A journey that started from 128 KBPS.
This blog is about myself, and the journey of my space on the internet
Back in the early 2000s, when the internet was still using dial-up connections (128 kbps), I decided to create a website on GeoCities.If I remember correctly, it was named geocities.com/karki123 and had a design similar to the cover photo of this blog.
GeoCities terminated its service in 2019.
I believe I attracted a decent amount of traffic—around 100 visitors each month with multiple hits. Back then, accessing the internet was considered a luxury, as smartphones didn't exist. Not only did I have to pay for the internet subscription, but I also had to cover the phone charges. To save costs, I mainly used the internet at night when phone rates were lower, often sharing passwords from colleagues who had access to their company’s internet account—much like how Netflix was shared before the Covid era.
Thrilled with those 100 monthly visitors, I decided to buy my own domain that had my full name, which came with free basic hosting. At that time, my website was quite simple—featuring a few heavily compressed images and a nearly empty blog. However, it also had some fun elements: a daily joke, the ability for visitors to change the background colour, and greetings that shifted based on the time of day and location (mostly implemented with copy-pasted JavaScript). The site also included interactive features like a wooden-effect visitor counter, a guestbook, and a chatroom provided by Bravenet.
Looking back, I think I did a good job with my website. Considering the slow 128 kbps internet speed, compressing images was essential to prevent long load times—something that was painfully noticeable with the "website found, waiting for reply" message at the bottom of Netscape Navigator.
My domain didn't last very long; I probably maintained it for about four or five years.
Fast forward to 2010, I decided to re-enter the world of blogging. I created several sites on WordPress, Blogger, and later, Weebly. I don’t remember the URLs or content of most of these sites, but last time I checked – probably a year ago, the Weebly one was still active and was receiving around five unique visitors per week!
In 2011, I tried to reclaim my old domain which had the.com extension, but it was already taken. So, I settled for the UK version I continued pointing this domain to free hosts like WordPress and Weebly until 2020.
In 2019, I attempted to acquire my first domain once again, only to find it was registered by someone named San Hua Deng from China—hosting content in Chinese about the FIFA World Cup! It’s amusing to think that my name might even be slang for football in China!
Update, the domain is now for sale for around £300. I am not going to get it.
In September 2020, the pandemic and some personal issues prompted me to consider opening an online store. For the first time in my life, I purchased hosting through Namecheap.
They had a promotion—around £1.75 a month for a two-year plan—which seemed like a good deal at the time. I installed and tested several CMS and eCommerce platforms, with my favourites being CE Phoneix and Prestashop)
Unfortunately, I couldn’t sustain the business due to fierce competition, lack of customer trust for new sites due to scams and of course, limited funding. I then returned to blogging, repurposing my hosting for a WordPress site.
One morning, I was shocked to find an email from Namecheap stating that my website had been suspended. I was only using two out of the three allowed sites, and my simple three-page WordPress site—with just a few plugins and fewer than 10 weekly visitors—was flagged for “server overuse.” I was puzzled. How could a company advertise hosting for three websites with unlimited bandwidth but struggle to support a small WordPress setup?
I contacted Namecheap via email but received a generic response. Frustrated, I left a long review, on Trustpilot, which prompted them to restore my site within a day. The power of reviews!!
Deciding not to stay with Namecheap, I began exploring other options—preferably free, since my site’s traffic was minimal and I didn’t want to pay for hosting. I tested several free providers, like Googiehost, FreeVirtualServers, AwardSpace, and InfinityFree, ultimately choosing the latter. It’s an excellent choice for hobbyists, offering fast service, free SSL, and sometimes even outpacing paid hosts like Namecheap.
However, InfinityFree caused numerous JavaScript errors with my preferred templates, which led me to explore other options.
My decision to leave InfinityFree wasn't entirely based on that issue, I could have chosen different templates, but then I discovered Asura Hosting, albeit after looking into Host25cent first.
Host25cent is likely the most affordable SSD hosting service globally, offering a starter package for just $0.25 a month. It seemed too good to be true, but I decided to give it a try. I purchased their mid-tier plan called "cheapest" (the name puzzled me). It included a 10GB SSD, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited email accounts, a free SSL certificate, and several other useful features. The total cost? Only $7 for the entire year!
Note: These prices have since increased, and is now $10. They also have new tiers, starting from $3 a year!!
The servers were surprisingly fast, and their online support was always available. Everything looked very professional, although there was no information about the company’s background, location or history.
Then, I noticed something strange: my PayPal transaction was sent to a personal Gmail address. That severely undermined my trust—how could I rely on a hosting company without its own domain or official email? When I checked Trustpilot, the reviews and responses were unprofessional and concerning.
I reached out to cancel my account. The person I spoke with, likely the owner, was friendly and promptly issued a refund.
Another Update: They took my feedback seriously, and now their website includes basic company info and a physical location.
Then I found Asura hosting.Their cheapest plan was just £0.82 per month, supporting up to 15 websites, 15 email addresses, with 12GB of SSD storage, free SSL, and more. I had a promo code (“2OFF”) that gave me an additional 16% off, reducing the annual cost from £9.84 to about £8.20. They also promise no price hikes upon renewal—unlike many providers that offer an attractive deal upfront but then increase prices, like Namecheap’s $3.77 per month after the initial promo period.
Initially, I was hesitant about Asura’s service, but I took advantage of their 30-day money-back guarantee and purchased their basic plan. I added my domain and began installing WordPress. The speed was impressive. I transferred my two websites (over 500MB and 200MB) almost instantly, and within an hour, everything was running smoothly.
So far, I’m very happy with their speed and support. If I encounter any issues, I’ll update this post. But for now, if you’re seeking super-fast hosting without breaking the bank, asurahosting is definitely worth considering. They offer a variety of options and extras.
And the story continues. I have four domains, all hosted within a single account, and no real issues so far.
This is my web history—my journey that started from dial-up speeds of 128 kbps and took hours to upload files to the server. Now I have over 100 Mbps and I still occasionally complain about speed.
Certainly! Here's a paraphrased version:
Before I go, I want you to hear what 128 kbps internet sounded like. For younger audiences, this is the nostalgic noise our modems made when connecting to the internet via a regular phone line. If someone picked up the phone, the connection would drop, and you'd lose the 95% completed song that you spent three plus hours downloading
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Dial_up_modem_noises.ogg