One of the first stages of creating a website for your photography business is selecting a web host and buying your domain name.
But the plethora of domain name registrars and web hosts is overwhelming. Where to even begin? How to choose between them all? What differences even are there?
In this article I hope to shed a little light on the matter, so you can go right ahead and get yours sorted now.
Admittedly, this might sound like a bit of an advert for the places I recommend. But I promise this is exactly what I tell friends who come to me with the same question, and it’s all based on my own personal experience.
Web hosting
To be honest, there are plenty of great web hosts out there. My favourite – and the one I recommend to most of my clients – is Siteground.
Siteground offer a great service at a very competitive price. I’ve found that their customer support has been brilliant.
They answer support queries really quickly, and are very keen to sort issues out for you.
Another thing I love about Siteground is how tightly integrated free security certificates are.
Siteground have been at the forefront of enabling business free access to security certificates through the ‘Let’s Encrypt’ service.
As such, it’s super easy to set this up for your website from the Siteground admin panel. You don’t need to install any plugins or amend any files for this to work. Just click a couple of buttons and it’s all set up.
Additionally, Siteground have a very good backup system. This makes restoring previous versions of your websites a walk in the park. Trust me I know!
When choosing a web host, make sure that they offer the important features I’ve listed just here.
If you like the sound of Siteground feel free to signup with my affiliate link – I’ll get a small commission if you do, so thanks!
Domain names
You might be wondering what difference it’s going to make where you buy your domain name. And thats a fair question.
But in my experience there is one thing in particular to look out for when considering this – you want your domain registrar to offer free ‘Whois’ privacy.
Many domain name registrars charge more for this extra layer of privacy protection, but that doesn’t need to be the case.
My preferred domain name registrar is Hover.com. Not only do they offer free Whois privacy, but they also offer a well priced and highly rated email service.
For just $20/year you can attach an email address to your domain name – an inexpensive way to enhance your business with a professional email address.
This is where I go for email management, and it’s where I send my clients too.
I’ve found that, like Siteground, their customer service is fantastic – quick, helpful and keen to please.
Finally, as a bonus, the Hover backend interface is clean, contemporary and easy to navigate.
As I suggested with web hosting, try and find a domain registrar that ticks these boxes and you’ll be on to a winner.
Should I buy my domain name and hosting from the same place?
My advice is not to buy your web hosting from your domain registrar.
It’s unlikely you’ll encounter any issues if you do, but in the rare instance you have a serious problem with one of them, it’s good to know the other won’t be affected by that.
In my experience buying and managing my domain names at Hover.com and my web hosting at Siteground has worked out brilliantly.
Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links. Clicking on them and buying something means I’ll receive a small commission. I never insert affiliate links unless I am 100% into the product myself. In this case, I genuinely do use and love Siteground and Hover!
