I’ve also spent more money than I needed to to find out that for practical purposes, you probably don’t really need a VPS or anything super complicated.

I’ve tried VPS.net, Dreamhost, BlueHost, Hostgator, Pair, DotBlock, Site5, and lots of other web hosts. I want to stress this point – there are good commissions for recommending hosting accounts out there so a lot of articles and guides are biased (or mostly profit driven). While I do get a commission from my recommendation, I feel good about it since I’ve actually tested (signed up for, paid for, and tried out) all these hosts – and am walking my own talk.

So after years of trial and error – all my current sites are split between HostGator and Dreamhost.

Sign Up with Dreamhost

If you use the link above I get a commission, if you’re really tight on money, use code MONEYLOVE instead and it will give you the maximum discount (and no kickback to me) – hey, I understand either way

Dreamhost is cheap, reliable, and has been a around long enough to deal with problems well when they arise. My girlfriend’s site runs 250,000 pageviews per month, I host a bunch of sites on the same account too, and it’s been very solid with few hiccups. The biggest con is that support is done via e-mail, but when my girlfriend’s sites have been down, they’ve responded in a reasonable timeframe.

If phone support is really important to you, go with Hostgator. Personally I would avoid Godaddy and Bluehost. I was not thrilled with their services.

Some other hosting services that look good are Rackspace (probably the best hosting provider out there but very expensive!), Slicehost (good for developers), or the most specific WordPress host page.ly (if you only need 1 WordPress website hosted).

Dreamhost 1-Click WordPress Hosting

One of the biggest reasons to go with Dreamhost is how easy it is to setup a WordPress site with them. They have 1-click install service, which is the fastest way to get a site up and running in my experience.

When I was with VPS.net, it took longer to install WordPress (and cost more to have cPanel and Fantastico installed in order to make this happen). Plus once the site was setup, I manually had to change permissions on folders so that uploads worked. While this was presumably more secure, it was also a royal pain in the ass.

I’ve setup dozens of websites with Dreamhost, and the 1-click install made it really easy. Also, they offer an automatic update function so that you’re always updated to the most recent version of WordPress (if you so choose), which is good for security and to keep the functionality updated (but mostly for security).

You have 3 main options:

1. Register a brand new domain
2. Buy a previously registered domain in the aftermarket
3. Catch a domain in an auction drop

Brand New Domain

If you come up with a name that has not been previously taken, congrats! That’s getting rarer and rarer these days. Usually I check if a domain name is taken at whois.domaintools.com – if a domain name is taken it often links to where it’s available to buy in the aftermarket (see below).

.com rules the world – it’s like the Jay-z of the domain universe. If you can’t find a good .com available, you can always get creative. I almost always go with a .com even if I have to spend the money, however I’ve registered a few .me domains and a few domain hacks like visual.ly.

Once I know a domain name is available, I like to register the domain at Namecheap or at
Godaddy. I like Godaddy but ever since the Bob Parson’s incident (to which we all overreacted) and their tendency to objectify women (leave that to gangsta rap videos, Bob!) I am getting more reluctant to promote them. These days I’ve been leaning more and more towards Namecheap since they are just a bit cheaper, have a nice uncluttered control panel, and offer cheap whois privacy.

Both of these registrars offer dynamic DNS (which is good if you want to move hosts quickly), have free url forwarding, and offer email services.

Buying a Domain in the Aftermarket

Since most of the good domains are already registered, there are several options of getting one that someone already owns. The following places offer domains you can buy from their owners:

• Buy Domains
• Sedo
• Afternic

Most of the time I don’t search these markets individually but instead use the Domain Tools For Sale search or contact the owner directly from the whois records (found via whois search) and email him/her directly asking if the domain name is for sale and if so, at what price. I’ve been able to pick up several quality domains that way – ranging in price from $70 to $7,250 depending on the quality.

Bonus tip: if you find a domain via buy domains, call them and bargain with them – often they will take a price that’s 10-20% off if you’re a serious buyer.

Grab a Dropping Domain

I’ve picked up a number of good domains by monitoring dropping domain auctions. When a person does not renew a domain they own, it typically drops 45-90 days after by that domain’s registrar. These days, most of these domains are auctioned off to the highest bidder before they actually drop.

A few great places to look for domains that are dropping are:

• Godaddy auctions
• Namejet
• Go Drops
• Pool

I recently picked up dmad.com from a godaddy auction (for about $560) and have seen some great domain bargains there.

Domain Registration Tips

If you register a domain, search for a coupon code to save a few bucks. For Godaddy, check out this Fat Wallet Coupon page, which lists the most up-to-date discount codes.

I typically do not add any services when I buy the domain, such as private registration or “registered” registration, or SSL certificates, or any of that crap. Just get the domain. If you need anything else later, you can always add it (you won’t need to).