech savvy either!
I have really appreciated this post! I am currently in the process of updating my blog into a self-hosted one. I need to look for hosting options, but didn’t quite know where to start. You have created such a comprehensive list that I feel confident I can find what I need. Thank you, thank you! ~M.
http://redesignedbym.wordpress.com/
Great post. I can’t complain at all with houseboat and you don’t pay for your first year domain name. Go daddy seems to have issues with the website not staying up but it’s not often. Their customer support is great. Thanks for the tips on other hosts
I just bought another domain name from godaddy as I hope to eventually get another site up–who knows when, I just did the one year for $1.99 as I don’t know if I’ll continue it, but I didn’t even think of doing ebates! I have to call to just upgrade from one website to multiple, so I don’t think I can go through shopathome for that. I heard justhost is good–so if I ever switch, I’ll have to remember this info. Thanks for all this info! Thanks for linking up with the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board!
After reading your post, it is now easy for a man finding the way how to start and where to start. The above list helps a lot. Web hosting helps a site to visible on world wide web. Thanks for this post.
That way it is not attached to any hosting company – it is all mine – and if I do want to switch hosts, I don’t have to worry about what will become of my domain name.
I agree. I like it not being attached to a host, so it is easier to switch.
Well said A penny saved is a penny earned . Informative article. Harsh my site concurrent visitors are 10-15 max and total daily visitors around 150. i am using bluehost shared hosting. What is the max user shared hosting can support reflectively.
Shared Hosting can support a lot of visitors still. I am not a hosting expert, but I was using shared hosting with GoDaddy and still had over 100k visitors a month.