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Use Promo Codes and Coupons!

Emmanuel Dato — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 14:46:04 +0000

Everytime I encounter promo codes and coupons in the web I always got hesitant and doubtful and always avoid them. It is actually a good practice because as well all know, if its too good to be true then its not good at all especially here in the web. But having registered loads of websites in top servers like godaddy and hostgator, I discovered something, you can actually save up with your domain names and hosting by using the promo codes and coupons. And imagine if I have been using them for a long time now. I could have saved up to 50% of my hosting and domain expenses.

I discovered the promo codes and coupons when I am talking to a technical support of the hosting provider of one of my clients. The tech support asked me if I wanted to upgrade the account to a resellers account so that I could save in registering domains and hosting but since I am a freelance web developer, the hosting and domain name concerns usually is in the hands of my clients, I just populate their empty websites with designs and contents. Before my conversation with the tech. support ended, I asked him if there are other ways in which I could save on domains and hosting fees for my own websites since I am planning to also have my own websites that hopefully well have some revenues and he advised me to use promo codes and coupons.

The discounts that you get can actually reach up to 50% and thats a lot of savings. The promo codes and coupons works when you register for a new domain or renew an existing domain. Just like the usual process, you purchase a new domain by checking if its available and before you check out, there’s a textbox there that asks for a promo code and voila! you just got a discounted domain and hosting fee!

Almost all of the top domain and hosting providers and even resellers have promo codes and coupons like hostgator, bluehost and network solutions but the hosting and domain provider that I found with the biggest discounts are in godaddy.com and some of their coupons does not expire which means its not just one time use and its a jackpot for freelance web developers like me.

Here are some valid and working godaddy promo codes and coupons.

Server IPs BLOCKED!

Emmanuel Dato — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 11:48:53 +0000

All our websites undergoes testing and debugging before finally unleashing it in the world wide web and when we are confident that it is good and functional enough to be published then we publish it. What comes next is maintenance. We update it, add contents, optimized it and add analytics to ensure it’s effectiveness but what if the problem is in the hosting provider like for example your website is blocked all throughout the internet… and you yourself cannot access it.. NIGHTMARE right? horror!

and I experienced that… indeed nightmare…

I got this email from the hosting provider of a client, the hosting provider is a Philippine-based hosting and domain provider.

To all our valued clients,

Due to severe email spamming caused by other hosted accounts on our servers this past several days our server IPs are blocked all throughout the internet. Temporarily, all affected servers cannot provide connection for hosted accounts. An emergency server maintenance was in effect. In order for us to fix this is to change all server IPs. Changing of server IPs will result into 8-24 hours of server DNS propagation.

Horror right? If your hosting provider is blocked in the world wide web then obviously your website is blocked too. The worst part about it is that you can do nothing but to wait until the banning of the server got lifted.

That is why it is always best to get a trusted domain and hosting provider like godaddy and hostgator for they have advanced security that can filter email spamming and block only those sites with malicious scripts.

The banning or blocking of a server IP results when there are too much email spamming activity in the server meaning some of the websites that are hosted in the server conducts spamming through the use of malicious software and it sucks when your own website is affected too. The server blocking may last up to 2 days and when you are a web developer, 2 days is a lot of time.

So my advise is go with the trusted domain and hosting provider!

Personalized Domain Extension… anyone?

Emmanuel Dato — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 02:51:22 +0000

Our society is living the “.com” age now but aren’t you tired of .com? Well if your developing a company website then “.com” is the appropriate extension but if it’s a personal website then don’t you think it would be better to have a more personalized domain extension. Obviously, you can’t use .org because its for non-profit organization (unless you are a philanthropist) or .net because you are not an I.T. company. I have a suggestion, how about “.me” instead?

I was checking out the discounts in godaddy for the .com domains and got overwhelmed in the bargain that I am getting but I was more ecstatic when I saw another bargain – Domain Sale in other Domain Extensions! You can start your domain name registration with this article.

Years ago, customized domain extensions like .info, .me, .tv, .us, .ca and other domain extensions that are not .com, .org or .net are expensive and can cost up to 10 X the cost of a .com domain extension but now some are actually much cheaper.

Why get a personalized domain? Simple, use it for better promotion. It’s an easy and affordable way of promoting whatever it is that you want to promote. If its about your personal life like your hobbies, your thoughts (blogging) then how about getting a .me or about a t.v. show then get .tv domain. For me, domain names are investments, with domain providers offers like the promos in godaddy, everyone can get domain names and reserve it for later use or once it gets lots of traffic and attention from web users, turn it into a money-making website or auction it.

So why not get a domain now or domains before the promo ends or your dream domain name got taken by someone else.

I actually just got my .me domain.

SiteSoftware in cPanel no more!

Emmanuel Dato — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 20:48:44 +0000

cPanel and all its features really made webmasters and web developers job easy and fast. With autoinstall software such as Fantastico and QuickInstall and other scripting engines making a functional and robust website is now as easy as 1 – 2 -3.

But just today, As I was exploring cPanel and the software / services section, I found out that “Site Software” is no longer an option.

Site Software has great tools that I used to use during my starting years as a web designer. I wanted to show it to my students but I got surprised with the message that i got.

Site Software is not actually an option anymore in cPanel. I dont know when it was removed by I contacted a tech.Support and they said that cPanel is not updated and that sitesoftware is not necessary anymore because it was replaced by QuickInstall and Fantastico.

My advice to web developers who still rely on Site Software, better get used to Fantastico and QuickInstall. I know some hosting companies still offers Site Software but dont wait till it got removed too before you decided to get familiarized with Fantastico and QuickInstall.

Fantastico De Luxe v.s. QuickInstall

Emmanuel Dato — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 02:59:29 +0000

The best thing about hosting and getting your domain name from a prominent hosting company is that they provide you free software to ease up your daily web development activities. Almost all hosting provider provides a cPanel with loads of software at your disposal, if your hosting provider does not have a cPanel – dump them and replace them.

I personally love Fantastico De Luxe. It made my blogging life easier. But there is a new contender now – The QuickInstall.

The question now is whats the difference?

Well both Software offers pretty much the same function, which is to install script fast and easily – you probably have noticed it with their names – Fantastico (fantastic!) and QuickInstall which means obviously fast install.

Fantastico De Luxe offers top blogging scripts such as WordPress, B2Evolution, and Nucleus and the best CMS (Content Management System) available now such as Drupal, Joomla, Mambo, and PHP-Nuke and eCommerce sites such CubeCart, OSCommerce, and ZenCart plus dozens of other scripts for image hosting, project management, wikis, mailing lists and more.

QuickInstall offers virtually the same. Maybe a few added new scripts or a few missing less popular scripts – but basically, its almost like a clone of Fantastico.

As of now, I cant proclaim a winner but I am sticking to Fantastico De Luxe – it’s tested and it is giving me what I want. QuickInstall is still new and the developers admits that it still has bugs. Maybe I’ll shift to QuickInstall when it is already bug free.

Both Fantastico and QuickInstall are free software so why not try them and experiment and choose which software performs best for you.

As for me, Im sticking to Fantastico for now. Yes. For now.

The Other Side of “Cheap” Domain and Hosting

Emmanuel Dato — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:56:15 +0000

The current trend of Information Technology is the dot.com which obviously means that everyone is having their own website. Everyone seems to be riding the “get-your-own-website” bandwagon due to the cheap fees when it comes to domain and hosting services. And so you decided to be a part of the trend. You also want to have your own website. Perhaps, register your own name so that no one else other than you may able to use it or register others name so that you can sell it to that person when the time comes that he needs it. Or perhaps you want to have your own website because you found a cheap domain and hosting service provider. There are many reasons to mention but one reason that matters most when registering a domain is the price and most people decides to choose the services of a cheap domain and hosting company. But there is a hidden story of cheap domain and service provider and it is a sad story but definitely true.

Cheap domain and hosting service providers are often resellers of big domain and hosting companies. They sign up for services and sells those services to other clients. You may encounter a web hosting company that offers domain name and hosting for only $1 dollar a month and you may consider yourself lucky.. but be warned.. check the specifications and features first because you might save a few bucks on the domain registration but you have no idea that you have been robbed when it comes to hosting services.

Here are some sad truth about “Cheap” Domain and Hosting Company:

1. Small Storage / Disk Space

Disk space are very important when it comes to hosting for it determines the amount of data and files that you can put in your website. Some resellers will only provide you 10 – 50 mb of diskspace. Remember, top CMS and other web development tools requires you to have more than 50 MB of free space just to install the software.

2. Low Bandwidth

Bandwidth plays an important role in the success of your website for it determines the speed your website loads in the screen of the visitors. Some cheap domain providers may offer you huge disk space but too little bandwidth.

3. Control Panel

Since your site is being hosted by a second hand service provider. Chances are the services found in Cpanel or control panel may be cheap too. Services found in Cpanel are very vital for your website’s strength because it gives you all the tools for better web management and administration.

4. It maybe a scam

Another sad scenario is that it maybe a scam. The web hosting and domain service provider maybe fake and just posing just to steal your credit card information.

So think before you register your domain and select a trusted web domain and hosting company. Who knows? your website or blog may just be the next big thing in the cyberspace.