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@PeterPan_321Jul 12.2019 — #@luceos#1606208 Thanks! Good suggestions.
last point first, I kind of always felt the same about not hosting at your registrar.
But that .XYZ (or even .ME) is a great suggestion! For only $2.99/year, thats a great investment and I think I'm going to do that! Besides being the best way to really test, I very much dislike the way most shared hosting directory structures seem to work these days. The unlimited sites packages typically make you choose a "main domain" to start, and then make all the "add ons" or sub-domains you want. What I don't like is that they then put all your "main domain" files and directories in your public_html folder, with additional folders for each 'add on" buried in the fray! But if my "main domain" could be something like "mysandbox.xyz" ( already taken sadly) then THAT could be my 'main" domain. And since it would only have a few files for testing along with an INDEX., it makes it much easier to see your real domain folders. Anyway. it certainly will make testing 100% easier. Great idea!
All this came about because enticed by Bluehost's great 3 year deal, I thought I'd give them a try. But unfortunately that company has an awful way of providing a "test" access. They give you a string you can plug into a browser with a name like "boxXXXX.temp.domains/(tilde)yourdomain . That would be fine, but when you try to use it you find that root access links (like a simple <IMG> tag sourced to "/Images/myimg.jpg" will fail. Why? Because "/" does not actually point to your document root! Apparently, as Bluehost is tightly aligned with Wordpress, the WP folks apparently don't mind using a special global search/replace tool to switch every reference to their own domain to the ridiculous "boxXXXX" string. Than when they are happy and ready to go "live", they reverse the process.
Doable? maybe? But I know as a fact that it doesn't have to be done that way. And since I make a habit of referencing everything to root ("/"), trying to do a global search/replace would probably be VERY error prone. And frankly, having to alter all your files to test a site is (IMHO) very bad practice. In fact every tech support person at OTHER companies I've spoken to since then said they do NOT do it that way, and insisted their "temporary" access would still ensure that "/" points to your own document root directory.
So I took my money back. I have my eye on a few other companies that also have good initial deals and better regular prices than my current company (hostmonster). But before I do, I'll definitely get myself a sandbox domain!
Are there any companies or registrars offering 1 or 2 day domain rentals?
I run a handful of websites that have a lot of visitors but are mostly labors of love (meaning, they don’t make a lot of money). So I look for lower priced hosting and promo rates whenever renewal time comes. Well recently I bought hosting at a “well known” company to give them a try, and sadly was glad they had a money back guarantee. the problem was, they had a very awkward and incomplete way of letting you test your site. (see my thread [
So what if the hosting company turns out to be a a dud… totally mis-configured, and you can see (as I did) that the hosting company is not to your liking? Well if it was your REAL site you moved, and you’re accessing it through your usual URL, and things are not working right, then your visitors are having a bad experience too!
It sure would be nice if you could “rent a domain” for a few days, one where you’d be able to request the DNS entries be set. Then when you try a new hosting service, you can make that either your main domain or an add on domain, which you can discard later. But at least you could move real code into it and see what problems may be hiding in the server. Not to to mention, you’ll also find out if the company’s tech support is the kind that goes the extra mile, or the kind that just blames every problem on the customer and wastes your time.
Anyway, it seems like a good business op for Registrars to offer.
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@PeterPan_321Jul 12.2019 — #last point first, I kind of always felt the same about not hosting at your registrar.
But that .XYZ (or even .ME) is a great suggestion! For only $2.99/year, thats a great investment and I think I'm going to do that! Besides being the best way to really test, I very much dislike the way most shared hosting directory structures seem to work these days. The unlimited sites packages typically make you choose a "main domain" to start, and then make all the "add ons" or sub-domains you want. What I don't like is that they then put all your "main domain" files and directories in your public_html folder, with additional folders for each 'add on" buried in the fray! But if my "main domain" could be something like "mysandbox.xyz" ( already taken sadly) then THAT could be my 'main" domain. And since it would only have a few files for testing along with an INDEX., it makes it much easier to see your real domain folders. Anyway. it certainly will make testing 100% easier. Great idea!
All this came about because enticed by Bluehost's great 3 year deal, I thought I'd give them a try. But unfortunately that company has an awful way of providing a "test" access. They give you a string you can plug into a browser with a name like "boxXXXX.temp.domains/(tilde)yourdomain . That would be fine, but when you try to use it you find that root access links (like a simple <IMG> tag sourced to "/Images/myimg.jpg" will fail. Why? Because "/" does not actually point to your document root! Apparently, as Bluehost is tightly aligned with Wordpress, the WP folks apparently don't mind using a special global search/replace tool to switch every reference to their own domain to the ridiculous "boxXXXX" string. Than when they are happy and ready to go "live", they reverse the process.
Doable? maybe? But I know as a fact that it doesn't have to be done that way. And since I make a habit of referencing everything to root ("/"), trying to do a global search/replace would probably be VERY error prone. And frankly, having to alter all your files to test a site is (IMHO) very bad practice. In fact every tech support person at OTHER companies I've spoken to since then said they do NOT do it that way, and insisted their "temporary" access would still ensure that "/" points to your own document root directory.
So I took my money back. I have my eye on a few other companies that also have good initial deals and better regular prices than my current company (hostmonster). But before I do, I'll definitely get myself a sandbox domain!