PURCHASING A WEB HOSTING PACKAGE

Free Domain Name - 500MB Web Space - 25GB Bandwidth - CPanel - Fantastico

If you have read the sections in this CREATION category properly you should now know "what is what" in terms of now being ready to order a web hosting package. In this section I am going to show you the ordering process of Krystal Hosting and more precisely how I purchased their Amethyst - Home User Plan, which is currently priced at £24.99 Per Month (plus V.A.T of 17.5%) as of Sunday 1st August 2010.

Note: Although I have chosen to example a cheaper web hosting package, the examples in this section are common to the purchase of any web hosting package with regards to its registration process and payment methods - The features of a certain web hosting package, and any extras offered by a certain web hosting provider, may differ but the registration process and payment methods will more or less be the same as those exampled in this section.

Begin by visiting http://www.krystal.co.uk/ and then click on the WEB HOSTING link (Fig 1.0) to view the available web hosting packages (Fig 1.1). In this case there are three web hosting packages available - AMETHYST, TOPAZ and RUBY - all of which offer different features and therefore are priced differently.

Fig 1.0  Click on the WEB HOSTING link to view the available web hosting packages (plans)

In this example I am going to purchase the AMETHYST - HOME USER package by clicking on its JOIN US button, located on the right hand side of its heading. Doing so will bring up the Hosting Signup Wizard that asks me to enter a domain name, my address details, credit card details and so on which is standard practise these days. So I will proceed by first searching for a domain name that I know is available for registration - Namely: freecomputerlessons.co.uk.

.CO.UK  Domain  Name  Registration

With this package I will get that domain name for free, for the first year, because I am a new customer. However, because I want to register a co.uk domain name (which must be registered for a minimum of two years, as dictated by Nominet - The british .co.uk organization) I will have to pay for the second year. Fortunately krystal hosting make this a very reasonable £3.49 plus V.A.T. This means I will pay £33.46 in total which is calculated as £24.99 (one year of web hosting) plus £3.49 (one extra year of domain name registration) plus £4.98 (17.5% V.A.T).

Fig 1.1  To purchase the AMETHYST - HOME USER web hosting package click on its JOIN US button




Fig 1.2  Enter a domain name, select its tld (name extension) and then click on the NEXT button

Before searching for and then entering a domain name you must first decide whether or not you want to Register a new domain name, Transfer an existing domain name over to krystal hosting, Use the krystal hosting Name Servers or use this desired domain name as a sub-domain.

To keep things simple I have decided to register a new domain name (freecomputerlessons.co.uk), that will be attached to the web space I am ordering with this package. So I have entered freecomputerlessons into the DOMAIN edit box, selected the .CO.UK tld (top level domain / name extension) from the drop-down menu and then clicked on the NEXT button (above) in order for a search of this domain name to be performed (below) and more precisely to confirm it is indeed available for registration.

Fig 1.3  Click on the UPDATE SELECTIONS/CONTINUE button to register the selected domain name

Once you have confirmation that a domain name is available for registration you should make sure there is a tick next to its listing before clicking on the UPDATE SELECTIONS/CONTINUE button to register it.

If you decide you want to search for another domain name or cancel this process altogether, for whatever reason(s), simply click on the appropriate button (SEARCH AGAIN or CLICK HERE TO CANCEL), otherwise click on the UPDATE SELECTIONS/CONTINUE button to continue.

Because I am registering a co.uk domain name the next step of the registration wizard asks me to supply details necessary for Nominet - The british .co.uk organization. They basically want to know if I am a Business or private Individual simply because they do not allow a business to hide their address details using the WHOIS Opt-Out service. In this case I am an Individual and therefore have kept the COMPANY NUMBER edit box blank. If I was a business though I would need to specify my business (Companies House) registration number.

Fig 1.4  Leave the COMPANY NUMBER edit box blank if you are an Individual

If you want to have your address details hidden (Individuals only) you should make sure the HIDE WHOIS INFO AT NOMINET drop-down menu states YES, otherwise your details will show up on the public WHOIS Records. When you have entered your details click on the CONTINUE button to preview your invoice, and then click on its PROCEED TO CHECKOUT button if you are happy with the invoice.

Fig 1.5  Click on the PROCEED TO CHECKOUT button to continue

If you have a discount coupon (voucher) code for Krystal Hosting - search Google for "Krystal Hosting Discount Coupon" for example - you should enter that code into the CODE edit box (above) and then click on the SUBMIT COUPON CODE button before clicking on the PROCEED TO CHECKOUT button.

Many companies offer discount code incentives these days, so it is worth searching for them on the net before purchasing as they sometimes offer up to 10% discount. Unfortunately I could not find one!

Set  Up  User  Account

The next step of the Hosting Signup Wizard involves you setting up a new web hosting package User Account, which is required in order for you to manage your web hosting package(s) in the future. Transfer domain names, change your password, view/pay invoices, access support and so on.

Fig 1.6  Click on the CREATE NEW ACCOUNT button to continue

The majority of the User Account registration form is quite straight forward and does not really need explaining. The only part that would need explaining is the Name Servers information, which you would change if you were using an existing domain name with this web hosting package, but in this example that information is not required.

The only thing to mention here is that if you live in the UK you might want to use CITY for your Town entry and COUNTY for your City entry, especially if you live in London, simply because the form is based on an American format.

Fig 1.7  Create your User Name & Password and Secret (Password Reset) Question & Answer




Fig 1.8  Leave this option ticked if you want to subscribe to the Krystal Hosting mailing list




Fig 1.9  Enter your contact information for billing purposes

So far everything has been straight forward, and so will be the rest of the registration form, but in this next part you have to pay special attention to the E-mail Address entry. This is because it is the e-mail address that organizations such as WHOIS and Nominet use for their own records and more precisely the e-mail address they will use to contact you if you want to transfer your domain name for example.

Do  Not  Supply  The  Wrong  E-Mail  Address

Many people supply an e-mail address that belongs to one of their other domains, which is wrong. I have john@websitecreationhelp.com, for example, registered with a different web hosting provider but I will never supply that e-mail address as the contact e-mail address for any web hosting package I purchase.

Why? Because if I ever give up the websitecreationhelp.com domain, and therefore invalidate the e-mail address john@websitecreationhelp.com, WHOIS and Nominet will not be able to contact me anymore. This then means I would not be able to transfer freecomputerlessons.co.uk for example because I would never receive the transfer-authorization e-mail from WHOIS. So always use a neutral long-term e-mail address instead, such as a Windows Live (Hotmail) or GMail (Google Mail) e-mail address.

Fig 1.10  Enter your contact information for domain name registration purposes

The final part of the registration form allows you to leave any comments/requests you may have for the web hosting provider before clicking on the SUBMIT FORM button. The Name Server entries can be left alone, as stated above. So look over your registration form entries, correct any mistakes (if any), and then click on the SUBMIT FORM button to continue to the payment options.

Fig 1.11  User Account created - Click on CONTINUE to pay for your Web Space and Domain Name




Fig 1.12  Select a payment method and then click on the SUBMIT button to make actual payment

After clicking on the SUBMIT button you will be taken to the PayPal Sign-In page, or Submit Credit Card Details page, via a CONTINUE TO PAYMENT button (not shown here) in order to make the actual purchase of the web hosting package (Web Space and Domain Name).

The payment page is a standard procedure of either logging into your PayPal account or entering your Credit Card details via a payment form (not shown here). After that you can log-in to your User Account control panel, and CPanel control panel (as shown in these website creation lessons for example).

Fig 1.13  The USER ACCOUNT control panel for Krystal Hosting web hosting packages

As said above; The above registration process is similar for most, if not all, other web hosting providers and packages - You select a web hosting package, search for a domain name, register your personal details and then make payment. Web hosting packages may differ in price, offers and features though.