Hi, I just recently put up my business web site.

It currently resides on the free web hosting (well not free I pay them alot for the broadband) that Comcast Broadband provides.

How much will it hurt my SE rankings, if at all, by not having my site with a paid web site hosting company?

I have been told that I need a 301 redirect which as a newbie I don't fully understand.

I need to buy a new PC before I can use Frontpage to post my web site to a web hosting company. And I also haven't chosen a web hosting company yet. There are so many that I am having trouble deciding who is good and who isn't. So this is taking a while.


Thanks

M Meadows

www.Floorplandrawing.com

Yes... I've been there too. I first hosted for free. Then I found forums and saw the light...

A 301 is done on the server to send the trafic to the new page replacing the old one. Free hostings will usually not allow you to put a 301 to redirect your trafic to your new pages. This is the way they are. Maybe you could put a software 301 like a javascript or an other, but I did not do that. I just trashed the pages and kept the home with just a link to the new site, contacted webmasters to switch the links to the new site.

A domain name goes for 15$, a hosting will cost you like 40$. To choose your hosting, forget the free emails and all the crap... you need : bandwidth, space.

Thanks so much for your advice. Sorry it took so long to respond. I have more to do then 3 humans can handle.

Is it Ok to ask who you host with? I need Windows not Linux and Frontpage Server Extensions and FP forms compatible etc. I have decided it is best to find out from others which companys they are happy with. Referral is probably the best indicator of which company is good and who isn't so good.

Every time I try to wade through the zillions of possible companies and choose one I just throw up my hands !

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I'm hosted on linux and have no clue who gives good windows hosting. Have a look at some of these : http://www.seo-guy.com/forum/search.php?searchid=64185

I too had fun trying to find a good place to host a web site. In fact, I could tell you several places not to go, but I don't want to get in trouble. I asked several of my IT friends and they host their Windows based sites at www.webhost4life.com. Their plans start at $5 a month and go up from there. They have been very reliable and offer excellent support. They also offer a referal fee to people who refer their friends. I'm not going to give you a referral code even though I could make money off of it because I'm doing this to help you out, not to make money. I am the Director of IT for a research and consulting firm and am the webmaster for a couple of non-profits and I have my company and all the non-profits hosted by them.

I have been using www.ms11.net for the past year and am very satisfied with their services. They charge a one time $11 activation fee and based on your bandwidth needs, anywhere from $19.95 per year and up. As far as I know, they have never been down in this past year.

Cheers,

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