Table of Contents
Leaving BYU Domains and the University
BYU Domains Features
BYU Domains is free to all active students, staff, and faculty. Your domain name and domain hosting will be paid for while you attend BYU. After you leave BYU your account can be migrated to another hosting provider. This document highlights the features of BYU Domains, defines other hosting options and provides some details about other alternative hosting providers.
Other features include: Web based File Manager, Over 4000 Perl Modules, SSL using Let’s Encrypt, Full database control using PHPMyAdmin, Python, Ruby on Rails, Unlimited Cron Jobs, Flexible error logging, user account management, and many support and learning resources.
NOTE: BYU Domains is not intended for departmental websites.
Other Free Hosting Providers
Here are some other free domain hosting providers:
Other features compared:
- Media Manager rather than a web based File Manager, limited user account management and support resources.
- No Perl Modules, No Let’s Encrypt, No PHPMyAdmin, No Python, No Ruby on Rails, No Cron Jobs, No error logging
Shared Hosting vs. Website Builders
This document describes several popular and affordable web hosting and website builder options. Shared web hosting provide a platform to do web development and the tools to develop a website and ways to scale it to fit any size business. Website Builders are designed to easily create a website with a simple to use interface to meet a few design scenarios. Here I will attempt to describe the differences between Shared Hosting and Website Building options.
Shared Hosting | Website Builders | ||
---|---|---|---|
Examples | I.e: BYU Domains, GoDaddy.com, Bluehost.com | I.e: Wix, Weebly, SquareSpace | |
Domain Name | Personal domain name included | Personal domain name is an extra cost. Users are usually given a domain name like; ‘yourname.sitebuilder.com’ Which hampers a business or personal online presence from fostering a professional reputation | |
Hosting Resources | Flexible set of hosting resources (disk space, bandwidth, etc.) Can easily scale to your business needs Can purchase dedicated hosting, dedicated IP addresses | Fixed set of system resources that are less scalable The focus is on site building not on hosting resources | |
Web Development | Many web development tools to meet many design scenarios that provide users with much more control | Very simple drag and drop interface to build a website. Sites can be more quickly created. | |
Applications | Rich set of application choices to meet many design scenarios. Importing and exporting sites are much easier. | No application choices. Site design is based on fixed set of themes/templates and design elements (content blocks) and a simplified offering of ‘widget’ choices. The proprietary site building interfaces make it hard to migrate the site to another hosting option. | |
# of Sites | Many | Each subscription includes only access to the website building tool for a single site, more can with additional subscriptions | |
Coding Knowledge | Must have at least a basic understanding of coding structures or more | The focus of these tools is the simplicity that website builders offer during the setup, design, and customization. Typically no coding knowledge is required. | |
Multiple accounts included | Mixed bag. Some offer e-mail alternatives, but do not scale well for businesses needing multiple accounts | ||
Design options | Given all the design options, users can more easily move to a new site design and meet a broader range of design scenarios | Includes a nice offering of themes and templates and design elements. Specialized needs require additional cost | |
Speed to launch | There is a longer time to launch and users typically spend more time fine-tuning their website before launch | Quicker design to launch capabilities. | |
Other | Web hosting often include website builders that are not as powerful as those dedicated to that approach | Many include a focus on eCommerce Cheaper subscriptions usually force banner ads on users’ websites. Limited and fixed design resources make it easier to provide a rich set of support documentation. |
Leaving the University and BYU Domains
Graduating from BYU and wondering what will happen to your domain? The good news is that you can take your domain with you when you graduate and leave the university. However, you will need to choose what company you want to host your domain. We have put together this guide to describe the different options that you have in regards to your domain.
Video
Watch the video tutorial or continue reading below for the options of what you can do with your BYU domain after you graduate.
We have done extensive research on other hosting options using many of the experts across the internet. We attempt to describe many of the options that are available for you.
Option 1: Keep the same hosting company (Reclaim Hosting)
BYU uses a hosting company called “Reclaim Hosting” (out of Virginia) to host the domains created through the BYU Domains program. You have already been using Reclaim Hosting, and, if you want, you can continue to use them to host your domain for a fee of $30 per year (~$2 a month). This option is nice because you don't have to migrate your site at all, worry about different logins, etc. Based on our research Reclaim Hosting is one of the most affordable options while also maintaining most of what is offered through BYU Domains
If you would like to proceed with this option follow the steps below (or see video above):
- At the top of the page find Manage Your Account
- Select Migration Information from the dropdown
- Click on Get Started under the Migration Offer section
- Follow the steps to transfer your account to Reclaim Hosting's servers
Option 2: Choose a different hosting company and migrate your site into their program
You have used Reclaim Hosting for a while now, and you want to shop around for a different hosting company. If you want to embark upon this path, there are a few things to keep in mind. The first is that, most hosting companies charge for hosting on a tiered basis. This means that, depending on the features and data storage space you want, the pricing will change. Below are some options for shared server hosting and website builder options (based on those most similar to BYU Domains, Cheapest, and most recommended by the experts). Please note that in some cases you can find cheaper prices than the ones listed below, but these prices are normally introductory prices for six months to one year, and then the prices go up.
For more information on how to migrate your WordPress site to another hosting provider, see the video below:
The Typical Shared Hosting Provider Offering
The chart below shows the average offering by the least expensive hosting providers as well as the hosting providers that are the most similar to what is offered by BYU Domains.
These Hosting Options are most similar to what is offered through BYU Domains
These are the cheapest hosting providers
These are the most recommended based on many experts
If you have questions about the differences between hosting companies, watch this video. It is a really good introduction to web hosting and what you should look for. Lastly, if you want to explore more hosting companies, the following URLs contain more information and reviews about different companies.
Other options to consider
Choose the hosting company that will fulfill the vision you have for your site. We hope that you will keep your site alive and continue to develop the online experiences you have had with BYU Domains.
Option 3: Delete your domain
We are sad to see you go! However, if you decide to delete your website, you can contact BYU Domains support through email at domains.support@byu.edu to submit a request to have your account deleted. Once deleted, however, your website will not be accessible on the internet and you will no longer have access to cPanel. If you wish to start your website up again at a later date, you can download a backup copy of your website using the Backups documentation.