For a cheap hosting solution check this video tutorial:

They are a Multi-awarded Web Hosting which offer a Full-featured service only $6.95. You can see their Plan Details accompanied with reliable reviews regarding their service at:
http://www.threehosts.com/reviews/1st

Here I have copied and pasted its features from their website to view:

- Free Domain Forever
- Unlimited Space
- Unlimited Transfer
- Blog (wordpress)
- Forum (phpbb,bulletin)
- Host UNLIMITED Domains (Support All Domain Names)
- 2,500 POP/Imap Email Accounts
- SSH (Secure Shell), SSL, FTP, Stats
- CGI, Ruby (RoR), Perl, PHP, MySQL
- Front Page Extensions
- Free Site Builder
- 24/7 Superb/Responsive Sales/Support
- Free Search Engine Submission

They also offer "Free Site Builder" that helps you build your web pages without difficulty if you are not skilled in using any website creating program. (WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get) You can use this service optionally.

******IMPORTANT********
* This service was awarded “The Best Web Host OF The Year”.
* If you sign up for this service you will have $75 credits to advertise your website with the google & yahoo search engines for free!
* You Can Register A Free Domain or Use Your Existing Domains. They Support All Domain Names.
**************************

Another useful link:
http://www.threehosts.com/build
There you can find a step-by-step guide to start your website.

And also a cheap, reliable service:
http://www.goldpuma.com

And the easiest way to create a website is reachable here (web host offering 4500 decent templates):
http://www.threehosts.com/tell-me-more/hg.html

Good Luck!

help at all?

Phil

Um, you should always know what your domain is! More importantly, your domain and hosting accounts (even if they are different companies) should be registered in YOUR name (not your web master or consultant’s name.)

By "locking" your domain, you prevent it from being transferred to another domain registrar or hosting company.

Privacy prevent your personal domain registration from being publicly accessible. I recommend it to prevent some spammers from finding your email address.

Auth code is used a code generated by your domain registrar, but is only used when you are moving your domain to a new domain registrar or hosting company.

Hope this helps!

Let me answer your questions one by one.

- What is the difference between them, why not both in one company?

Web hosting is a service that offers you a web space to house your website, whereas domain name is just a locator to help people find your website. That’s why you need to register a domain name in conjunction with a web hosting service.

For example, if you’ve registered a domain name say, XYZ.com, then by simply typing XYZ.com into my web browser, I will be able to get on your website.

Technically speaking, domain name is connected (or pointed) to your website, so whenever people enter domain name into the browser, it’ll bring them there.

Domain name and web hosting can both be either in the same company or different companies. Let me explain with an example.

Company A
- domain registration $15
- web hosting $100

Company B
- domain registration $10
- web hosting $140

In such scenario, if you want to save cost, you’ll probably register your domain name with company B and buy web hosting with company A. But because your domain name and website will be hosted on different locations, you need to go to your company B’s account and point your domain name to company A in order to "attach" your domain name with your web space.

Some people prefer to have both the domain name and website hosted with the same company to steer clear of domain pointing, although it’s a very simple task to perform.

- Do I have to know what company my domain are?

Yes, you need to know to which company your domain name belongs so that you can do the necessary domain settings to suit your needs, or perform domain pointing if you were hosting your site with another company.

- and what Unlock?

In your domain control panel, you’ll see a lock and unlock feature for your domain name. This is for security reason. There are horror cases where bad registrars unscrupulously transfer unlocked domain names to their own servers without the prior consent of the domain owner and the original domain registrar. They can do this without having to access your domain account. That’s why you must always lock your domain name. Only when you need to transfer your domain name to another company then should you unlock it to allow the transfer. Once transfer is over, remember to lock it again.

- Private/public?

You can choose to keep your personal info especially your email address from the public. That means whoever tries to find your personal info using the whois tool, they will only see your domain registrar’s info rather than your own info. This is to protect you from spammers. Private registration costs you a few bucks more.

- Auth code?

This code will only issue to you by your domain registrar when you need to transfer your domain name to other domain or web hosting company.

Hope that helps. Cheers

Soon Chai

Hope this helps.

"There is a expiration process for domain names. During the first 30 days of expiration the owner can renew the domain name at current registration prices.

After the 30 day "grace period" the name will enter a 30 day "redemption period" during this time the name may be renewed by the owner for a "service fee"

Five days after the end of the redemption period the name will made available for anyone to register. I wouldn’t wait for this to happen, people buy expired domains every day and it could be difficult to get the name.

Unfortunately you are at the mercy of your registrar in this matter. The one thing you can check is your whois record at http://www.whois.sc if it still shows your registration information you may still be in the 30 day grace period. If this is the case contact your registrar with this information and maybe they will deal a little.

As a last resort you can contact http://www.icann.org they are the governing body that monitors domain names"