by: Paul Hanson
There are many different types of web hosting available. Which type one chooses should hinge upon what one wants to accomplish with his or her web site. Some web hosting services are free, but place ads on web sites. Whereas other web hosting types can be more expensive, but provide a lot more assistance and bandwidth. The four main web hosting types are free web hosting, shared web hosting, and dedicated web hosting (both managed and unmanaged).
Free web hosting is the simplest kind of web hosting that one can get. This type of web hosting is usually supported by ads on hosted web sites. Features for this type of web hosting are limited, and therefore it is a better option for people who are just starting out on the Internet and are interested in having a small site with little traffic. The type of domain one receives in free web hosting is typically a subdomain (yoursite.webhost.com) or a directory (www.webhost.com/~yoursite). Most free web hosts do not have support for MySQL, multiple e-mail accounts, and PHP.
Shared web hosting is actually the most popular type of web hosting service. Shared web hosting allows more than one site to be hosted on the same server. Additionally, the hosts provide system administration. For users that do not want to have the burden of running a sever, shared web hosting is a great choice. The individual hosting plan may differ, but most hosts provide the user with elements such as PHP, ASP, MySQL, more bandwidth, and multiple e-mail addresses. More services are often available in shared web hosting than are available with simple free web hosting (including the ability to have your own domain name!).
The last two types of web hosting are managed dedicated web hosting, and unmanaged dedicated web hosting. Dedicated web hosting is a wise choice for someone who wants more storage and bandwidth, and also wants features that are not available with shared and free web hosting. In dedicated servers, users are not limited to a certain number of databases and e-mail addresses. Additionally, users usually receive a very high amount of bandwidth in comparison to other hosting types. The typical dedicated server plan provides the user with 500 to 1,000GB of monthly bandwidth.
In unmanaged dedicated web hosting, the user is the server administrator. This allows the user the greatest amount of control and flexibility. Of course, many people do not know how to handle the task of being a server administrator and do not want to learn. Therefore, this is not a viable option for some.
When looking for a web host, it is important to consider the purpose of the web site and what one’s capabilities are. Pricing for web hosts is dependant upon the support, reliability, features, and security one wants. Choosing a type of web hosting may seem like a daunting task, but simply doing research and making an educated decision should yield satisfaction and success on this critical matter.
About The Author
Paul Hanson recommends Net Explorers ( http://www.hosting-netexplorers.co.uk/ ) for quality UK hosting services.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
10 Sneaky Tricks of Cheap Web Hosting Companies
by: Greg Cesar
If you thought all those billions of web pages are hosted on expensive and full service web hosting companies, you need to cross check your information sources again. Of course, there are free or cheap web hosting companies that provide basic features good enough for simple html pages. You can take the example of some blog sites for these. But cheap (as cheap as $1.99 a month) web hosting service is different as they claim to provide more than the basic features which require huge infrastructures and funds to maintain and remain in the business. How do cheap web hosting companies attract business and what are their tricks?
Trick Number 1: The 24/7 toll-free number that a cheap web hosting company will advertise on their website. Most of these rarely work and those that do work seem to work only Monday to Friday. They are there mainly to create a false impression. What will you do on the weekend or after hours? You need a web hosting company that provides real support.
Trick Number 2: E-mail contacts given, which give you a very nicely worded (auto responder) response, requesting you to be patient while promising that an appropriate web hosting executive is handling your query. Don't you want to talk to a real person at some point? Email messages could go on forever with no resolution in sight. Your time, in short supply, is valuable.
Trick Number 3: Unlimited emails in POP3 and SMTP which hardly give any value to a small webmaster but can have a big impact on your decision making. Cheap web hosting companies cannot provide good email service. Yet, you need good email service so that you can stay in contact with your customers. (better service=more customers=more sales)
Trick Number 4: Cheap web hosting companies often make promises of free downloads worth thousands of dollars. You can check this offer only after you subscribe to their service. You should be able to check out all aspects of an offer before making a commitment, thus saving you valuable time and money.
Trick Number 5: The lure of freebies like all platform database support, preinstalled server side scripts, site builders, templates and SSL & ecommerce tools. In actuality, if these products are provided by cheap web hosting companies, they are very limited. Why limit your business from the start? You need a web hosting company that will give you the tools you need to be successful right out of the gate!
Trick Number 6: Domain registrars and sister companies of cheap web hosting companies don't allow editing DNS zone files and MX records. Registrars talk about "name server management" when they actually mean the exact opposite resulting in forced hosting with them. You should be able to choose the services that you want for your business. After all, who knows your business better than you? Locking yourself in with a cheap web hosting company forces you to do business their way. Don't do it!
Trick Number 7: Artificially populating user forums is another way of promoting their cheap web hosting business. Cheap web hosting companies do this so you will think they have tons of satisfied users. Really, you should rely on referrals to check out a web hosting company's services. This is the only real way to be sure you'll get the service you deserve.
Trick Number 8: Display of an unknown or little known award and trying to impress you that they provide award winning service. Do awards mean anything anymore these days? Better to rely on actual comments from real customers.
Trick Number 9: Offering free integration of shopping carts and payment gateways. Cheap web hosting companies do this because they know that for many online businesses having access to an online payment tool is a must. What you actually get is PayPal, which is well known, and is not their product at all. Why would you trust a web hosting company that would do this?
Trick Number 10: Free Marketing support. Of course they do it but what they market vigorously is their site where your name might be mentioned. Cheap web hosting companies will not do more than this. In fact, they cannot. Are you paying for marketing your business? Or theirs?
Being on the lookout for tricks such as these will keep you from falling into the trap of thinking that cheap web hosting is good. You can make a better choice for your business. You need a web hosting company that provides real, complete services that help improve your business. Do you want your business to be just a number?
Remember the old adage, "you get what you pay for".
About The Author
Greg Cesar gets results. Find out how hundreds of webmasters benefit from Greg's web hosting and internet marketing knowledge by visiting this link: http://www.hostpartnerplus.com
If you thought all those billions of web pages are hosted on expensive and full service web hosting companies, you need to cross check your information sources again. Of course, there are free or cheap web hosting companies that provide basic features good enough for simple html pages. You can take the example of some blog sites for these. But cheap (as cheap as $1.99 a month) web hosting service is different as they claim to provide more than the basic features which require huge infrastructures and funds to maintain and remain in the business. How do cheap web hosting companies attract business and what are their tricks?
Trick Number 1: The 24/7 toll-free number that a cheap web hosting company will advertise on their website. Most of these rarely work and those that do work seem to work only Monday to Friday. They are there mainly to create a false impression. What will you do on the weekend or after hours? You need a web hosting company that provides real support.
Trick Number 2: E-mail contacts given, which give you a very nicely worded (auto responder) response, requesting you to be patient while promising that an appropriate web hosting executive is handling your query. Don't you want to talk to a real person at some point? Email messages could go on forever with no resolution in sight. Your time, in short supply, is valuable.
Trick Number 3: Unlimited emails in POP3 and SMTP which hardly give any value to a small webmaster but can have a big impact on your decision making. Cheap web hosting companies cannot provide good email service. Yet, you need good email service so that you can stay in contact with your customers. (better service=more customers=more sales)
Trick Number 4: Cheap web hosting companies often make promises of free downloads worth thousands of dollars. You can check this offer only after you subscribe to their service. You should be able to check out all aspects of an offer before making a commitment, thus saving you valuable time and money.
Trick Number 5: The lure of freebies like all platform database support, preinstalled server side scripts, site builders, templates and SSL & ecommerce tools. In actuality, if these products are provided by cheap web hosting companies, they are very limited. Why limit your business from the start? You need a web hosting company that will give you the tools you need to be successful right out of the gate!
Trick Number 6: Domain registrars and sister companies of cheap web hosting companies don't allow editing DNS zone files and MX records. Registrars talk about "name server management" when they actually mean the exact opposite resulting in forced hosting with them. You should be able to choose the services that you want for your business. After all, who knows your business better than you? Locking yourself in with a cheap web hosting company forces you to do business their way. Don't do it!
Trick Number 7: Artificially populating user forums is another way of promoting their cheap web hosting business. Cheap web hosting companies do this so you will think they have tons of satisfied users. Really, you should rely on referrals to check out a web hosting company's services. This is the only real way to be sure you'll get the service you deserve.
Trick Number 8: Display of an unknown or little known award and trying to impress you that they provide award winning service. Do awards mean anything anymore these days? Better to rely on actual comments from real customers.
Trick Number 9: Offering free integration of shopping carts and payment gateways. Cheap web hosting companies do this because they know that for many online businesses having access to an online payment tool is a must. What you actually get is PayPal, which is well known, and is not their product at all. Why would you trust a web hosting company that would do this?
Trick Number 10: Free Marketing support. Of course they do it but what they market vigorously is their site where your name might be mentioned. Cheap web hosting companies will not do more than this. In fact, they cannot. Are you paying for marketing your business? Or theirs?
Being on the lookout for tricks such as these will keep you from falling into the trap of thinking that cheap web hosting is good. You can make a better choice for your business. You need a web hosting company that provides real, complete services that help improve your business. Do you want your business to be just a number?
Remember the old adage, "you get what you pay for".
About The Author
Greg Cesar gets results. Find out how hundreds of webmasters benefit from Greg's web hosting and internet marketing knowledge by visiting this link: http://www.hostpartnerplus.com
Website Builder Tools for a Hosting Company
by: Rodney Ringler
In today's very competitive world of web hosting it is hard for a hosting company to set itself apart from the competition. Prices, storage and bandwidth have become such a commodity that adding additional features is about the only way. One feature that is becoming popular is offering your customers a Website Builder tool. These tools allow a user to build a professional looking website in minutes without writing any code or having to be a technical person. They are great packages to attract the novice or beginner to your hosting company. Many find their web hosting company through the website designers they use. Now a hosting company can offer a website builder tool that bypasses the website designer and allows the web host to provide it all.
These packages vary in functionality and costs but they all provide the same basics. A user selects from a set of pre-built templates. The template is the graphic design or "look" of the website. The user then enters company information like name, logo, address, and email. Next you select which subpages you want and enter text and images for them. And finally, for the advanced packages, you select additional pre-built functionality to include such as a photo album, blog, forum, of shopping cart. That's it and you have a professional looking website. The user then has a control panel to log into to make changes, add pages, etc.
Some people love these packages and some people hate them. It really depends on your programming ability and goals. If you want a website that's easy to build and you doesn't need a lot of customization then these packages are great. If you are a programmer and want specific functionality or design then you will find these products very confining.
For this article we researched 4 products, SwSoft's SiteBuilder, SiteGalore, SiteReptile, and RV StieBuilder. In general, by size, costs, and features, SiteGalore is the largest, then SiteBuilder, followed by SiteReptile and RV SiteBuilder. We were disappointed with the response and website from SiteGalore. They did not offer prices or a demo on their website. They require a form to be filled out to request each of these, which we did, and have still not heard back after 3 days. All of the other sites have prices and demos right on their website. So, even though, SiteGalore is the largest we do not recommend them. We have found that value propostion means a lot in a business relationship. If you are one small customer to a large company then what kind of attention will they give you? If a site cannot be responsive when they are trying to sell you their product don't expect it when you need support.
Below is a table we have built comparing the costs and functionality of the 4 products. We recommend Swsoft's SiteBuilder first for it's overall features and low cost. If you need cPanel integration then SiteReptile is your best choice. RV sitebuilder is a new product and is still lacking some key functionality.
SwSoft's SiteBuilder
Price - $19.90/month($199 onetime fee) 100 websites
Control Panel - Plesk
Templates - 300+ templates
Pre-Built Functionality - photo gallery, e-shop, PayPal, blogs, voting
SiteGalore
Prices - Not online. No reply after 2 days
Control Panel - None
Templates - 900+ designs, 15,000+ templates, flash intros
Pre-Built Functionailty - photo album, blog, online shop, customized forms
SiteReptile
Price - $9.95/month($159 onetime fee) 100 websites, your brand
Control Panel - cPanel, Plesk, Ensim, DirectAdmin
Templates - 100+ templates
Pre-Built Functionality - news, polling, photo album
RV SiteBuilder
Price - $6/month unlimited, your brand
Control Panel - cPanel
Templates - 50+ templates
Pre-Built Functionality - page effects, guestbook
There are many more products on the market and this just 4 of them. We tried to pick 2 large ones, a medium one, and a small startup. All of these products will add functionality to attract the beginner website builder to your hosting plans. This will be well worth the monthly or one time license fee that they charge. The fees are relatively low compared to the functionality added to your company. We recommend all personal web hosting and budget web hosting companies add a website builder tool to their business.
About The Author
Rodney Ringler is President of Advantage1 Web Services, Inc., which owns a network of Web Hosting Informational Websites including Web Hosting Providers - HostChart, Reseller Hosting Providers - ResellerConnection, Budget Web Hosting - FoundHost.com, ResellerForums.com, and HostingKnowledge.net. Rodney has over 15 years industry experience from programming to internet marketing.
In today's very competitive world of web hosting it is hard for a hosting company to set itself apart from the competition. Prices, storage and bandwidth have become such a commodity that adding additional features is about the only way. One feature that is becoming popular is offering your customers a Website Builder tool. These tools allow a user to build a professional looking website in minutes without writing any code or having to be a technical person. They are great packages to attract the novice or beginner to your hosting company. Many find their web hosting company through the website designers they use. Now a hosting company can offer a website builder tool that bypasses the website designer and allows the web host to provide it all.
These packages vary in functionality and costs but they all provide the same basics. A user selects from a set of pre-built templates. The template is the graphic design or "look" of the website. The user then enters company information like name, logo, address, and email. Next you select which subpages you want and enter text and images for them. And finally, for the advanced packages, you select additional pre-built functionality to include such as a photo album, blog, forum, of shopping cart. That's it and you have a professional looking website. The user then has a control panel to log into to make changes, add pages, etc.
Some people love these packages and some people hate them. It really depends on your programming ability and goals. If you want a website that's easy to build and you doesn't need a lot of customization then these packages are great. If you are a programmer and want specific functionality or design then you will find these products very confining.
For this article we researched 4 products, SwSoft's SiteBuilder, SiteGalore, SiteReptile, and RV StieBuilder. In general, by size, costs, and features, SiteGalore is the largest, then SiteBuilder, followed by SiteReptile and RV SiteBuilder. We were disappointed with the response and website from SiteGalore. They did not offer prices or a demo on their website. They require a form to be filled out to request each of these, which we did, and have still not heard back after 3 days. All of the other sites have prices and demos right on their website. So, even though, SiteGalore is the largest we do not recommend them. We have found that value propostion means a lot in a business relationship. If you are one small customer to a large company then what kind of attention will they give you? If a site cannot be responsive when they are trying to sell you their product don't expect it when you need support.
Below is a table we have built comparing the costs and functionality of the 4 products. We recommend Swsoft's SiteBuilder first for it's overall features and low cost. If you need cPanel integration then SiteReptile is your best choice. RV sitebuilder is a new product and is still lacking some key functionality.
SwSoft's SiteBuilder
Price - $19.90/month($199 onetime fee) 100 websites
Control Panel - Plesk
Templates - 300+ templates
Pre-Built Functionality - photo gallery, e-shop, PayPal, blogs, voting
SiteGalore
Prices - Not online. No reply after 2 days
Control Panel - None
Templates - 900+ designs, 15,000+ templates, flash intros
Pre-Built Functionailty - photo album, blog, online shop, customized forms
SiteReptile
Price - $9.95/month($159 onetime fee) 100 websites, your brand
Control Panel - cPanel, Plesk, Ensim, DirectAdmin
Templates - 100+ templates
Pre-Built Functionality - news, polling, photo album
RV SiteBuilder
Price - $6/month unlimited, your brand
Control Panel - cPanel
Templates - 50+ templates
Pre-Built Functionality - page effects, guestbook
There are many more products on the market and this just 4 of them. We tried to pick 2 large ones, a medium one, and a small startup. All of these products will add functionality to attract the beginner website builder to your hosting plans. This will be well worth the monthly or one time license fee that they charge. The fees are relatively low compared to the functionality added to your company. We recommend all personal web hosting and budget web hosting companies add a website builder tool to their business.
About The Author
Rodney Ringler is President of Advantage1 Web Services, Inc., which owns a network of Web Hosting Informational Websites including Web Hosting Providers - HostChart, Reseller Hosting Providers - ResellerConnection, Budget Web Hosting - FoundHost.com, ResellerForums.com, and HostingKnowledge.net. Rodney has over 15 years industry experience from programming to internet marketing.
Unlimited Web Hosting? Better Read the Fine Print
by: Anthony Hamill
OK, so unlimited hosting sounds tempting. And if you operate a number of small business websites, you probably ought to consider some of the options for unlimited multiple domain hosting. But before you sign up you'd better examine all the details of any unlimited web hosting plan you may be considering.
Some unlimited web hosting plans place no limit on the number of domains you may operate for one flat monthly rate which can be quite attractive. Other plans allow you to operate what may as well be unlimited for most people’s purposes: 10, 20, 30 or more domains.
Unlimited what?
Don't make the mistake of confusing “unlimited domains” with unlimited resources. These plans come with a fairly generous allotment of storage and bandwidth which can be shared across all the domains on your hosting plan. But few provide totally free unlimited file storage and bandwidth.
Unlimited plans can be highly economical for the online business owner who wants to operate multiple websites without the hassle, and expense, of having to keep up with a separate plan for each.
Who will manage your websites?
There are a few things to be aware of with unlimited web hosting plans. One is that they are usually set up under a single account. This means that if you plan to have each web site managed by a different webmaster you’ll experience a security risk from sharing the account password.
How much do you really need?
Another thing to watch out for is the temptation to sign up for an unlimited web hosting plan if you don’t actually need one. While they provide terrific value for what they offer, if you don’t actually need unlimited hosting you’ll be overpaying. You can host a single web site for a very cheap monthly rate.
At www.Web-Host-Watch.Com/webhostingreview.html our list of Top Web Hosts includes reliable companies who offer a variety of affordable unlimited hosting plans. If you need lots of storage and bandwidth for multiple web sites, an unlimited hosting plan is the way to go.
About The Author
Anthony Hamill is the founder of http://www.Web-Host-Watch.Com which is devoted to helping new webmasters learn the basics of web hosting. It provides tutorials, tips on avoiding common mistakes, a glossary of web hosting terms, and a list of Top Web Hosts.
OK, so unlimited hosting sounds tempting. And if you operate a number of small business websites, you probably ought to consider some of the options for unlimited multiple domain hosting. But before you sign up you'd better examine all the details of any unlimited web hosting plan you may be considering.
Some unlimited web hosting plans place no limit on the number of domains you may operate for one flat monthly rate which can be quite attractive. Other plans allow you to operate what may as well be unlimited for most people’s purposes: 10, 20, 30 or more domains.
Unlimited what?
Don't make the mistake of confusing “unlimited domains” with unlimited resources. These plans come with a fairly generous allotment of storage and bandwidth which can be shared across all the domains on your hosting plan. But few provide totally free unlimited file storage and bandwidth.
Unlimited plans can be highly economical for the online business owner who wants to operate multiple websites without the hassle, and expense, of having to keep up with a separate plan for each.
Who will manage your websites?
There are a few things to be aware of with unlimited web hosting plans. One is that they are usually set up under a single account. This means that if you plan to have each web site managed by a different webmaster you’ll experience a security risk from sharing the account password.
How much do you really need?
Another thing to watch out for is the temptation to sign up for an unlimited web hosting plan if you don’t actually need one. While they provide terrific value for what they offer, if you don’t actually need unlimited hosting you’ll be overpaying. You can host a single web site for a very cheap monthly rate.
At www.Web-Host-Watch.Com/webhostingreview.html our list of Top Web Hosts includes reliable companies who offer a variety of affordable unlimited hosting plans. If you need lots of storage and bandwidth for multiple web sites, an unlimited hosting plan is the way to go.
About The Author
Anthony Hamill is the founder of http://www.Web-Host-Watch.Com which is devoted to helping new webmasters learn the basics of web hosting. It provides tutorials, tips on avoiding common mistakes, a glossary of web hosting terms, and a list of Top Web Hosts.
Underestimating the Value of Free or Low Cost Web Hosting Services and Tools
by: Anthony Hamill
A variety of free or low cost web hosting services and tools is provided by most web hosting companies. However, in their search for the best web hosting package, many webmasters do a good job of comparing the basic offerings but fail to examine the wide range of additional free or very cheap services and tools offered by their prospective web host.
Overlooked and undervalued
Most web hosts don’t tout these freebies as prominently in their sales copy as they do the basics such as storage space, bandwidth, and tech support. This is simply because they know that most potential customers are only comparison-shopping on the basics.
However, low cost web hosting services and/or free web tools can mean the difference between a robust, customer-friendly web site that supports your expanding business and one that is stuck in low gear just as the traffic begins to increase.
What will you need later?
There is a wide array of these free or nearly-free web hosting services to choose from but first you must know, or at least be reasonably able to predict, the ones you are likely to need when your business grows.
Depending on the nature of your online business you may need some or all of the following:
- Custom web site design
- Search engine optimization services
- Inward and outbound link tracking
- Visitor counts
- Free e-mail
- e-mail forwarding
- Spam filters
- Free web templates
- Free HTML software
- Free website builders
- Auto-responders
- RSS feeds
- Live chat
- Shopping carts
These are just some of the many free or low cost web hosting services and tools you should evaluate before committing to any hosting package.
The bottom line
Stretch your dollars by choosing the low cost web hosting plan that provides as many of these value-packed extras as possible so you don’t wind up having to pay full price for them later when your business finally needs them.
About The Author
Anthony Hamill is the founder of http://www.Web-Host-Watch.Com which is devoted to helping new webmasters learn the basics of web hosting. It provides tutorials, tips on avoiding common mistakes, a glossary of web hosting terms, and a list of Top Web Hosts.
A variety of free or low cost web hosting services and tools is provided by most web hosting companies. However, in their search for the best web hosting package, many webmasters do a good job of comparing the basic offerings but fail to examine the wide range of additional free or very cheap services and tools offered by their prospective web host.
Overlooked and undervalued
Most web hosts don’t tout these freebies as prominently in their sales copy as they do the basics such as storage space, bandwidth, and tech support. This is simply because they know that most potential customers are only comparison-shopping on the basics.
However, low cost web hosting services and/or free web tools can mean the difference between a robust, customer-friendly web site that supports your expanding business and one that is stuck in low gear just as the traffic begins to increase.
What will you need later?
There is a wide array of these free or nearly-free web hosting services to choose from but first you must know, or at least be reasonably able to predict, the ones you are likely to need when your business grows.
Depending on the nature of your online business you may need some or all of the following:
- Custom web site design
- Search engine optimization services
- Inward and outbound link tracking
- Visitor counts
- Free e-mail
- e-mail forwarding
- Spam filters
- Free web templates
- Free HTML software
- Free website builders
- Auto-responders
- RSS feeds
- Live chat
- Shopping carts
These are just some of the many free or low cost web hosting services and tools you should evaluate before committing to any hosting package.
The bottom line
Stretch your dollars by choosing the low cost web hosting plan that provides as many of these value-packed extras as possible so you don’t wind up having to pay full price for them later when your business finally needs them.
About The Author
Anthony Hamill is the founder of http://www.Web-Host-Watch.Com which is devoted to helping new webmasters learn the basics of web hosting. It provides tutorials, tips on avoiding common mistakes, a glossary of web hosting terms, and a list of Top Web Hosts.
Choosing The Best Web Hosting Provider For You
by: Heris Yunora
The use of good web hosting is badly needed to secure your web site remains online, in addition to the cost that you spend become less. Currently there are so many web hosting companies which respectively have different pricing plans and different features among each other.
Following are the points that you need to observe in choosing a web hosting company:
-Web Space
It constitutes the storage capacity of the whole data as required by your web site. Depending of the type of web site you design, it is better that you also consider your future needs. For example, if you want to build an article directory website, you will need a hosting with large web space.
-Bandwith
Bandwith is the amount of data that is transmitted from your web site. The more visitors visit your web site, the more bandwith you require. It is to be noted that your requirements for web space have not certainly comparable with the requirements for bandwith. For example, if you set up a web site with an Amazon Store script, the web space required is not big, but you need to prepare the bandwith that will possibly consume several Gigas. Keep in mind that other than web site visitors, don't forget that various search engine bots that will make effort to crawl the whole webpages.
-Reliability
The web hosting company you are choosing should have uptime guarantee amounting to at least 99%. In that way, the presence of your web site will be secured for 99% of a time span.
-Speed
Having a web site that can always be accessed is not enough. Your web site must always be loaded rapidly. Otherwise you will be missing a lot of visitors.
-Customer Support
The presence of reliable customer support has to become one of your considerations in choosing a hosting company. A good hosting service provider must be able to be contacted anytime. This is particularly useful to overcome technical problems. If a hosting company provides an online chatting facility for communicating with their customer service, try to submit some requests and observe the way they are serving you.
-Cost
So as to get the best price, compare the pricing plan from several hosting providers that have similar features. Don't forget to conduct checking to the guarantee as provided and whether or not there are other additional costs.
-Technical Features
If later on you have an intention to use certain scripts, check whether the web hosting has complied with the criteria as required. Otherwise, it is better for you to choose a hosting company that has Linux/Unix as the operating system with PHP and MySQL features. There are so many online business support programs such as autoresponder and various CMS's that need server using Linux, Apache, PHP and MySQL. Besides, various free open source programs usually need to enable them for being used. Don't also forget other technical needs, such as whether you will use Audio and Video Streaming or requiring Frontpage Extension.
-Number of Web site
If you have a plant to set up several web sites, choose the one that allow you for hosting your web sites as mentioned in one account (multiple domain hosting). In that way, there is no additional cost that must be spent every month.
Whatever web hosting provider that you choose, it depends on your requirements and the amount of budget that you want to spend. It is to be noted that cheap is not always equal to inferior and expensive is not always equal to good. Some hosting companies which are realiable and having complete enough features, it turns out that they are charging lower monthly cost than other companies which are offering equal or even less complete features. Make sure the web hosting plan you choose will fit your needs.
Happy Choosing...
About The Author
Heris Yunora is the owner of http://www.unlimitedhostingplan.com, a website that provides information on the features of unlimited web hosting services.
The use of good web hosting is badly needed to secure your web site remains online, in addition to the cost that you spend become less. Currently there are so many web hosting companies which respectively have different pricing plans and different features among each other.
Following are the points that you need to observe in choosing a web hosting company:
-Web Space
It constitutes the storage capacity of the whole data as required by your web site. Depending of the type of web site you design, it is better that you also consider your future needs. For example, if you want to build an article directory website, you will need a hosting with large web space.
-Bandwith
Bandwith is the amount of data that is transmitted from your web site. The more visitors visit your web site, the more bandwith you require. It is to be noted that your requirements for web space have not certainly comparable with the requirements for bandwith. For example, if you set up a web site with an Amazon Store script, the web space required is not big, but you need to prepare the bandwith that will possibly consume several Gigas. Keep in mind that other than web site visitors, don't forget that various search engine bots that will make effort to crawl the whole webpages.
-Reliability
The web hosting company you are choosing should have uptime guarantee amounting to at least 99%. In that way, the presence of your web site will be secured for 99% of a time span.
-Speed
Having a web site that can always be accessed is not enough. Your web site must always be loaded rapidly. Otherwise you will be missing a lot of visitors.
-Customer Support
The presence of reliable customer support has to become one of your considerations in choosing a hosting company. A good hosting service provider must be able to be contacted anytime. This is particularly useful to overcome technical problems. If a hosting company provides an online chatting facility for communicating with their customer service, try to submit some requests and observe the way they are serving you.
-Cost
So as to get the best price, compare the pricing plan from several hosting providers that have similar features. Don't forget to conduct checking to the guarantee as provided and whether or not there are other additional costs.
-Technical Features
If later on you have an intention to use certain scripts, check whether the web hosting has complied with the criteria as required. Otherwise, it is better for you to choose a hosting company that has Linux/Unix as the operating system with PHP and MySQL features. There are so many online business support programs such as autoresponder and various CMS's that need server using Linux, Apache, PHP and MySQL. Besides, various free open source programs usually need to enable them for being used. Don't also forget other technical needs, such as whether you will use Audio and Video Streaming or requiring Frontpage Extension.
-Number of Web site
If you have a plant to set up several web sites, choose the one that allow you for hosting your web sites as mentioned in one account (multiple domain hosting). In that way, there is no additional cost that must be spent every month.
Whatever web hosting provider that you choose, it depends on your requirements and the amount of budget that you want to spend. It is to be noted that cheap is not always equal to inferior and expensive is not always equal to good. Some hosting companies which are realiable and having complete enough features, it turns out that they are charging lower monthly cost than other companies which are offering equal or even less complete features. Make sure the web hosting plan you choose will fit your needs.
Happy Choosing...
About The Author
Heris Yunora is the owner of http://www.unlimitedhostingplan.com, a website that provides information on the features of unlimited web hosting services.
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different to most companies. Aside from offering top quality hosting
with a huge range of features, ThinkHost is a progressive principles
based company with services powered by 100% renewable energy! In a
special arrangement with ThinkHost, you can receive free setup and
the first 3 months of hosting free, plus many other bonuses!
There's no hidden catches and certainly no obligation to continue
hosting past the 3 months! You will need to enter your credit card
number to sign up, but you won't be billed for further services until
your 3 months is finished.
Coupon code is: THD99999AFM3A
More details:
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Monday, August 21, 2006
Shared Web Hosting Explained
by: Joshua Mabilia
Shared web hosting is a service offered by web hosts wherein more than one website is hosted on a single server. It is an economical option since the overall cost of running and maintaining the web server is shared among many websites.
A real-life comparison can be that of a students' dormitory where all students share the same facilities. Except that in case of shared web hosting, individual website owners do not normally know each other.
Usually small websites prefer shared web hosting to keep overhead cost minimum. It is quite common to find websites from any part of the world availing shared web hosting service from a single provider. For them, ability to host own website is more important than other considerations.
On the other hand, in many large companies every department has its own server which is shared only by department personnel. Clearly then the concept of shared web hosting varies from need to need depending on necessity and ability to afford the cost involved.
In the paragraphs below we will look at the pros and cons of shared web hosting in more details:
Shared Web Hosting - The Pros
If you are dipping your toe in web-world for the first time, shared web hosting will be a good choice. Costs are low since you are entitled to a small portion of the whole pie. More than that, shared web hosting offers unique advantage of many features and software that already come installed in host server. In addition, a system administrator, available 24x7, will be there to help you in case of any trouble with your shared web hosting.
Depending on service provider, typical freebies in shared web hosting include open-source software such as fully-featured shopping cart (like Agora, Oscommerce, CubeCart, Zen Cart, etc.), content management system or blogs (like Nucleus CMS, Drupal, Wordpress, etc.), image galleries (4Images, Coppermine, etc.) and so on.
This apart, most shared web hosting plans come equipped with web statistics facilities like Awstats and Webalizer, and sometimes even with a site-builder so that you can design your website in no time.
Since all hosting-related needs are taken care of, shared web hosting specially appeals to those website owners who want to focus on their web businesses and have no reason to bother about nitty-gritty of host server. In short therefore, with shared web hosting, one gets going without too much of hassle and certainly in shortest possible time.
Shared Web Hosting - The Cons
Not everything is rosy with shared web hosting. The principal concern is lack of privacy. If your website deals in sensitive data, then shared web hosting is not preferable. Since you have no control on what others are doing in shared web hosting, there is no guarantee that your website data will not be tampered with intentionally or otherwise.
It is true that some shared web hosting will offer SSL and TLS shields (SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer and TLS means Transport Layer Security) to ensure that all your web communications remain totally confidential. But in practice this is not so. This is because in shared web hosting, all websites have same IP address (Internet Protocol Address) and therefore share the same SSL/TLS digital certificate.
Another issue of concern is when your host server malfunctions. This can happen even if yours is not a shared web hosting. The problem is that since you do not control the server, you will not know what ailed the system and so you cannot take any preventive measure.
Summing Up
Shared web hosting is without doubt the first stepping stone across the turbulence of web world. Once you graduate and progress you will find you no longer prefer shared web hosting for various reasons. You have grown big and have reached a point where it will be a better option to move out of shared web hosting, for good.
About The Author
Joshua Mabilia
Article by Josh - admin @ hostingfrenzy.com
Josh is the webmaster of http://www.hostingfrenzy.com
Visit his site for a comprehensive web hosting directory, articles, tools, and much more.
Shared web hosting is a service offered by web hosts wherein more than one website is hosted on a single server. It is an economical option since the overall cost of running and maintaining the web server is shared among many websites.
A real-life comparison can be that of a students' dormitory where all students share the same facilities. Except that in case of shared web hosting, individual website owners do not normally know each other.
Usually small websites prefer shared web hosting to keep overhead cost minimum. It is quite common to find websites from any part of the world availing shared web hosting service from a single provider. For them, ability to host own website is more important than other considerations.
On the other hand, in many large companies every department has its own server which is shared only by department personnel. Clearly then the concept of shared web hosting varies from need to need depending on necessity and ability to afford the cost involved.
In the paragraphs below we will look at the pros and cons of shared web hosting in more details:
Shared Web Hosting - The Pros
If you are dipping your toe in web-world for the first time, shared web hosting will be a good choice. Costs are low since you are entitled to a small portion of the whole pie. More than that, shared web hosting offers unique advantage of many features and software that already come installed in host server. In addition, a system administrator, available 24x7, will be there to help you in case of any trouble with your shared web hosting.
Depending on service provider, typical freebies in shared web hosting include open-source software such as fully-featured shopping cart (like Agora, Oscommerce, CubeCart, Zen Cart, etc.), content management system or blogs (like Nucleus CMS, Drupal, Wordpress, etc.), image galleries (4Images, Coppermine, etc.) and so on.
This apart, most shared web hosting plans come equipped with web statistics facilities like Awstats and Webalizer, and sometimes even with a site-builder so that you can design your website in no time.
Since all hosting-related needs are taken care of, shared web hosting specially appeals to those website owners who want to focus on their web businesses and have no reason to bother about nitty-gritty of host server. In short therefore, with shared web hosting, one gets going without too much of hassle and certainly in shortest possible time.
Shared Web Hosting - The Cons
Not everything is rosy with shared web hosting. The principal concern is lack of privacy. If your website deals in sensitive data, then shared web hosting is not preferable. Since you have no control on what others are doing in shared web hosting, there is no guarantee that your website data will not be tampered with intentionally or otherwise.
It is true that some shared web hosting will offer SSL and TLS shields (SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer and TLS means Transport Layer Security) to ensure that all your web communications remain totally confidential. But in practice this is not so. This is because in shared web hosting, all websites have same IP address (Internet Protocol Address) and therefore share the same SSL/TLS digital certificate.
Another issue of concern is when your host server malfunctions. This can happen even if yours is not a shared web hosting. The problem is that since you do not control the server, you will not know what ailed the system and so you cannot take any preventive measure.
Summing Up
Shared web hosting is without doubt the first stepping stone across the turbulence of web world. Once you graduate and progress you will find you no longer prefer shared web hosting for various reasons. You have grown big and have reached a point where it will be a better option to move out of shared web hosting, for good.
About The Author
Joshua Mabilia
Article by Josh - admin @ hostingfrenzy.com
Josh is the webmaster of http://www.hostingfrenzy.com
Visit his site for a comprehensive web hosting directory, articles, tools, and much more.
Think It's Hard to Find The Best Web Hosting Companies?
by: Anthony Hamill
It's really not. In fact the best web hosting companies can be identified rather easily if you make time to absorb some basic information.
Building a Web Site
You can build a very basic web site with a simple word processing program such as Microsoft Word. Then after you've built your web site, you'll need to find a way to publish it if you intend for it to be accessible on the World Wide Web. For this you'll turn to a web hosting company.
A web host will provide you with the disk space, services,and tools you'll need to publish your site on the Internet. While occasional technical problems are inevitable, competent web hosting companies will ensure your site is up and running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so that anyone, anywhere in the world, can find your web site at any time of the day.
Many Hosting Choices
There are literally tens of thousands of web hosting companies to choose from so finding one of the very best web hosting companies can be challenging.
Prices range from free to hundreds of dollars a year for personal web hosting and small business web hosting all the way up to hundreds of dollars per month for ecommerce web hosting for large online businesses.
The best web hosting companies offer a wide variety of web hosting services all of which can be confusing if you're new to web site hosting.
What You Need to Know
There are a number of basics you need to learn if you want to create a good website that is cost-effective, easy to manage, and provides a meaningful experience for your visitors. Some of these basics include:
- How to decide whether free or paid web hosting is right for you
- What is a web server and why does it matter to you?
- How to select and register a great domain name
- How to determine if you need shared or dedicated hosting
- How to connect your domain to your web hosting provider
- How to publish your web site
- How to make use of free web templates and other authoring tools
Our nine-part Introduction to Web Hosting at http://www.web-host-watch.com/bestwebhostingcompanies.html will help you make sense of all the available information and give you the confidence to find, evaluate, and select a web hosting company that is most suited to your needs.
About The Author
Anthony Hamill is the founder of http://www.Web-Host-Watch.Com which is devoted to helping new webmasters learn the basics of web hosting. It provides tutorials, tips on avoiding common mistakes, a glossary of web hosting terms, and a list of Top Web Hosts.
It's really not. In fact the best web hosting companies can be identified rather easily if you make time to absorb some basic information.
Building a Web Site
You can build a very basic web site with a simple word processing program such as Microsoft Word. Then after you've built your web site, you'll need to find a way to publish it if you intend for it to be accessible on the World Wide Web. For this you'll turn to a web hosting company.
A web host will provide you with the disk space, services,and tools you'll need to publish your site on the Internet. While occasional technical problems are inevitable, competent web hosting companies will ensure your site is up and running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so that anyone, anywhere in the world, can find your web site at any time of the day.
Many Hosting Choices
There are literally tens of thousands of web hosting companies to choose from so finding one of the very best web hosting companies can be challenging.
Prices range from free to hundreds of dollars a year for personal web hosting and small business web hosting all the way up to hundreds of dollars per month for ecommerce web hosting for large online businesses.
The best web hosting companies offer a wide variety of web hosting services all of which can be confusing if you're new to web site hosting.
What You Need to Know
There are a number of basics you need to learn if you want to create a good website that is cost-effective, easy to manage, and provides a meaningful experience for your visitors. Some of these basics include:
- How to decide whether free or paid web hosting is right for you
- What is a web server and why does it matter to you?
- How to select and register a great domain name
- How to determine if you need shared or dedicated hosting
- How to connect your domain to your web hosting provider
- How to publish your web site
- How to make use of free web templates and other authoring tools
Our nine-part Introduction to Web Hosting at http://www.web-host-watch.com/bestwebhostingcompanies.html will help you make sense of all the available information and give you the confidence to find, evaluate, and select a web hosting company that is most suited to your needs.
About The Author
Anthony Hamill is the founder of http://www.Web-Host-Watch.Com which is devoted to helping new webmasters learn the basics of web hosting. It provides tutorials, tips on avoiding common mistakes, a glossary of web hosting terms, and a list of Top Web Hosts.
Your Web Hosting Company - Are You Just a Number?
by: Greg Cesar
By now I'm sure you know how important your choice of web hosting company is to your business. But just in case you don't, let's review. At first glance, cheap web hosting may seem like a pretty good deal. Who doesn't want to save money? However, there are some areas in which you, as an online business owner, just can't afford to cut corners. Would you put water in the gas tank of your car just to save money? Choose a cheap web hosting company and you are doing exactly that. While you can cut corners in other areas of your business, your web hosting company is not where you want to do this, if only for one simple reason: with free or cheap web hosting companies, you are little more than a number, just another website.
Let's take a look at how cheap or free web hosting companies make their money and how they do business. First, how can they offer such cheap prices? Or even free web hosting? There is only one answer: volume. They host thousands of websites, some smaller, some larger than yours. Do you think that in hosting thousands of websites, they can give you the personalized service that you deserve? Let me answer that one for you: they simply cannot. Why? Because the number of sites hosted, coupled with the low pricing simply makes it an infeasible business practice. Practically speaking, from a business standpoint, they cannot do this. It would not make sense to their bottom line. Second, large web hosting companies generally run lean and mean. That is, in business 101, they do more with less. They are not going to provide more people to service more customers when they can do the same job with less. Granted, customer service will suffer. But to them, this is a tradeoff that they make up for with volume.
Now let's look at things from your point of view (an online business owner). You already know that time is money. You have probably already figured out that, sadly, time is not on your side. Thus, every time your site is down you are losing money. Even 5 minutes is too long for your site to be inaccessible to visitors (potential customers). Online business runs 24/7. Does your web hosting company understand that? More importantly, when you have a problem, is your business "just another website" to them? Or will they take personal ownership of the problem and solve it as soon as possible? What about follow up? Are you just another website in the heap? Or will they follow up with you to make sure that you are a satisfied customer and your site is running smoothly? Better yet, will they follow up personally, via phone call? Or will they just send an email - an automated one at that?
Many Internet business owners make the mistake of choosing a cheap web hosting company, thinking that it will help save them money. Often, it costs them more in the long run in the form of downtime, time spent waiting for answers from the hosting company and lost customers. Below are 6 tips that should tell you if you are "just another website" to your web hosting company:
* Time - Does your web hosting company have an "open door policy"? If you have a question, Will they have the answer or will they refer you to their Help Page URL? As an online business owner, there is nothing more frustrating than calling the web hosting company for help and then being told to go to a URL for help. If your web hosting company does this to you, then you are just a number to them.
* Accessibility - Is your web hosting company answering the phone promptly? When they do, who is it? Sales? This is a big tip-off. A web hosting company that really knows you and cares about your business won't automatically try to sell you something and they won't hide behind an answering machine or salesperson. A cheap web hosting company definitely won't know you by name; they will know you by the domain that you have with them.
* Business Knowledge - Does your web hosting company know what your needs are as a website owner? Do they care? Are they hiring teenagers from the local high school to answer the phones (who can't really help you)? Does your web hosting company have Internet Marketing experience? If you are with a cheap web hosting company, the answer is no, because they do their business by volume and can't be focused on those kinds of issues. Kind of ironic, don't you think, given the fact that you have a website in the first place due to the Internet?
* Advertising/Sales Tactics - As your business grows, how many services is your web hosting company trying to sell you? How many emails do they send you trying to get you to upgrade, pay upfront, etc, etc.? Better yet, how do they make their sales? I'll tell you how: aggressive advertising and sales tactics. For a cheap web hosting company, it's the only way, because it is all about the numbers. And you are one of them.
* Relationship-Driven - Does your web hosting company want a relationship with you or with your money? I bet by now you can guess the answer. The fact is, cheap web hosting companies make profits by increasing sales. If one customer leaves, so be it, because they have the volume to make that up. They really don't have the time, resources or the inclination to really make sure they have a satisfied, long-term client in you.
* Patience - Lots of Internet business owners don't know the ins and outs of web hosting. That's understandable. When you talk to the sales department of your web hosting company do they use Plain English or "technospeak" that you don't understand? Do they have the patience to explain everything to you? Or do they automatically assume that you should know and become more impatient the more questions you ask? To put is bluntly, do they make you feel stupid or dumb? If you are trying to give the web hosting company your business and they are making you feel stupid for asking questions, they may as well be saying "Next!" Why would they do this? Because your business is just another website to them.
Generally, a business web hosting company that gives you personalized service, has answers to your questions (or ways of getting those answers) will serve your online business better. Having tons of options is fine, but even better is the peace of mind that comes with knowing that to your web hosting company, your business and its success is priority one.
About The Author
Greg Cesar gets results. Find out how hundreds of webmasters benefit from Greg's web hosting and internet marketing knowledge by visiting this link: http://www.hostpartnerplus.com
By now I'm sure you know how important your choice of web hosting company is to your business. But just in case you don't, let's review. At first glance, cheap web hosting may seem like a pretty good deal. Who doesn't want to save money? However, there are some areas in which you, as an online business owner, just can't afford to cut corners. Would you put water in the gas tank of your car just to save money? Choose a cheap web hosting company and you are doing exactly that. While you can cut corners in other areas of your business, your web hosting company is not where you want to do this, if only for one simple reason: with free or cheap web hosting companies, you are little more than a number, just another website.
Let's take a look at how cheap or free web hosting companies make their money and how they do business. First, how can they offer such cheap prices? Or even free web hosting? There is only one answer: volume. They host thousands of websites, some smaller, some larger than yours. Do you think that in hosting thousands of websites, they can give you the personalized service that you deserve? Let me answer that one for you: they simply cannot. Why? Because the number of sites hosted, coupled with the low pricing simply makes it an infeasible business practice. Practically speaking, from a business standpoint, they cannot do this. It would not make sense to their bottom line. Second, large web hosting companies generally run lean and mean. That is, in business 101, they do more with less. They are not going to provide more people to service more customers when they can do the same job with less. Granted, customer service will suffer. But to them, this is a tradeoff that they make up for with volume.
Now let's look at things from your point of view (an online business owner). You already know that time is money. You have probably already figured out that, sadly, time is not on your side. Thus, every time your site is down you are losing money. Even 5 minutes is too long for your site to be inaccessible to visitors (potential customers). Online business runs 24/7. Does your web hosting company understand that? More importantly, when you have a problem, is your business "just another website" to them? Or will they take personal ownership of the problem and solve it as soon as possible? What about follow up? Are you just another website in the heap? Or will they follow up with you to make sure that you are a satisfied customer and your site is running smoothly? Better yet, will they follow up personally, via phone call? Or will they just send an email - an automated one at that?
Many Internet business owners make the mistake of choosing a cheap web hosting company, thinking that it will help save them money. Often, it costs them more in the long run in the form of downtime, time spent waiting for answers from the hosting company and lost customers. Below are 6 tips that should tell you if you are "just another website" to your web hosting company:
* Time - Does your web hosting company have an "open door policy"? If you have a question, Will they have the answer or will they refer you to their Help Page URL? As an online business owner, there is nothing more frustrating than calling the web hosting company for help and then being told to go to a URL for help. If your web hosting company does this to you, then you are just a number to them.
* Accessibility - Is your web hosting company answering the phone promptly? When they do, who is it? Sales? This is a big tip-off. A web hosting company that really knows you and cares about your business won't automatically try to sell you something and they won't hide behind an answering machine or salesperson. A cheap web hosting company definitely won't know you by name; they will know you by the domain that you have with them.
* Business Knowledge - Does your web hosting company know what your needs are as a website owner? Do they care? Are they hiring teenagers from the local high school to answer the phones (who can't really help you)? Does your web hosting company have Internet Marketing experience? If you are with a cheap web hosting company, the answer is no, because they do their business by volume and can't be focused on those kinds of issues. Kind of ironic, don't you think, given the fact that you have a website in the first place due to the Internet?
* Advertising/Sales Tactics - As your business grows, how many services is your web hosting company trying to sell you? How many emails do they send you trying to get you to upgrade, pay upfront, etc, etc.? Better yet, how do they make their sales? I'll tell you how: aggressive advertising and sales tactics. For a cheap web hosting company, it's the only way, because it is all about the numbers. And you are one of them.
* Relationship-Driven - Does your web hosting company want a relationship with you or with your money? I bet by now you can guess the answer. The fact is, cheap web hosting companies make profits by increasing sales. If one customer leaves, so be it, because they have the volume to make that up. They really don't have the time, resources or the inclination to really make sure they have a satisfied, long-term client in you.
* Patience - Lots of Internet business owners don't know the ins and outs of web hosting. That's understandable. When you talk to the sales department of your web hosting company do they use Plain English or "technospeak" that you don't understand? Do they have the patience to explain everything to you? Or do they automatically assume that you should know and become more impatient the more questions you ask? To put is bluntly, do they make you feel stupid or dumb? If you are trying to give the web hosting company your business and they are making you feel stupid for asking questions, they may as well be saying "Next!" Why would they do this? Because your business is just another website to them.
Generally, a business web hosting company that gives you personalized service, has answers to your questions (or ways of getting those answers) will serve your online business better. Having tons of options is fine, but even better is the peace of mind that comes with knowing that to your web hosting company, your business and its success is priority one.
About The Author
Greg Cesar gets results. Find out how hundreds of webmasters benefit from Greg's web hosting and internet marketing knowledge by visiting this link: http://www.hostpartnerplus.com
Free Web Hosting or Paid? Here's How to Decide
by: Anthony Hamill
Have you wondered if free web hosting is any good? More importantly, is it a viable option for someone who wants to set up an online business presence without a significant cash commitment?. It may be but only if you take the time to understand what it will and will not provide.
Free web hosting usually comes with significantly limited capacity and services. And while free web hosts may not charge you anything for hosting your web site, they still have to generate revenue to stay in business.
The Price of “Free”
The way most of them do this (there are exceptions as you’ll see below) is by inserting paid ads on your web site. And since you won’t be able to control what kind of ads are posted on your site, there’s a good chance you’ll have ads from competitors (if you’re trying to run a business) or ads that may not be on a topic you want to be associated with. Unfortunately, that's often the price you’ll pay for "free" web hosting.
To limit the amount of resources you can use, free web hosting plans come with very limited disk space and bandwidth and may even impose restrictions on the types of content you can upload to your site. For example, you may not be allowed to sell anything on your web site.
What do you really want to do?
If you intend to start a business on the cheap then this obviously isn’t going to be satisfactory. Some free web hosting plans prevent you from uploading videos or music files because they take up a lot of storage space and use a great deal of bandwidth when your visitors try to access them.
The Big Risk
Finally, and of greatest concern, is that you may wake up one day and find that your web site has simply vanished without warning. Companies that provide free web hosting pop up practically every day, but they also disappear with alarming regularity.
So if you plan on putting any real effort into developing a web site for personal or business use, you'll be better served by selecting an established, reliable web host.
Professional Image
There are a number of companies that provide free web hosting under your own unique domain name (not a subdomain under them). All you have to do register your domain through them and pay the annual renewal fee of around $15-25. This way you’ll be able to have free hosting under your own domain and the credibility that comes with it.
The Bottom Line
You should look for a free hosting provider that provides a simple upgrade path. This way you can can enjoy free web hosting now and have your own unique domain name (plus the credibility it brings) for nothing more than the cost of a domain registration fee. You should later be able to upgrade with no disruption when and if you decide you’re ready to move up to a paid plan.
About The Author
Anthony Hamill is the founder of http://www.Web-Host-Watch.Com which is devoted to helping new webmasters learn the basics of web hosting. It provides tutorials, tips on avoiding common mistakes, a glossary of web hosting terms, and a list of Top Web Hosts.
Have you wondered if free web hosting is any good? More importantly, is it a viable option for someone who wants to set up an online business presence without a significant cash commitment?. It may be but only if you take the time to understand what it will and will not provide.
Free web hosting usually comes with significantly limited capacity and services. And while free web hosts may not charge you anything for hosting your web site, they still have to generate revenue to stay in business.
The Price of “Free”
The way most of them do this (there are exceptions as you’ll see below) is by inserting paid ads on your web site. And since you won’t be able to control what kind of ads are posted on your site, there’s a good chance you’ll have ads from competitors (if you’re trying to run a business) or ads that may not be on a topic you want to be associated with. Unfortunately, that's often the price you’ll pay for "free" web hosting.
To limit the amount of resources you can use, free web hosting plans come with very limited disk space and bandwidth and may even impose restrictions on the types of content you can upload to your site. For example, you may not be allowed to sell anything on your web site.
What do you really want to do?
If you intend to start a business on the cheap then this obviously isn’t going to be satisfactory. Some free web hosting plans prevent you from uploading videos or music files because they take up a lot of storage space and use a great deal of bandwidth when your visitors try to access them.
The Big Risk
Finally, and of greatest concern, is that you may wake up one day and find that your web site has simply vanished without warning. Companies that provide free web hosting pop up practically every day, but they also disappear with alarming regularity.
So if you plan on putting any real effort into developing a web site for personal or business use, you'll be better served by selecting an established, reliable web host.
Professional Image
There are a number of companies that provide free web hosting under your own unique domain name (not a subdomain under them). All you have to do register your domain through them and pay the annual renewal fee of around $15-25. This way you’ll be able to have free hosting under your own domain and the credibility that comes with it.
The Bottom Line
You should look for a free hosting provider that provides a simple upgrade path. This way you can can enjoy free web hosting now and have your own unique domain name (plus the credibility it brings) for nothing more than the cost of a domain registration fee. You should later be able to upgrade with no disruption when and if you decide you’re ready to move up to a paid plan.
About The Author
Anthony Hamill is the founder of http://www.Web-Host-Watch.Com which is devoted to helping new webmasters learn the basics of web hosting. It provides tutorials, tips on avoiding common mistakes, a glossary of web hosting terms, and a list of Top Web Hosts.
Web Hosting Essential Needs
by: Joshua Mabilia
Web hosting, in simple terms, is a service that allows individuals, companies and other organizations to store information in remote server such that it is always accessible through internet. Information for the purpose of web hosting can be text, audio (like song and music), image, video (film, animation, etc.) and all those that can be transmitted via web.
Web hosting company offers space to store and retrieve information in servers, which they may or may not own. Web hosting server is typically located in data center that also houses communication equipment needed to connect the server with the world wide web.
Web hosting thus enables your stored information to travel from server via web to any computer across the globe. How do you store information in remote server? When you hire web hosting service, you will first connect your computer with the internet and then dispatch (upload) all your information from your computer hard disc to remote server via web with the help of special program called 'file transfer protocol' or FTP.
Not all web hosting providers offer same level of service. When you approach a web hosting company, you are likely to come across many options. Among many web hosting parameters, following are the ones that need close attention.
Disk Space
Similar to storing data locally on your computer's hard disk, web hosting company will allot space - commonly termed as 'disk space' - in web hosting server where you will upload and locate your information for access by all. Ensure that the disk space offered as part of web hosting service is sufficient for your needs.
Bandwidth
Imagine four people trying to pass through a 2-feet wide door at the same time. This is seemingly impossible. The way out will be to either widen your door to 6 feet or make them pass in a queue. This is akin to the concept of bandwidth in web hosting service.
Higher bandwidth in web hosting will certainly allow more amount of visits at any given time. Bear in mind though that if there is unprecedented traffic to your website, the web hosting provider will automatically resort to making queues. In which case those who stand at the back may not reach your website because the time allotted by web hosting server to each request would have expired before their turns come.
Control Panel
At the heart of web hosting service is control panel. Many a time, low-cost web hosting does not include access to control panel. This is not suggested because unless you have access to the control panel of your web hosting, you will not know or control many vital information.
A control panel in web hosting is nothing but a browser-based interface provided as part of web hosting service, whereby you can monitor your website. Notable among what you can do in web hosting control panel are access to log files and analysis, configure email setting if preferred, manage database if in use and monitor FTP user account(s). You will also be able to view spare and used disc space and bandwidth of your web hosting account.
Other Considerations
It is always a good idea to run a random check on credibility and credentials of web hosting provider. For a start, note whether the main frame computer and web hosting server conform to latest market standards in terms of processor speed, server space, data accessibility, server uptime and so on. Second, is your web hosting provider reliable? To check, refer to forum comments and feedbacks left by earlier customers. Do not hesitate to ask questions from web hosting company if you need any specific information.
Finally, consider if the asking price of web hosting service is reasonable. There are many web hosting providers in the market. There is no harm to shop around awhile for good bargains to be had. All things considered, ensure that you get good value for your money while deciding on a web hosting service.
About The Author
Joshua Mabilia
Article by Josh - admin @ hostingfrenzy.com
Josh is the webmaster of http://www.hostingfrenzy.com
Web hosting, in simple terms, is a service that allows individuals, companies and other organizations to store information in remote server such that it is always accessible through internet. Information for the purpose of web hosting can be text, audio (like song and music), image, video (film, animation, etc.) and all those that can be transmitted via web.
Web hosting company offers space to store and retrieve information in servers, which they may or may not own. Web hosting server is typically located in data center that also houses communication equipment needed to connect the server with the world wide web.
Web hosting thus enables your stored information to travel from server via web to any computer across the globe. How do you store information in remote server? When you hire web hosting service, you will first connect your computer with the internet and then dispatch (upload) all your information from your computer hard disc to remote server via web with the help of special program called 'file transfer protocol' or FTP.
Not all web hosting providers offer same level of service. When you approach a web hosting company, you are likely to come across many options. Among many web hosting parameters, following are the ones that need close attention.
Disk Space
Similar to storing data locally on your computer's hard disk, web hosting company will allot space - commonly termed as 'disk space' - in web hosting server where you will upload and locate your information for access by all. Ensure that the disk space offered as part of web hosting service is sufficient for your needs.
Bandwidth
Imagine four people trying to pass through a 2-feet wide door at the same time. This is seemingly impossible. The way out will be to either widen your door to 6 feet or make them pass in a queue. This is akin to the concept of bandwidth in web hosting service.
Higher bandwidth in web hosting will certainly allow more amount of visits at any given time. Bear in mind though that if there is unprecedented traffic to your website, the web hosting provider will automatically resort to making queues. In which case those who stand at the back may not reach your website because the time allotted by web hosting server to each request would have expired before their turns come.
Control Panel
At the heart of web hosting service is control panel. Many a time, low-cost web hosting does not include access to control panel. This is not suggested because unless you have access to the control panel of your web hosting, you will not know or control many vital information.
A control panel in web hosting is nothing but a browser-based interface provided as part of web hosting service, whereby you can monitor your website. Notable among what you can do in web hosting control panel are access to log files and analysis, configure email setting if preferred, manage database if in use and monitor FTP user account(s). You will also be able to view spare and used disc space and bandwidth of your web hosting account.
Other Considerations
It is always a good idea to run a random check on credibility and credentials of web hosting provider. For a start, note whether the main frame computer and web hosting server conform to latest market standards in terms of processor speed, server space, data accessibility, server uptime and so on. Second, is your web hosting provider reliable? To check, refer to forum comments and feedbacks left by earlier customers. Do not hesitate to ask questions from web hosting company if you need any specific information.
Finally, consider if the asking price of web hosting service is reasonable. There are many web hosting providers in the market. There is no harm to shop around awhile for good bargains to be had. All things considered, ensure that you get good value for your money while deciding on a web hosting service.
About The Author
Joshua Mabilia
Article by Josh - admin @ hostingfrenzy.com
Josh is the webmaster of http://www.hostingfrenzy.com
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