When you make the decision to start a website for your business, it is a big step. Going from the world of offline business where clients are limited to geographical locations to online where the entire world is a potential client can be overwhelming.
There are many things to take into consideration. You have the products to sell, and the design of the website all planned out, now it is time to put it all together by choosing a web hosting company.
The first thing you should decide on is a domain name. This is perhaps the single most important decision you can make. You want something that is professional; the domain name will reflect the nature of your business. Avoid using cute names; people tend to skip to the next website.
Try to choose a name that is short and easy to remember. Think about your customers when they try to reach your web site. Will be easy to type? Can you spell your domain name at the phone without much trouble? This is going to be your presence in the internet from now on, so choose wisely.
Choosing the web hosting company that is right for you is a long process. There will be millions of options, it is important to ask questions and that the web hosting company answers those questions adequately.
The most crucial point of any web hosting company is their reliability. If the site does not offer enough space, then your website will be shut down for all or part of each month. This is not the goal you have set for your business. Ask the web hosting company if it offers an uptime guarantee. Usually if a company offers a guarantee of this type, their service is reliable.
When you are new to Internet marketing, you will have a lot of question. Sometimes the questions you need to ask will not be during business hours. It is important that customer service is available by phone, email, or even a chat window twenty-four hours a day to answer any questions that you may have.
Another service that is just as crucial as the rest is the storage and bandwidth that your website will need. Most likely, you will not know what your website is, but the web hosting company will. If you want a flashy site, you will need more bandwidth. It is important that you know before hand the ins and outs of web hosting companies.
A good way to find your answers is to do some research. A Google search will yield you all of the information you need. The world is your potential client, reach out and make contact. It will ensure the success of your business.
Showing posts with label web hosting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label web hosting. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
How To Choose Your Web Host
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.
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.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Web Hosting Testimonials Help You Choose
No matter what kind of company or business you are exploring, at some point, they will receive some sort of feedback. If they are doing a good job with their business, then the feedback should be positive. Customers will comment on any aspect of a product or service that has touched them in both the wrong and/or right way. They may find a company's customer support is top-notch or perhaps a business has delivered or fixed a particular service on time or even better, earlier than expected.
Either way, this valuable praise and information received from customers is used to benefit the progress and future of a company. This information becomes especially helpful to customers that are weighing the pros and cons of a competitive line of business, such as web hosting.
How To Use Positive Feedback To Your Advantage
When a company receives positive feedback from the customers they serve, there are two main ways they utilize this information for the good of the business. Positive feedback can be used to enhance already existing products or services, as well as create more options for customers to choose from. The second way companies use positive feedback to their advantage is to use the kind words they receive about their business as a marketing tool. This is accomplished through the display of an online testimonial.
Web hosting testimonials allow potential customers to see how convenient, fast, reliable, cost-efficient or beneficial a particular service can be. This could be the defining piece of information about a company that makes a consumer choose a particular web-hosting provider.
Testimonials also make comparison shopping a much easier task. Sometimes the most reliable details about a web-hosting provider come from peer reviews. This is because potential customers become well informed about a web-hosting provider by learning how others who have used these services have faired. Reading testimonials may draw attention to a particular issue or feature that they may have not noticed at first glance, making decisions easier to accomplish.
What Makes the Most Believable Testimonials?
When it comes to viewing the comments left by satisfied customers, you should know that anyone can post a quote on their website with a random name attached. The more information that a company website provides with their testimonials, the better. Every extra tidbit of info or detail presents a more reliable testimonial. For example, Jane Webber from College Park, Georgia looks much better than a quote posted by J. Webber or Jane W.
When a testimonial offers additional information, such as a corresponding email addresses, this is especially helpful to potential customers. If any questions should arise regarding a web-hosting provider, individuals may contact someone who can provide additional information before a purchase is made. This not only delivers a link to positive promotion, but also builds a more reliable bond between customer and company. Most of all, the potential customer can feel more relaxed and satisfied on a web hosting choice when they have had all of their doubts satisfied.
One of the best, most reliable features of a testimonial is the inclusion of a photo accompanying direct quotes and customer details. This establishes increased human interaction with someone who has actually had success with the web-hosting provider in question. Putting a face to the product is a helpful way for customers to note that people just like "you and I" have found this particular web hosting provider a success.
Either way, this valuable praise and information received from customers is used to benefit the progress and future of a company. This information becomes especially helpful to customers that are weighing the pros and cons of a competitive line of business, such as web hosting.
How To Use Positive Feedback To Your Advantage
When a company receives positive feedback from the customers they serve, there are two main ways they utilize this information for the good of the business. Positive feedback can be used to enhance already existing products or services, as well as create more options for customers to choose from. The second way companies use positive feedback to their advantage is to use the kind words they receive about their business as a marketing tool. This is accomplished through the display of an online testimonial.
Web hosting testimonials allow potential customers to see how convenient, fast, reliable, cost-efficient or beneficial a particular service can be. This could be the defining piece of information about a company that makes a consumer choose a particular web-hosting provider.
Testimonials also make comparison shopping a much easier task. Sometimes the most reliable details about a web-hosting provider come from peer reviews. This is because potential customers become well informed about a web-hosting provider by learning how others who have used these services have faired. Reading testimonials may draw attention to a particular issue or feature that they may have not noticed at first glance, making decisions easier to accomplish.
What Makes the Most Believable Testimonials?
When it comes to viewing the comments left by satisfied customers, you should know that anyone can post a quote on their website with a random name attached. The more information that a company website provides with their testimonials, the better. Every extra tidbit of info or detail presents a more reliable testimonial. For example, Jane Webber from College Park, Georgia looks much better than a quote posted by J. Webber or Jane W.
When a testimonial offers additional information, such as a corresponding email addresses, this is especially helpful to potential customers. If any questions should arise regarding a web-hosting provider, individuals may contact someone who can provide additional information before a purchase is made. This not only delivers a link to positive promotion, but also builds a more reliable bond between customer and company. Most of all, the potential customer can feel more relaxed and satisfied on a web hosting choice when they have had all of their doubts satisfied.
One of the best, most reliable features of a testimonial is the inclusion of a photo accompanying direct quotes and customer details. This establishes increased human interaction with someone who has actually had success with the web-hosting provider in question. Putting a face to the product is a helpful way for customers to note that people just like "you and I" have found this particular web hosting provider a success.
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 17, 2010
How To Find A Web Host
Customers may evaluate altered netting hosting firm offerings and compare the message to their pick up native hosting requirements, in directive to stack up the exceptionally cooperative plan for their purposes.
In addition, lacework hosting concern rankings are usually provided that may be used as a balmy of "consumer reports" guideline to assist a customer in weighing the elite overall influence and quality of mesh hosting companies. What makes a appurtenant lattice hosting directory?
A germane directory commit nerve center on diversity, as just as quality.
A blimp lattice hosting directory consign certify a ground plan where clients may expose vendor stability, cost, wise (technical service) and security. One remarkably foremost peculiarity of web hosting directories is rankings, which can be an invaluable tool to any prospective web hosting company consumer in determining which web hosting company to patronize.
Typical boodle that a lacework hosting directory may teem with are: tools to explore and sift all kinds of lattice hosting, obsessed servers and collocation; along with net hosting news, information, benign articles, and interviews.
The Rank and File of Web Hosting Directories
Any proper lacework hosting directory should ice advance to dirt from the power leaders; professionals who have been in the rush for various years, and, as such, are in a stand to confirm meaningful insight into web hosting that can save a novice a lot of time and money in the long run.
It may seem as though mesh hosting corporation rankings can be soft manipulated if a directory's diacritic purpose is to originate revenue. However, one style to determine the accuracy of lacework host rankings may be to establish if they are based upon customer voting and have provided their remarks with a website address to verify statements made. However, it is important to keep in mind that, even if that is the case, the information cannot be relied upon as a thorough examination of any given web site hosting company.
It is essential to educe that convenient considering a directory's joyous is provided by exotic or apparently non-partisan visitors, that does not embark on the orientation lump more credible. All it means is that those particular individuals took the time to express their opinions on that specific forum at any given time.
Realistically, it is not conceivable for ration lacework hosting occupation to have 100% satisfying reviews. The substance is that content customers markedly conjure up to recount their opinion. In contrast, however, biased customers who have had a less than adequate consumer experience may be very quick to broadcast it. What this implies is that a negative review doesn't always reflect an accurate capsule of what a web hosting company really has to offer in terms of services and customer support. And this applies to information provided in forums, as well.
In conclusion, rankings on lattice hosting directories may be unduly seemly in comparing web hosting companies. The main firm is to fulfill that the confidence provided is select going to reflect what has been provided to a particular source. That is to say, there is no way that each and every customer's experience will be reflected in a given ranking. Therefore, it may also be prudent to check other resources, such as forums, to get a more comprehensive view and make the most intelligent choice possible.
In addition, lacework hosting concern rankings are usually provided that may be used as a balmy of "consumer reports" guideline to assist a customer in weighing the elite overall influence and quality of mesh hosting companies. What makes a appurtenant lattice hosting directory?
A germane directory commit nerve center on diversity, as just as quality.
A blimp lattice hosting directory consign certify a ground plan where clients may expose vendor stability, cost, wise (technical service) and security. One remarkably foremost peculiarity of web hosting directories is rankings, which can be an invaluable tool to any prospective web hosting company consumer in determining which web hosting company to patronize.
Typical boodle that a lacework hosting directory may teem with are: tools to explore and sift all kinds of lattice hosting, obsessed servers and collocation; along with net hosting news, information, benign articles, and interviews.
The Rank and File of Web Hosting Directories
Any proper lacework hosting directory should ice advance to dirt from the power leaders; professionals who have been in the rush for various years, and, as such, are in a stand to confirm meaningful insight into web hosting that can save a novice a lot of time and money in the long run.
It may seem as though mesh hosting corporation rankings can be soft manipulated if a directory's diacritic purpose is to originate revenue. However, one style to determine the accuracy of lacework host rankings may be to establish if they are based upon customer voting and have provided their remarks with a website address to verify statements made. However, it is important to keep in mind that, even if that is the case, the information cannot be relied upon as a thorough examination of any given web site hosting company.
It is essential to educe that convenient considering a directory's joyous is provided by exotic or apparently non-partisan visitors, that does not embark on the orientation lump more credible. All it means is that those particular individuals took the time to express their opinions on that specific forum at any given time.
Realistically, it is not conceivable for ration lacework hosting occupation to have 100% satisfying reviews. The substance is that content customers markedly conjure up to recount their opinion. In contrast, however, biased customers who have had a less than adequate consumer experience may be very quick to broadcast it. What this implies is that a negative review doesn't always reflect an accurate capsule of what a web hosting company really has to offer in terms of services and customer support. And this applies to information provided in forums, as well.
In conclusion, rankings on lattice hosting directories may be unduly seemly in comparing web hosting companies. The main firm is to fulfill that the confidence provided is select going to reflect what has been provided to a particular source. That is to say, there is no way that each and every customer's experience will be reflected in a given ranking. Therefore, it may also be prudent to check other resources, such as forums, to get a more comprehensive view and make the most intelligent choice possible.
Monday, June 14, 2010
How To Avoid Problems With Web Hosting Companies
The best way to determine the quality of a hosting company is to use their services. Some of these companies will cause many headaches for you, and you want to avoid this at all costs. In this article I will describe certain problems you could have with a hosting service, and how to avoid it. Because your websites rely on hosting services to keep them running, what they do can effect you, whether it is for the good or bad.
One of the most common problems people run into when dealing with hosting companies are server downtimes. When the server goes down, this is a big inconvenience to everyone who uses the service. What really makes it bad is when it takes days to get a response from the tech support department. Some companies don't even answer their emails. Hosting companies which do this have bad customer service, and should be avoided. You should also let others know about their service so that they can avoid it.
Another problem which webmasters will run into is hosting companies which like to hold their domain hostage. When you build a website, and decide you want to sell it, you may find out that the hosting company will not allow you to. They will make up some excuse for why they don't allow it, but basically they want control over your domain. This is a big headache, and to avoid this problem you should always ask if you can transfer your website to other servers if you decide to sell it. If they tell you this can't be done, look for another service.
I've talked to many webmasters about this, and most will not buy a website if they can't transfer it over to their own server. If you plan on selling your website, it is critical that you use a web hosting service which will allow you to easily transfer over your domain without any problems. Even if a hosting company offers excellent service, if their servers are constantly down, you will have problems. When you ask them about this, they will almost always tell you that they have a 99.9% uptime. My advice is to not take their word for it.
Sign up for webmaster forums and ask questions. Get more than one answer, because many webmasters own hosting companies and will refer you to their services to make money. While nothing is wrong with this, you will want to make sure you get a bunch of opinions about a particular company before using it.
One of the most common problems people run into when dealing with hosting companies are server downtimes. When the server goes down, this is a big inconvenience to everyone who uses the service. What really makes it bad is when it takes days to get a response from the tech support department. Some companies don't even answer their emails. Hosting companies which do this have bad customer service, and should be avoided. You should also let others know about their service so that they can avoid it.
Another problem which webmasters will run into is hosting companies which like to hold their domain hostage. When you build a website, and decide you want to sell it, you may find out that the hosting company will not allow you to. They will make up some excuse for why they don't allow it, but basically they want control over your domain. This is a big headache, and to avoid this problem you should always ask if you can transfer your website to other servers if you decide to sell it. If they tell you this can't be done, look for another service.
I've talked to many webmasters about this, and most will not buy a website if they can't transfer it over to their own server. If you plan on selling your website, it is critical that you use a web hosting service which will allow you to easily transfer over your domain without any problems. Even if a hosting company offers excellent service, if their servers are constantly down, you will have problems. When you ask them about this, they will almost always tell you that they have a 99.9% uptime. My advice is to not take their word for it.
Sign up for webmaster forums and ask questions. Get more than one answer, because many webmasters own hosting companies and will refer you to their services to make money. While nothing is wrong with this, you will want to make sure you get a bunch of opinions about a particular company before using it.
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.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
How To Choosing Multiple Domain Hosting?
If you have or are standardization to have differing domains spread out on the web, then you should deem getting a tortuous domain hosting. Multiple scepter hosting allows you to lessor several domains under a single hosting plan. Most web hosting companies call it shared hosting.
The right-hand emolument of entangled throne hosting is it helps to consolidate all your domains unbefitting - one hosting plan. It makes sphere containment a breeze. It again makes it easier to modify bit settings since you are doing it from the same control panel.
Here are a few tips you qualification yen to transmit in thinking when looking a requited hosting service.
Hard Disk Space
Nowadays notably shared lacework hosting plans secure additional than enough disk opportunity to entertain your needs. It is indispensable you discriminate before boost how much disk space your web site will be using not just currently but projected 6 months, 1 year and 2 years down the road.
Some web applications requires further disk convenience than others. One showboat are rank hosting sites. Also revoke to clinch the profit of upgrading your disk scope in case you need one. Most web hosting providers charge on a per GB basis.
Bandwidth
Most web hosting providers acme a end on each hosting plan's bandwidth. Check to lead indubitable it provides efficacious bandwidth for your stale websites and further leisure for growth. Most net hosting providers will charge you on a per GB basis for exceeded bandwidth.
The impact is further constitutive for websites. No one wants to transit a website that loads slowly. File hosting and video sites for front requires an spanking pressure in direction to negotiate chain download or streaming video.
Number of Domains Allowed
Some web hosting design the comprehend of domains for each hosting plan. It is first to execute one with boundless domains in consequence you have to sadness about the limit.
Emails/FTP accounts
You mediocre consign aspiration varying email accounts for each throne you have. Most web hosting services insure webbased or as positively attributes based email accounts. Preferably one's darnedest to get one that has unlimited email/ftp accounts.
Ease of direct panel
With rife domains, emails, ftp accounts etc to manage, it is capital that the administer panel is child's play to benediction and all what's what can be accessed easily. Most netting hosting services guard cpanel. Some net hosting services adjust use their own customised control panel. A good example is godaddy.
Whichever manage panel you are using, familiarize yourself with the interface and resolve used to it as hasty as possible.
The right-hand emolument of entangled throne hosting is it helps to consolidate all your domains unbefitting - one hosting plan. It makes sphere containment a breeze. It again makes it easier to modify bit settings since you are doing it from the same control panel.
Here are a few tips you qualification yen to transmit in thinking when looking a requited hosting service.
Hard Disk Space
Nowadays notably shared lacework hosting plans secure additional than enough disk opportunity to entertain your needs. It is indispensable you discriminate before boost how much disk space your web site will be using not just currently but projected 6 months, 1 year and 2 years down the road.
Some web applications requires further disk convenience than others. One showboat are rank hosting sites. Also revoke to clinch the profit of upgrading your disk scope in case you need one. Most web hosting providers charge on a per GB basis.
Bandwidth
Most web hosting providers acme a end on each hosting plan's bandwidth. Check to lead indubitable it provides efficacious bandwidth for your stale websites and further leisure for growth. Most net hosting providers will charge you on a per GB basis for exceeded bandwidth.
The impact is further constitutive for websites. No one wants to transit a website that loads slowly. File hosting and video sites for front requires an spanking pressure in direction to negotiate chain download or streaming video.
Number of Domains Allowed
Some web hosting design the comprehend of domains for each hosting plan. It is first to execute one with boundless domains in consequence you have to sadness about the limit.
Emails/FTP accounts
You mediocre consign aspiration varying email accounts for each throne you have. Most web hosting services insure webbased or as positively attributes based email accounts. Preferably one's darnedest to get one that has unlimited email/ftp accounts.
Ease of direct panel
With rife domains, emails, ftp accounts etc to manage, it is capital that the administer panel is child's play to benediction and all what's what can be accessed easily. Most netting hosting services guard cpanel. Some net hosting services adjust use their own customised control panel. A good example is godaddy.
Whichever manage panel you are using, familiarize yourself with the interface and resolve used to it as hasty as possible.
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.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Hosting At Home: The Pros And Cons
Is Web Hosting At Home Right For Me?
Many people today have considered web hosting at home. However, before you make that final decision, you should make sure you have all the facts.
You will definitely want to weigh the pros versus the cons of hosting within your own home and deciding if it is right for you.
To do that, you must have the most accurate and helpful information available, this is where this article can help you.
What is Web Hosting?
Web hosting is where some form of website is given space upon a server.
The type of website hosted varies from one host to the next. There are several types such as strictly HTML, a combination of different allowable languages, shopping carts, and databases, just to name a few.
Of course, when it comes to websites, you have more than just the code that need hosted, you have a variety of images as well, that will vary from one person or business to the next as well.
Web hosting in general is allowing a person to take up space on a server for a nominal fee.
The amount of space that you allow another person to have is up to you, your equipment, and how much you have to offer.
Every website you see online has a web host; it is what makes up the World Wide Web as a whole.
What Infrastructure Do I Need?
There are several things combined that will help make you get started in offering web hosting at home.
Some of the equipment you will need may include:
High Speed Internet. Preferably Cable, but DSL is acceptable as well. Dialup is never acceptable for a web hosting provider.
Static IP. This address should be local and for your own network at home.
Router. This router should have the ability to forward different connections to that of your server. The HTTP port suitable for web hosting is port 80.
Apache. This program is both free and of the highest quality. This program allows you to host several websites simultaneously.
Perl
PHP
MySQL
Reliable Computers. Plural because most web hosting companies run their own dedicated servers and uses multiple computers to do so.
Is it Really Possible to Turn My PC into a Server?
Yes it is, provided that you have the above items implemented. You want to be sure that you have tight security on your systems and servers as well.
This will help keep hackers at bay. You want to make sure that you have the ability to provide your customers with outstanding service, reliability, and uptime.
Web Hosting At Home Pro's
1. A great business venture
2. You can use your own PC.
3. You have the opportunity to offer a higher standard in customer service and web hosting.
4. You no longer have to worry about which web hosting company is taking advantage or charging too much.
Web Hosting At Home Con's
1. It can be fairly difficult to implement
2. The investment can be quite large
3. It takes a lot of time and dedication
4. You have to constantly stay on top of maintenance to ensure that you are offering high quality and the latest in platforms.
Web hosting at home is your decision that only you can make.
With the right information, you now have the opportunity to make an informed and calculated decision.
Many people today have considered web hosting at home. However, before you make that final decision, you should make sure you have all the facts.
You will definitely want to weigh the pros versus the cons of hosting within your own home and deciding if it is right for you.
To do that, you must have the most accurate and helpful information available, this is where this article can help you.
What is Web Hosting?
Web hosting is where some form of website is given space upon a server.
The type of website hosted varies from one host to the next. There are several types such as strictly HTML, a combination of different allowable languages, shopping carts, and databases, just to name a few.
Of course, when it comes to websites, you have more than just the code that need hosted, you have a variety of images as well, that will vary from one person or business to the next as well.
Web hosting in general is allowing a person to take up space on a server for a nominal fee.
The amount of space that you allow another person to have is up to you, your equipment, and how much you have to offer.
Every website you see online has a web host; it is what makes up the World Wide Web as a whole.
What Infrastructure Do I Need?
There are several things combined that will help make you get started in offering web hosting at home.
Some of the equipment you will need may include:
High Speed Internet. Preferably Cable, but DSL is acceptable as well. Dialup is never acceptable for a web hosting provider.
Static IP. This address should be local and for your own network at home.
Router. This router should have the ability to forward different connections to that of your server. The HTTP port suitable for web hosting is port 80.
Apache. This program is both free and of the highest quality. This program allows you to host several websites simultaneously.
Perl
PHP
MySQL
Reliable Computers. Plural because most web hosting companies run their own dedicated servers and uses multiple computers to do so.
Is it Really Possible to Turn My PC into a Server?
Yes it is, provided that you have the above items implemented. You want to be sure that you have tight security on your systems and servers as well.
This will help keep hackers at bay. You want to make sure that you have the ability to provide your customers with outstanding service, reliability, and uptime.
Web Hosting At Home Pro's
1. A great business venture
2. You can use your own PC.
3. You have the opportunity to offer a higher standard in customer service and web hosting.
4. You no longer have to worry about which web hosting company is taking advantage or charging too much.
Web Hosting At Home Con's
1. It can be fairly difficult to implement
2. The investment can be quite large
3. It takes a lot of time and dedication
4. You have to constantly stay on top of maintenance to ensure that you are offering high quality and the latest in platforms.
Web hosting at home is your decision that only you can make.
With the right information, you now have the opportunity to make an informed and calculated decision.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Choosing A Web Site Hosting Company – The Most Important Factor
What is the most important factor in choosing a web site hosting company? Many new webmasters overlook the most important factor in making the selection.
Some of the most important factors in choosing a web site hosting company are cost of a plan, features provided in that plan, technical support, location of the server, money back guarantee policy, uptime etc. There are so many factors actually. But which one of them is the most important?
Without any doubts, the king of them all is prompt technical support. You can live with a higher priced plan, you can live without a few less features, you can live without the money back guarantee, but can you afford not to have round the clock prompt technical support? No, you can’t.
Imagine this. You have some technical issue at 2 a.m. on Saturday and you find out the hard way that there is no one to answer your emails and provide technical support at that hour, what happens then? You wait in frustration. To top it all, the earliest response that you get is on Monday morning, which simply says that the matter is now being looked at. Is that enough? No, it’s definitely not enough.
Your website could be down the whole of the weekend, do you want that? No, you definitely don’t. Good round the clock technical support not only ensures a good uptime of your website, but also of all its associated services like email, ftp, database etc.
What you need from a good web site hosting provider is a true 24/7/365 technical support. Anything less is not desirable and not acceptable. The technical support staff should be available all days of the week, all days of the month and all days of the year including all public holidays like Christmas and New Year.
Next time you are out looking for a good hosting company for your web site, you know what to look for first and foremost. You know what the most important factor is. Yes, true 24/7/365 technical support.
Some of the most important factors in choosing a web site hosting company are cost of a plan, features provided in that plan, technical support, location of the server, money back guarantee policy, uptime etc. There are so many factors actually. But which one of them is the most important?
Without any doubts, the king of them all is prompt technical support. You can live with a higher priced plan, you can live without a few less features, you can live without the money back guarantee, but can you afford not to have round the clock prompt technical support? No, you can’t.
Imagine this. You have some technical issue at 2 a.m. on Saturday and you find out the hard way that there is no one to answer your emails and provide technical support at that hour, what happens then? You wait in frustration. To top it all, the earliest response that you get is on Monday morning, which simply says that the matter is now being looked at. Is that enough? No, it’s definitely not enough.
Your website could be down the whole of the weekend, do you want that? No, you definitely don’t. Good round the clock technical support not only ensures a good uptime of your website, but also of all its associated services like email, ftp, database etc.
What you need from a good web site hosting provider is a true 24/7/365 technical support. Anything less is not desirable and not acceptable. The technical support staff should be available all days of the week, all days of the month and all days of the year including all public holidays like Christmas and New Year.
Next time you are out looking for a good hosting company for your web site, you know what to look for first and foremost. You know what the most important factor is. Yes, true 24/7/365 technical support.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
A Strategic Plan For Hosting Multiple Websites
Success in Niche Markets requires a strategic plan for the hosting of your websites. It's becoming a common practice to have upwards of 100 sites serving a variety of interests. To easily and effectively manage a large number of sites, and to contain costs, an overall hosting strategy needs to be considered.
And, of course, there are many with a smaller number, say 10 or more sites, intending to build their "empire" to a much greater size. With a view to controlling your business, it is also important to consider future growth before the workload and cost arising (as you "just add a few more additional sites") spiral out of control.
There are two special matters to consider at the very outset: The number of sub-domains allowed and the number of domains allowed on the one account.
Using a sub-domain means that you don't have to register a domain name in the early stages of a new website. It gives you a chance to first test the demand for a particular niche before you spin it off to a fully fledged site with a registered domain name. For example, if you have a hosted website called BettysHelpfulHints.com, you could add numerous sub-domains (or additional websites) to this - if your host allows it. Thus, You would be able to create sites with compound names like GourmetRecipes.BettysHelpfulHints.com; Onlinedating.BettysHelpfulHints.com; OrganicGardening.BettysHelpfulHints.com, and so on.
Web hosts have varying requirements about the number of sub-domains allowed. Naturally, the more that you have, the more bandwidth that is used, so it's often the case that lower-fee charging hosts will limit the number of sub-domains allowed on the one account.
Once you've decided that demand justifies it, you'll start thinking about registered domain names for your individual websites. This is much more cost effective and easier to manage if it can be done with the same web host, all on the same account. However, also keep in mind the caution behind the old saying, "Don't keep all your eggs in the one basket".
So it's probably wise to consider a structure that hosts your major multiple websites with 3-4 different companies. Also consider opening a reseller account with another hosting company for small and new websites and backup. This structure offers security along with the capacity to expand.
Other key factors to consider:
1. You'll want your sites operating with as little downtime as possible, so ensure that that they have the facilities to do this. Unfortunately 99% of web hosts will claim they are online 99% of the time. Using several web hosts spreads the risk of downtime. It's highly unlikely all your sites will be down at the same time.
2. Cost isn't a major concern when you have only 1 or 2 websites. When you have 10, 50 or 100+ the monthly expense can be crippling if you don't anticipate the growth and just add sites by opening new accounts. One option, metioned earlier, is to use a reseller hosting account for those new and small sites. This would cost only about $15 per month. Sub-domains are also a possibility, with no additional cost if the web host will allow it. If you reach the stage of needing a dedicated server, this will cost upwards of $50 per month.
3. If your site development is likely to affect a production hosting site, carry out development and testing work on your reseller account and move the finished application to another server when you are satisfied it is functioning to your satisfaction.
4. Having backup facilities in place that have already been tested means you can easily transfer a major web site to another web host if required. A temporary or permanent change can be made in the few minutes it takes to redirect the domain.
5. There are many outstanding web hosting companies available. One that is highly regarded is HostGator.com, which will allow you to host an unlimited number of domains, as does MeWebhost.com. Another well-regarded host that comes to mind - TeknonMedia.com - allows an unlimited number of subdomains, even with their lower cost packages. I have no connection with any of these, knowing them only by reputation.
The growth of Private Label Rights and niche market products, including promotional material and websites, has encouraged a boom in marketing to a huge range of niche interests. Market segments that were once considered too difficult to cater for are now easily accessible. This has also resulted in a huge growth in the number of websites now controlled, or likely to be controlled, by individual marketers. A workable strategy to administer this growth needs to be considered at an early stage - that is, before your "empire" becomes too difficult to manage and the costs excessive.
And, of course, there are many with a smaller number, say 10 or more sites, intending to build their "empire" to a much greater size. With a view to controlling your business, it is also important to consider future growth before the workload and cost arising (as you "just add a few more additional sites") spiral out of control.
There are two special matters to consider at the very outset: The number of sub-domains allowed and the number of domains allowed on the one account.
Using a sub-domain means that you don't have to register a domain name in the early stages of a new website. It gives you a chance to first test the demand for a particular niche before you spin it off to a fully fledged site with a registered domain name. For example, if you have a hosted website called BettysHelpfulHints.com, you could add numerous sub-domains (or additional websites) to this - if your host allows it. Thus, You would be able to create sites with compound names like GourmetRecipes.BettysHelpfulHints.com; Onlinedating.BettysHelpfulHints.com; OrganicGardening.BettysHelpfulHints.com, and so on.
Web hosts have varying requirements about the number of sub-domains allowed. Naturally, the more that you have, the more bandwidth that is used, so it's often the case that lower-fee charging hosts will limit the number of sub-domains allowed on the one account.
Once you've decided that demand justifies it, you'll start thinking about registered domain names for your individual websites. This is much more cost effective and easier to manage if it can be done with the same web host, all on the same account. However, also keep in mind the caution behind the old saying, "Don't keep all your eggs in the one basket".
So it's probably wise to consider a structure that hosts your major multiple websites with 3-4 different companies. Also consider opening a reseller account with another hosting company for small and new websites and backup. This structure offers security along with the capacity to expand.
Other key factors to consider:
1. You'll want your sites operating with as little downtime as possible, so ensure that that they have the facilities to do this. Unfortunately 99% of web hosts will claim they are online 99% of the time. Using several web hosts spreads the risk of downtime. It's highly unlikely all your sites will be down at the same time.
2. Cost isn't a major concern when you have only 1 or 2 websites. When you have 10, 50 or 100+ the monthly expense can be crippling if you don't anticipate the growth and just add sites by opening new accounts. One option, metioned earlier, is to use a reseller hosting account for those new and small sites. This would cost only about $15 per month. Sub-domains are also a possibility, with no additional cost if the web host will allow it. If you reach the stage of needing a dedicated server, this will cost upwards of $50 per month.
3. If your site development is likely to affect a production hosting site, carry out development and testing work on your reseller account and move the finished application to another server when you are satisfied it is functioning to your satisfaction.
4. Having backup facilities in place that have already been tested means you can easily transfer a major web site to another web host if required. A temporary or permanent change can be made in the few minutes it takes to redirect the domain.
5. There are many outstanding web hosting companies available. One that is highly regarded is HostGator.com, which will allow you to host an unlimited number of domains, as does MeWebhost.com. Another well-regarded host that comes to mind - TeknonMedia.com - allows an unlimited number of subdomains, even with their lower cost packages. I have no connection with any of these, knowing them only by reputation.
The growth of Private Label Rights and niche market products, including promotional material and websites, has encouraged a boom in marketing to a huge range of niche interests. Market segments that were once considered too difficult to cater for are now easily accessible. This has also resulted in a huge growth in the number of websites now controlled, or likely to be controlled, by individual marketers. A workable strategy to administer this growth needs to be considered at an early stage - that is, before your "empire" becomes too difficult to manage and the costs excessive.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
2007 Is Free Hosting Really Free?
Sooner or later, as everyone finds out, zero in this globe is free. Although licensed are literally hundreds of Free Hosting adds surfacing on the Internet, no one can keep up in stir too fat giving it away. So how can hosting services instance for love hosting?
Easy.
One habit is to plunge into some of their clout from registering your county name. Domain registration is a fundamental measure for extra ultimate interlacing reservation owner, (some low cost host play a numbers game between your monthly cost and your yearly domain registration fee, for example: $5/month and $30 registration fee, or $7/month and only $6 to register, or...... you get the picture).
Another method they cause prominence is to add advertising onto your lattice page. They commit follow through paid either each probability the banner is shown, or each good luck someone clicks on the advertisement. Some will offer extra add ons like Spam or Virus Protection, Domain Theft Protection, or other services at an additional cost. Of course if you feel you have need for these services, then you should purchase them.
There are besides limitations corresponding as storage space, bandwidth, have of email accounts, and so on, in hopes that you cede covetousness more coming up and predispose to upgrade.
So are the ergo called Free Hosting Services aligned good thing the good luck to consider?
Sure they are! There are situations where someone may not hankering tons of storage, bandwidth, email, and inasmuch as on. Just jewel a owner
that offers what you longing without to populous compromises. One alike publician that I worth
overmuch often is http://doteasy.com. No banners, only a yearly domain registration. And for me, they've always responded to my questions within 24 hours by email.
So if your amassed at mesh page development, congruous appetite your lock up innate netting
page, ect., and don't in reality have that harsh of design requirements, then Free Hosting is the way to go
Easy.
One habit is to plunge into some of their clout from registering your county name. Domain registration is a fundamental measure for extra ultimate interlacing reservation owner, (some low cost host play a numbers game between your monthly cost and your yearly domain registration fee, for example: $5/month and $30 registration fee, or $7/month and only $6 to register, or...... you get the picture).
Another method they cause prominence is to add advertising onto your lattice page. They commit follow through paid either each probability the banner is shown, or each good luck someone clicks on the advertisement. Some will offer extra add ons like Spam or Virus Protection, Domain Theft Protection, or other services at an additional cost. Of course if you feel you have need for these services, then you should purchase them.
There are besides limitations corresponding as storage space, bandwidth, have of email accounts, and so on, in hopes that you cede covetousness more coming up and predispose to upgrade.
So are the ergo called Free Hosting Services aligned good thing the good luck to consider?
Sure they are! There are situations where someone may not hankering tons of storage, bandwidth, email, and inasmuch as on. Just jewel a owner
that offers what you longing without to populous compromises. One alike publician that I worth
overmuch often is http://doteasy.com. No banners, only a yearly domain registration. And for me, they've always responded to my questions within 24 hours by email.
So if your amassed at mesh page development, congruous appetite your lock up innate netting
page, ect., and don't in reality have that harsh of design requirements, then Free Hosting is the way to go
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Steps To Switching To A New Web Hosting
New Web Hosting Company Switching to a major lacework hosting interest can be a rigid task, but we have provided you a guide of things to carry off that can go into your transition inimitably smoother.
1. Before you concede unfolding for your new web hosting services, make sure that your new plan offers all of the same features that your web site is currently using. Do you have enough disk space? Does your new plan offer enough bandwidth? Is it using the same operating system (Windows or Unix)? Also make sure that your new plan supports any programming languages that you are currently using.
2. Once you have researched the company and verified that the new web hosting company will support your website, go ahead and sign up for your new web hosting plan.
3. Set up your existing e-mail accounts on your new server. Make note of the new POP3 and SMTP that you will soon need to start using.
4. Upload your website files to your new server. Since your domain name currently points to your old hosting account, you will have to use your new IP address to do this.
5. Test to make sure that your site looks good and functions properly on your new server. Most web hosting companies can provide a link to preview your site before the domain name has been transferred over.
6. Once you are satisfied that your site looks and functions OK, you can go to your registrar and change the DNS settings to point the domain to the new web host's nameservers. You should be provided this information after signing up for your account.
7. You will see your site on the new server 24-48 hours after you modify the DNS settings. Your e-mail will also start going to your new account at this time.
8. Verify that your new website is working OK. Make sure that all of the files were loaded properly and that all scripts are running fine. You have now successfully switched to a new cheap web hosting company!
1. Before you concede unfolding for your new web hosting services, make sure that your new plan offers all of the same features that your web site is currently using. Do you have enough disk space? Does your new plan offer enough bandwidth? Is it using the same operating system (Windows or Unix)? Also make sure that your new plan supports any programming languages that you are currently using.
2. Once you have researched the company and verified that the new web hosting company will support your website, go ahead and sign up for your new web hosting plan.
3. Set up your existing e-mail accounts on your new server. Make note of the new POP3 and SMTP that you will soon need to start using.
4. Upload your website files to your new server. Since your domain name currently points to your old hosting account, you will have to use your new IP address to do this.
5. Test to make sure that your site looks good and functions properly on your new server. Most web hosting companies can provide a link to preview your site before the domain name has been transferred over.
6. Once you are satisfied that your site looks and functions OK, you can go to your registrar and change the DNS settings to point the domain to the new web host's nameservers. You should be provided this information after signing up for your account.
7. You will see your site on the new server 24-48 hours after you modify the DNS settings. Your e-mail will also start going to your new account at this time.
8. Verify that your new website is working OK. Make sure that all of the files were loaded properly and that all scripts are running fine. You have now successfully switched to a new cheap web hosting company!
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, May 10, 2010
Choosing an excellent host: 3 steps
Choosing a Web hosting services provider can be a challenge. There are literally thousands of companies that offer countless products and services. It can be a difficult task for a novice as well as for a seasoned professional, but it doesn’t have to be. We’ve broken the process down into three steps:
Step One: Free or Paid Hosting?
Step Two: Determine Expectations
Step Three: Compare Hosts in the Right Category
Step One: Free or Paid Hosting?
To Pay or Not To Pay?
A large percentage of Web sites are ‘free’ and posted by individuals for personal reasons. Typically, these sites are associated with one of the larger portals such as Yahoo or AOL and consist of a page or two with limited content. If you’re looking to put up a personal site like this, look no further than the solutions offered by these two companies. The tools and applications such as email, community interest portals and photo management software provided are straightforward and make setting your site up very easy.
The downside to free hosting? Generally you'll have to put up with banner ads on your homepage or other ads you don’t get to pick. To be fair, it’s how these companies can afford to set up your infrastructure for free. All the same, you have no control over whose ad shows up on your site. If that’s unacceptable, a paid hosting solution (some start lower than $5/mo) might be your best bet. Some low cost solutionas are EasyCGI, IPower, and StartLogic.
Most Web hosting companies bundle services into a series of packages. The standard hosting service component is normally a bundle of disk storage space (where your site is stored) and bandwidth (the capacity for data transfer of a wired or wireless communication system.) In addition, hosting companies usually bundle email services with standard plans. The email service contains POP and IMAP solutions which direct email received through your site to desktop applications (Outlook® or Exchange®.) “Web-mail” is also provided to view and manage email through a Web browser.
Frequently, small businesses want a Web site that functions only as an online brochure that provides information about the business but not sell products. Standard packages are ideal if you’re building a simple brochure site. Additional service packages offer eCommerce, media intensive applications for video and audio sharing and dedicated servers, designed to back-up more complex business requirements. Paid solutions pretty much come down to whether you’re going to sell products and services online or just display information in a brochure format and what kind of customer and technical support you’ll require.
Step Two: Determine Expectations
You Get What you Pay For
There are basically two price levels prevalent in Web hosting. There’s a large group of Low Price or Discount hosts that offer nice solutions from below $5 to $15 per month and there are hosts that offer solutions that start above $15 and the pricing goes up from there. Companies such as Affinity have developed a number of different hosting brands to help simplify the customer experience. As an example, Affinity uses the HostSave and WinSave brands for their low-cost hosting solutions and the ValueWeb brand for their premium services.
Customer service is usually the primary difference between inexpensive hosting solutions and the higher priced options. Here’s where the “you get what you pay for” maxim comes into play. Prior to choosing a provider its important to determine how serious you are. In other words, if the site is your small business lifeline, where you’ll find customers, display, sell and even ship products you probably don’t want a hosting company that won’t answer calls when there’s a problem. On the contrary, many experienced professionals would rather not talk to someone and prefer technical support and customer service through email or online chat.
Clarifying expectations ahead of time can mean the difference between a great online experience or completely frustrated and without support. The extra $10 per month may be worth the piece of mind it buys.
Step Three: Compare Hosts in the Right Category
Once you know whether you need a standard hosting plan or an eCommerce solution and whether low price or premium (a.k.a. better customer support) hosting is right for you, it’s time to shop. Any of the major search engines will provide a multitude of responses with a query such as Web Hosting or eCommerce hosting. You can even narrow your search with more definition. A search for “Cheap eCommerce hosting” will yield mostly companies whose solutions fall in the low price category. Actually, you don't even have to go to a search engine to find cheap hosts. Everything you need is here. Go to Hosting Reviews and you will find a large list of hosts, all with reviews, user comments and ratings. From there you can find the cheapest or best host to suit your needs.
Take some time and visit several hosting company’s Web sites. Go over plan options and see which offer the services and support that match your expectations. Because of the similarities, hosting plans can become confusing. Most major providers have a “Compare Plans” page you can print. Its good to print out the various packages and have them in hand while you shop.
Using Affinity’s ValueWeb brand as an example, some hosts offer a portal where you’re free to ask existing customers if they’re satisfied and recommend the provider. Look for this function as you shop, it’s an excellent tool in how to determine whether a company is right for you. Unless you’re an experienced professional you shouldn’t buy a solution without at least first talking to a sales rep at the company. This gives a sense of the company’s commitment to its customers. Many also call the technical support numbers to see how long it takes to answer and how friendly and knowledgeable the staff is. Companies such as Affinity, combined sales and support departments so when you order an account you’re talking to a technical support representative as well. This creates a forum in which all questions can be answered without having to be transferred to other departments.
It’s important to find a hosting relationship that fits your needs and who’s level of involvement you feel comfortable with. Following these steps will make choosing a Web hosting solution easier and, hopefully, even fun.
Step One: Free or Paid Hosting?
Step Two: Determine Expectations
Step Three: Compare Hosts in the Right Category
Step One: Free or Paid Hosting?
To Pay or Not To Pay?
A large percentage of Web sites are ‘free’ and posted by individuals for personal reasons. Typically, these sites are associated with one of the larger portals such as Yahoo or AOL and consist of a page or two with limited content. If you’re looking to put up a personal site like this, look no further than the solutions offered by these two companies. The tools and applications such as email, community interest portals and photo management software provided are straightforward and make setting your site up very easy.
The downside to free hosting? Generally you'll have to put up with banner ads on your homepage or other ads you don’t get to pick. To be fair, it’s how these companies can afford to set up your infrastructure for free. All the same, you have no control over whose ad shows up on your site. If that’s unacceptable, a paid hosting solution (some start lower than $5/mo) might be your best bet. Some low cost solutionas are EasyCGI, IPower, and StartLogic.
Most Web hosting companies bundle services into a series of packages. The standard hosting service component is normally a bundle of disk storage space (where your site is stored) and bandwidth (the capacity for data transfer of a wired or wireless communication system.) In addition, hosting companies usually bundle email services with standard plans. The email service contains POP and IMAP solutions which direct email received through your site to desktop applications (Outlook® or Exchange®.) “Web-mail” is also provided to view and manage email through a Web browser.
Frequently, small businesses want a Web site that functions only as an online brochure that provides information about the business but not sell products. Standard packages are ideal if you’re building a simple brochure site. Additional service packages offer eCommerce, media intensive applications for video and audio sharing and dedicated servers, designed to back-up more complex business requirements. Paid solutions pretty much come down to whether you’re going to sell products and services online or just display information in a brochure format and what kind of customer and technical support you’ll require.
Step Two: Determine Expectations
You Get What you Pay For
There are basically two price levels prevalent in Web hosting. There’s a large group of Low Price or Discount hosts that offer nice solutions from below $5 to $15 per month and there are hosts that offer solutions that start above $15 and the pricing goes up from there. Companies such as Affinity have developed a number of different hosting brands to help simplify the customer experience. As an example, Affinity uses the HostSave and WinSave brands for their low-cost hosting solutions and the ValueWeb brand for their premium services.
Customer service is usually the primary difference between inexpensive hosting solutions and the higher priced options. Here’s where the “you get what you pay for” maxim comes into play. Prior to choosing a provider its important to determine how serious you are. In other words, if the site is your small business lifeline, where you’ll find customers, display, sell and even ship products you probably don’t want a hosting company that won’t answer calls when there’s a problem. On the contrary, many experienced professionals would rather not talk to someone and prefer technical support and customer service through email or online chat.
Clarifying expectations ahead of time can mean the difference between a great online experience or completely frustrated and without support. The extra $10 per month may be worth the piece of mind it buys.
Step Three: Compare Hosts in the Right Category
Once you know whether you need a standard hosting plan or an eCommerce solution and whether low price or premium (a.k.a. better customer support) hosting is right for you, it’s time to shop. Any of the major search engines will provide a multitude of responses with a query such as Web Hosting or eCommerce hosting. You can even narrow your search with more definition. A search for “Cheap eCommerce hosting” will yield mostly companies whose solutions fall in the low price category. Actually, you don't even have to go to a search engine to find cheap hosts. Everything you need is here. Go to Hosting Reviews and you will find a large list of hosts, all with reviews, user comments and ratings. From there you can find the cheapest or best host to suit your needs.
Take some time and visit several hosting company’s Web sites. Go over plan options and see which offer the services and support that match your expectations. Because of the similarities, hosting plans can become confusing. Most major providers have a “Compare Plans” page you can print. Its good to print out the various packages and have them in hand while you shop.
Using Affinity’s ValueWeb brand as an example, some hosts offer a portal where you’re free to ask existing customers if they’re satisfied and recommend the provider. Look for this function as you shop, it’s an excellent tool in how to determine whether a company is right for you. Unless you’re an experienced professional you shouldn’t buy a solution without at least first talking to a sales rep at the company. This gives a sense of the company’s commitment to its customers. Many also call the technical support numbers to see how long it takes to answer and how friendly and knowledgeable the staff is. Companies such as Affinity, combined sales and support departments so when you order an account you’re talking to a technical support representative as well. This creates a forum in which all questions can be answered without having to be transferred to other departments.
It’s important to find a hosting relationship that fits your needs and who’s level of involvement you feel comfortable with. Following these steps will make choosing a Web hosting solution easier and, hopefully, even fun.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Web Hosting Common Mistakes
In the course of doing business, we serve many customers. Likewise, in doing business, we will also be plagued by different problems.
Following is a list of the common mistakes that different web hosts tend to commit.
1. Falling For The Price Trap
A website price at a very low rate will generally provide extremely slow site or common services will be denied because the bandwidth was maximized. Use your instincts and avoid low-priced websites.
2. Lack of Reseller Research
Reseller hosting is not bad. As a matter of fact, good support is provided by resellers. However, it will be safe to research your reseller. They may offer good packages but they may be inexperienced in other aspects of web hosting. A good reseller must know their products inside and out.
3. No Clear Definition of Web Site Requirements
List down the resources that your web site will need and add more as you begin to expand. This facilitates everything when an upgrade of your website is needed as you can simply discuss them with your host.
4. Purchasing Hosting In An Auction
Auctioned hosting, to say the least, is not unreliable as it may seem. However, these hosts have a great deal of terms and conditions which are usually more than what that regular websites would offer. As a result, inflexibility of the package may be experienced.
5. Forgiving A Host’s Bad Or Limited Website
Host that do not develop their own informative sites are unlikely to spend time developing informational site for your website.
6. Putting All The Eggs In One Basket
Putting several sites in a single account may seem like a good deal. This does not hold true most of the time. When you site is income-generating, it may not be wise to interconnect them. Chances are when all your sites breakdown, your income will be lost. Try to work out with your host about how to spread out the connection of your sites.
7. Taking Testimonials At Face Value
Not all testimonials are similar or true for customers. Ask the host if they have a contact of their customers and if you can talk to them. If the host does not want you to do this, that is a danger sign.
8. Not Keeping A Record Of Their Contact Information
Keeping track of telephone numbers, addresses, contact persons or e-mail addresses is important. When a problem occurs in your site or when the system goes down, you can easily talk to the customer service to troubleshoot the problem for you.
9. Relying On Host Backups
It is advisable to keep a back-up copy of your website. This is critical in times of emergency.
10. Trusting your host to have the latest software
Viruses and computer hackers can strike anytime. It is always safe to check the software versions that you are planning to purchase from your host. Make sure that it is always updated.
Following is a list of the common mistakes that different web hosts tend to commit.
1. Falling For The Price Trap
A website price at a very low rate will generally provide extremely slow site or common services will be denied because the bandwidth was maximized. Use your instincts and avoid low-priced websites.
2. Lack of Reseller Research
Reseller hosting is not bad. As a matter of fact, good support is provided by resellers. However, it will be safe to research your reseller. They may offer good packages but they may be inexperienced in other aspects of web hosting. A good reseller must know their products inside and out.
3. No Clear Definition of Web Site Requirements
List down the resources that your web site will need and add more as you begin to expand. This facilitates everything when an upgrade of your website is needed as you can simply discuss them with your host.
4. Purchasing Hosting In An Auction
Auctioned hosting, to say the least, is not unreliable as it may seem. However, these hosts have a great deal of terms and conditions which are usually more than what that regular websites would offer. As a result, inflexibility of the package may be experienced.
5. Forgiving A Host’s Bad Or Limited Website
Host that do not develop their own informative sites are unlikely to spend time developing informational site for your website.
6. Putting All The Eggs In One Basket
Putting several sites in a single account may seem like a good deal. This does not hold true most of the time. When you site is income-generating, it may not be wise to interconnect them. Chances are when all your sites breakdown, your income will be lost. Try to work out with your host about how to spread out the connection of your sites.
7. Taking Testimonials At Face Value
Not all testimonials are similar or true for customers. Ask the host if they have a contact of their customers and if you can talk to them. If the host does not want you to do this, that is a danger sign.
8. Not Keeping A Record Of Their Contact Information
Keeping track of telephone numbers, addresses, contact persons or e-mail addresses is important. When a problem occurs in your site or when the system goes down, you can easily talk to the customer service to troubleshoot the problem for you.
9. Relying On Host Backups
It is advisable to keep a back-up copy of your website. This is critical in times of emergency.
10. Trusting your host to have the latest software
Viruses and computer hackers can strike anytime. It is always safe to check the software versions that you are planning to purchase from your host. Make sure that it is always updated.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Professional Web Hosting vs. Free Web Hosting
Both free and professional web hosting have their benefits and down sides. However, before the best type of web solution can be found the webmaster will need to consider the main motivator for the website.
For those looking for a home page, hobby site, or non-profit website a free hosting service will provide the basics of what is needed at just the right price- free. Although a free website will not provide a professional scene for a business, or a webmaster looking for credibility, as unfortunately free services look very "cheap" then little else can be expected from something that costs nothing.
A free website will offer webmaster's free templates for the design of the website, and helpful wizards that take the webmaster step by step through the uploading process. Often a free service may offer free domain names and email facilities with their package.
Customer service is often included, although how good the service is will often vary. The biggest problem with a free service is, the amount of traffic onto the sight may be limited, and the sizes of the files being transported may also be limited. Free hosting companies often experience a lot of down time, so they can at times be unreliable.
Because the site is free, the hosting company may very well be relying on sponsors in the way of banner ads to keep the company in business. If this is the case, setting up a business with flashing banners will really cramp your style, credibility, and scare away potential customers.
Paid services are used by webmasters to keep things running smoothly in business, what this means is the good web hosting companies will provide excellent customer service, and have plenty of happy customers who are willing to add their testimonies. Professional companies will usually offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee, live chats, and telephone services for customers experiencing difficulties.
Many professional companies will also offer discounts and bonuses for your business, and reward you for paying early. Other things that a professional web hosting company will offer is ample web space, and disk space. Often large amounts of uptime will be guaranteed, and sometimes failure to keep this amount of uptime will result in compensation from company to their clients.
Professional services may cost money, but the service is far more advanced, and professional companies never take space from their customers in order to place their paid advertisements on. Depending on what a customer is looking for when they create a website, will have a lot of bearing on their choice of providers. For a webmaster that is creating a credible business venture, a professional web hosting plan is vital to business success.
For those looking for a home page, hobby site, or non-profit website a free hosting service will provide the basics of what is needed at just the right price- free. Although a free website will not provide a professional scene for a business, or a webmaster looking for credibility, as unfortunately free services look very "cheap" then little else can be expected from something that costs nothing.
A free website will offer webmaster's free templates for the design of the website, and helpful wizards that take the webmaster step by step through the uploading process. Often a free service may offer free domain names and email facilities with their package.
Customer service is often included, although how good the service is will often vary. The biggest problem with a free service is, the amount of traffic onto the sight may be limited, and the sizes of the files being transported may also be limited. Free hosting companies often experience a lot of down time, so they can at times be unreliable.
Because the site is free, the hosting company may very well be relying on sponsors in the way of banner ads to keep the company in business. If this is the case, setting up a business with flashing banners will really cramp your style, credibility, and scare away potential customers.
Paid services are used by webmasters to keep things running smoothly in business, what this means is the good web hosting companies will provide excellent customer service, and have plenty of happy customers who are willing to add their testimonies. Professional companies will usually offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee, live chats, and telephone services for customers experiencing difficulties.
Many professional companies will also offer discounts and bonuses for your business, and reward you for paying early. Other things that a professional web hosting company will offer is ample web space, and disk space. Often large amounts of uptime will be guaranteed, and sometimes failure to keep this amount of uptime will result in compensation from company to their clients.
Professional services may cost money, but the service is far more advanced, and professional companies never take space from their customers in order to place their paid advertisements on. Depending on what a customer is looking for when they create a website, will have a lot of bearing on their choice of providers. For a webmaster that is creating a credible business venture, a professional web hosting plan is vital to business success.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Web Hosting Features
How do I know a good web hosting service from a bad one? What features should I be looking for when choosing a web host? What is bandwidth or transfer? How much storage space do I really need? What tools should they offer me and which ones do I need?
In this article I will attempt to give you the short version of answers to those questions for you to use as a reference. A lot about choosing a web-hosting provider depends on what your website needs and every website has different needs.
First question was “How do I know a good web hosting service from a bad one?” Before doing business with anyone on the web that is going to be as important to your business as a web hosting company, you should do a search on the name of the company and look for criticisms, complaints, etc. Keep in mind no one has 100% satisfied customers and finding just one complaint on the web doesn’t mean that the company is a bad one. However if you find a lot of complaints, I would move on to the next provider.
Now about the bandwidth and transfer question I mentioned above. Bandwidth and transfer are basically the same thing. Some tech guy might know a difference I’m not aware of, but it won’t be much difference. This is the number of times each file in your website is downloaded for the web host’s server to the visitors computer.
In other words, the size of you webpages in kilobytes plus the size of each graphic or other type of file that is served to the users computer is the amount of transfer you are using. If your website will have a lot of graphics, movies, downloads, etc., make sure you choose a web-hosting plan that offers you a lot of bandwidth. The average website doesn’t need more than 2-5 gigabytes of transfer per month.
How much storage space do I need? The storage space is no different than your computer’s hard drive. If the web host offers 100 megabytes of storage space that is just like having a 100-megabyte hard drive. If your files are not more than 100 megabytes then that is plenty of storage. Most web hosting companies offer plenty of storage space, more than the average website will ever use.
The question, “What features should I look for and which tools do I need?” are ones that I can answer together.
What about the web host’s support policy. Do they offer 24/7 tech support? Do you think you will need 24/7 tech support? This is one area that is important for you to consider. The Internet is 24 hours per day. Your website is online 24 hours per day. So it is possible you might need 24/7 tech support.
How do you contact tech support there? Just email? Is there a phone number? Do they use support tickets? Do they have a chatroom or forum for tech support? How accessible your web hosting tech support is will determine how fast things get fixed when you have a problem. See if you can send in a tech support query before signing up. See how fast you get an email back or if they answer the phone when you call them.
Those three important issues, bandwidth, storage space, and tech support are not the only things you need to consider. Do they offer Cpanel or an easy-to-use control panel for managing your website? Can they show you a sample of the control panel before you sign up? If you choose a web host that does not have an easy-to-use control panel are you tech-savvy enough to get around in the root files?
How many databases can be created on your web hosting plan. How many do they allow? Do they offer instant-install or install-on-demand features like picture galleries, content management systems, forums, blogs, or other website enhancements?
These are all questions you need to ask before you sign up with any web hosting service. If they do not give you all that information on the automatic signup page, email them and ask them questions. Their response may be all you need to know about whether to choose them as your web hosting provider or not.
I hope this article has helped you to learn about some of the things you need to consider when choosing a web hosting service. Cheap is not always good. This is your online business. Treat it well and choose a web hosting serviee that makes things easier for you.
In this article I will attempt to give you the short version of answers to those questions for you to use as a reference. A lot about choosing a web-hosting provider depends on what your website needs and every website has different needs.
First question was “How do I know a good web hosting service from a bad one?” Before doing business with anyone on the web that is going to be as important to your business as a web hosting company, you should do a search on the name of the company and look for criticisms, complaints, etc. Keep in mind no one has 100% satisfied customers and finding just one complaint on the web doesn’t mean that the company is a bad one. However if you find a lot of complaints, I would move on to the next provider.
Now about the bandwidth and transfer question I mentioned above. Bandwidth and transfer are basically the same thing. Some tech guy might know a difference I’m not aware of, but it won’t be much difference. This is the number of times each file in your website is downloaded for the web host’s server to the visitors computer.
In other words, the size of you webpages in kilobytes plus the size of each graphic or other type of file that is served to the users computer is the amount of transfer you are using. If your website will have a lot of graphics, movies, downloads, etc., make sure you choose a web-hosting plan that offers you a lot of bandwidth. The average website doesn’t need more than 2-5 gigabytes of transfer per month.
How much storage space do I need? The storage space is no different than your computer’s hard drive. If the web host offers 100 megabytes of storage space that is just like having a 100-megabyte hard drive. If your files are not more than 100 megabytes then that is plenty of storage. Most web hosting companies offer plenty of storage space, more than the average website will ever use.
The question, “What features should I look for and which tools do I need?” are ones that I can answer together.
What about the web host’s support policy. Do they offer 24/7 tech support? Do you think you will need 24/7 tech support? This is one area that is important for you to consider. The Internet is 24 hours per day. Your website is online 24 hours per day. So it is possible you might need 24/7 tech support.
How do you contact tech support there? Just email? Is there a phone number? Do they use support tickets? Do they have a chatroom or forum for tech support? How accessible your web hosting tech support is will determine how fast things get fixed when you have a problem. See if you can send in a tech support query before signing up. See how fast you get an email back or if they answer the phone when you call them.
Those three important issues, bandwidth, storage space, and tech support are not the only things you need to consider. Do they offer Cpanel or an easy-to-use control panel for managing your website? Can they show you a sample of the control panel before you sign up? If you choose a web host that does not have an easy-to-use control panel are you tech-savvy enough to get around in the root files?
How many databases can be created on your web hosting plan. How many do they allow? Do they offer instant-install or install-on-demand features like picture galleries, content management systems, forums, blogs, or other website enhancements?
These are all questions you need to ask before you sign up with any web hosting service. If they do not give you all that information on the automatic signup page, email them and ask them questions. Their response may be all you need to know about whether to choose them as your web hosting provider or not.
I hope this article has helped you to learn about some of the things you need to consider when choosing a web hosting service. Cheap is not always good. This is your online business. Treat it well and choose a web hosting serviee that makes things easier for you.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Multiple Domain Web Hosting
Thanks to the low cost of domain names and hosting fees it is possible to own several websites without breaking the bank. There are several ways to manage multiple domains so it is important to know what your options are and the advantages and disadvantages of each method.
The most basic choice when administering multiple domains is whether or not to do so with the same host. Most hosts offer packages which can be set up to allow several sites on one account, or allow individual sites to be operated under separate accounts.
You may have an existing website and are happy with the services your host provides. If you decide to start a new website using the same host, you will have the reassurance of dealing with a company you are familiar with and trust. You may also get a discount for each additional account you open with the same host. On the other hand, using a new host for a second (or third or fourth) website can allow you to compare the quality of hosting offered by different companies. In addition, separate hosts will provide each of your web sites with a different IP address.
Having different IP addresses can be an important factor if you plan to link the sites together to aid in search engine optimization. Incoming links are an important indicator of the importance of a website, so a site with a lot of incoming links can get a higher position in search engines like Google. If all the links are coming from the same IP address, however, their value may be discounted. Hosting your various sites with different hosting companies guarantees that each site has a different IP address. Individual IP addresses, however, are available as an extra from most web hosts. For a yearly fee each website can have its own unique IP address. This can help with search engine ranking and is also needed if you want to have a secure connection (https) on your site.
If you decide to host all your sites with the same company, there are three basic ways to go. Each site could have its own account; you could sign up for a re-seller account; or you could get a dedicated server account.
As a re-seller you are acting as an agent for the hosting company. You are allocated a certain amount of disk space and bandwidth and you are free to use them as you please. There may be a limit to the number of websites you can host with your re-seller account, but if there is space left over after using this account for your own sites you could earn some extra income by selling accounts to other people. The advantage of a re-seller account is that all the technical details are taken care of by the hosting company. Some will even provide gateways for billing your customers.
A dedicated server account gives you control of all the resources of an entire server. You are free to setup as many websites as you wish and allocate disk space and bandwidth as you see fit. The downside to this type of account is that you are responsible for maintaining the server. This can require a significant level of technical know-how so if you don't have that knowledge or don't feel like learning about it, dedicated servers are not for you. You can, of course, go with a managed dedicated server. The downside of this is the higher cost involved.
Hosting all your sites with one host can offer lots of advantages but there is one major disadvantage – if your server goes down, all your sites go down. If you are depending on your sites for income this can be a disastrous situation. For this reason, it is a good idea to have at least one of your sites with a different host. If your sites are essential for your livelihood and you can't afford any down time whatsoever, you would be advised to host everything with (at least) two hosts.
The most basic choice when administering multiple domains is whether or not to do so with the same host. Most hosts offer packages which can be set up to allow several sites on one account, or allow individual sites to be operated under separate accounts.
You may have an existing website and are happy with the services your host provides. If you decide to start a new website using the same host, you will have the reassurance of dealing with a company you are familiar with and trust. You may also get a discount for each additional account you open with the same host. On the other hand, using a new host for a second (or third or fourth) website can allow you to compare the quality of hosting offered by different companies. In addition, separate hosts will provide each of your web sites with a different IP address.
Having different IP addresses can be an important factor if you plan to link the sites together to aid in search engine optimization. Incoming links are an important indicator of the importance of a website, so a site with a lot of incoming links can get a higher position in search engines like Google. If all the links are coming from the same IP address, however, their value may be discounted. Hosting your various sites with different hosting companies guarantees that each site has a different IP address. Individual IP addresses, however, are available as an extra from most web hosts. For a yearly fee each website can have its own unique IP address. This can help with search engine ranking and is also needed if you want to have a secure connection (https) on your site.
If you decide to host all your sites with the same company, there are three basic ways to go. Each site could have its own account; you could sign up for a re-seller account; or you could get a dedicated server account.
As a re-seller you are acting as an agent for the hosting company. You are allocated a certain amount of disk space and bandwidth and you are free to use them as you please. There may be a limit to the number of websites you can host with your re-seller account, but if there is space left over after using this account for your own sites you could earn some extra income by selling accounts to other people. The advantage of a re-seller account is that all the technical details are taken care of by the hosting company. Some will even provide gateways for billing your customers.
A dedicated server account gives you control of all the resources of an entire server. You are free to setup as many websites as you wish and allocate disk space and bandwidth as you see fit. The downside to this type of account is that you are responsible for maintaining the server. This can require a significant level of technical know-how so if you don't have that knowledge or don't feel like learning about it, dedicated servers are not for you. You can, of course, go with a managed dedicated server. The downside of this is the higher cost involved.
Hosting all your sites with one host can offer lots of advantages but there is one major disadvantage – if your server goes down, all your sites go down. If you are depending on your sites for income this can be a disastrous situation. For this reason, it is a good idea to have at least one of your sites with a different host. If your sites are essential for your livelihood and you can't afford any down time whatsoever, you would be advised to host everything with (at least) two hosts.
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