To experiment with my web site skills, I set up two small web sites, one in 1and1 and the other in GoDaddy, using their discount offers. 1and1 was much better and offered more services than GoDaddy did. Both offered in-house web building programs, but 1and1 also offered an FTP option for designing pages yourself. GoDaddy did not, unless you upgraded to a much more expensive package. Both tried to make it difficult to use the basic system that you got for paying about $1.00 for the web site address, and then $12.00 for one year of hosting . GoDaddy was more aggressive and deceptive in trying ot make you upgrade to a more expensive package. 1and1 offered the possibility to have several email addresses, while GoDaddy limited you to one address managed by Microsoft Office 365. For managing the site, 1and1 only offered their own control panel, while GoDaddy offered the standard cPanel option, but only with a much more expensive package.
I would definitely recommend 1and1 over GoDaddy, but there are probably some smaller hosting companies out there that offer better deals.
The web sites I set up were A News Hog (with 1and1) and Dixie Gone with the Wind (with GoDaddy). I connected free WordPress blogs to both of them, and have been very happy with WordPress, as you can see from this blog. Perhaps I should try setting up a web site from scratch with WordPress. 1and1 offers the option of using WordPress templates to create a web site that is hosted through 1and1.
