A Mefi profile guide: recommending web hosting, domain registrar, cms, e-mail services

August 22, 2012 5:37 AM

Inspired by samsara's and deezil's helpful malware removal guides on their profile pages, I've written a short and practical beginner's guide recommending domain name registrars, web hosting, content management systems and e-mail services. I hope the guide is of some use to people who want to host their own stuff, as opposed using hosted platforms like Tumblr or Blogger, using solid and hassle-free tech.

I wrote this guide because it tends to be hard to find *one* single practical guide that covers all aspects of running a web site (as far as solution providers and tech are concerned). I've tried to keep my recommendations limited to one or two solutions where all solutions are compatible with one another.

It's a work in progress - wrote it yesterday! - so I would really appreciate your feedback.

posted by Foci for Analysis to MetaFilter-Related at 5:37 AM (29 comments total)

This is pretty cool. Thanks for writing it up!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:40 AM on August 22, 2012

Thank you!
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:50 AM on August 22, 2012

Nicely done!
posted by COD at 6:02 AM on August 22, 2012

Thanks for this. I've been thinking of starting a business, and have not even known where to get started on a website. This looks like a great get-started kind of thing. I'm looking forward to how it shapes up.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:08 AM on August 22, 2012

This is wonderful, thanks!

Now I'm gonna have to rewrite mine for formatting because it looks like shite compared to you two.
posted by deezil at 6:09 AM on August 22, 2012

I got a bunch of useful advice on exactly this sort of thing here. Ultimately I did everything through Dreamhost.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 6:16 AM on August 22, 2012 [1 favorite]

Glad you guys like it!

Ghidorah, when you start your business and if you feel up to it, I would really like to understand your thought processes wrt creating your own site. Any question such as, "I need x, which provider/solution do I pick?" is welcomed (I prefer MefiMail).

Kid Charlemagne, thanks for that AskMe. Really useful to get a understanding on how a fresh pair of eyes view this whole business.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 6:42 AM on August 22, 2012

SELF LINK. FLAGGED for awesomeness.

Seriously, thanks for this, looking forward to going through it later.
posted by inigo2 at 6:57 AM on August 22, 2012

That is useful! Bravo!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 7:03 AM on August 22, 2012

This is fantastic. More people on MeFi should do this for their particular area of expertise. I'd happily write up how to manage international logistics in the 3rd world but I'm pretty sure that's of not much value to most.
posted by allkindsoftime at 7:03 AM on August 22, 2012

Trevligt! Tack tack!
posted by Admiral Haddock at 7:22 AM on August 22, 2012

I'd happily write up how to manage international logistics in the 3rd world but I'm pretty sure that's of not much value to most.

You know, I think the great thing I've learned from Metafilter is that I am interested in whatever your piece of the world is.

By the way, allkindsoftime, I have added your employer (perhaps not the current one?) to our charitable giving based on your explanations of how difficult the supply chain can be.
posted by purpleclover at 7:28 AM on August 22, 2012 [1 favorite]

That's great. There are a few acronyms you could spell out (TLD) but I think it's a really great intro as well as a summary of a lot of the good advice we've seen over the years.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:47 AM on August 22, 2012

Great write-up. However, if this is hard to find elsewhere, why limit it to your MeFi profile?

Maybe host it on a Tumblr? *runs*
posted by terrapin at 7:57 AM on August 22, 2012

Wait, weird, this showed up on the front page of MeTa as closed but now it's open. Maybe I misread something, but I clicked on this to check out what happened to close it.

(Cool page, Foci. It's got some advice I can use.)
posted by klangklangston at 10:12 AM on August 22, 2012

Derp, I think it was the favorite added stuff in little gray letters that I just didn't read all the way.
posted by klangklangston at 10:13 AM on August 22, 2012

Is this where we come to argue about Plone?

(jk jk this is actually a fantastic resource. Well done!)
posted by Jofus at 11:08 AM on August 22, 2012

Wasn't ever closed as far as I can tell. You may have been peeking through a wormhole into an alternate universe. Did everyone have goatses?
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:54 AM on August 22, 2012 [1 favorite]

This is fantastic. More people on MeFi should do this for their particular area of expertise.

This is a neat idea.
posted by cashman at 1:02 PM on August 22, 2012

Very useful. Thanks. (I don't see anything wrong with it, so I have no criticism to give.)
posted by BeeDo at 1:29 PM on August 22, 2012

I've spruced up my profile (since the internet was down at work today, had to do something). I just wish there was a way to use the <hr> HTML tag inside profiles. I'd love to separate my username explanation (which is also new to the profile) from the stuff everyone else wants ;-)
posted by deezil at 1:55 PM on August 22, 2012

All of this would be awesome on the Wiki where it's Googlable.

Google-able? Googleable?
posted by IndigoRain at 2:14 PM on August 22, 2012

This is great, thanks very much.
posted by smoke at 3:39 PM on August 22, 2012

Thank You Foci!
posted by yohko at 4:52 PM on August 22, 2012

Is there a place there for a recommendations on who to go with to snipe parked domains?
posted by Iteki at 10:14 PM on August 22, 2012

Really sweet -- thx!
posted by dancestoblue at 11:59 PM on August 22, 2012

Nice. You should get a referral bosus from Webfaction.
posted by subbes at 11:10 AM on August 23, 2012

Thank you
posted by StickyCarpet at 1:49 PM on August 24, 2012

Thanks. I had to get off of Go Daddy and didn't know what was reputable. This was helpful.
posted by vivzan at 10:09 AM on August 30, 2012