Choosing a host and domain name for your blog

Choosing a host and buying a domain name was pretty straightforward. I had already decided that this blog will be called www.mikeslife.org although I would have gone for a .com or even a .eu if they hadn’t been taken already. In terms of host, I did a fair amount of research and ended up choosing www.servage.net I have used Servage before and I like their style – they keep things simple by offering only one hosting plan at a set price. The plan includes pretty much anything you should need, with the only limitation of their service being a limit on bandwidth. At the moment this limit seems absolutely huge, but if I am ever to get the traffic I really need and want, then it will be a problem, but my intention is to plan long before I reach that stage to have a dedicated server set up and ready to take the load when I need it to – but that’s some way in the future!
Back to the present – Servage charge €6.95 a month for their all in service, and that includes unlimited email addresses, Mysql databases, a brilliant system which allows you to upload various content management systems easily, decent access to the server and an easy to use control panel. I also know their support system is available 24 hours a day and is quick and well humoured. As a relative novice to web stuff, I use their help often and they are great. At first I didn’t like the support ticketing system, but now I know how quickly they respond, I’m very happy.
The sign up process is easy, and within minutes my site was ready to go. They have a good referral scheme at Servage, so if you are using this step by step process as a template for your own site, and you do decide to sign up with Servage, please use this code when you get to the point that they ask for a coupon code, my code is cust65406. By using that code you will get an extra 25GB of storage space and I will get the same and a couple of months free hosting. Once you’re signed up with Servage, you can do the same and that way you can keep your hosting either free, or very cheap.
Alternatively you can join Servage by clicking the link below, which will automatically insert my code and we’ll get the benefits outlined above.
The next instalment is all about installing my content management system, so keep an eye out for that!

This isn't a big sales pitch for Servage, by the way, just that I chose them and know them. Please carry out your own research and you may find someone better and even cheaper. Just avoid the free hosting sites as your own site will then be plagued by their adverts.