Background: I'm a volunteer for a small local government unit in the United States, and due to budget issues we have no funds to develop a website. Hence, I'm an unpaid volunteer for the government office, working with free, opensource software (mostly wordpress and free templates), in search of a free hosting provider; within a few weeks we will have a local benefactor donate the money to purchase a .com domain name.
I noticed on the account registration page one can only register once and registration information cannot be changed once registered. I have not registered yet for this reason.
Question: Do I need to wait until we own a domain name first, then register? Or can I register for a subdomain first (like "example.heliohost.org") then later add the domain name (like "www.example.com")?
Prattle: I've used a competitor of yours in the past (think 10 multiplied by 11 megabyes on a commercial tld) when I would design and donate free websites to non-profits in my local community (free minus the cost of their domain name), but it's been about 2 years since I've last designed a "free as in lunch" website, and the greater restrictions they've placed on free sites coupled with their move to a monthy versus 1 time upgrade plan has moved them out of reach for this kind of work. Looking around for another free host, I first found one, but their registration page has been broken/down first at least half a month, which has caused me to be concered about their claims of great uptime numbers. Several review sites sing your praises, so I'm glad to have found a hosting provider which I hope will become an invaluable resource to non-profits and public interest/local government organizations in the future.
edit to add section headings so the question stands out better for quick reviewers
I'm still trying to answer my own question, and think I may have - on the FAQ it says:
So I assume so. I also saw in mega-huge letters, underlined, that said futher down the page "please provide your username and domain name upfront" though now that I read it that appears to only apply to requests for support and not registration.
But I'm still not 110% sure, based off what the registration page said (make sure info is right - can't change later). Any clue would be greatly appreciated.
