Start All Over?

What if:



You get your domain name registered, you find your server, you get your site created, you do all you need to do and you get your site up and running and then…



After your site has been up for awhile, you’ve learned some stuff (e.g. HTML, a new design program or two, search engine tricks etc.) and you’re not getting many hits and so you want to do the whole thing over again and go to a different server etc.



What do you lose?



Do you still have your domain name?



Do you lose some kind of deposit or money in some other way?



Does your butt fall off?



How bad is it to start all over?

I don't see your examples as being a reason of a complete redesign... however doing a complete redesign can cost money and lots of time! Your domain would stay with you, but you may have to pay to transfer the domain over servers. Your server might withhold money if you paid for a couple years server [and want out before your time is up]. You will most likely lose customers who frequent your site, or anyone who has your site bookmarked can no longer access it.

If you change your domain name, you'll have to change EVERY reference to your old one on EVERY page on your site.

I would strongly advise persuing other options and using "startingover" as a *last* resort.

Thank you,



Because I’m a beginner/learner, I don’t know what kinds of examples would be good but your answer is very helpful and it’s what I’m looking for.



I was mostly concerned about some kind of commitment like with cell phones. I had to sign up (and ultimately pay) for two years which I think is about normal and of course you lose if you switch.



The choice is to continue ad infinitum trying to learn as much as I can about HTMl, different authoring programs, search engines etc. (ant this could go on for years) or go ahead at some point and jump in and see what happens.



I just don’t want to jump in quicksand. I want to retain some freedom without it costing me a lot of money because I was ignorant about the best way to jump.



I imagine this worries a lot of folks like me and probably holds them back a long time.

Me again,



I wonder if there is some sort guide for people like me and my question.



Obviously, the point at which we start (get our site online) will depend upon variables like how fancy, how much control, how large and things I don’t yet know about but it would be possible for someone to define levels, criteria, options etc. and suggest at which points to jump in depending on what is desired and how much one is willing (time, money, education etc.) to invest.



Does anyone know of such a guide?



P.S. What’s the difference between Reply and Quick Reply?

Reply takes you to a more advanced form on its own page. You'll have options for adding bold, URL's, file attachments, and smileys and other stuff....
Quick Reply activates the small text box located at the bottom of the thread...
Perhaps the quick one is for us lazy people and the Reply is useful for a more advanced post... but its up to you which one you prefer...



RE: your Web Development related questions...

I don't know of a guide myself, but it might be a good idea [if anyone's looking to write an article]... 2 years is quite the commitment... although do you mean 2 years for your domain address, or 2 years for your Web Space? If you registered your domain through your web space provider [i'll call them a web host], its likely 2 years for both...

If you decide to change your domain name, you have to pay for a new name and tell your web host to use the new one. I'm pretty sure there's no way of getting credit back from your old domain name; You could always try and sell it on eBay =)

Switching hosts however, is *generally* possible... again, you may incur some kind of penalty...

Thigns to look for in a host... Obviously price is very important... Size and bandwidth are important... If you plan on learning some server-side scripting language, you'll have to make sure your web host supports it... a good server uptime is important, some hosts offer a guarantee... Something often overlooked is good customer service... I generally go with hosts that I've been referred to by friends.... I trust my friends not to give me a bad host...

Also, it helps to look into the costs of quitting service with the host *before* you sign up... Don't want to learn that one the hard way =)

Try this
http://thehostingchart.com