A Beginner's Guide to Web Hosting

What is web hosting? Whenever you visit a website, what you see on your web browser is essentially just a web page that is downloaded from the web server onto your web browser. In general, a web site is made up of many web pages. And a web page is basically composed of texts and graphic images. All these web pages need to be stored on the web servers so that online users can visit your website.

Therefore, if you plan to own a new website, you will need to host your website on a web server. When your website goes live on the web server, online users can then browse your website on the Internet. Company that provides the web servers to host your website is called web hosting providers.

A well-established web hosting provider sometimes hosts up to thousands of websites. For example, iPowerWeb is a popular web hosting company that hosts more than 300,000 websites. For that reason, a web hosting company need many web servers (essentially, these are computers) to ‘store’ the website. And all these web servers are connected to the Internet through high speed Internet connection and housed in a physical building called ‘data center’. In order to guarantee all the web servers are safe, secure and fully operational all time, a data center is a physically secure 24/7 environment with fire protection, HVAC temperature control, virus detections, computer data backup, redundant power backup and complete disaster recovery capabilities.

What are the different types of web hosting?

There are different kinds of web hosting companies out there with different characteristics. The main types of web hosts can be organized into the following categories:

Shared Hosting

In shared hosting (also known as virtual web hosting), many websites are sharing the space on the same physical web servers. Depending on the web host, a physical web server can hosts a few hundred to even thousand of different websites at one time. You may wonder if a physical web server is shared by so many websites, will the performance of the web server deteriorate? In fact, web servers are usually equipped with high-end powerful computer, therefore it can support up to a certain number of websites without any problem. But when the web server is overloaded and exceeded the reasonable number of websites that it can support, then you will begin to experience a slower response from the web server.

However, a reputable and experience web hosting provider will constantly monitor the performance of the web server and will add new web servers when deem necessary without sacrificing the benefits of the website owners. Since a physical web server is shared (diskspace, computer processing power, bandwidth, memory) by many websites, the web hosting provider can therefore afford to offer a lower hosting price. For the same reason, websites on the shared hosting would have to accept slower server response time. Typically, shared hosting plans start at $5 - $20 per month.

Dedicated Hosting

In contrast to shared hosting, dedicated hosting assigned a specific web server to be used only by one customer. Since a dedicated web server is allocated to only a single customer, the customer has the option to host single/multiple web sites, modify the software configuration, handle greater site traffic and scale the bandwidth as necessary. Therefore, dedicated hosting commands a higher premium and typically starts at $50 per month and can range up to $200 - $500 per month. As a result, dedicated hosting is regularly used by high traffic and extremely important website.

Co-location hosting

In dedicated hosting, the web server belongs to the web hosting providers and customers only rent the web server during the hosting period. While in co-location hosting, the customer owns the web server hardware and only housed their web server within the web hosting provider’s secure data center. In this way, the customer has full control over their web server and simultaneously benefit from the 24/7 server monitoring and maintenance provided by the secure data center. Depending on the monthly bandwidth and rack space required, typically co-location hosting range from $500 - $1000 per month.

Reseller hosting

In reseller hosting, a web hosting provider offers web server storage to third-party (i.e. reseller) at a discount price, who then resell the web server storage to their customers. Typically, resellers are web consultants including web designers, web developers, or system integration company who resell the web hosting as a add-on service to complement their other range of services. Commonly, resellers can receive up to 50 percent discount on the price of a hosting account from the web hosting provider. And resellers are allowed to decide its own pricing structure and even establish its own branding (in other words, reseller setup its web hosting company on the Internet and start selling web hosting plans under its brand).

To the reseller’s customers, the reseller is the web host provider. In cases when technical problems such as server down and access problem arise, the resellers will have to correspond directly with the actual web host provider. Due to the communication process taken place between customer to reseller and from reseller to actual web host provider and back and forth, undoubtedly problems will take longer time to resolve. Unless you are running your own personal website or non-profit website and willing to take the risks of poor support from the reseller, reseller hosting is generally not a good option.

However, the web hosting market today is filled with resellers that sell lowest price web hosting plans. So, how do you tell between a genuine web hosting provider from a reseller? You don’t judge by the availability of toll-free number alone because some web hosting providers even offer their resellers with their own toll-free number for co-branded technical support. When the reseller’s customer calls the number for technical support, the web host uses the reseller’s name so the customer thinks that the support is coming from the reseller directly. Likewise, don’t be fooled by the professional designed website alone because it is extremely easy to create a professional looked business website nowadays.

In general, resellers can be distinguished from their hosting price and company information. In most cases, a genuine web hosting provider has solid company information such as iPowerWeb.com where they publish its financial background, offices and data centers. In contrast, resellers usually do not have solid company background (here is just an example out of thousands out there). Moreover, the hosting price by resellers is generally below $5 per month. So, why settle for resellers when you can find genuine web hosting providers offering superb quality web hosting at the hosting price ranging between $7 - $10.

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What is Web Hosting and is it Cheap?

Whenever you visit a website, what you see on your web browser is an array of files that are provided to for your viewing pleasure instantly. These files are populated to your screen by a web hosting company. In order to have a web site on the internet, you must have a web hosting account from a company. Web hosting companies provide space on their servers so that you can take all the files for your website and put them online! So no matter whether you are designing a small one page site, or a large corporate site with 1 million pages, you need a hosting provider!

In order to get your site online with your web hosting company, you will need to do 3 things. 1st you will need to have your website built by a web design company. 2nd, you will need to purchase a hosting account for your small business or ecommerce site. 3rd, you (or your webmaster) will need to upload your files to your hosting account.

There are several types of web hosting, and they are outlined below.

Dedicated servers

This is a hosting service that is more expensive than other hosting services. This will cost anywhere from $100 to $1000 per month. The benefits of a dedicated server are that you have a lot more control over your hosting, and you have access to more resources. This is used for web sites that have special needs or large amounts of traffic.

Shared web hosting

This is a website hosting service that puts you on a dedicated server with lots of other small web site hosting accounts. This is an affordable web hosting service that is recommended for anyone just starting out!

When looking for affordable web hosting services, there are several things to keep your eye out for. We recommend that you research and talk to a company to see how good their support will be. Also ask what their backup methods are to make sure your web site information is not lost. Then I would recommend finding a web hosting company that provides telephone support, since this is valuable to have.

Choosing a right web hosting service for your website is not an easy task especially since there are thousands of web host providers out there offering almost identical web hosting packages. Therefore, it is important to take in to account a few major considerations before you jump in with a company. To get cheap website hosting services you must do some shopping around, which in the end will be worth the time to save some money on your web host. To find a web host you may need to do some research on the internet to see which website host best fits your needs and specific requirements. If you want instant support, find an affordable website hosting company that offers telephone support. If you need to have lots of addon applications to help make your site more interactive - search for these features.

Once you have determined the exact website hosting services you will choose to get your site online, the next step is to actually begin the growing process as a company. It is completely possible to drive traffic to your site without spending a ton of money on website hosting. Find a solid search optimization company so that you can reach your customers.

Cheap web hosting allows the company to save money that can be spent in other ways. Shared website hosting utilizes most all of the benefits of dedicated hosting, however you don't pay the premium fees. A Web host provider will offer its clients access to a Web server that will enable the website hosting costumer to put their information and content on the internet.

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Choosing Your Web Hosting Package

General rule of thumb is not to sign up for yearly web hosting plans. Instead, get monthly plan where you can unsubscribe from on the second month when you are not happy with the service. That is, if you ended up with an unreliable web hosting company in the first place.

Here is a simple guide that can be easily applied to typical web sites:

--Web Space--

Expect a small website to take up 10 and 100 MB. Considering that you may want to expand your website in the near future, it is advisable to get a web hosting plan with ample web space.

Make sure that you know your needs before you start looking for your web host. Not every web hosting plan can be upgraded or customised. More than often, webmasters do not get the features they need and are not able to customise their web hosting features.

--Monthly Traffic--

Data transfer per month are typically referred to as bandwidth. It is the amount of data transfer that occurs between your website and visitors. A small or medium web site will consume between 1 and 5GB of data transfer per month. Larger, commercial or popular websites often consume more than 5GB of monthly data transfer and sometimes, exceeding 100GB of monthly data transfer.

Before you decide on a web hosting plan, be sure to check this:

- What is the monthly data transfer/ bandwidth allowed?

- Will you be charged if your website exceeds its limit?

- Are you able to upgrade/add on your bandwidth?

--Connection Speed--

Visitors to your web site will often connect via 56K modems or ADSL modems but your web host provider should have a much faster connection. Your website should have high web site connections that are approximately 1000 high speed (56 Kilobytes per second) modems combined- T3 fiber optic connections.

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The Importance of Websites

How Important is Your Website?

Having a website is just as essential to promoting your firm's brand as having your business card. With growing numbers of clients searching for lawyers online, Internet marketing is an essential area of client development. A directory listing, such as a Yellow Page ad, isn't enough anymore. Without additional information, potential clients may not view your firm as a credible source and will move on to your competition.

Tips for Creating a Powerful Website

How can you update your existing website to make it more powerful or create a website that works with you and your other client development efforts? Below are some tips to keep in mind.

1. Provide credible information.

This is the most important aspect of creating a superior website. What kind of information will create credibility without face-to-face interaction? Remember to keep your audience in mind. Why do current clients visit your site? And prospective clients? Usually it's for one of two reasons:
* They want information about you and your practice - so display your address, contact, attorney background and practice information prominently.
* They found information that compels them to return - so include practice specific articles and information "free of charge" that prove your credibility and knowledge of your practice areas.

2. Keep it updated and relevant.

Information is the most important part of your website and you must be diligent about updating it. Adding practice specific information such as impending law changes or introducing new firm practice areas will help draw people back. Announcing your firm's case victories or promoting your firm's environmental and social responsibility programs is other ways to establish instant credibility.

3. Offer a communication tool and follow-up on it quickly.

Communication tools can vary from simply providing a link to your email address to inquiry forms that allow a visitor to enter more detailed information. The key is to follow-up on these inquiries quickly and completely to reinforce your commitment to your clients.

Who is the Right Provider for You? There are many options to consider when looking for a website service. Below are some questions that may help you decide what is important to you.
* Should we choose one provider that offers design and hosting?
* Do we need email services?
* What is our budget?
* Does the service we choose include custom website capabilities, search engine optimization, dynamic content-rich products and web-based attorney-client communication tools within our budget?
* How will we add relevant practice area specific content and update it on a regular basis?
* How easily can we update our website text and what cost is involved?

Remember... Your website is just as important as your business card. It can build your firm's brand, credibility and give your firm a "face" among a directory of other firms vying for your clients.

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Website Development - What to Avoid

Developing your own website involves a lot of important factors. No matter how adept you are at web development and no matter how many sites you have created and developed, there are times when you slip and make a costly mistake. In today's highly competitive world, making mistakes is a big no-no. So if you want to be sure that everything turns out right with your website development project, there are a number of things that you need to watch out for.

First things first: If you choose to use a free hosting company, you will have to contend with several things like relatively larger ads on your website. Large ads or headers are a distraction, and most of the time, site visitors do not have the patience to scroll down to the bottom to read your content.

Since it is a "free" thing, a lot of people make use of its services, so you will not be able to get a unique URL for your site. Yours will just be one of the many.

Another important thing to remember is that visitors or viewers like sites that are light and easy to navigate. If you use a splash page, the tendency is that your site will take time to load because it is heavy with images and things. A splash page may be good for generating "oohhss" and "aahhss", but it can also be a waste of time for some viewers. It is pretty much the same if you use flash for your website. Using flash is all right, but do not use it for the entirety of your website. This will result to slow loading and will not be effective for search engine optimization.

If you want to put links on your website, make sure that they all load and open properly. There have been instances when I curiously clicked on a link only to find out that the page does not exist! This can be both upsetting and frustrating. Plus, it will not give your site a good reputation and you might have to say goodbye to your chances of ever attracting visitors.

Pop-Ups can also be distracting. Imagine yourself enjoying something that you are reading when all of a sudden a pop-up appears! How would that make you feel? If you really need to include pop-ups in your website, make sure they do not come out too often so they will not be that annoying or distracting. Keep pop-ups at the minimum.

Other mistakes that you need to avoid include the usage of contrasting colors, or colors that do not mix well; using the wrong type of text, including its effects; and making your website too large that visitors will have to do endless horizontal scrolling just to view the whole of your site.

Good website development takes into consideration all aspects involved in creating an attractive, easy to navigate site. If you keep in mind all the things I mentioned above, you will have better chances of achieving just that.

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Web Hosting Services - What is it All About

Hundreds and thousands of web design and web development companies are flourishing throughout the United Kingdom and it has become a craze in the virtual market. But, what is a web hosting service? Well, a web hosting service is a type of online hosting service that allows organizations as well as individuals to make their website accessible through the Internet. In web hosting service, a web host creates a room on a server that belongs to them for use by their customers. In addition to this, hosting services may also include other features such as providing Internet connectivity and data center space.

A website has to depend upon the professional web hosting companies in order to draw traffic to their web site as well as increase the profit in their online business. A vast majority of the Web Hosting Companies use a blend of technological equipments and software in order to ensure the proper working of the server. Web hosting companies may also extend their hosting services into monitoring the server's connectivity with the UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) and restarting them if the user exit from the serving pages accidentally.

In case you want to put two domain names in a single website during your domain name registration, then it is up to the web host whether he will charge you extra for the two domains or charge for only one. However, if you want to host several web sites to find out which one becomes successful then you can negotiate for a volume discount for several web hosting domains with your web host in case they provide a reseller package.

If you want a cheap hosting service then you must look into the various hosting packages. Cheap packages are widely available in UK which includes cheap web design, cheap domain names, cheap reseller hosting, cheap hosting services and many other things which can make your investment much more economical.

Website hosting is a type of Internet hosting service that provides individuals as well as organizations online storage facility for storing information. Besides this, it also allows the person or organization to store and access video, images and graphics that can be accessed via the Internet.

The most common type of hosting services includes the Web page hosting. Here, FTP or Web interface can be used in order to upload the Web pages. The Web pages and other files are delivered in their original form without any considerable modification. Such a service is often offered for free to the subscribers of many ISPs as well as web services like the Geocities and Yahoo. Thus, you may avail the facilities of web hosting absolutely free of cost!

There are all total eight different types of hosting. These include free website hosting, image hosting, shared hosting, clustered hosting, reseller hosting, virtual private server hosting, dedicated hosting and collocated hosting. Besides these, there is also Grid hosting and Home server. In Home server, a single machine can be used to host more than one website from a broadband connection.

Various website hosting packages are now available which may also include Web Content Management Systems in which the user can bypass all the technical aspects to the Management System and remain free of tension. Web hosting message boards are available online that provide suggestions on the type of web hosting company that can fulfill your needs.

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Shared Web Hosting - 6 Things to Consider

Are you ready to consider a shared web hosting plan. Here are the 6 points you need to consider. The big concern for you once your site is designed is to get your website hosted by a reliable web host. And there are many hosting providers out there, all competing for your business.

But with so many web hosting companies offering various types of web hosting packages - shared, dedicated, and managed hosting, it is very hard to know what hosting plan to choose. It can be downright overwhelming.


Which type of hosting should you choose?

If you are a small business owner or a webmaster or someone who wants to host a site, and cost is a major concern - go for shared hosting. It is probably the best break-entry situation into a web-hosting account. But before you make your hosting decision, let us first learn what shared hosting service is. Shared web hosting means that the same server hosts more than a single website. It is very common today that you will find hundreds of websites hosted on a single server. And depending on the quality of the server and its performance, your website should operate at maximum efficiency.

Shared web hosting service is an easy and cheaper way of hosting web sites if you do not require extremely high performance and high bandwidth. Even with so many websites hosted on a web server, you can be rest assured that the web hosting providers will not compromise on any kind of security and performance issues on the shared hosting servers. Before you go in for shared hosting, consider the following 6 items:

Shared Web Hosting: 6 Things to Consider When Choosing a Web Hosting Provider

1. Go through some sites already hosted on the server to see the response time. If the sites take very long to load then probably your server is overloaded. Test them at different points of time. However the difficulty might be in finding sites on that particular server.

2. Usually shared hosting is economical. Verify this. In most probability, you can expect to pay $5-$10 per month for shared web hosting services. Although I am seeing a breakthrough in the price point probably moving to under $5 a month in pretty short time. You might want to consider Bluehost or Lunarpages as solid web hosting providers. Today, due to stiff competition in the web hosting industry, many web hosts offer unlimited storage space and unlimited bandwidth.

3. Go in for a shared hosting web servers managed by professionals who are highly skilled with specialized knowledge of the field. You might want to see how long the company has been in business. In such a case you can concentrate on your web business and let the professionals worry about the maintenance and uptimes of the web server. It is always a smart move to sign up with a reputable web hosting provider.

4. Focus on the web hosting providers' reliability issues. Do your homework to find out the reliability of your host and check past performance as well as uptime assurance etc. You want the highest uptime reliability possible.

5. In shared web hosting you just need one bad website in your shared web server to get your website banned altogether by the search engines due to shared IP address. Anyway you can always pay a little extra to get a dedicated IP address and avoid this problem. Having a dedicated IP might well be worth the investment if you are serious about your web site, but if you are a beginner, I would not worry about this too much. I sort of believe the search engines will ban the bad websites domain name before banning the whole lots of sites. Shared Web Hosting is pretty common out there and a great place to start.

6. Consider all the features that come with the package. See if you are really getting what you are paying for. Before you decide to sign a deal on shared web hosting, be sure to consider all the points mentioned above. After all, selecting a right web hosting services may be one of the most critical business decisions you will be making for the success of your online business.

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