cheap domain names and hosts - suggestions?

[grittykitty]

so my domain/host service is about to expire and i'm looking for something cheaper. i pay $3/month for my server now, and about $12 a year for a domain name from the same company. that's pretty cheap, but it's a bit costly considering how much i make and how much i actually use the website now.

i was looking at a few places (webhostingpad and hostingdude), but they both have that "fine print" sort of stuff, like "free domain name!... but only free for the first year, and you have to pay an unspecified price for each year after". it's pretty annoying

so, does anyone have any recommendations for domain names or servers? what are you using now, and what have you used in the past that was CHEAP and WORKS?

[onemanfilmcrew]

Dreamhost all the way. They are fast, reliable, and have an easy set up. Plus they have unlimited bandwidth to boot. Also, you can have multiple domains hosted on the same account. Plus right now you can get a years worth of hosting for like $10

http://www.dreamhost.com/limited-time-s ... n-now.html

Also, if you happen to go this route let me know, it would be nice to get a referral

[lordofduct]

I use http://www.doteasy.com

for years I used their free hosting... you just pay the domain name registration (I think it's like 5-10 bucks).

this is the outline:
http://www.doteasy.com/Services/WebHosting/Basic/

And you get 100megs storage, 1gig monthly bandwidth, email, and a bunch of other nice little things. And there are no overage fees, they tell you if you're getting close to your limit, and if you hit it it shuts down the service until more bandwidth is available.

I now use the Ultra plan which is pricier then what you already pay (I think I pay like 90 bucks a year), and the unlimited which is what it says (it's 120 a year or so). These come with support for whatever free/open-source services you want (PHP, ruby, etc). Or you can buy your own license for other types (windows services have to be on a windows server, which costs more).

Anyways, back at the free service. I don't know what you're hosting, but for me it was more then enough for the longest time. And at 'free' it's definitely worth it!



I will say though Dreamhost is good, and that deal going on right now (if you take it before the end of today) is a VERY good deal. Bar in mind, it's just the first year obviously.

I actually wouldn't mind shifting to them, I don't mind 110 dollars a year, it's only a little more then what I already pay.

[grittykitty]

thank you both for your replies

i looked into each, and when reading the terms of service i gave up on both. dreamhost says it has a $50 setup fee if you are on a monthly plan (that may be waived for yearly plans? i have to dig deeper) and doteasy actually charges $25 for a domain name for a year. it's still a good deal though.

if after all the fine print dreamhost looks good, i'll probably go with that. i'm going to try to get the veteran's day deal before the end of today

also, i found something interesting just a few minutes ago. i did a google search for "geocities alternative" and stumbled upon this website. i already found an interesting place for free hosting, but i'd still want to get my own domain name. anyone interested in free web hosting might wanna check this site out:
http://www.freewebspace.net/free

so now my next question - what's the cheapest DOMAIN NAME seller you've found without all the strings attached (e.g. you don't need to buy their hosting plan, first year is cheap and all years after are triple price, etc)??