The following are services that I personally use and recommend. Let me be up front; with these programs, I receive credit when someone signs up by going to the program’s site from one of the links below. With some of the programs you will also receive extra credit; such as with Carbonite where you will get one extra month free or Dropbox where you get extra storage space. Yet even without receiving credit, these are services I would recommend. For example, I have become acquainted with many different web hosts as I have worked with friends and clients over the years, yet I’ve never found any host better than IX – and I’ve been with IX since their inception.
IX WebHosting
If you are interested in having your own web site for personal, family, or small business use then I recommend IX. They have pricing that’s hard to beat; $4 per month, with a two year agreement, for more services than most anyone would need. The plan includes an easy site builder tool, one-click photo gallery, unlimited data, unlimited e-mail, easy-apps installer (this site is built on WordPress, one of the easy apps). They have a 30-day money back guarantee and they rigorously honor their word. There are other excellent hosts around, some of which I will cover as time allows, but IX is the one I recommend above all others.
If you are interested in having your own web site then click here to check out IX WebHosting.
www.ixwebhosting.com
Carbonite Backup
Carbonite is one of the premier online backup tools. It is completely automatic, secure, provides simple file recovery. If you want, you can access your files remotely, even from your smartphone. You get unlimited backup for $55 per year. Overall, it generally costs less than other backup solutions. I’ve become acquainted with other backup services and most of them are excellent, yet I’ve found Carbonite to be the easiest to use and most cost effective for most people (although if your space needs are modest then check out Dropbox below). It is fast, simple file recovery. If anything happens to any file, Carbonite finds it automatically in your backup and puts it back on your computer – right where it used to be – in a few simple steps. I can’t recommend it enough.
If you sign up with Carbonite using this link, they will give you 30 days extra for free.
www.carbonite.com
Dropbox
Dropbox allows you to automatically sync your files online and across your computers automatically, or just use it for online storage, remote access, and backup. If you want, you can even share selected folders with others. You can even automatically create shareable online photo galleries out of regular folders on your computer. It’s easy and intuitive to use. Paid subscribers can get up to 100GB of backup and storage (although if you need this much storage then Carbonite is less expensive). If your space needs are modest then Dropbox can serve as your primary backup service. There are similar services around, some of which I use (and will cover in other posts), but Dropbox is by-far the easiest to use and the most reliable.
If you want to try Dropbox then please consider using my link, so I can work my way towards the maximum 8GB of free storage. Once I reach my 8GB then I’ll be glad to post the referral links for those that helped me get there. Thank you.
www.dropbox.com