I am frequently asked these questions…

“Which web host do you use?”
“Where do you register your domain names?”
“Which email autoresponder do you recommend?”

…so I’ve decided to answer them in one comprehensive blog post.

I’m going to focus on the basics – domain names, web hosting and email/customer management software, since for the most part this is all I need to run my businesses.

Why Do I Need These Services?

I currently run my online coaching business, which the blog/website you are reading right now is a part of.

I also have various other websites as part of this company to sell and deliver my courses like Blog Mastermind 2.0 and the Laptop Lifestyle Academy, my membership site and training community.

InboxDone.com, the company I co-founded to deliver email management services has a website too.

If you intend to have an online business, you will need a website, which means you will need a domain name and a web host. I also send a lot of emails and take payments online, which you will very likely need to do as well, so you need an email autoresponder plus some kind of payments system.

This article is not meant to be a comparison of all the options out there to handle these needs. What I will do is reveal to you the services I have used in the past and what I currently use today.

 

What Website Hosting Services I Use

I currently use two different web hosts:

1. I use Cloudways to host this blog you are reading now and most of my content websites (sales pages, blogs, flagship course, etc). It’s a great service and so far I’ve yet to have any complaints.
2. I use Liquidweb to host my membership site and some smaller sites. I have no complaints about this service either, but I’d go with Cloudways first if I had to choose between the two, it has a more modern interface.

When I was just getting started online, I used low cost web hosts like Bluehost, which I recommend you investigate if you are setting up your first website or blog.

The reason I have two hosts today is because at one point we had to host my WordPress sites on one service, and my non-WordPress sites on another. It also provides some level of redundancy, so if one service goes down, the other is still up.

To be clear — you do NOT need two web hosts. Start with one, in my opinion Bluehost for beginners, or Cloudways if you are have a more popular website or many websites.

Where I Buy Domain Names

Although I used all kinds of services over the years, after I discovered Namecheap I moved all my domains there and only buy new domains from there too.

I like Namecheap for one reason – simplicity.

They don’t try and upsell you on a thousand things, you just go there, look for a domain name, click buy, checkout and you’re done.

The only other domain name service I occasionally use is Sedo, an aftermarket for domain names. It’s where I go if I want to buy a premium domain that someone else is selling. I’ve paid as much as $1,000 for some domain names that I found on Sedo.

You can start your business with a $11 domain name you find on Namecheap. If you can’t find what you want from available domains, check Sedo and you could find a great option that might just be a few hundred dollars.

How I Send Emails

My first ever email autoresponder system was Aweber. I used Aweber happily for seven years to send emails and they helped me make millions of dollars in sales.

I eventually switched to Ontraport for email management. I switched for many reasons but primarily because I wanted an all-in-one system to manage all my email, products, customers and affiliates in one place. You can read my Ontraport review to understand why I switched and explain how I use Ontraport today.

If you have a new or small business then I would start today with Aweber for your email list. They just released a free plan, so there is no reason not to start there, just as I did.

There are so many technical options out there, it’s easy to get confused. I hope by knowing what I use I help make your decision making process quicker so you can get back to doing what really matters — building your business.

Yaro

P.S. Don’t forget, if you need a tech person to set up your blog website with a beautiful design, Kerry at BlogSetupServices.com can do it for you.