1. Use a popular web host.
That cheapo one might be an uncommitted reseller. I used one recently. Very cheap, and very helpful. Then my site went 'missing'. By the Grace Of God I was able to get in contact with the owner, and make a backup, before the service was closed down. I found out later he had only about six customers.
Use a popular web host. Avoid ones that are trying to attract customers by undercutting rates to silly levels. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.
2. Their Google PageRank gives a clue as to how popular they are.
This will irk the smaller hosts, but if your site is a serious one, put it on a serious host. Web hosting costs peanuts these days. People can be funny about spending an extra $5 a month. You'll wish you'd paid $500 when your site goes skew-whiff, and you can't get a reply from their technical support.
3. Send them an email or two. See how long it takes to get a reply.
This can be very revealing. If they take two days to get back to a potential customer, how long do they take to answer their _existing_ customers?
4. Check out their forums; how busy are they? They don't have a forum? Next!
They should have enough customers to run a forum, and care enough to have one. Reading it can give you a clue as to what their support is like. Likewise, see when they had the last news update on their site. If it was long ago, they may be moribund.
5. Technical Support.
This is as important as the features they supply. It's no good having a Virtual Private Server for $10.00 a month if there's no one there to answer your emails when the hard-disk fails.
6. Features.
Most geeks favour Unix. It's been around longer, and is more stable. Web hosts offering Unix variants like Linux have always been cheaper. They also seem to offer a wider range of toys. I need SSI (Server Side Includes), SSH (secure Telnet), 10 MySQL databases, Cpanel, PHPMyAdmin and a UK IP number. And you can get this for $15 a month.
Things like MySQL databases, Cpanel and SSH access are real sticking points for a lot of web hosts. If they're generous with these, you've found a rare jewel.
7. Word Of Mouth.
Webmasters are always asking about web hosts on webmaster forums. Find a few recent threads, and note who gets the most votes. Search engines, on the other hand, have been spammed by some hosts. If you do a search on 'the best web hosts' or 'top 10 web hosts' you'll get puff pages. Recent opinions from professional webmasters are the best.
Showing posts with label cheap web hosting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cheap web hosting. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Web Hosting for the Rest of Us
A client of mine paid for a solo advert to promote his website in the newsletter I publish at e-bizministry about two months ago. As I was about to send his advert to my list, he called me up on phone and told me not to send it yet. Naturally, I asked him why. His reply shocked me out of my wits.
He said he had just discovered that his website had disappeared from the net. He even said the same thing had happened to the same website earlier in the year when it disappeared in January only to reappear for just one week in May. I could not help but laugh because I knew his problem. He had made a wrong choice of web host.
Your choice of web host can either promote your business or ruin your business. You have to be very careful when choosing your web host or you will be consistently losing up to 80% of your income due to your web host's inefficiency.
Here are a few quick tips on how to know which web host is reliable, affordable and right for your website.
1. Check if the web host has a web presence. Face it, if a company claims to be a web host and they don't have a functional website of their own, then they have no business hosting other people's websites. Any web host you will use must have a functional website where you can check for domain availability, get support and order for their hosting services.
Additionally, you should conduct random checks on their website. If you visit their site randomly ten times and the site is not available more than once in those ten times, forget about that company except you want your own website too to be unavailable almost all the time.
2. Any web host you will use must have an appreciable level of relevant experience. A minimum of a full year of operation. A new web host will only experiment with your website and the result may not be good for your business. Visit the web host's website and read about them. If they don't talk about their experience, then they don't have it. Just leave them alone.
3. Look out for their present clients' testimonials on their website. Call or email the clients and ask them questions. If they confirm that the web host is good, then the company has passed this test. However, if you don't even find a single testimonial on their website, they probably don't have any satisfied client. What to do? Just leave them alone.
4. How fast or how well does the company respond to support emails? You can find out by conducting this small test. Visit the web host's website and submit or email an enquiry to them. If you don't get a response in 24 - 48 hours, please run away as fast as your legs can carry you. Why? When you host your website with them and you have a problem, it will take them more than a month to respond to your support emails or requests.
5. You should not forget to check out their prices. The prices must be within reasonable limits and their packages must have the features you desire; adequate monthly transfer, email addresses, MySQL databases, CGI bin, FTP access, control panel etc. Very high prices don't necessarily translate into very good services. Don't be fooled by high prices. It's a common trick, please don't fall for it.
6. It must be easy and secure to make payments to your web host. It is not advisable to fill in your credit card details when making your payment. You should rather use a web host that accepts other forms of payment that do not require you to fill in your credit card details e.g. paypal and egold. If you are in a country where you don't have easy access to credit card facilities, it is even better to use a web host that accepts payment in your local currency. This will ensure that you won't have any problems when you want to renew your domain and your hosting accounts.
7. Use only web hosts that give 24 hour online access to your account. With that, you have total control over your domain and your website and you can change anything including your name servers (DNS)whenever you want.
8. It is better to use a web host that offers additional web services such as web design, website promotion, search engine submission and website management. They can be of help to you in future if you have any problems with your website or you need any additional services.
9. Before you make your payment, read the terms and conditions of the company carefully. If you don't understand or agree with any of their terms contact them for more explanations.
10. Finally, I know it may be very time consuming for you to conduct these tests on the hundreds of web hosts out there before choosing one. I have therefore taken the pains to analyse hundreds of them. I recommend ten web hosts that have passed our simple tests. I can put my reputation on the line and guarantee their efficiency, reliability and affordability.
He said he had just discovered that his website had disappeared from the net. He even said the same thing had happened to the same website earlier in the year when it disappeared in January only to reappear for just one week in May. I could not help but laugh because I knew his problem. He had made a wrong choice of web host.
Your choice of web host can either promote your business or ruin your business. You have to be very careful when choosing your web host or you will be consistently losing up to 80% of your income due to your web host's inefficiency.
Here are a few quick tips on how to know which web host is reliable, affordable and right for your website.
1. Check if the web host has a web presence. Face it, if a company claims to be a web host and they don't have a functional website of their own, then they have no business hosting other people's websites. Any web host you will use must have a functional website where you can check for domain availability, get support and order for their hosting services.
Additionally, you should conduct random checks on their website. If you visit their site randomly ten times and the site is not available more than once in those ten times, forget about that company except you want your own website too to be unavailable almost all the time.
2. Any web host you will use must have an appreciable level of relevant experience. A minimum of a full year of operation. A new web host will only experiment with your website and the result may not be good for your business. Visit the web host's website and read about them. If they don't talk about their experience, then they don't have it. Just leave them alone.
3. Look out for their present clients' testimonials on their website. Call or email the clients and ask them questions. If they confirm that the web host is good, then the company has passed this test. However, if you don't even find a single testimonial on their website, they probably don't have any satisfied client. What to do? Just leave them alone.
4. How fast or how well does the company respond to support emails? You can find out by conducting this small test. Visit the web host's website and submit or email an enquiry to them. If you don't get a response in 24 - 48 hours, please run away as fast as your legs can carry you. Why? When you host your website with them and you have a problem, it will take them more than a month to respond to your support emails or requests.
5. You should not forget to check out their prices. The prices must be within reasonable limits and their packages must have the features you desire; adequate monthly transfer, email addresses, MySQL databases, CGI bin, FTP access, control panel etc. Very high prices don't necessarily translate into very good services. Don't be fooled by high prices. It's a common trick, please don't fall for it.
6. It must be easy and secure to make payments to your web host. It is not advisable to fill in your credit card details when making your payment. You should rather use a web host that accepts other forms of payment that do not require you to fill in your credit card details e.g. paypal and egold. If you are in a country where you don't have easy access to credit card facilities, it is even better to use a web host that accepts payment in your local currency. This will ensure that you won't have any problems when you want to renew your domain and your hosting accounts.
7. Use only web hosts that give 24 hour online access to your account. With that, you have total control over your domain and your website and you can change anything including your name servers (DNS)whenever you want.
8. It is better to use a web host that offers additional web services such as web design, website promotion, search engine submission and website management. They can be of help to you in future if you have any problems with your website or you need any additional services.
9. Before you make your payment, read the terms and conditions of the company carefully. If you don't understand or agree with any of their terms contact them for more explanations.
10. Finally, I know it may be very time consuming for you to conduct these tests on the hundreds of web hosts out there before choosing one. I have therefore taken the pains to analyse hundreds of them. I recommend ten web hosts that have passed our simple tests. I can put my reputation on the line and guarantee their efficiency, reliability and affordability.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Choosing Your Web Host
It isn’t easy trying to choose the correct and best web hosting plan to best suit your needs. Even though there are so many web-hosting companies out there, some thought and careful consideration should be implemented. Two things you don’t want are:
You don’t want to end up having to pay for extra features that you realize afterwards you needed.
You don’t want your sites not showing up on the Internet due to excessive downtime by your hosting providers servers.
When choosing your web host you also need to consider your requirements. You will need to consider:
How many websites will you need?
How much disk space and bandwidth do you need?
What extras will you need eg email with auto-responders included?
How much do you want to spend on web hosting?
You should compare at least 5 hosting providers to see what they are offering. Here’s what you should look for
A reasonable price for your needs - usually a monthly fee.
Disk space and Bandwidth allowance – is your site or sites going to have audio, video or downloadable material?
How Many Domains – look for unlimited.
Sub Domains – look for unlimited.
Does it have an in-built Website Builder? Comes in very handy if you don’t know much about building websites.
24/7 email and phone support – this is important. Not everyone has this.
At least a 99.5% uptime 99.9% is best
Free set-up – no hidden charges.
Unlimited email accounts allowed.
FTP accounts.
Auto-responders included – you don’t want to pay extra to add on an auto-responder later.
Compare all other special features even though you believe you may not need them like
CGI.
FrontPage.
Streaming Audio and Video.
Hotlink protection.
Web stats.
When choosing a web host it’s important you take your time to compare hosting plans before you make the decision. There are some out there that are absolutely useless at web hosting, remember that anyone can become a web host. Your best bet is to go with a company that has been around a few years. Search for online reviews on the company you are considering.
If you are considering a new web host I would recommend you include http://www.hostgator.bloggers-guide.com
in your list of 5 web hosts to compare. – Visit the link. Go to “WEBHOSTING” Take a look at the plans – and when you make the comparison you’ll find that they will come out on top.
You don’t want to end up having to pay for extra features that you realize afterwards you needed.
You don’t want your sites not showing up on the Internet due to excessive downtime by your hosting providers servers.
When choosing your web host you also need to consider your requirements. You will need to consider:
How many websites will you need?
How much disk space and bandwidth do you need?
What extras will you need eg email with auto-responders included?
How much do you want to spend on web hosting?
You should compare at least 5 hosting providers to see what they are offering. Here’s what you should look for
A reasonable price for your needs - usually a monthly fee.
Disk space and Bandwidth allowance – is your site or sites going to have audio, video or downloadable material?
How Many Domains – look for unlimited.
Sub Domains – look for unlimited.
Does it have an in-built Website Builder? Comes in very handy if you don’t know much about building websites.
24/7 email and phone support – this is important. Not everyone has this.
At least a 99.5% uptime 99.9% is best
Free set-up – no hidden charges.
Unlimited email accounts allowed.
FTP accounts.
Auto-responders included – you don’t want to pay extra to add on an auto-responder later.
Compare all other special features even though you believe you may not need them like
CGI.
FrontPage.
Streaming Audio and Video.
Hotlink protection.
Web stats.
When choosing a web host it’s important you take your time to compare hosting plans before you make the decision. There are some out there that are absolutely useless at web hosting, remember that anyone can become a web host. Your best bet is to go with a company that has been around a few years. Search for online reviews on the company you are considering.
If you are considering a new web host I would recommend you include http://www.hostgator.bloggers-guide.com
in your list of 5 web hosts to compare. – Visit the link. Go to “WEBHOSTING” Take a look at the plans – and when you make the comparison you’ll find that they will come out on top.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Web Hosting Help - What's Bandwidth
Bandwidth can make all the difference when choosing where to host your website
A common mistake made by so many people when looking to choose a web host company is not asking about bandwidth. After spending so long designing or with a developer designing your web site you do not want to see a good web site ruined and only viewed by a handful of people at a time. A web site is generally your shop window and you want as many people as possible to look in and hopefully click on your information or purchase online if you are offering products. All web host companies will offer you a limited amount of bandwidth, it’s then up to you to calculate whether or not you need to pay a little extra for bandwidth you may require.
Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from the web host company, it is there job to help you along the way and after all it’s you who is paying for there service. You will need to advice them as to how big each page is on your website and if possible a rough calculation as to how many people you think may view your site on a weekly or daily basis.
Is it possible to save bandwidth?
Yes it is and this comes into play at the time of designing your website. If you are looking to save the bandwidth you should put all photos in the JPEG format and all graphics in GIF format. By doing so you are compressing the files using only the very least bandwidth required.
Why do some companies offer only a very limited amount of bandwidth?
You have got to remember that web hosting is an extensive market and very profitably for the web hosting company. The more people they can attract to their services the more profit they make. They in turn have to pay out to the telecoms companies for the bandwidth provided to them and are only wanting to pay the bare amount to keep profits high. Web host companies that are not offering you the additional bandwidth are the ones to avoid. If they say it is not possible to purchase additional bandwidth, then the chances are this is a small company with poor technology behind them operating on a shoestring budget.
What will happen if I do not have enough bandwidth?
It’s very simply really, if your website has not got enough bandwidth to operate with, one of two things will happen. Your website will download onto peoples monitors very slowly and the chances are they will not wait around. The second problem is that your web site may only be viewed by a very limited audience at one time. You may have great link backs from other websites driving traffic your way only for that traffic to be diverted elsewhere to a properly functioning competitor.
How can I ensure that this will not happen to me?
Undoubtedly it is very frustrating to spend time and money developing a good informative website only to have it’s viewing reduced by lack of bandwidth. You need to be honest with your web host company and tell them the number of pages and how large your overall files are, by doing this the onus is on them to offer us the service your require. You can ask for a guarantee from the web host company that all will be fine with your site and there are many out there willing to give such guarantees. If you decide to go it cheap and risk the low bandwidth you are only fooling yourself. Look at the rates from the different web host companies for extra bandwidth and you will be pleasantly surprised that it will not cost an arm and a leg to have a little extra. Knowingly going over bandwidth with only cost you revenue in the long run and makes your website very unprofessional. If you are hosting with a reliable web host company they will not allow this happen anyway.
If you are unsure as to how large your website actually is act the person or company who developed the site for you to advise or simply ask the web host company, all will be happy to oblige you.
A common mistake made by so many people when looking to choose a web host company is not asking about bandwidth. After spending so long designing or with a developer designing your web site you do not want to see a good web site ruined and only viewed by a handful of people at a time. A web site is generally your shop window and you want as many people as possible to look in and hopefully click on your information or purchase online if you are offering products. All web host companies will offer you a limited amount of bandwidth, it’s then up to you to calculate whether or not you need to pay a little extra for bandwidth you may require.
Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from the web host company, it is there job to help you along the way and after all it’s you who is paying for there service. You will need to advice them as to how big each page is on your website and if possible a rough calculation as to how many people you think may view your site on a weekly or daily basis.
Is it possible to save bandwidth?
Yes it is and this comes into play at the time of designing your website. If you are looking to save the bandwidth you should put all photos in the JPEG format and all graphics in GIF format. By doing so you are compressing the files using only the very least bandwidth required.
Why do some companies offer only a very limited amount of bandwidth?
You have got to remember that web hosting is an extensive market and very profitably for the web hosting company. The more people they can attract to their services the more profit they make. They in turn have to pay out to the telecoms companies for the bandwidth provided to them and are only wanting to pay the bare amount to keep profits high. Web host companies that are not offering you the additional bandwidth are the ones to avoid. If they say it is not possible to purchase additional bandwidth, then the chances are this is a small company with poor technology behind them operating on a shoestring budget.
What will happen if I do not have enough bandwidth?
It’s very simply really, if your website has not got enough bandwidth to operate with, one of two things will happen. Your website will download onto peoples monitors very slowly and the chances are they will not wait around. The second problem is that your web site may only be viewed by a very limited audience at one time. You may have great link backs from other websites driving traffic your way only for that traffic to be diverted elsewhere to a properly functioning competitor.
How can I ensure that this will not happen to me?
Undoubtedly it is very frustrating to spend time and money developing a good informative website only to have it’s viewing reduced by lack of bandwidth. You need to be honest with your web host company and tell them the number of pages and how large your overall files are, by doing this the onus is on them to offer us the service your require. You can ask for a guarantee from the web host company that all will be fine with your site and there are many out there willing to give such guarantees. If you decide to go it cheap and risk the low bandwidth you are only fooling yourself. Look at the rates from the different web host companies for extra bandwidth and you will be pleasantly surprised that it will not cost an arm and a leg to have a little extra. Knowingly going over bandwidth with only cost you revenue in the long run and makes your website very unprofessional. If you are hosting with a reliable web host company they will not allow this happen anyway.
If you are unsure as to how large your website actually is act the person or company who developed the site for you to advise or simply ask the web host company, all will be happy to oblige you.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
What is Web Hosting and What Do We Get From Cheap Web Hosting
Web hosting basics
All web pages are downloaded from a source called the web server. All these need to be stored in a server so that a visit to your website is possible. Therefore, if you would want to manage a website, you need to host it on a web sever. Once your website is hosted, people from any points of the world can have access to your pages. A company or institutions that do all these stuffs for you are termed as web hosting providers.
There are several types of web hosting, let us discuss some of them.
Shared Hosting is basically a type wherein several to hundreds of websites are being hosted by a single physical web server. The issue of slower performance often arises in here. Yet a reputable web host don't easily add up web sites without considering their would-be effects to the entire system.
Because this type of web hosting is shared, website owners can expect cheaper rates but must learn to deal with occasional system break downs and slower server response time.
Dedicated Hosting is the reverse of shared hosting. This has the principle of one server per customer. Therefore, web hosting rates are much higher in here but with the assurance of higher traffic.
Co-location hosting is much like dedicate web hosting, only differing on the actual ownership of the web server hardware. However, the server is located in the web hosting provider's center.
Reseller hosting works in a third-party principle. The web hosting provider resells the web server storage to customers who can then structure their own branding and prices.
With that said, we can now discuss how can you make the most out of your cheap web hosting.
Cheap web hosting is now a popular choice among web site owners. However, choosing one may prove to be hard. But with bits of efforts and intensive data gathering, you can arrive on a cheap web hosting that is ideal for all your requirements.
Here are the things you need to check:
Your needs. Identify what you truly need, anything in excess may add up to the cost of your web site so examine them well. Develop criteria for features selection that you will need and start from there. Say, do you need to have a large bandwidth? Or website builders and spam protections?
Reliability. Check the ability of the provider to cope up with troubles on system breakdowns. Also check on their uptime guarantee. However, it must be understood that they normally only cover issues pertaining to Server OS crashes and hardware failure.
What's your budget? Its always getting what you paid for. Your willingness to spend for a web hosting provider will determine how much would you gamble for an account. There are a number of cheap web hosting providers that will give you the services you paid for. Normally, you would benefit for their very low rates. However, it must be noted that they normally don't generate good traffic.
It is not like discouraging you from seeking a cheap web hosting provider, only that be keen when selecting one. Always equate the benefits that may be had from them and the corresponding disadvantages.
But we must take into consideration still those cheap web hosting providers that produce satisfied and happy customers. Usually, their prices range from $6 to $7 a month. Prices lower than these must be thoroughly evaluated though.
All web pages are downloaded from a source called the web server. All these need to be stored in a server so that a visit to your website is possible. Therefore, if you would want to manage a website, you need to host it on a web sever. Once your website is hosted, people from any points of the world can have access to your pages. A company or institutions that do all these stuffs for you are termed as web hosting providers.
There are several types of web hosting, let us discuss some of them.
Shared Hosting is basically a type wherein several to hundreds of websites are being hosted by a single physical web server. The issue of slower performance often arises in here. Yet a reputable web host don't easily add up web sites without considering their would-be effects to the entire system.
Because this type of web hosting is shared, website owners can expect cheaper rates but must learn to deal with occasional system break downs and slower server response time.
Dedicated Hosting is the reverse of shared hosting. This has the principle of one server per customer. Therefore, web hosting rates are much higher in here but with the assurance of higher traffic.
Co-location hosting is much like dedicate web hosting, only differing on the actual ownership of the web server hardware. However, the server is located in the web hosting provider's center.
Reseller hosting works in a third-party principle. The web hosting provider resells the web server storage to customers who can then structure their own branding and prices.
With that said, we can now discuss how can you make the most out of your cheap web hosting.
Cheap web hosting is now a popular choice among web site owners. However, choosing one may prove to be hard. But with bits of efforts and intensive data gathering, you can arrive on a cheap web hosting that is ideal for all your requirements.
Here are the things you need to check:
Your needs. Identify what you truly need, anything in excess may add up to the cost of your web site so examine them well. Develop criteria for features selection that you will need and start from there. Say, do you need to have a large bandwidth? Or website builders and spam protections?
Reliability. Check the ability of the provider to cope up with troubles on system breakdowns. Also check on their uptime guarantee. However, it must be understood that they normally only cover issues pertaining to Server OS crashes and hardware failure.
What's your budget? Its always getting what you paid for. Your willingness to spend for a web hosting provider will determine how much would you gamble for an account. There are a number of cheap web hosting providers that will give you the services you paid for. Normally, you would benefit for their very low rates. However, it must be noted that they normally don't generate good traffic.
It is not like discouraging you from seeking a cheap web hosting provider, only that be keen when selecting one. Always equate the benefits that may be had from them and the corresponding disadvantages.
But we must take into consideration still those cheap web hosting providers that produce satisfied and happy customers. Usually, their prices range from $6 to $7 a month. Prices lower than these must be thoroughly evaluated though.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Find Cheap Website Hosting By Using A Web Hosting Directory
Like most webmasters you want to get value for your money and you aren't willing to trade off quality in return for cheap website hosting. That's the beauty of choosing your web hosting company with the help of a web hosting directory.
What is a web hosting directory?
A web hosting directory is a place where web hosting companies are listed along with the services they have available as well as their hosting prices. There are often different price categories, ranging from expensive to cheap web hosting services.
What value does a web hosting directory provide?
The good ones provide a way for you to review various cheap web hosting companies and find one that provides quality web hosting services at a reasonable price.
A properly run web hosting directory will include internet web site hosting providers that have the experience needed to host your web site and keep it running despite whatever the Internet throws at it every day.
Is cheap website hosting really a good idea?
As long as you have the right definition for cheap then cheap web hosting is a great idea. The word "cheap" should never refer to the quality of the hosting service itself. It should only refer to the price. If you end being hosted on a cheap server that's run my a hosting company that's too cheap to hire support technicians to staff their data center 24 hours a day, you can quickly regret choosing a cheap web hosting service.
And that's where a good web hosting directory comes in to save the day! But what makes a good web hosting directory? Let's take a look and see.
How to tell a good web hosting directory from a bad one?
A good web hosting directory maintains enough listings of top web hosting services, especially cheap website hosting companies, to give you enough options when making an informed web hosting choice.
Speaking of informed decisions, one very important feature to look for when choosing a web hosting directory to help you find cheap website hosting is the ability for users of the web hosting companies to be able to post their comments and experiences for others to read. That way you can get the opportunity to see what actual customers think about the quality of service that a cheap website hosting company offers before you commit to hosting your web site with them.
Where you host your web site is an important decision. You need help and advice in order to find cheap website hosting that offers a professional commitment to service and support. Make sure that you only depend on a good web hosting directory to help you make that choice.
What is a web hosting directory?
A web hosting directory is a place where web hosting companies are listed along with the services they have available as well as their hosting prices. There are often different price categories, ranging from expensive to cheap web hosting services.
What value does a web hosting directory provide?
The good ones provide a way for you to review various cheap web hosting companies and find one that provides quality web hosting services at a reasonable price.
A properly run web hosting directory will include internet web site hosting providers that have the experience needed to host your web site and keep it running despite whatever the Internet throws at it every day.
Is cheap website hosting really a good idea?
As long as you have the right definition for cheap then cheap web hosting is a great idea. The word "cheap" should never refer to the quality of the hosting service itself. It should only refer to the price. If you end being hosted on a cheap server that's run my a hosting company that's too cheap to hire support technicians to staff their data center 24 hours a day, you can quickly regret choosing a cheap web hosting service.
And that's where a good web hosting directory comes in to save the day! But what makes a good web hosting directory? Let's take a look and see.
How to tell a good web hosting directory from a bad one?
A good web hosting directory maintains enough listings of top web hosting services, especially cheap website hosting companies, to give you enough options when making an informed web hosting choice.
Speaking of informed decisions, one very important feature to look for when choosing a web hosting directory to help you find cheap website hosting is the ability for users of the web hosting companies to be able to post their comments and experiences for others to read. That way you can get the opportunity to see what actual customers think about the quality of service that a cheap website hosting company offers before you commit to hosting your web site with them.
Where you host your web site is an important decision. You need help and advice in order to find cheap website hosting that offers a professional commitment to service and support. Make sure that you only depend on a good web hosting directory to help you make that choice.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Low cost web hosting
If you are an individual who wants to show off your interests, special qualities, hobbies, e.t.c. to your friends or anybody outside; then it is the best idea to go for a low cost web hosting or even a free web hosting.
Even for small businesses, low cost web hosting would be the best option to get the maximum exposure for their company, their products and their services. As we all know web hosting is the must for any type of business whether it is small or big. But putting in huge amounts in web hosting for smaller or start up companies is not viable in the most cases and hence cheap web hosting is the great solution for this problem.
Also if it's your first website, a personal page or many other factors you may choose to go the lost cost web hosting route. In order to have a good website though, there are some things you need to be aware of and look for in a low cost web hosting provider. They are:
1. Storage:
Especially if you want images with your low cost web hosting solution, storage is important. Many low cost hosting services are free for the first 10mb and then start billing you in order to get more storage. Find a host that has at least 50mb of storage so that you don't risk running out. While 50 MB might not sound like a lot, many of the sites you visit each day likely aren't much larger then that in size. For starting out this is more then adequate space.
2. Advertisements
Being a low cost web hosting solution, the ISPs some how have to make money, so ads are expected. Lots of low cost web hosting solutions though go overboard with Popup and float-ins, as well as banner ads and plenty more. Try and find a low cost web hosting provider that has non obtrusive advertising. Generally the number of ads goes hand in d hand with just how low the price is. So a Dollar a month web hosting or free hosting you can expect a lot of ads.
In short, you need to find a safe low cost web hosting solution that provides you with plenty of storage and no over the top advertising. This way you are ensured to have pleasant experience having your site with low cost web hosting. Also don't forget it's not just your experience but those of your visitors as well, if you're limited to what you can have on your site, or there are hundreds of ads flying at your visitors screen, you'll have a hard time stopping them from clicking the back button.
Even for small businesses, low cost web hosting would be the best option to get the maximum exposure for their company, their products and their services. As we all know web hosting is the must for any type of business whether it is small or big. But putting in huge amounts in web hosting for smaller or start up companies is not viable in the most cases and hence cheap web hosting is the great solution for this problem.
Also if it's your first website, a personal page or many other factors you may choose to go the lost cost web hosting route. In order to have a good website though, there are some things you need to be aware of and look for in a low cost web hosting provider. They are:
1. Storage:
Especially if you want images with your low cost web hosting solution, storage is important. Many low cost hosting services are free for the first 10mb and then start billing you in order to get more storage. Find a host that has at least 50mb of storage so that you don't risk running out. While 50 MB might not sound like a lot, many of the sites you visit each day likely aren't much larger then that in size. For starting out this is more then adequate space.
2. Advertisements
Being a low cost web hosting solution, the ISPs some how have to make money, so ads are expected. Lots of low cost web hosting solutions though go overboard with Popup and float-ins, as well as banner ads and plenty more. Try and find a low cost web hosting provider that has non obtrusive advertising. Generally the number of ads goes hand in d hand with just how low the price is. So a Dollar a month web hosting or free hosting you can expect a lot of ads.
In short, you need to find a safe low cost web hosting solution that provides you with plenty of storage and no over the top advertising. This way you are ensured to have pleasant experience having your site with low cost web hosting. Also don't forget it's not just your experience but those of your visitors as well, if you're limited to what you can have on your site, or there are hundreds of ads flying at your visitors screen, you'll have a hard time stopping them from clicking the back button.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Site5 Web Hosting Review
I have been hosting some of my websites with Site5 for about a year now. I also have other websites hosted in other web hosting companies. Here is my review for site5 based on my own personal experience with them
Why I choose Site5
I got to know about Site5 through the webhostingtalk forums. At that time, I was searching for a reliable and reputable cheap web hosting company for a couple of my new websites. And I’ve heard a lot of good reviews about Site5 and so decide to try them out. Since they have a 60 day money back refund, I figure if I did not like it, I would ask for my money back. Anyway, I was basically testing their web hosting on my new websites so I was not terribly affected.
Site5 Hosting Plan
Site5 only offer two types of hosting plan : shared and reseller. So I took the superhosting extreme package. Basically here’s the brief web hosting package details :
Diskspace : 8GB
Bandwidth : 500GB
Multisite Accounts : 5
Unlimited : domain pointers, ftp, mysql
It also comes with fantastico, cpanel. All this for about $109 annually which is pretty cheap. Please note this hosting plan is no longer available and is replaced with multisite dynamite plan. It is basically the same as my previous plan except for more diskspace and bandwidth. As I’m writing this, they have a promotion where you can get this hosting plan for 2 years at only $149 which I consider to be a good deal.
Unique Features of Site5 hosting
One feature I like about site5 hosting is the multisite accounts. It is basically a full featured control panel for each domain. Unlike other shared web hosting companies which uses domain pointers, a multisite accounts exists on its own with its own subdomains, domain pointer, ftp, mysql etc. This help me to organize my websites better especially if you have a lot of domains. You can set the diskspace and bandwidth from the main pool of your web hosting account.
The other feature is the flashback which allows you to undo any changes you make to your website. It is a life saver especially when a website breaks down and you do not know the cause.
Things that can be improved
Though I like Site5 and would recommend it to friends, there are a few things that could make it better. One of them is the upgrade option. I recently upgraded my hosting plan to multisite dynamite and was told I had to shift to another server. The problem was I had to do the data transfer myself. With 3GB of data to transfer, not to mention the dozens of ftp, mysql and email accounts, it was a real hassle. Something I am sure their staff could have easily completed in a short time.
The other thing I didn’t like was I could not request for more IP addresses. If you know about SEO, then you know how having multiple IP addresses can be useful.
In all, I would still recommend site5 due to its cheap web hosting plan, good support and high availability.
Why I choose Site5
I got to know about Site5 through the webhostingtalk forums. At that time, I was searching for a reliable and reputable cheap web hosting company for a couple of my new websites. And I’ve heard a lot of good reviews about Site5 and so decide to try them out. Since they have a 60 day money back refund, I figure if I did not like it, I would ask for my money back. Anyway, I was basically testing their web hosting on my new websites so I was not terribly affected.
Site5 Hosting Plan
Site5 only offer two types of hosting plan : shared and reseller. So I took the superhosting extreme package. Basically here’s the brief web hosting package details :
Diskspace : 8GB
Bandwidth : 500GB
Multisite Accounts : 5
Unlimited : domain pointers, ftp, mysql
It also comes with fantastico, cpanel. All this for about $109 annually which is pretty cheap. Please note this hosting plan is no longer available and is replaced with multisite dynamite plan. It is basically the same as my previous plan except for more diskspace and bandwidth. As I’m writing this, they have a promotion where you can get this hosting plan for 2 years at only $149 which I consider to be a good deal.
Unique Features of Site5 hosting
One feature I like about site5 hosting is the multisite accounts. It is basically a full featured control panel for each domain. Unlike other shared web hosting companies which uses domain pointers, a multisite accounts exists on its own with its own subdomains, domain pointer, ftp, mysql etc. This help me to organize my websites better especially if you have a lot of domains. You can set the diskspace and bandwidth from the main pool of your web hosting account.
The other feature is the flashback which allows you to undo any changes you make to your website. It is a life saver especially when a website breaks down and you do not know the cause.
Things that can be improved
Though I like Site5 and would recommend it to friends, there are a few things that could make it better. One of them is the upgrade option. I recently upgraded my hosting plan to multisite dynamite and was told I had to shift to another server. The problem was I had to do the data transfer myself. With 3GB of data to transfer, not to mention the dozens of ftp, mysql and email accounts, it was a real hassle. Something I am sure their staff could have easily completed in a short time.
The other thing I didn’t like was I could not request for more IP addresses. If you know about SEO, then you know how having multiple IP addresses can be useful.
In all, I would still recommend site5 due to its cheap web hosting plan, good support and high availability.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Cheap Web Hosting - Choose The Right Company
You have carried out the hard part and that’s creating the web site. The next step is to get it hosted as to allow the public find your site. So why do so many first time web host seekers fall into the trap of a bad web host company? Well there are a number of factors to consider and none bigger than the price. We all want cheap web hosting but unfortunately price is not always what you should go for.
You have to be more aware of the web hosting company that you choose. If you have a budget stick to it, if you see hosting for little or nothing and find yourself thinking “how do they make money” stay well away, the chances are your web site will be hosted with very little bandwidth resulting in a very slow accessible and unprofessional web site. You may also find that the customer service is little or none.
You need to clearly outline your own requirements to the web hosting company, if you do not do so you are at fault and not in any position to point the finger at others. If you make a list of requirements such as particular files you need etc you can send your requirements to multiple hosting companies and see who comes back with the greater service.
If you have more than one web site to host such as affiliate marketers it is not a good idea to put all your sites with the one web host company server to start with, you need to be 100% confident with the service, so start with one web site first as a test. Remember if you do host all your websites with one host company, all it takes is one problem to bring all your sites down and could result in lose of revenue for you. At least if you have some web sites hosted by another company they will still be online.
Some web host companies offer testimonials on their own web site from valued customers recommending them. Seeing is not believing, call these customers and get a face value recommendation for yourself.
What if I have problems?
Lets be honest, problems can occur and they maybe your fault and sometimes the web host company is to blame. Problems with technology can occur any time but it’s how the hosting company react to the fault that will determine if you stay with them or not. If you find your web site dropping off line or downloading slowly at a regular basis simply change to another web host company. On going problems not fixed is a very bad sign and it shows arrogance towards their customers. Support is vital from a web host company and it should be 24 hour if it’s a large organisation.
Virus Problems and Hackers
It is up to the web host company to ensure that your files are protected from virus and hackers at all times. There has been plenty of companies who have had their web sites hacked only then to find out that the web host company had not got the latest patches and security software applied. First timers to web hosting should always ask how often updates and what software is used to protect web sites.
Tips:
In business your web site can be a large source of revenue or sometimes your only source. Always do your own backup of the web site. If the web host company experience problems and for whatever reason has no backups available your whole business could be on hold. Backups are vital so do it as regular as possible or face the consequences. Some companies have testimonials on their web site from customers, do not be afraid to call these guys for an up to date reference.
If you where taking on an employee you would check all references, this is similar. Always get the full contact details of the web hosting company, many people simple go online and have an email address only as the contact. If their email goes down and you need to contact them you should have their full details at hand. Always shop around for the different web hosting plans and compare, you will find large differences, after you settle with a budget ask the necessary questions before you sign up.
You have to be more aware of the web hosting company that you choose. If you have a budget stick to it, if you see hosting for little or nothing and find yourself thinking “how do they make money” stay well away, the chances are your web site will be hosted with very little bandwidth resulting in a very slow accessible and unprofessional web site. You may also find that the customer service is little or none.
You need to clearly outline your own requirements to the web hosting company, if you do not do so you are at fault and not in any position to point the finger at others. If you make a list of requirements such as particular files you need etc you can send your requirements to multiple hosting companies and see who comes back with the greater service.
If you have more than one web site to host such as affiliate marketers it is not a good idea to put all your sites with the one web host company server to start with, you need to be 100% confident with the service, so start with one web site first as a test. Remember if you do host all your websites with one host company, all it takes is one problem to bring all your sites down and could result in lose of revenue for you. At least if you have some web sites hosted by another company they will still be online.
Some web host companies offer testimonials on their own web site from valued customers recommending them. Seeing is not believing, call these customers and get a face value recommendation for yourself.
What if I have problems?
Lets be honest, problems can occur and they maybe your fault and sometimes the web host company is to blame. Problems with technology can occur any time but it’s how the hosting company react to the fault that will determine if you stay with them or not. If you find your web site dropping off line or downloading slowly at a regular basis simply change to another web host company. On going problems not fixed is a very bad sign and it shows arrogance towards their customers. Support is vital from a web host company and it should be 24 hour if it’s a large organisation.
Virus Problems and Hackers
It is up to the web host company to ensure that your files are protected from virus and hackers at all times. There has been plenty of companies who have had their web sites hacked only then to find out that the web host company had not got the latest patches and security software applied. First timers to web hosting should always ask how often updates and what software is used to protect web sites.
Tips:
In business your web site can be a large source of revenue or sometimes your only source. Always do your own backup of the web site. If the web host company experience problems and for whatever reason has no backups available your whole business could be on hold. Backups are vital so do it as regular as possible or face the consequences. Some companies have testimonials on their web site from customers, do not be afraid to call these guys for an up to date reference.
If you where taking on an employee you would check all references, this is similar. Always get the full contact details of the web hosting company, many people simple go online and have an email address only as the contact. If their email goes down and you need to contact them you should have their full details at hand. Always shop around for the different web hosting plans and compare, you will find large differences, after you settle with a budget ask the necessary questions before you sign up.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
web hosting plans
Why on earth would you ever buy something that you don't need or pay for something that you'll never use?
If you're in the market for a web hosting plan, chances are that you're a small or start-up company with a tight budget. You've planned out every expense down to the last dime. If you're in need of office space, you probably wouldn't even think about signing a three year lease for a 1300 square foot office with a giant, picture window, complete with an ocean view- and why not? Because you don't need all of that space (or the expense) as you start out on your new venture.
The same holds true for web hosting plans. Why would you purchase a plan that has 50,000 mb of various space and 20 email addresses when it's just you, your spouse, and a four page website? Starting out small with the ability to expand when necessary is a crucial part of a successful entrepreneur.
Believe it or not, the majority of those who are looking for such information are not computer gurus, but typical individuals looking for a simple plan to fill their website needs. Such customers are usually unaware of the exact amount of space, storage and other do-dads they will need until their site is up and running. So in addition to the low cost of these cheap web hosting services, many of them offer you a "building block" type of service, where you start with a small, base plan with the minimal amounts of disk space and monthly transfer allowance, but with the ability to upgrade to a bit more as you go along, whether you realize your need during the site building process or six months down the road, the upgrade options that you need, along with many that you don't, will be available for you to purchase. Email addresses (more than one) all come standard (usually) with the purchase of a basic package, and also offer you the ability to add more to your basic, cheap web hosting plan.
Some might shy away from the less expensive web hosting plans and companies for fear of inadequate or cheap service. Most of the time, the cheap, or inexpensive web hosts will provide the same quality (if not a bit better) of a product/service as their pricey competitors. Of course, you will need to do your homework and research on the company at hand.
I STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU TO GO FOR GLOBAT PLAN BECAUSE YOU CAN'T GET A CHEAPER ONE THAN THIS
If you're in the market for a web hosting plan, chances are that you're a small or start-up company with a tight budget. You've planned out every expense down to the last dime. If you're in need of office space, you probably wouldn't even think about signing a three year lease for a 1300 square foot office with a giant, picture window, complete with an ocean view- and why not? Because you don't need all of that space (or the expense) as you start out on your new venture.
The same holds true for web hosting plans. Why would you purchase a plan that has 50,000 mb of various space and 20 email addresses when it's just you, your spouse, and a four page website? Starting out small with the ability to expand when necessary is a crucial part of a successful entrepreneur.
Believe it or not, the majority of those who are looking for such information are not computer gurus, but typical individuals looking for a simple plan to fill their website needs. Such customers are usually unaware of the exact amount of space, storage and other do-dads they will need until their site is up and running. So in addition to the low cost of these cheap web hosting services, many of them offer you a "building block" type of service, where you start with a small, base plan with the minimal amounts of disk space and monthly transfer allowance, but with the ability to upgrade to a bit more as you go along, whether you realize your need during the site building process or six months down the road, the upgrade options that you need, along with many that you don't, will be available for you to purchase. Email addresses (more than one) all come standard (usually) with the purchase of a basic package, and also offer you the ability to add more to your basic, cheap web hosting plan.
Some might shy away from the less expensive web hosting plans and companies for fear of inadequate or cheap service. Most of the time, the cheap, or inexpensive web hosts will provide the same quality (if not a bit better) of a product/service as their pricey competitors. Of course, you will need to do your homework and research on the company at hand.
I STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU TO GO FOR GLOBAT PLAN BECAUSE YOU CAN'T GET A CHEAPER ONE THAN THIS
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Good Quality & Cheap Web Hosting
If you plan to own a new website, you will need to host your website on a web server. When your website goes live on the web server, online users can then browse your website on the Internet. Company that provides the web servers to host your website is called web hosting providers.
A web hosting provider will typically have a fast connection to the Internet housed in a physical building called 'data center' and they may host thousands of web sites on many servers. The web host essentially rents out space to you so that you can get your website up on the world wide web.
With a well-managed web host, you can free yourself from worrying the up-keep of complicated server technology and proper technical maintenance. That's the whole purpose of the web hosting companies. You should leave the technical work to web hosting professional while you focus on your own internet business.
There are thousands of web hosting providers on the internet and how do you decide which one you should use? Sites like betahosts.com can help you by comparing all best hosting providers.
The features that web hosting companies are offering are getting quite standard nowadays. There are basic features that you'll need in a web host. You can find out more here.
To give a web host a competitive edge over others, more attractive features are very necessary. You'll find that many hosts are willing to give away free stuff that used to cost over $10 per month.
These are some of the advanced features that our top hosts are offering.
* Web Buider Many of our top 10 hosts offer powerful web builder program called SiteStudio. SiteStudio allows you to make sites without any html, FTP and HTTP knowledge. You can also build site on the fly while at home, school or even at work. Hostgator's SiteStudio has over 500 ready-made templates for you to choose from.
* Ecommerce Enabled If you are selling products on your site, you need a merchant account. A shopping cart is a useful tool if you have more than 1 product in different categories. SSL(Secured Sockets Layer) is a must-have if you need to receive valuable information such as your customers' credit card information. PowWeb, Hostgator and Lunarpages provide osCommerce shopping cart and shared SSL for your ecommerce needs.
* Marketing Package Most marketing package including search engine submission software, keyword generator and link checker. Some hosting companies like iPower have established partnership with Yahoo! Search (previously known as Overture) and Google Adwords to offer you pay-per-click credit to jump start your business.
Popularity
The best marketing method is by far from word of mouth. If you sign up for a web host and are satisfied with the performance, most likely you'll recommend to anyone who is looking for a good host. Big web hosting companies know about this concept so well that they would go all out to retain their existing customer. The more satisfied customers they have, the more popularity they'll get. We take this as an important indicator of how good a host is. # There are a few factors that we judge the popularity of a particular web hosting provider.Number of existing customers. # The satisfaction level of their existing customers: We manage to get hold of their existing customers from the positive reviews they submitted through our host comment form, their comment in the 3rd party web hosting and inhouse forums and the customers' comment found on other hosting directories. # The amount of pretigious hosting awards they won # Their sites Alexa traffic ranking
Lunarpages is on top among our top 10 hosts. Network Reliability, Speed and Uptime Guarantee
In terms of reliability, we are looking at how redundant is the server, how often the companies backup the server and how well they handle emergency. "Redundant" means that if any of the Internet connections get interrupted, the alternate Internet connection will take over. PowWeb Load Balancing Technology is one of the best that we found to ensure your site is up 99.9% all the time.
A web hosting provider will typically have a fast connection to the Internet housed in a physical building called 'data center' and they may host thousands of web sites on many servers. The web host essentially rents out space to you so that you can get your website up on the world wide web.
With a well-managed web host, you can free yourself from worrying the up-keep of complicated server technology and proper technical maintenance. That's the whole purpose of the web hosting companies. You should leave the technical work to web hosting professional while you focus on your own internet business.
There are thousands of web hosting providers on the internet and how do you decide which one you should use? Sites like betahosts.com can help you by comparing all best hosting providers.
The features that web hosting companies are offering are getting quite standard nowadays. There are basic features that you'll need in a web host. You can find out more here.
To give a web host a competitive edge over others, more attractive features are very necessary. You'll find that many hosts are willing to give away free stuff that used to cost over $10 per month.
These are some of the advanced features that our top hosts are offering.
* Web Buider Many of our top 10 hosts offer powerful web builder program called SiteStudio. SiteStudio allows you to make sites without any html, FTP and HTTP knowledge. You can also build site on the fly while at home, school or even at work. Hostgator's SiteStudio has over 500 ready-made templates for you to choose from.
* Ecommerce Enabled If you are selling products on your site, you need a merchant account. A shopping cart is a useful tool if you have more than 1 product in different categories. SSL(Secured Sockets Layer) is a must-have if you need to receive valuable information such as your customers' credit card information. PowWeb, Hostgator and Lunarpages provide osCommerce shopping cart and shared SSL for your ecommerce needs.
* Marketing Package Most marketing package including search engine submission software, keyword generator and link checker. Some hosting companies like iPower have established partnership with Yahoo! Search (previously known as Overture) and Google Adwords to offer you pay-per-click credit to jump start your business.
Popularity
The best marketing method is by far from word of mouth. If you sign up for a web host and are satisfied with the performance, most likely you'll recommend to anyone who is looking for a good host. Big web hosting companies know about this concept so well that they would go all out to retain their existing customer. The more satisfied customers they have, the more popularity they'll get. We take this as an important indicator of how good a host is. # There are a few factors that we judge the popularity of a particular web hosting provider.Number of existing customers. # The satisfaction level of their existing customers: We manage to get hold of their existing customers from the positive reviews they submitted through our host comment form, their comment in the 3rd party web hosting and inhouse forums and the customers' comment found on other hosting directories. # The amount of pretigious hosting awards they won # Their sites Alexa traffic ranking
Lunarpages is on top among our top 10 hosts. Network Reliability, Speed and Uptime Guarantee
In terms of reliability, we are looking at how redundant is the server, how often the companies backup the server and how well they handle emergency. "Redundant" means that if any of the Internet connections get interrupted, the alternate Internet connection will take over. PowWeb Load Balancing Technology is one of the best that we found to ensure your site is up 99.9% all the time.
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