Welcome to guest blogger, Tracy Ruckman. She is a freelance writer, editor, and photographer. She owns Write Integrity Editorial Services and WIES Workshops (online writing courses.) She also hosts the popular Pix-N-Pens blog for writers, readers, editors, and photographers.
An essential tool for any business, especially writers and editors, is a Web site. Most of us are of the “starving artist” variety, so we can’t afford a huge budget for building and hosting our site – but we also can’t afford to look cheap, either. (One of my pet peeves is a cheap-looking Web site.)
Several years ago, I discovered HostGator and they provide the best of both worlds – professional and affordable.
HostGator provides many options for beginners and professionals, and can be considered a “one-stop shop” because you can purchase your domain name and monthly hosting of your Web site. They even provide free site builders (SiteStudio and SiteBuilder) so you can easily build the Web site yourself from thousands of templates. Building your own site saves money in the end, because you’ll be able to make updates yourself as needed and you maintain total control of its look and content.
HostGator’s web hosting packages are priced from $8.95/month for a very basic plan, to $9.95/month for their mid-range plan, and $14.95/month for the professional plan that includes your own toll-free number. The rates are a little lower if you pay by the year(s) rather than by the month ($4.95/mo, $7.95/mo, $12.95/mo for a 3-year payment.)
The company offers a “reseller” plan if you are interested in building web sites for others, or even if you just want to set yourself up as a hosting company. Reseller hosting plans start at just $24.95. (You’ll recoup this almost immediately as you build your client base.)
HostGator also sells domain names, and they start at $15, which is a little steep compared to some of the other companies, but they don’t jack up the price after the first year, so it averages out. (It also saves a few steps transferring the DNS.) But if you prefer to buy your domain name elsewhere and use HostGator for everything else, that’s acceptable and easily done.
Technical support at HostGator is exceptional. Agents are available 24/7 by phone, chat, and e-mail. They are thorough, efficient, and friendly – and there’s never much of a wait except during peak times (and even then, it’s not a long wait.)
Some of the Web sites I’ve designed using their templates include: www.tracyruckman.com, www.debraullrick.com, www.mildredcolvin.com, www.thechristianpen.com, and www.writeintegrity.com. All of these were built using the SiteStudio program with limited html knowledge, and limited experience – if I can do it, you probably can, too!