domain hosting help?

mrfizzed

Please help me out. I have the pro pkg with smugmug and have for years. I pay $150 for that as do all of you.

I register my domain with webhostingpad.com for $14.95 per year. Webhostingpad.com also charges me $46.40 per year for what they call their power plan. Do I need this power plan? When I contacted them their response was: "Hello,

The power plan B is your actual hosting package.

If you terminate your hosting package your site will no longer be up here.

If you wish to only renew the domain, that is all you will have with Webhostingpad.com."

Thanks in advance.

docwalker

Web hosting is not needed to use the domain with your SmugMug account. You only need the domain. If you are not using their web hosting for other pages, files, etc you should be able to safely cancel that part of your account with them. A domain should only cost you a few dollars a year. I think I pay around $20 a year for my domain and email services through GoDaddy.

mrfizzed

thanks but...
Thank you for getting back to me.

webhostingpad.com is telling me that if i cancel my web hosting with them that i will not have access to higher level dns functions such as a record, cname etc. does this make sense? if this is in fact the case and it means that i would not be able to make it work with smugmug without paying $15 for domain registration and their additional $46 for "web hosting" shouldnt I cancel and go to godaddy.com for example?

docwalker wrote: »

Web hosting is not needed to use the domain with your SmugMug account. You only need the domain. If you are not using their web hosting for other pages, files, etc you should be able to safely cancel that part of your account with them. A domain should only cost you a few dollars a year. I think I pay around $20 a year for my domain and email services through GoDaddy.

docwalker

Yikes. I would recommend you transfer to GoDaddy. There is no need for you to be paying extra just to get DNS functions. That should be included with your domain. You must have a CNAME to work with SmugMug. That is a very basic DNS function.

I would not cancel the domain. Transfer it. If you cancel first, you could loose it. There is a specific transfer process that you need to follow. GoDaddy can help you with that.

mrfizzed

ok so if i transfer to godaddy what do i answer here during the transfer page?
Select Your Transfer Nameservers:
Keep the existing nameservers on my transferring domain names as currently set at my domain registrar. Change my transferring domain names to GoDaddy.com park nameservers.

docwalker

You will want to use the GoDaddy nameservers. Once the domain is moved, you can switch to their hosted servers. The only thing you need to set for it to work with us is to set www CNAME pointed at domains.smugmug.com and edit the @ A record to point at 208.79.45.23

Scottyr33

Hey Doc, maybe you could help me also? I got my web name thru "Yola", I later got a pro account at smugmug. I just received an email from yolk to continue with them, my question is this, do I need to continue to pay them, or am I ok with just using smugmug? I don't want to loose my web name, but I also don't want to pay anymore than I have to. Thanks

docwalker

You must have the domain registered with a domain host. No web hosting is required. If you are paying for web hosting, you can have that turned off. But the domain part you will need to continue to pay for. An option is to transfer the domain to a new host and pay only for the domain hosting service. It is totally up to you.

Scottyr33

Thanks Doc,
I guess I should contact Yola, and see what I'm paying for?

Scottyr33

Or should I contact Godaddy and see what they can do?

docwalker

Its up to you but I personally love GoDaddy. You can see what Yola is charging you for and then compare it to GoDaddy. They may give you a better rate.

codyjbennett

Hey Doc,

Just a quick question about your preference of godaddy... In the times that I've used their services (usually to help out friends) I've found godaddy to be challenging for me to navigate and in some cases, it seems there are "hidden" fees (various features seem to be set up as paid addons). What do you like that other services don't seem to offer?

I'm utilizing BlueHost for my site, and to date, I don't have any concerns. They've been responsive with support needs, and seem to get the essentials done. That said, from time to time I look at other domains and don't want to miss a good thing just because of a sour experience I had cause I didn't take the time to figure it out...

Thanks for your insight!

Cheers!

docwalker

Cody,

I have dealt with just about every single domain host out there. So far I have seen a lot of really bad, confusing, scammy, shady, crappy, .... you get it. I guess it really depends on what you feel comfortable with. I have not seen any "hidden" fees with GoDaddy except for their recent addition of what they call Premium DNS, which most folks have no need for. I have seen other hosts charge you for the domain, and then charge you to setup DNS, and every other basic function that is included with the domain at GoDaddy. Other stuff like SSL, Certified domains, and private registrations are additional at GoDaddy. But those prices are listed up front during the process. I have seen other sites let you register a domain for next to nothing and only when you get to the point of setting up the DNS do they tell you that a CNAME is extra or not allowed at all. Thats shady.

If you like Blue Host, stick with them. As long as your domain works and you like the host there is no need to switch.

codyjbennett

Thanks for the summary, Doc!

As a total off-topic aside, I stumbled across your recent blogpost... CONGRATS! Your commitment & results are encouraging! Interestingly, a couple days ago I came across another forum recommending the Eat To Live book, and I'm reading it now with enthusiasm; I'm glad the SmugMug team isn't always about business as usual.

Cheers! (And sorry for the off-topic tangent!)

docwalker

Thanks Cody. The SmugMug team works hard and plays hard. We also try to live life to the fullest. Eat to Live is a great book and I am planning to transition to a modified form of that type of eating when the diet is over.