BannerJohn 1,324 Posted December 30, 2007 For those of you considering your own website, Microsoft offers FREE domain name ( a regular .com, not a web page at MSN or something)..FREE hosting (Up to 4 pages I think).....Templates for designing your site if you don't know html...they even host your pics for you....mostly import,type,drag into place..its very easy. here is the link: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/officelive/default.aspx?xid=c2logo one word...when I did mine,it tok about 48 hours from when I uploaded, to when it went live. I have 4 domain names with GoDaddy for my brothers...and the cost with hosting is $9.95 a year. My domain name at this site is FREE and they even renew it for you. Try it out...you have NOTHING to lose and much to gain. When I type in the name of my business (not the whole www thing,just the name...it shows up first one on Google. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Benr98 40 Posted December 30, 2007 Thanks for the information. Just had an issue with Freewebs and was starting to look around for a new site. Jenny Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted December 30, 2007 well, I hate to say anything GOOD about Microsoft,but if you can't trust THEM (in the technology area) who can you trust? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted December 30, 2007 LOl you aren't limited to ONE website,ot ONE domain name,you know. Esp if you sell on ebay. If you sell on ebay,they won't allow you to link to your own website if you actually SELL anything on the site...BUT you can put samples of your work,contact info,etc and link from your 'about me' page on ebay. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SmallSigns 23 Posted December 30, 2007 I was about to sign up till I got to the part about the credit card. If you read the fine print this is a BATA program -- at the conclusion of the BETA testing they will contact you about paying for the service. I will stick with Host Monster -- at least there I know what I am paying BEFORE I put the effort into creating a site. Thanks for the information anyway -- :you rock: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted December 30, 2007 Even though Microsoft Office Live Basics is a free service, we still require a credit card in order to validate that every customer is a legitimate entity. When you sign up for a Microsoft Office Live Small Business account, Microsoft performs a $1 authorization check on your credit card to verify that the card information you are using is valid and up to date. A temporary $1 charge may appear on your online credit card statement for a short period, but will not appear on your final billing statement for that period. Requiring a valid credit card is also intended to decrease the likelihood that malicious users will sign up. Web-site scams, such as phishing or spamming, often use fictitious Web sites to deceive consumers into disclosing credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security numbers, passwords, or other sensitive information. We limit the number of offers to one per credit card number as added protection against malicious users signing up for our service. We also require a credit card to facilitate payment of any additional services you might sign up for (for example, the purchase of additional domain names or extra storage space.) With your explicit permission, we can establish monthly billing using your credit card information. You will be able to continue using our services without interruption and without having to submit additional account information. ______________________________ The FREE basic service is there to get you interested and will always be free.They hope that as your business grows,you will purchase the pay versions. Godaddy and the others work the same way. You get the Basic for $9.95 then they try and sell you the premium services. And even if they decided to charge after a while,those of us who are in the Beta program are locked in and won't have to pay.At least that's been Microsoft policy for as long as I can remember. If they didn't require a credit card, every Tom Dick and Harry Spammer would be all over this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dgreenh 9 Posted December 30, 2007 I have 12 web sites hosted with Solid-hosting.net and it costs $19 a month. I can host up to 20 domain names for the same price. Been with them for over 4 years and never had any problems. Their cheapest plan, you can host 5 domain names for $9 a month. They have been reliable and quick to answer any questions. Not affiliated, just a happy customer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted December 30, 2007 I didn't mean to suggest this as a substitute for those of you (myself included) who have websites,or know how to create/host/manage one. I was suggesting this for those newbees who might want a FREE way to set up a webiste with an EASY way of doing it. 1000+ now,Ken...do I get a prize? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dgreenh 9 Posted December 30, 2007 Yes, I went through the free hosting and they worked well until things grew too much and I had to start paying for hostiing. Several of the free hosts I used in the past went out of business overnight and took out your web sites. Probably don't have to worry about that with Microsoft, they are probably a good stable option for free hosting. Congrats on the 1000+... What comes after Super Hero member? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted December 30, 2007 I have no idea. There doesn't seem to be anything higher than that except moderator....and that doesn't seem to have anything to do with the number of posts you make. Maybe SUPER DUPER hero member?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dgreenh 9 Posted December 30, 2007 Sounds good to me. The shoe fits so you might as well wear it... well, you might want to look inside that shoe first. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeff g 0 Posted January 1, 2008 I have a problem with the free domain names and hosting. Also with the GoDaddy's of the world offering $9.99/year domain names. Basically my problem with them is this. THEY own your domain name...you don't. ICANN is the ONLY domain registrar and they work through Network Solutions. When you register a domain name through GoDaddy or Globat or whoever, they register your name with Network Solutions for 99 years...that's how they get the price to you down to $9.99/year. Here are a couple of really big issues with that business model: You miss a renewal. They sell your domain name to someone else. They go out of business. You just lost your domain name when the year is up. They own it...you don't Personally, I have all of my domain names registered with Network Solutions. It costs me a little more (I pay in 5 year blocks, so it's $20.00 per year), but I am the SOLE owner of my domain names unless I decide to let them go. As for hosting, I use Globat.com. They offer the most bang for the buck in terms of space and bandwidth from what I have been able to find. I've been with them for the past 4 or 5 years and I have had great results. They also keep upgrading my service in terms of space and bandwidth for $49.00 a shot. They do this about once a year. The last time though, it bit them in the butt. They upgraded me to 3 terabytes of online storage and 3 terabytes of bandwidth per month. I called them up and cancelled my other 2 hosting accounts and combined my 3 domain names into the main account and 2 sub accounts. They went from getting $300.00/year from me to $100.00/year and $89.00 as a 1 shot deal for the upgrade and the 2 setup fees for the sub accounts. Works for me...I'll give them $89.00 once and keep $200.00/year ;D If any of you folks decide to host with Globat.com, please tell them that 3cyl.com referred you. It gets me free service if 3 people sign up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted January 1, 2008 I have a problem with the free domain names and hosting. Also with the GoDaddy's of the world offering $9.99/year domain names. Basically my problem with them is this. THEY own your domain name...you don't. ICANN is the ONLY domain registrar and they work through Network Solutions. When you register a domain name through GoDaddy or Globat or whoever, they register your name with Network Solutions for 99 years...that's how they get the price to you down to $9.99/year. Here are a couple of really big issues with that business model: You miss a renewal. They sell your domain name to someone else. They go out of business. You just lost your domain name when the year is up. They own it...you don't Personally, I have all of my domain names registered with Network Solutions. It costs me a little more (I pay in 5 year blocks, so it's $20.00 per year), but I am the SOLE owner of my domain names unless I decide to let them go. As for hosting, I use Globat.com. They offer the most bang for the buck in terms of space and bandwidth from what I have been able to find. I've been with them for the past 4 or 5 years and I have had great results. They also keep upgrading my service in terms of space and bandwidth for $49.00 a shot. They do this about once a year. The last time though, it bit them in the butt. They upgraded me to 3 terabytes of online storage and 3 terabytes of bandwidth per month. I called them up and cancelled my other 2 hosting accounts and combined my 3 domain names into the main account and 2 sub accounts. They went from getting $300.00/year from me to $100.00/year and $89.00 as a 1 shot deal for the upgrade and the 2 setup fees for the sub accounts. Works for me...I'll give them $89.00 once and keep $200.00/year ;D If any of you folks decide to host with Globat.com, please tell them that 3cyl.com referred you. It gets me free service if 3 people sign up. Partly true perhaps. In the case of the Microsoft site I mentioned... I own the domain name not Microsoft.This is according to the look up through your very own Network Solutions 'who is' lookup. At the end of July, 2007, Network Solutions had 6,659,150 domains under management and was in the top five wholesale domain registrars following Go Daddy with 19,709,215 domains and eNom with 7,646,676 domains. Tucows, the largest publicly traded registrar, has 6,622,982 domains under management with its recent acquisition of ItsYourDomain.com.[3] Melbourne IT, a publicly traded company located in Australia, trailed with 4,664,019 domains under management. [4] Thast sounds to me like Network Solutions is just another registrar,same as Godaddy. A bit of research will show that Network Solutions was the first,and original..but is NOT anymore. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kenimes 42 Posted January 2, 2008 I didn't mean to suggest this as a substitute for those of you (myself included) who have websites,or know how to create/host/manage one. I was suggesting this for those newbees who might want a FREE way to set up a webiste with an EASY way of doing it. 1000+ now,Ken...do I get a prize? lol No prizes to give at this time, but you do have the appreciation of many. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted January 2, 2008 I didn't mean to suggest this as a substitute for those of you (myself included) who have websites,or know how to create/host/manage one. I was suggesting this for those newbees who might want a FREE way to set up a webiste with an EASY way of doing it. 1000+ now,Ken...do I get a prize? lol No prizes to give at this time, but you do have the appreciation of many. I would MUCH rather be appreciated than rewarded. Now if I can just get a nice woman to appreciate me,.... none of my 4 ex's didn't. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firemalt 10 Posted July 6, 2008 John, or anyone else who has one of these accounts... is there a way to direct the Microsoft Office website to my domain... or would I have to redirect my domain to the MS office website? I guess just redirecting my domain there would be the easiest thing to do... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slopchops 1 Posted July 6, 2008 I am on their site and registered, been confirmed but can't find a place to start my business account. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Knobhill 0 Posted July 6, 2008 LOL nothing is for free and never was. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firemalt 10 Posted July 6, 2008 Chops... the site seems to be running very slow this evening and each time I try to access my account, it locks the page up. I'll try again later this evening or tomorrow morning. What exactly are you trying to setup? A website, or something else they offer for free? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slopchops 1 Posted July 7, 2008 Chops... the site seems to be running very slow this evening and each time I try to access my account, it locks the page up. I'll try again later this evening or tomorrow morning. What exactly are you trying to setup? A website, or something else they offer for free? Yes a web site for my cane business. I got registered and thats all I can do. Your right, this site is very slow. OK I am gettig started. You can't do this using Firefox. I had to switch over to microsoft windows and I sure didn't like giving them my credit card info and pretend to read their mile long agreement that takes a lawyer to understand. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firemalt 10 Posted July 7, 2008 Once you login, go to the page that looks like the first attachment below, and click on "website" in the left menu. When the new page opens, scroll down and you'll see where you can create a new page, design site, or view site... like in the second attachment. If you click on "design site", a new window will open up, and you can start designing. They've made it extremely easy to change the layout, color, font, etc. of your site... it should open a page that looks like the top of the third attachment(that's my new page I'm working on). Good luck... I can't answer all the question, as I'm learning as I go, and by trial and error. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firemalt 10 Posted July 7, 2008 BTW... the site seems to be back to normal, running just fine now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slopchops 1 Posted July 7, 2008 Here is a copy of my web site I am working on. Let me know what you think. I am disappointed in the selection of fonts. I wanted a western letter with it and I am having trouble moving things around like the way I want to. This is not all that easy. :- http://texicane.shopping.officelive.com/default.aspx Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firemalt 10 Posted July 7, 2008 Good start... I don't know about having the gun cane image on the homepage twice, right above each other(but I see that the one in the title bar doesn't show the full image). I was surprised at the font selection too... And yes... I agree, you can't move and add things like if you were creating a site through html or php coding, but think of it as a customizible template. I think it's more for a basic foundation of a website until you get something else in the works. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slopchops 1 Posted July 7, 2008 The gun cane wasn't supposed to be in there twice. I have changed it to a second cane I have for sale but............. I can''t put a price directly on the second one which is a beauty, 23k gold trimmed and all hand carved. I can't get good close ups with my camera and get the whole cane in. Hmmmmmmmmm, suggestions? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites