Need suggestion on Web domain and hosting

[FusionSenses]

I am planning to do a website for my restaurant with Flash MX.
But I need to have a domain and hosting.
I currently have Telus high speed and Shaw account for possible hosting. Since it's for a restaurant, it might be enough already. (20 MB space cap from Shaw)

So, I need a domain only, is that correct? Will the domain company work well with Shaw or Telus?

I need some suggestions:
Which combination is suited for my situation?
Which domain company is good?
Do I need a professional hosting company?
Is it better to have domain and hosting same company like 1&1?
Do I want to use .ca? or .com?

Lastly, what is the best way to learn flash MX? I have experience in Visual basic, C++, Java, and basic Html.
I want to do a web site like http://www.bin941.com

Thanks alot.

[bambam]

No affiliation
http://www.dotcanada.com/costco/

[FusionSenses]

No affiliation
http://www.dotcanada.com/costco/

That's $99/year.

I was looking a domain registration for $6 or 7 bucks a year.
And use shaw's or telus webspace for free, if it works that way.

[Silver Bullet]

1and1.com ... $5.99US for a registration of a domain for a year .. and hosting there is pretty cheap too ...

You need a domain (www.mywebsite.com) and a place for the domain to point to ... a server/hosting. I would start with about $9.99US a month for hosting and see how it goes form there ... that should easily be enough.

[Jucius Maximus]

That's $99/year.

I was looking a domain registration for $6 or 7 bucks a year.
And use shaw's or telus webspace for free, if it works that way.

$99/yr includes hosting, support, domain registration, everything.

I host my own site on dotcanada and IMO it's good value.

Also you might want to check your ISP's policies because they might not allow you to host a business website on your webspace.

They will definitely not allow domain hosting unless you pay some extra fees, which will be steep because it always seems to be that way from ISPs.

[FusionSenses]

you are right, my isp doesn't allow business hosting, and domain cannot point to www.shaw.ca/website.


so $99, it's actually not bad.
1and1.com is actually cheaper.


but if my hosting goes to them, most likely mean, they own the domain instead of me, because they will force me to go with them for hosting as well.

[Jucius Maximus]

but if my hosting goes to them, most likely mean, they own the domain instead of me, because they will force me to go with them for hosting as well.

If you want to guarantee that you own the domain, just register it independently at a site like godaddy.com or domainmonger.com.

For other domain hosting packages, just read the fine print. If they are worth their salt, they will explicitly specify that the domain belongs to YOU and not them.

[B40]

Buy a domain for $8 on Godaddy, then cloak it and load your site off your ISP hosting.

[FusionSenses]

1&1

"Best of all, this isn’t just for your first year hosting with 1&1. We won’t charge you a penny for your included domains for as long as you have your shared hosting package with us!"

[AznProto]

i use http://domains4you.com they are pretty good

[ZeroAquaduct]

I use GoDaddy.com myself, but you could also check out Netfirms.ca. They're pretty cheap too.

[weedb0y]

godaddy.com for .coms and 10dollar.ca for .ca domains.. www.level4.ca for hosting for now along with dreamhost

[FusionSenses]

Buy a domain for $8 on Godaddy, then cloak it and load your site off your ISP hosting.

This is exactly what i want to do to save hosting fee per month.

But how can it be done?

let say i buy a domain called website.com, how can i point it to ww*w.shaw.ca/mysite?


what is cloak?

[ZeroAquaduct]

This is exactly what i want to do to save hosting fee per month.

But how can it be done?

let say i buy a domain called website.com, how can i point it to ww*w.shaw.ca/mysite?


what is cloak?

You actually "forward" the domain to your Shaw website. So when someone types www.website.com, it'll forward you to members.shaw.ca/mysite. In the address bar, it'll say members.shaw.ca/mysite.

If you don't want it to say members.shaw.ca/mysite, you could select "mask domain" in GoDaddy.com. In this case, the address bar will show www.website.com (instead of members.shaw.ca/mysite). However, everything will show www.website.com, not just members.shaw.ca/mysite. Even members.shaw.ca/mysite/home.htm, or members.shaw.ca/mysite/page1.htm will show www.website.com (you won't get www.website.com/home.htm or www.website.com/page1.htm).

[Shiifty]

You can also use other services like www.mydomain.com to point your domain to your host at shaw. Tons of advice and info for the newb and veteran at www.webhostingtalk.com .

Can I ask why use flash? It can be difficult to make simple updates to your site with flash, and since you're just learning, it will take A LOT of time to make it look "pro". Personally, if a site is all in flash, I just close it, I can't be bothered looking at flash sites, they irritate me. If you must use flash, use both html and flash, so you can do updates easily, but the "cool" stuff like image, graphics, etc, are in flash.