Getting your own website in Seminyak Bali

This afternoon I helped a westerner with questions about his website. It's a common situation for me, I tell people I do a travel blog and they think I know about websites. I can just about find My Documents, but that doesn't deter them, they want me to explain databases, PayPal, servers, hosting and search engine optimisation. Talk about the blind leading the blind, maybe I should start Nick's School for Blind Website Owners.

My friend took me to an internet cafe in Seminyak where there was a database programmer. He said "I don't really understand the internet, Nick tell him what I want." Fortunately I have heard enough tech terms over the years that I can plop one of them in and make it sound like I'm up to speed. Listening to what my friend wanted and what the programmer could do I felt comfortable they can work together.

If you are planning on making your own site in Bali or Indonesia and are confused by all the extensions, choose dotcom (.com). It's the most well known and don't bother with '.co.id'.

Hosting is another thing to think about. There are some okay ISPs over here such as Global in Kerobokan and Highway in Ubud. It is probably safer and better to host with a big company overseas that has great backup. Some local guys won't have the backup that a larger company will, although they are cheaper. You can get hosting over here for $10 a month.