Do I need to use a local host/domain?

M.S. Wilson · Apr 3, 2015

I've been thinking about starting a blog for a while; I'll probably go with WordPress, self-hosted, but I live in Canada. Does it make a difference if I use a Canadian web host? I know I'll get screwed on the exchange rate if I use a U.S. based host (which is fine), but I just wondered if it made any real difference to the website (loading times, hard drive space, etc.)? I know the internet is universal, but I wasn't sure if using a Canadian host would make a difference, other than the usual price differences and so on.

And what about registering a domain name? Is that basically universal, or do I have to use a Canadian company? Any replies from fellow Canadian bloggers would be appreciated

Southpaw · Apr 12, 2015

I don't now if I can link to another forum or not but I read in a webmaster forum that it is best to host in the country you are targeting. That same thread said it didn't matter.

It didn't seem to matter about the things you're concerned with.

(I googled this "does it matter if your canadian and host in the us?" if that helps.)

AW Admin · Apr 12, 2015

M.S. Wilson said:
I know the internet is universal, but I wasn't sure if using a Canadian host would make a difference, other than the usual price differences and so on.

Location can affect service costs, but it may also affect legal issues as well, depending on your content.

The very best host I ever had was a local (in the same state) developer who had a handful of customers. He was amazing in terms of service and support and I learned a heck of a lot from him. You might have good luck locally. You're less likely to be a customer number with a small local ISP.

M.S. Wilson said:
And what about registering a domain name? Is that basically universal, or do I have to use a Canadian company? Any replies from fellow Canadian bloggers would be appreciated

You don't have to use a Canadian registry, but were I Canadian, I'd proudly use the CA extension, even if I just mirrored the .com or .net versions of my domain.

M.S. Wilson · Apr 13, 2015

AW Admin said:
You don't have to use a Canadian registry, but were I Canadian, I'd proudly use the CA extension, even if I just mirrored the .com or .net versions of my domain.

When you say "mirrored", what does that entail? If I wanted to get a .COM and a .CA extension, wouldn't I have to pay twice? Or is there a way of getting multiple domain extensions without getting charged multiple times?

lance.schukies · Apr 13, 2015

host in your own country is fine, if people know where you are from and Google you, Google uses that information of where you host to help the search ie there are two Tom Jones in Canada one hosts in USA the person searches for Tom Jones Canada, the USA site will rank lower.

Williebee · Apr 13, 2015

M.S. Wilson said:
When you say "mirrored", what does that entail? If I wanted to get a .COM and a .CA extension, wouldn't I have to pay twice? Or is there a way of getting multiple domain extensions without getting charged multiple times?

You would be buying multiple names on the web. mysite.com is a different name than mysite.net, or .ca, etc.

So, you're paying for each name, but you can point all the names to the same place, so you're only paying once for hosting.

M.S. Wilson · Apr 13, 2015

OK, that's what I thought. Thanks

Do I need to use a local host/domain?

M.S. Wilson

Southpaw

The squirrel apocalypse is coming!

AW Admin

M.S. Wilson

lance.schukies

Williebee

Capeless, wingless, & yet I fly.

M.S. Wilson