Why should you be concerned over which domain suffix you choose?

Key Points to Remember When Choosing Your Top-Level Domain (TLD)

• Branding - Domains with suffixes that aren’t typically seen, or geographic and nation-specific domains (.us, .asia, .co.uk, and others) typically aren’t as easy to convince to readers that they should remember the entire domain.  Think about the enormous effect this would have on larger sites - Google, for example.  If you could only access their search engine through the google.net instead of google.com domain, it would be extremely costly, however you can access the website through multiple points.
• Geo-targeting - If you want to connect with people from a specific country, having a second-level domain extensions may be the better solution.  Search engines sometimes favor sites with more country-specific domains, and result in the domain displaying higher in the results.
• Search Engine Ranking - Search engines like Google favor top-level domain names more than second-level domain names, so don’t settle for a lower-ranking domain suffix.  When people see the .com instead of a .info, for example, they are more likely to travel to that site simply due to the fact that .com is the universal, commercial domain.
• Marketing/Long-term Potential - Finding someone to buy your domain for a higher price than you paid for it can sometimes be a daunting task, so having a favorable top-level domain could sell a developed site for a few thousand more dollars than one that is on a .info domain.  In addition, it’ll be easy to promote your site through PPC marketing or other advertising networks.  Again, the factor of brand ability comes into play - how well will people you mention your site to be able to remember it, then use your site to purchase advertising or products (through ads/products you create)?
• Cost Effectiveness - Purchasing multiple domains for your site can be effective in the long-term, as you can build community or additional sub-sites on the .net, .org, etc. versions of your site name.  You have to be serious about an individual site concept and stick with it, enabling you to point the alternative (or additional) domains to your main site/blog.  However, it may be easier to just stick with one version of your blog until your readership has grown to quite a considerable level or you have plans on expanding your network.

Conclusion

The main goal when purchasing a good domain is finding one that suits your blog/website, and doesn’t require a massive amount of branding and marketing to get a unique domain across to your intended audience.   You are trying to create the best experience (in finding your site) as possible, with an easy to manage setup on your side.  

For example, it makes more sense to use a folder/sub-domain to create a mobile version of your blog, but a .mobi domain can make the mobile version of your blog more accessible - potentially resulting in a higher interest and a higher view of professionalism.

Some people insist that you purchase at least a few domains related to your .com or GeoTLD, so it won’t be as hard to find your blog, however it is more costly: $40+/year versus $10 or less/year and can be difficult if you truly want to develop each site or direct them to one domain.  In my opinion, you need to do something that is the most convenient and effective for you.  If you’d rather use the country-level domain, then use it.  There is no one stopping you from doing so, however it is often said that the .com version is the easiest to promote.

What are your thoughts on each domain level and your personal experience branding and promoting sites/blogs?  Is it best to stick with the commercial TLD if available, or use alternative versions - .net, .org, etc. when someone has already taken your preferred .com version?

By the way they responded on their blog, with the title “Um, Whoops.“. To date, more than 350 comments have been left on their Official DreamHost blog, 1100+ on the DreamHost Status/problems page, and received much attention across the web, including many traditional news sources reporting on the issue. 700+ people have Dugg the story.

In my opinion, nothing that overcharges customers by any amount should be taken as “a teensy eensy weensy little billing error”, even if just one customer is affected. The company with the “Best Corporate Blog of 2007″ now must deal with the problems caused by simple carelessness. The main problem was under billing, as a new system was being put into place.

Many customers were disappointed with the lack of formal notification (a simple mass email) telling them that they were facing problems. Instead, many logged into their account to find it no longer existed. Excuse after excuse after excuse combined with the belief that all their devoted customers realize the “professional” company they are dealing with. Perhaps they were “so high right now you don’t even know” when this all happened?

Does any of this sound professional?

.. you thought it was a joke!

Ha, the joke is on you! I guess. Um, okay, no, not really, I’m sorry.

How on earth could something like this happen?

and

I couldn’t remember. But, since the biller is super-safe and robust anyway, I went ahead and ran it for 2008-12-31, 2008-12-30, 2008-12-29, 2008-12-28, 2008-12-27, 2008-12-26, and 2008-12-25, just for the hell of it.

Notice Anything?

Don’t feel bad if you didn’t. I kind of missed it myself.

THOSE SHOULD HAVE BEEN 2007!!

Heh, uh.. um, er.. my bad?

and

Well guess what… NO! We will NEVER want to rebill as though today were a day that hasn’t happened yet! But instead, somebody along the line (Sage? Me? Somebody else?) figured, “What’s the harm in keeping it flexible?”

About $7,500,000 in harm, that’s what!

A comic by Brad Fitzpatrick at bLaugh. 

A temporary fix to the major problem:

A new service is running right now (in parallel on all the controllers) that fixes all those future charges, re-enables your account if it was erroneously suspended, and if your credit card was automatically rebilled, refunds the payment automatically. You don’t have to contact us or your bank, and you’ll get an email when your account is finished fixing up. It’s going to take several more hours to complete. There are (or were, after this incident) a lot of you these days!

If, because of this billing mistake, you somehow incurred some fees from your bank or credit card company, please let us know after tomorrow (today we are just replying to all 10,000+ billing messages with a generic explanation) and we’ll do our best to make it right for you.

And of course, the biller no longer allows dates in the future.

To succeed, their main objective now should be putting their company in debt, by providing a free year of hosting to EVERY customer affected - to at least regain a little bit of respect from customers.

Lunarpages is taking advantage of the problem by offering a $40 off hosting package and they will also pay for the remainder of your contract (up to 9 months) by using the code DHRefugees. Out of 30 comments, 98-100% of them stated they were dissatisfied with their service, despite being lenient with their downtime problems, and were now looking to switch to a more professional service.

[sources: Unofficial DreamHost Blog, InfoWorld]

NOTICE: This post will not make me any money. No affiliate links or sponsored reviews here.

1 and 1 

Offer: Save over 40% on their most popular packages for a limited time. Domains (.biz) are on sale plus servers are $200 off for the first year.

Offer Ends: December 31, 2007

Limitations/Terms: Server and VPS packages are only available to residents of the US and Canada.

*Offer valid for Business web hosting packages only. 12 month minimum contract term required.

*Offer valid for Enterprise I and II server packages only. 12 month minimum contract term required.

Offer: $4.95/month ($2/month savings) on their ‘Famous Mega Plan’ which includes 500 GB disk space, 5,000 GB bandwidth, and allows 40 hosted domains per account. Other features include free setup, free domain for life, free site move, and no hidden feeds. AN Hosting has been providing award-winning web hosting for over 6 years to more than 150,000 customers in more than 140 countries. Includes a 30-day money back and 99.9% uptime guarantee.

Offer Ends: December 26, 2007

Limitations/Terms: Special Offer Pricing notice: When you sign up for hosting services beyond one year (for example, two, three, four or five years), you are paying the first year’s hosting up front, and promising to renew for as many years as there are in the term for which you commit. The amount you are charged is determined by the number of years you have promised to purchase hosting services from us. Unless you cancel your account, you will be automatically charged at the beginning of each year of your commitment. But if you cancel early (before the end of your commitment), we will charge you a termination fee equal to the amount of the discount you received off of the standard rate for one year of hosting services. Note: Special Pricing and Special Package Valid for New Customers

Offer: An already value-priced plan at $7.95/month is on sale for only $4.44/month. Included is 1,000 GB web storage, 1,000 GB of bandwidth, no downtime and 24/7 customer support. Founded in 2001, Globat, LLC has quickly grown with nearly 100,000 customers worldwide.

Offer Ends: December 24, 2007

Limitations/Terms: $4.44 price is for the first year of service only.

Offer: Another holiday sale, you’ll receive 20% off everything using their coupon code. Use the savings to purchase shared, reseller and dedicated hosting solutions. Their services are designed for both beginners and professionals and include a 99.9% uptime guarantee, 24/7 support and a 45-day money back guarantee.

Offer Ends: January 1, 2008

Limitations/Terms: None provided.

Offer: Save 15% on all services. Choose from the base-host (200 GB disk space, 2 domain names, a free domain for life, 2,500 GB monthly bandwidth) at $6.95/month or the tera-host (500 GB disk space, unlimited domain names, a free domain for life, unmetered monthly bandwidth) for $10.95/month.

Offer Ends: No date provided, probably limited-time only.

Limitations/Terms: Terms and conditions apply, additional fees might apply.

Offer: The ‘Winter Special’ is only $4.95/month (originally $7.95/month), which features 600 GB hosting, 6,000 GB transfer, 2,500 email accounts, web site builder, a free domain, and the ability to host 25 domains on one account.

Offer Ends: Limited-time offer

Limitations/Terms: * Sale price is for first term only. Account renews at regular rate.

** Offer available only from this page **

Offer: More storage (350 GB disk space, 3,500 GB of bandwidth) plus up to $300 in free ad credits - all for $7.95/month with a free setup and domain.

Offer Ends: December 26, 2007

Limitations/Terms: Max of 2 accounts per customer. New accounts only. While supplies last.

Prices displayed are our discounted rate after term pre-payment. Certain plans require quarterly, semi-annual or annual pre-payment to receive fully discounted rates. Please see Terms of Service for full details.

Offer: Receive a free web page with the purchase of a domain or 25% off - Normally packages were $9.96 to $13.30/month. With this offer, you’ll get them for $7.47 to $9.97/month. Plans range from 7 GB disk space/150 GB data transfer to 15 GB disk space/400 GB transfer monthly.

Offer Ends: Limited time online offer.

Limitations/Terms: 25% OFF savings is on annual package only. Limited time offer. Free domain name service is for one year and contingent upon a minimum annual purchase of a new Web site, E-Commerce or Hosting package. Free one-year domain name service is for new domain registrations, domain renewals and domain transfers of .com, .net, .org, .us, .biz, .info & .name extensions. Only one free domain is available per order. If you wish to purchase an additional package and receive an additional free one-year domain name, please complete a separate transaction. If you select an eligible domain during the initial purchase process, the domain will be discounted on the “View Your Order” page. If you do not select a domain during the purchase process, a coupon for the free domain will be e-mailed to you after you complete your order, which must be redeemed within 30 days to take advantage of the offer. Valid for initial purchase only and only on domains registered with or transferred to Network Solutions. This offer is not valid with any other offer.

Several months later, I began looking more at what I needed in a host, eliminating any that didn’t meet my general needs. In this process, I also browsed through many reviews (both negative and positive), sites hosted with them, and also chatted with their support (to see what should be expected once a customer). Out of all the reviews and reports I found, I kept coming back to BlueHost. The two key features that most influenced my decision was the support, tools, and space (bandwidth/web space).

In finding a host, there are many requirements that you should consider. A few of the most important may be:

• Web Space - Is there enough space to add images, text, scripts, and multiple pages or add-ons without the worry of having your account banned?
• Bandwidth - With more and more people using broadband connections, content is becoming increasingly larger - many sites are between 300+ KB, meaning that for every page load, you can expect to use a similar amount of your bandwidth. Almost every host provides at least 5 GB of monthly transfer. If you want lots of visitors, find a plan that offers more space.
• Add-ons - Planning on adding a forum, blog, or other interactivity feature to your site - find a host with Fantastico or other similar tool to easily install software into your site.
• Multiple Domain Hosting - Another aspect of expansion - if you plan on creating more than one site, it is much easier if you can host them all with one account.
• Email - Having multiple email addresses can make your life easier if you need a separate address for advertising, support, etc.
• Support - Does the site offer multiple contact methods - live chat, email, phone? Is it 24×7, reliable, and fast?
• cPanel - cPanel is a control panel with access to an FTP server (uploading files), stats, web mail, and other site tools. Although a standard in web hosts, be sure your web host has this.

To see an image of all the features of BlueHost, click here.

So far after a couple weeks of using their hosting, I have been very satisfied. Their support is outstanding, using the chat feature I can typically get help within 5 minutes, their speed is great, and everything has been running fairly smoothly.

Prices are $6.96/month for 2 years, $7.95/month for 1 year, and slightly higher prices (with setup/domain registration fees) for 3/6 month plans. All BlueHost plans come with a 30 day money back guarantee with a pro rated refund if you ever choose to leave BlueHost.

If you need a good, reliable web host, then BlueHost may be your solution.