Where to purchase domains and hosting

Welcome back to another episode! Today we’re exploring domains and web hosting – because choosing the right provider can be a confusing and frustrating experience.

What We Cover

Domain Hosting: The Must-Knows

Pricing Traps to Avoid: Those tempting $1-3 first-year deals? They’re designed to hook you in. Always check renewal pricing first! We share a sneaky way to take advantage of cheap first-year prices indefinitely.

DNS Hosting: We explain what DNS hosting actually is (those A records and MX records) and why we recommend keeping your domain and DNS separate. It makes switching providers much easier down the track.

ID Protection: Essential for stopping spammers from accessing your contact details through WHOIS lookups. Worth getting if it’s available for your domain type.

Our Domain Provider Recommendations

1. Venture IP – Our Aussie favourite with solid support and no dodgy upsells
2. Cloudflare – They charge exactly what ICANN charges (zero profit!) hoping you’ll use their premium services later
3. Namecheap – Decent experience with competitive pricing
4. Pork Bun – Silly name, solid service with good ongoing rates

Website Hosting: Three Main Types

Shared Hosting: We’re honest – we don’t really recommend this anymore. Your site shares resources with hundreds of others, which can cause performance issues.

Cloud Hosting: The sweet spot between shared hosting and managed WordPress. Better performance, less hand-holding. Cloudways is our pick for beginners.

Managed WordPress: Premium option that focuses solely on WordPress sites. More expensive but includes security management, updates, and even malware cleanup.

Hosting Recommendations

• Shared: SiteGround (reputation a bit tarnished lately) or Venture IP
• VPS/Cloud: Cloudways for beginners, or try RunCloud/ServerAvatar/xCloud for more control
• Managed WordPress: Kinsta or WP Engine are the big names

The Fourth Option

Don’t forget – you can always work with a designer/developer who manages hosting for you! It’s part of our care plans, so you can sleep easy knowing we’ll handle all the technical stuff.

Bottom Line: There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Consider your technical comfort level, budget, and support needs when choosing.

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Thanks for listening to our podcast where we talk about websites and digital marketing for small businesses. Visit thedigitalbrew.com.au/podcast for more episodes, detailed show notes, resources, and our newsletter.