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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Three Sure-Fire Tips For Choosing The Right Web Hosting

Once upon a time it was considered rare, unique and cutting
edge to be able to answer “yes” when someone asked whether
you had your own website. My how times have changed!

In fact, the whole world appears to be going global. And
acquiring web space has become as common and easy as
selecting telephone, cable or dish TV service – well,
almost.

Web hosting is the service which allows anyone to post web
pages to the Internet. It’s a simple enough idea. But
finding the right web hosting service to meet your
particular needs is far from simple. In fact, some of the
difficulty in selecting the web hosting provider that’s
“just right” is due to the huge selection and options that
are available.

Here are three things you must consider when deciding which
web hosting plan is right for you…

First, there are basically two types of web hosting
services: free and paid. Free web hosting provides you free
web space to post your web pages. But there’s a trade off.
You’ll not only be limited in the amount of web space and
traffic you receive, your website will typically contain
advertisements from the company hosting your web pages. And
often times, these advertisements appear in the form of
large, annoying banner ads at either the top or bottom of
each of your web pages. This might not be such a big deal
if your web site is only a family or hobby site. But this
type of distraction is totally unacceptable for almost all
business purposes.

Second, if you desire a web hosting solution for business
purposes, then you’ll want to consider paying for your web
hosting services. And the first option you’ll want to
consider is whether you want “shared” hosting – which means
that you’ll be sharing web hosting space with other users,
or whether you want "dedicated" hosting – which means you’ll
have an entire computer dedicated to hosting your web pages.

Obviously, shared is cheaper than dedicated hosting. And,
for a vast majority of web hosting needs, shared hosting is
the ideal solution. Your website will be free of
advertisements you don’t want and the cost of web hosting is
reduced.

Dedicated web hosting is typically used by huge businesses
or organizations that desire, and are willing to pay extra,
to have their web pages hosted separately from other web
users. There are a variety of reasons this might make
sense. For example, a company may have sensitive
information they need to host and a dedicated web hosting
server is ideal to maximize privacy and security.

Third, you’ll need to decide which payment plan makes the
most sense to you. Typically, you can pay by the month,
every three months, yearly or a one-time fee for lifetime
hosting.

How long you contract web hosting services for really
depends upon your web hosting needs. If you’re relatively
new to building and hosting your own web pages, then you
might want to opt for a monthly service. Experiment a bit
and extend the service if you find it meets your needs.

One thing you’ll definitely want to watch out for is the
“trial” web hosting package. These contracts offer, for
example, the first 60 days free and then require that you
make a longer term commitment. While this type of
arrangement may seem quite appealing, it’s based upon the
web hosting company betting that at the end of the “trial”
period it will be too much of a hassle for you to move your
web pages to another hosting service, so you’ll just stick
with them. So, forewarned is forearmed. Just beware…

The renewal of monthly, quarterly and yearly web hosting
packages all work essentially the same way. Once the term
is expired, you’ll have to renew your contract and pay
another fee. If you’re late, your credit card is declined,
or you simply decide not to renew, your web hosting account
will be closed. In essence, it’s like paying rent on an
apartment.

So remember, if you need to host web pages for a family
project or hobby, a free website might be just the ticket.
But any use beyond that almost requires that you select either shared or dedicated web hosting services if you want
others to take your web site seriously.

Finally, with web hosting costing from $80 per year and up,
you’ll want to carefully consider the features you get in
whatever web hosting package you select. Remember, once
you’ve chosen a web host provider and taken the trouble to
upload your web pages and get everything set “just right”
it’s a major hassle to take everything down and move to
another web host provider.

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Low Cost Web Hosting

Statistics show that the primary concern of most web hosting seekers out there is the cost of the web hosting. The price tag is what most people is concerned about. In reality the price of the hosting package is only half the worry. The other half is a plethora of options and services, features and offers that not only confuse a beginner mind but also mislead them with numerous technicalities. Choosing the best web hosting is a perfect balance of required features and the right price. In this article I am going to guide you through the process of choosing the cheapest but also the best web hosting service you possibly can. Like I mentioned before, there is a very thin line between choosing a great web host or a demon from hell. Believe me just as a great web hosting can be the most pleasant and rewarding experience, a bad web hosting service could be a nightmare you just won’t be able to wake up from. In this article I am going to share the knowledge and experience that I gained over the years and the mistakes that I made, so you don’t have to go through it all.

The first step in choosing the best, low cost web host is the acquisition of as much knowledge and information about the general topic of web hosting as you possibly can. This information and knowledge is going to be your best friend in the journey towards finding the best and cheapest web host out there. When you thoroughly know and understand all the web hosting concepts and terms, only then you would be able to decide your requirements and the options and features you need for your web site.

Do not jump at the sight of a $2 per month web hosting service and sign up with your eyes closed. Believe me I did it and it was a hellish experience. Be realistic, web hosts so cheap can never hope to provide good, let alone best, service. These web hosts are often down, do not offer quality customer support, are very slow and may have outdated software which can compromise the integrity and security of your web site.

Trim your fat. Do not get hosting packages with features you do not require or have no idea what they are. Do not get features simply because you have heard a lot about them and you think having them in your hosting package is professional or cool or important. Know what you need and only get that. It saves a lot of money. In the beginning, for my first 4-5 pages website, I got hosting packages that included databases, email forwarding, CGI, a large web space, high bandwidth, additional scripts and programs and a lot of other unnecessary elements that I had no idea what to do with, and only because I thought I might need them for my website some time later. Do not do that, whenever your needs increase your available resources or options or features, almost all web hosts offer the option of upgrading your existing web hosting account to include the newer elements that you now require.

Do not consider yourself a customer who is bound to have a bad experience only because you are in search of low cost or cheap web hosting. So, expect to have great web hosting support even when you are paying small bucks, all customers are to be treated the same way, so if a web host has good technical support, it is good for everyone, or is supposed to be. So do not be shy to contact them and talk to them as many times as you would want. Ask them questions about all your concerns and doubts, and keep asking until you are not truly satisfied. As a customer you are eligible for best technical support, so make sure it is available before you make a hosting decision.

Go for shared web hosting. Shared web hosting is the common preference of most web hosting buyers. Shared web hosting not only takes your web hosting costs to a considerable low level, it also is a great choice in terms of support and less technicalities. Shared hosting is pre-configured and good to go, while the other type of web hosting available; the Dedicated hosting, is not only expensive but also is a whole lot more technical. When cheap web hosting is your preference, there is no better option than the shared web hosting.

Keep searching for a good and really cheap web host, because I know that they do exist. So you might be thinking right now, hey if you know all that and you know any good and cheap web hosts, why don’t you tell us?, That is because everyone’s definition of cheap is different with respect to the features they require, e.g. I might think that for me cheap web hosting is $0.5 per month and if I tell you a web host that is cheap by my standard and offer web hosting for $0.5 per month, you might say dude I asked for cheap, not a scam. So everyone’s idea of cheap is different, so would your be. But keep looking, and you might someday find the best, cheapest web host out there.

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How to Choose the Right Web Hosting Company

You have made up your mind that you will buy a domain name (or several) and take out web hosting from a web hosting provider.

First some considerations about the domain name(s)

Domain names do not really have anything to do with web hosting and can be registered independently from the web hosting package. There are advantages if you have domain name and web hosting separate. For example, if the web hosting company you selected fails to provide a good service, all you need to do is find a better web hosting company and change the domain name settings. If you have domain name and web hosting with the same company and the company ceases trading, the last thing they think about is your web hosting or domain name. By having them separate, you are lowering the risk.

Disadvantages of registering the domain name with your web hosting company

Many web hosting companies offer to register domain names on your behalf. You think that your domain name is with your web hosting company, when, in fact, they register it through some third party registrar for you. You then receive an invoice in 2 years time from a company you never heard of, ignore it, and in the worst case lose your domain name.

Furthermore, in many cases, you will not get access to your domain name details nor will you be given a domain name control panel. Why do you need a domain name control panel? You need to be able to update the contact information for your domain name(s). If you move house for example and do not update you domain name details and for some reason you need to change registrar etc. (or because your web hosting company ceased trading), you are in danger of losing your domain name because you cannot prove any longer that you are the owner of a certain domain name.

Also, a domain name control panel allows you to change email forwarding, web forwarding, and most importantly, the domain name servers, as well as some other settings. Check out 123-Reg if you want to find out more about that.

Larger web hosting providers

Have a good look around online and check out different web hosting providers. There are many large web hosting companies out there such as 1and1. The advantage of registering with a large web hosting company is that they have hardly any downtime and their servers will be fast and up-to-date with the latest spam protection etc. Web hosting can be costly though if you reqister with a large web hosting company and if you want any additional services, you will have to pay for them. Support can be an issue too - you usually have to fight through hundreds of "Frequently Asked Questions" before you are allowed to send an email to their support team. You might also have to call a Premium Rate phone number if you need to speak to someone urgently. These rates can rate from £0.50 to £2 per minute (!) or even more. In most cases, you will receive good support, but in some cases you might be put through to an unexperienced person who has to speak to their supervisor to double-check things frequently - and all that at a premium rate!

The biggest problem with large web hosting providers is that if you miss the annual payment and do not react to their payment reminders - they will remove your website, your account, without further notice. In some cases, there will not be any chance to recover your website. With a large web hosting company, your website is just a number in a very large pool of websites. If they lose your custom, so what!

Web hosting with a smaller web hosting provider

If you find a reliable smaller web hosting provider, chances are that you will receive a personal service, and support questions are answered with a lot more detail and a lot quicker. Most likely, you can call a UK landline or an 0845 or 0870 number which is a lot cheaper than £2 per minute. In some cases, you might be able to receive a reply to your support question - which you sent on a Saturday evening - that same night.

If you miss your payment with a smaller web hosting company, they will most likely call you personally and remind you on your late payment. They are keen to keep you as a customer and will probably not remove your account and your website immediately.

Web Statistics

Ask the web hosting company if they provide extensive website statistics. You want to know how many visitors have accessed your website, what search terms they used to find your website in Google and other search engines, how many visitors you have per day, on a certain day of the week, and so on. Please also ask if you can have access to the website log files. You might think that adding a website hit counter will provide enough information, but that is actually the most inaccurate method of counting your website visitors - and apart from that they look tacky and unprofessional. Your web hosting company should provide statistics that are at least as comprehensive as Webalizer and if statistics are important for you, you need to have access to your log files which can then be analyzed with statistics analysing software (such as Surfstats).

E-Mail issues to watch out for

Before you take out web hosting, ask them if they provide SMTP/POP3 which you need to set up email accounts. If you want one or several e-mail addresses with your website - such as sales@mydomain.com - the web hosting company needs to provide SMTP/POP3 setup. Some web hosting companies only allow you to receive emails sent to sales@mydomain.com, but they will not allow you to use these e-mail addresses to send e-mails from. They will simply argue that you can use your Internet Service Provider E-Mail address - such as joe.smith@btopenworld.com. This does not look professional at all, and you should avoid web hosting companies that do not provide SMTP/POP3 service.

Backups

Check with your web hosting company how often backups are made. Usually, backups are made on a daily basis. If you have a large online store on your website and the server room at the web hosting premises is on fire, you will lose all your work if they do not back up their web server files. So please check if they have a backup routine in place.

Free Webhosting with your internet service provider

Please do not use this! Your internet service provider company provide an internet connection. That is what they specialise in. They sometimes "throw in" free web hosting for up to 100 MB or even more. They normally do not provide SMTP / POP3 setup for the sending / receiving of emails related to your website (such as sales@mydomain.com), nor will they provide databases, server scripting language support and such like. Usually, you can only upload websites developed in pure HTML, and in some cases you will not be able to use FTP software for uploading your files and managing your files on the web server. Your business website will proabably use some sort of server-side scripting language - such as ASP, PHP etc. and maybe use a database such as MySQL. If your website is with your Internet Service Provider, the support for this service can be poor and the account can sometimes not be upgraded to include server-side scripting languages, and/or databases.

Web Hosting Costs

Web Hosting costs can vary greatly. You can take out web hosting for as little as £15 per year, or you can get web hosting, including 5 email addresses, 100 MB web space (which is a lot for a small business presence) for as little as £30 per year (check out Plugsocket). If you buy a web design magazine (such as NET - www.netmag.co.uk), you will see many adverts from bigger web hosting companies. Check out their prices, their policies, and maybe give them a call - you will find out how long it takes until your call is answered.

Do not jump in because it is cheap, and conversely, do not think the service must be great because it is expensive. Check out what is on offer and then make an informed decision.

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Things to Consider When Choosing a Web Hosting Plan

Does your web hosting plan really matter? This is a question
pondered by many people starting out in internet marketing.
Unfortunately, not much thought is put into selecting a web
hosting plan as part of the website development process. Many
people don't even review hosting plans at all, they just trust
their web designer or web developer to choose a web hosting plan
for them because they consider it a minor factor that doesn't
matter too much.

In reality, a web hosting plan is one of those things that
doesn't really matter and doesn't come to attention unless there
is a problem with it. So, if you get lucky and incidentally get a
decent web hosting plan without considering your options, you
probably don't think choosing a web hosting plan is a very
important aspect of website development. However, if you've had
an inadequate web hosting plan, or you've been burned by a fly-
by-night web hosting company, you may view the selection of a web
hosting plan in a different light.

The main things to consider when choosing a web hosting plan are:

1. Security

2. Speed

3. Space

4. Email capabilities

5. Reports

6. Administrative functions

7. Reliability

8. Support

9. Extra features

10. Cost

Security

The security features of a web hosting plan's servers is
important to website development, especially if your website will
be an ecommerce website through which customer payments or
processed, or if customers will be transmitting personal
information to you via your website. Without a secure server,
customers may be hesitant to transmit personal and financial
information through your website. Encryption capabilities and the
ability to set up a dedicated secure server for your company are
security features you should look for in your web hosting plan.

Speed

The speed at which your website loads is very significant in e-
business. When people visit your website, if it takes more than a
few seconds for the site to load they will get impatient and move
on, forgetting your website altogether. When you evaluate a web
hosting plan, be sure to ask the web host what type of internet
connection they use to ensure that it is a high-speed connection.

Space

The space that your web hosting plan allows for your website and
the bandwidth that is available for your use matters. In most
cases, any web hosting plan provides adequate space for a
standard website, but make sure that you can increase the space
provided for your web hosting plan if necessary as your website
evolves. Bandwidth restrictions can hinder the ability of website
visitors to download or upload data.

Email Capabilities

Email capabilities should be included in every web hosting plan.
The number of email addresses provided, the ability to use email
aliases, and the ability to set up autoresponders are things to
be considered. Also, restrictions on the size of files that can
be sent and received or stored on the email server can be of
importance.

Reports

Access to server logs and other reports regarding website
activity should be standard features of a web hosting plan. Using
such reports aids in your marketing efforts as you can tell where
your traffic is coming from and which marketing mediums are
producing results. You can also determine which of your web pages
of most popular and which ones are not being visited.

Administrative Functions

Sometimes a web developer serves as a webmaster, but for the most
part, a website owner needs to be able to quickly and easily make
changes to the website. This is accomplished through the
administrative features of a web hosting plan, generally on
online accessible control panel.

Reliability

The reliability of the company that provides your web hosting
plan is crucial. The length of time they have been in business,
their percent of uptime, and their backup and data retrieval
practices play a big part in whether or not your web hosting plan
is reliable. Downtime results in lost business, so reliability is
a critical consideration.

Support

Technical support is something that should definitely be a part
of a web hosting plan. Different web hosts will have different
levels of support with some offering person-to-person phone
support while others respond to email or online requests. Some
provide 24 hour technical support and others don't. Find out
about the quality and convenience of technical support that is
provided before selecting a web hosting plan.

Extra Features

There are many standard features that should be provided in a web
hosting plan, then there are options that may cost extra. A full-
service web hosting plan may cost a bit more than limited plans,
but may be worth it. Some of the features to look for include FTP
access capabilities for the purpose of sharing files and support
for software you may use for your website.

Cost

Of course cost is important when choosing a web hosting plan;
however, it is not the most important consideration. Sometimes
you really do get what you pay for. So, cost should be factored
into your decision but going with the cheapest web hosting plan
is not always the best idea. Also, free web hosting plans are
usually not worth having.

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5 Minute Guide to Web Hosting for Beginners

Seasoned webmasters can easily setup a new website in minutes with one of their preferred hosting companies. Novice webmasters are often confused by the various web hosting plans - affordable web hosting, Cheap Web hosting, ASP Web Hosting, Budget Hosting, Dedicated Servers, eCommerce Hosting, FrontPage Web Hosting, Hosting With Templates, Managed Web Hosting, PHP Web Hosting, Reseller Hosting, Shared Hosting, Unix / Linux Hosting, Virtual Private Servers, Windows Hosting and Co-location Hosting.

There're really a few things to look at while choosing a web hosting plan whether you run a hobby site, a small business site, or a high-traffic ecommerce site. In fact, all web hosting plans and terminologies can be classified in terms of cost, programming languages, operation systems, Web servers and functionality.

Cost - Cost of web hosting is the first thing that many small site owners are looking for. Most of web hosting plans cost less than $10 a month. Affordable web hosting, budget hosting or cheap web hosting plan often cost less than $5 per month.

Programming Languages - Whether you want to write your own scripts or install customized software packages, you want to choose the hosting plans that support the programming languages of your choice. The commonly used Web development languages include PHP, ASP, JSP and PERL. The hosting plans that support those programming languages are referred as PHP Web hosting, ASP Web hosting, JSP Web hosting or PERL Web hosting. Almost all hosting companies support PHP/MySQL, but only a fraction of them support ASP or JSP. For beginners, PHP/MySQL is the choice for programming language.

Operating Systems - Once you've picked up the programming language(s) for your Web development, you still have freedom to choose the operating system that hosts your Websites. Besides ASP which works only on Microsoft Windows, other programming languages, PHP, JSP and PERL, work on Windows, Unix and Linux. Hosting plans that support particular operating systems are referred as Window Hosting, Unix Hosting or Linux hosting.

Servers - Apache is the most widely supported Web server in Web hosting industry. One of nice things about Apache server is the ability of mod_rewrite to make dynamic URL look like static URL or SEO-friendly among other things. ASP works only on Mirosoft Internet Information Server or IIS server. Weblogic or Websphere is needed for JSP hosting.

Performance - When webmasters are talking about Web servers, they're most interested in the server performance - Managed Web Hosting, Shared Hosting, Dedicated Servers, or Virtual Private Servers (VPS). Shared hosting is the cheapest plan, and you can host as many sites as you like with a Reseller Hosting option. VPS costs around $50 a month, and Dedicated Server plan will cost from $50 - $100 or more a month dependent on storage space and bandwidth of the hosting plan. A shared hosting is good enough for most of websites. If your website serves heavy audio/video files, or needs to frequently install customized software package, you'll need a dedicated server. For example, a company that sells Computer Based Training (CBT) software online upgraded its hosting plan from a shared hosting to a dedicated hosting plan in the first 6 months of online operation as the company started to use video/audio support to boost online sales.

Online Transaction Support - Websites that accept payment online require support of secure connection (HTTPS) and digital certification to conduct online transaction safely. The alternative of having your own online merchant account is to use a third party payment processor for payment process. Integration of paypal shopping cart only takes about a few minutes without any knowledge of programming skills.

After all, choosing a web hosting plan that works for you isn't that complex, even for the beginners.

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Web Hosting, Where to Start?

Web hosting is a necessity when starting your web presence, with out it you don't have a site, but finding high quality web hosting can be a daunting challenge, after all, do you need one gigabyte of bandwidth, web hosting with one IP, unlimited databases or a free domain name. What does this really mean and what should you be looking for when you try to find a suitable web hosting company.

Web hosting companies are extremely profitable if they are popular, they have high start-up costs, but over time their general overheads dramatically reduce (proportionally). This is evident if you think that they have to pay to get directly connected to the backbone in order to establish the fastest possible connection, they need secure fire resistance premises, equipment, support staff and much more.

Once established their costs per web hosting account reduce, if you go to a major web hosting company and order a web hosting server, all they are really doing is adding a computer to their existing network, therefore splitting the overall costs. Then you pay approximately $150-$200 per month to keep that dedicated web hosting server.

Your web hosting requirements

You need to realistically establish what web hosting requirements you have for your site, do you really need 400 gigabytes of bandwidth (transfer) per month? Most sites are lucky to use 2 gigabytes per month from their web hosting account. Databases are another big issue, many web hosting companies change extra for databases, when in actual fact they don't cost anything to maintain as they reside on the same server. So before you proceed, you need to analyse what web hosting requirements you really have, look at the script requirements you have of any potential software products you plan to use on your web hosting account.

Another limitation a lot of web hosting companies impose is the amount of mailboxes you can have, many people start on the internet with the intention of offering their friends, family and staff email boxes as well as numerous emails for their site, for example webmaster@domain.com , support@domain.com , jobs@domain.com and contact@domain.com . The chances are you really don't need that many mail boxes and administering them can be a gruelling task.

You know your web hosting requirements, what next?

Your primary goal should be to visit web hosting information sites in order to obtain a list of potential web hosting companies. A great web hosting information resource is Web Hosting Village, they provide web hosting articles, news and information, and in fact the best place to start your search for quality web hosting.

Creating a list of potential web hosting companies

Given that web hosting companies are profitable, they tend to advertise immensely across the internet. The more successful a web hosting company is the more they are willing to spend on web hosting related advertising. Therefore finding hosting companies via paid advertising, such as Googles Adsense, is generally a good idea as this a good step to take to establish how successful they have been.

Short listing

In order to short list your potential web hosting companies you need to visit each site and just quickly look around, if the design is poor or they don't offer adequate support, then the chances are this web hosting company is not for you. Whether you are new to the whole web hosting experience or an expert, there will eventually be a time when you need to contact your web hosting support. If they are non existent then you will really have a problem, so establishing their channels of communication and support should be one of your top priorities when selecting a web hosting company.

Inside information

Once you have a shortlist of several web hosting companies, you need to research them via forums and webmaster communities. Chances are if someone has had a bad experience or extremely good they will want to write about it somewhere on the internet.

Selection

You should now have a list of two to three potential web hosting companies who you are really impressed with, now you need to make the selection. The best way is to weigh up the features and price and be really realistic as to your requirements, we have all been in the situation where we have been over ambitious and bought something that is too advanced for us.

If you have a winning concept that will make you bigger than Yahoo or eBay, the chances are you still don't need a mega server when you start off, you just need something small and stable that will allow you to develop and promote your business. Once you have a good source of income you can upgrade your web hosting account with your current supplier and not experience any downtime whatsoever, so why pay for a mega web hosting account when you can get by with a $19.99 a month web hosting account and use the additional amount on marketing or development.

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Understanding Web Hosting

You've got your new business all established now and you're ready to take the next step and set up a website to tell the online world that you're here and you've got something to offer. You've found a catchy domain name to call your own and now... what next? Well, the answer is that you need to find web hosting for the website you're going to build. So what does that mean and how do you figure out what kind of web hosting you need? First let's start with the basics.

Just what is web hosting anyway?

In simple terms, web hosting is renting space on a web server. A website is not simply a domain name, it is a collection of files linked together by HTML code to display text and graphics on a computer. In order for anybody to see this collection of files you've created, it has to be housed on a computer somewhere that has access to the internet. Not just any computer will do, of course. A web server is a computer set up with special software that allows it to receive requests from the internet for the website files it has stored on it and to send those files out over the internet so that the requesting computer can display them. It is very much like a waiter in a restaurant taking your order and bringing the food that you ask for from the kitchen, hence the name "server."

Along with making sure your files can be seen by internet users around the world, a web server provides other important services as well. First and foremost is the ability to create email addresses based on your domain name and to send and receive email with them. The web server also has various types of software installed on it that allow your website to run programs, create and manage databases, display video, and many other functions you might find useful. Almost any type of computer can function as a web server, but it's the software that's on it that makes it a server.

When you buy webhosting, the monthly fee you pay goes to the continued maintenance and upgrading of the server's hardware and software, the cost of keeping it online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in a secure data center with a fast and powerful internet connection, and to pay for the expertise of the people who do all that work. It is completely possible to turn your own home or office computer into a web server if you really want to, but in most cases it is far more economical to pay someone else who is dedicated to providing this service in a properly reliable manner than it is to try and do it yourself.

What kinds of web hosting are there?


Shared Hosting - Most websites are not huge affairs with hundreds of pages and thousands of files and graphics, and they are targeted toward a particular audience, so they will not get as many visitors as the large general sites like Yahoo! that are targeted at everybody who uses the internet. As such, the average website therefore is not going to require the full resources of an entire web server to run it. Web servers are designed to be able to handle dozens, even hundreds of websites at once because they are powerful machines.

Shared hosting is simply the concept of hosting more than one website on a particular server. Over 95% of all websites on the internet are being run in a shared hosting environment. Since the resources of the server can be split among the clients hosted on it, so can the costs of operating the server, so shared hosting is universally cheaper than any other type. Shared hosting packages are generally designed so that each client is allotted a certain amount of each resource, with different payment levels representing different amounts of resources such as disk space, bandwidth, email addresses, and so on. Shared hosting is also known as virtual hosting.

Dedicated Hosting - If you do have a big, powerful website that gets lots of visitors and has a tendency to hog resources, then you might want to have a web server all to yourself. Some companies also prefer the extra security of not having to share the server with anyone else who could do something accidentally or on purpose to crash it. Renting the use of an entire server is known as dedicated hosting. The web hosting company still owns the machine and takes responsibility for maintaining the hardware and the web hosting software, but you have greater control over the configuration and use of the server. There is also such a thing as semi-dedicated hosting, in which a web server is only split between a very small number of clients, such as 2 to 4, with strong partitions between each to prevent them from interfering with one another. Since the hosting company is still responsible for the upkeep of the server, this type of hosting is also known as managed hosting. For obvious reasons, dedicated hosting always costs significantly more than shared hosting.

Server Co-Location - If you really want complete control over every aspect of your web server, you might very well choose to buy one and maintain it yourself if you have sufficient knowledge. However, chances are that you still don't have the resources to keep your server completely safe from power outages, roof leaks, thieves, unwary employees and other hazards and keep it on the internet on a fast, high-bandwidth connection at all times. You need a data center to provide those services for you. Co-location is the rental of physical security, continuous electrical power and a fast, reliable internet connection for a server that you own. The data center is not responsible for any of the hardware or software maintenance of a co-located server, you are. This can be a cheaper alternative to dedicated hosting if you have the necessary expertise and time to run a web server yourself.

Some web hosts are offering UNIX hosting and Windows hosting. What's the difference?

The terms UNIX hosting and Windows hosting refer to the operating system (OS) that is running on the server. The operating system, of course, is the software that allows the computer to function and manage all of the other hardware and software that is installed on it. Chances are good that you are reading this on a computer running a version of the Windows operating system, the most popular operating system in the world for personal and business computers. Other operating systems that are growing in popularity are Macintosh and various versions of Linux. However, the operating system you use on your computer is irrelevant to which type of hosting you choose. Here are some of the main features of UNIX and Windows:

UNIX Hosting

Most of the web servers in the world today run on one of the many variants of UNIX. The UNIX operating system was originally developed by universities for servers and networking, and many different versions have been written by programmers around the world under the open-source protocol, which means that the code for the operating system is openly available for programmers to customize and make improvements. Linux and BSD are the most popular forms of UNIX and come in many varieties, such as Red Hat Linux, Debian, SuSE, and FreeBSD. Most of these different versions (and much of the software that runs on them) can be obtained for free, which makes UNIX hosting cheaper for a web host than other operating systems and allows them to offer lower prices. UNIX hosting platforms are generally considered to be stable, secure, powerful and fast. Most web programming applications can be performed by software that is available for a UNIX platform. "UNIX hosting" has become a generic term to refer to any platform that is derived from the original UNIX.

Windows Hosting

Microsoft has developed its own operating system for servers as a special version of its Windows operating system, Windows Server 2003. It is a commercial product which requires the operator to purchase a license, which increases the cost of operation for the web host and usually results in higher hosting prices. Windows is designed to be user friendly, but it is generally considered to be less powerful and secure than UNIX for operating in a network environment. ASP, ASP.NET, and ColdFusion are scripting languages which will only run on a Windows server, as will the Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Access database programs. These are popular for certain web programming applications, and if you are planning on using them to build your website, you will need to find a Windows host.

What are some of the terms I need to know when I choose a web host?


Disk Space or Storage - Because your website is a collection of files being offered on the internet for viewing, they have to be stored somewhere for retrieval and take up space. Each web server has a finite amount of hard disk memory to divide up and offer to hosting customers. Typically that space is divided up by different package levels so that the more you pay, the more space you are allowed to store pictures, web pages, videos and whatever other files you like on the web server's hard drive. If your website gets bigger than the space you are given, you will need to purchase more disk space from the web host.

Bandwidth or Data Transfer - Whenever you visit a website and view a page, you are transfering a copy of the files that make up that page over the internet from the web server to your computer. If the page you are viewing consists of an HTML file that is 3KB in size and three pictures of 47KB, 100KB and 250 KB, then you have just used 400KB of bandwidth or data transfer, because that is the total amount of data you just downloaded from the web server to view that page. Bandwidth is a commodity like disk space that the web host has to buy from its internet service provider, so it too is divided up and offered to the customers in specific amounts. Bandwidth amounts are usually measured in gigabytes (GB), because while only one copy of your files needs to be stored on the server, thousands or even millions of copies may be downloaded for viewing. If your website is viewed more times than the amount of bandwidth you are allowed can handle, your website may be turned off until the next billing period starts, or you may simply be billed for the excess amount used, depending on your host's policies. You can always purchase more bandwidth as your site's traffic increases.

Uptime - In an ideal world, every web server would be up and running and offering your web pages to the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week forever. However, web servers are computers, and like any other computer, things happen to make them fail, or they get old and out of date and require maintenance and repair. When a web host gives you a 99% uptime guarantee, they are saying that the web server will be up and running for 99% of the billing period. If they fail to meet this guarantee, most web hosts will refund a certain portion of your money depending on the amount of excess downtime they experienced.


Traffic Statistics - Website traffic statistics programs try to track visitors to your website. They can track how many times your site was visited, how many visitors were unique and how many returned more than once, which pages were most popular, where the visitors came to your site from, what search terms they used in the search engines, and many other types of information which could be useful to you in marketing your website to a target audience. These statistics can be displayed in tables, graphs and charts by hour, day, week, month or year. Some statistics programs are better than others and offer more types of data, better displays, easier navigation or other useful features. Most web hosts today offer some sort of traffic statistics software with their hosting packages.

CGI Scripts - Many web hosts offer a variety of free CGI scripts with their packages. These are things like hit counters, guestbooks, form mail programs, message boards, and other programs that allow your website to perform commonly desired functions. You can use the ones your host provides you with or you can upload and run custom CGI scripts written by yourself or somebody else to perform different tasks like conducting a survey or processing customer information to produce an automatic price quote. Most CGI scripts are written in common programming languages like Perl, PHP or ASP.

You could spend a long time trying to learn everything there is to know about web hosting, but if you've read this far then you should be armed with the basic knowledge you need to understand what different web hosts are offering you. Your next task is to figure out what you need and go out and find a host that wants to give it to you at a great price!

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How to Choose a Right Web Hosting Service?

Indeed, choosing a right web hosting service for your website is not an easy task especially when there are thousands of web hosting providers all offering almost identical web hosting packages. Therefore, it is important to know few major considerations even before you start your web hosting search. Below are three major criteria for web host seeker:

Web hosting features requirement

This is probably the most important consideration to start finding a host for your site. You need to decide the technical requirements for your website, this including:

a) Server platform and hardware requirements

If you plan to set up a website that uses programming environments such as Active Server Pages (ASP), Visual Basic scripts, Cold Fusion or Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL database, in this case, you will need to find a web hosting service that supports Windows platform such as Windows NT or Windows 2000 servers.

Likewise, if you plan to use programming languages such as Perl, CGI, SSI, PHP or mySQL database, then any web hosting plans that support Unix/Linux platform should be sufficient to meet your hosting requirements. Once you have these server platform and hardware requirements in mind, you can decide the best web hosting plans for your need. For more information, you can read "How to select a web server and server platform?"

b) Disk space & Bandwidth requirement

Here is another technical requirement that you need to consider before selecting a web hosting plan, i.e. disk space and bandwidth. If you intend to publish a website that does not have a lot of contents (meaning, web pages), then the disk space requirement may not be a big concern to you. In general, a disk space with 200MB to 500MB should be enough to meet your hosting requirement. In contrast, if you plan to host a website with enormous amount of graphic pictures, mp3 or video files, then you should consider a web hosting plan that provide huge disk space, for example, 500 MB to 1,000 MB.

Similarly, the bandwidth requirement will depend on your site traffic estimation. Obviously, a website that expect to attract high traffic will consume the monthly bandwidth allowance very fast. If so, you will need to find one web hosting service that offer huge bandwidth with 40 GB to 100 GB per month. Depending upon your website requirement, choosing a web hosting service that provide sufficient amount of disk space and bandwidth is crucial consideration to prevent paying extra costs in the future should you overuse the monthly disk space and bandwidth allowance.

c) Other hosting features

While the above requirements are utmost important, there are other hosting features that you have to consider too. Can web hosting provider support video clips on your website, if you have? Is the web hosting service compatible with Dreamweaver or FrontPage web authoring tool? Do you plan to set up a virtual store online? Can the host support the e-commerce features without adding extra cost to your monthly payments? On top of that, you may also want to find out the number of email accounts provided, number of FTP accounts, web statistic software (analyze your web traffic), type of control panel supported (manage your web hosting account), database and scripting languages supported and etc.

Reliability and scalability


A first-class web hosting provider offers reliable server uptime and fast Internet connection. You should only choose a web hosting service that guarantee at least 99% server uptime with high-speed Internet backbones using at least OC3 (Optical Carrier) lines (155 Megabits per second) or above instead of T1 or T3 lines. A reliable web hosting provider usually invests heavily on their data center infrastructure with high performance servers, high speed multiple backbones providers with fail-over redundancy, backup power generators and firewall software protection in place to ensure they meet the uptime guarantee specified in the terms of service.

Similarly, you should choose a web hosting service with hardware facilities that designed for scalability, so that they can grow with your business. For example, if you need to increase more disk space, bandwidth or number of mySQL databases, you should be able to upgrade as needed without any problems.

Customer service and support


The last major consideration in choosing a web hosting service is to find a web hosting providers that offers excellent customer service and support. You should always search for a web hosting provider that offers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week technical support that fielded with highly experience technicians, so that any web hosting problems will be resolved within a reasonable amount of time. You may also want to consider to test how responsive is their customer support by sending few inquiry emails to the web hosting provider. In general, any response in less than 24 hours is considered acceptable. It is a sign of poor customer support if they take more than one day to response.

In addition, a web hosting provider with excellent support should also provide multiple support channels, such as toll-free phone support, 24/7 email support, live chat, online knowledgebase, Interactive flash tutorials and FAQ.

Above are few major considerations before you choose your web hosting service. In addition, how long has the web hosting provider in business and the number of customers that they currently have are also a good indication of the quality of their hosting products as well as the stability of the company. Even though cost of the web hosting service is also important but it should not be your major consideration. Because the price of a web hosting service has been declining over the years due to competition, as a result, the price of most of the web hosting services offering quality hosting features has been converging to less than US$10 per month. If you can't afford less than $10 per month, you probably isn't in the online business for the long haul. Therefore, price should not be a major deciding factor.

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How to Transfer Your Web Site to a New Web Hosting Service?

There are various reasons why an online business owner like you has decided to switch to a new web hosting providers. Your old web hosting provider probably has very poor technical support, or their web server is always down, or may be your old web hosting provider cannot meet your hosting requirements anymore or you could have discovered a cheaper web hosting service…and etc. Regardless of the reasons, now you have found a new web hosting service and you need to transfer your website from your current web host to the new web host. Below is the step-by-step guide that you can follow in order to achieve a painless and error free of moving to a new web hosting provider.

Transfer Schedule

Ideally, you should plan the transfer one month before you terminate your old web hosting plan in order to have sufficient time to perform a smooth transfer. Doing the transfer in less than one month time frame will put your website in risk of inaccessible.

New web hosting service registration

Now, sign-up your new web hosting service once you have decided the termination date mentioned above. Depending on your new web hosting provider, your new web hosting account usually will be set up within 24 hours.

Files Backup

While waiting for your new web hosting account to be created, it is time to backup all your web files on the old web hosting provider. In most cases, you already have all the files of your website on your local computer. However, it is still a good idea to backup all your files from the old web server. In addition to the normal HTML files, you may need to backup any script files, databases files, and even server logs files if it is necessary. You should create a directory structure that is similar to the directory structure on your web server and download the files into the respective directory.


Files uploading

Once you are notified that your new web hosting account has been created, you will receive a notification email from your new web hosting provider. In that email, it contains all the information required to set up website, this including the FTP server information. With that FTP information, you can now FTP to your new web hosting server and upload all your files. You should start by first creating the directory structures on the web server, and then upload all the files to the respective directory.

It is the time to install any script files or databases if there are used in your website. Likewise, it is a good time to set up all the email accounts through the administration panel.

Once you have finished uploading all the files and installed the script files or databases, you can now use the temporary URL to test your site. The temporary URL can be found in the notification email from your new web hosting provider. The temporary URL could be in the following format:
http://viola.lunarpages.com/~your-webaccountname

Testing

Using the temporary URL directory, you can now test your web site online. Due to the fact that different web hosting server may require different server environment to execute. Therefore, you need to verify all the scripts (such as CGI, Perl) are working accordingly. In addition, you should test all the hyperlinks in the normal web pages if possible to ensure no broken links. While you are testing through the temporary URL directory, your website hosted on the old web hosting provider is continue operating.

Transfer domain name

Once you have finished testing your new website on the temporary URL and verified it is working perfectly. The next step is to contact your current domain name registrar (i.e. the company where you register your domain name) to change the old DNS (Domain Name Server) to point to the new DNS of your new web hosting provider. Usually, the DNS information is sent to you through email after you register successful with the new web hosting provider. Alternatively, you will be able to find the DNS information from the website of your new hosting provider.

Domain name servers control how a domain name is resolved. Typically, the domain name servers are in following format:

NS1.YOUR-NEW-WEB-HOSTING.COM
NS2.YOUR-NEW-WEB-HOSTING.COM

Some domain name registrar requires the IP addresses of the DNS. In this case you have to provide the IP addresses of your new DNS. For example:

NS1: 216.193.194.212
NS2: 216.193.207.106

Typically, it will take about 24-72 hours to get the DNS record to change and propagate through all the WHOIS servers. You can use Whois tools on the Internet such as whois.com to monitor the status of the DNS transfer. Once the transfer is completed, you will notice the change to your new DNS. Alternatively, you can make a minor modification to your home page (for example, adding a new image or symbol) and upload to the new web hosting server. When you access your home page through the normal domain name (www.your-website.com) and you notice the new home page, then you are sure that the DNS has been transferred successfully.

Final Testing

Now, your website on the new web hosting provider is officially transferred and online. You should repeat all the tests to ensure it is fully functional. Once you are confirmed the new website is working correctly, you can go ahead to terminate your old web hosting account.

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Internet web hosting

Anyone who has been on the Internet for any length of time has probably heard of Internet web hosting. Internet web site hosting is now widely available, so just about anyone can build and maintain their own website using one of the many Internet web site hosting services that are available online.

Internet Hosting for Everyone

It used to be the case that cheap Internet hosting was simply not available. Now, there are so many Internet hosting companies on the World Wide Web that offer many levels of services, features and prices to budding webmasters. Internet web page hosting is so ubiquitous that everyone can now get into the website game. If you have ever hosted daydreams of building or promoting your very own website, now is the time to do it.

Internet Web Hosting: What's in it For You?

What can you expect from an Internet web hosting company? An Internet web hosting provider will allow you to build a website on their server. The contents of your website will be delivered through the hosting company. The company that is responsible for maintaining your website and all of its contents online is known as the Internet web hosting provider. They are responsible for repairing any damaged hardware and fixing slow servers that may be blocking access to your website. It makes sense, then, to choose an Internet web hosting provider with a reputation for good customer service in case you have trouble with your website's performance.

What to Look For in an Internet Web Hosting Provider

You should make certain to look for specific things when choosing an Internet web hosting provider. First, make sure that their servers are large and stable enough to provide you with reliable service. You may even want to test upload times to see which Internet web hosting provider seems to have the best and most speedy performance. Second, make sure that their customer service is reachable and responsive. You want to know you can reach another human being if something goes wrong. Finally, examine the features that the Internet web hosting provider offers you with their subscription. Shop around and compare to find the best bundle of features.

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Web page hosting

Web page hosting refers to companies that provide users with a means of storing information and using their online systems and servers for purposes of building and maintaining a web site. Individuals may use web page hosting to build their own personal web page, or to build a commercial or promotional web page for their business or enterprise. There are many things to consider before becoming involved with a specific web page hosting service.

Web Page Design and Other Features

Many web page hosting providers help users build a strong and appealing web page through the use of such programs as frontpage web hosting or other popular design programs. Whether you use frontpage to build your web site or not, it is definitely useful to choose a web page hosting provider that can help you design your web site. Many webpage hosting sites offer the use of attractive templates that are easy to use and fast. This is a quick and easy way to build an attractive web site in a matter of minutes.

Free Web Page Hosting

Many people ask whether free web page hosting is a good deal or not. Free web page hosting is definitely a good deal if you know that you don't require a large or elaborate web page. If you simply want to build a personal web site where you can blog or share pictures or video with friends, then you probably do not need to pay for expensive web page hosting.

Commercial Web Page Hosting

However, on the other hand, if you are planning on designing, building, and maintaining a commercial web page, you will probably want to find a web page hosting company that fulfill all of your needs. To build a fast, efficient, and attractive web page, choose a web page hosting service that gives you ample features, including automatic software and security updates, POP email updates, good customer service, fast uploads, and reliable server performance. Check out web hosting reviews before you choose a web page hosting service to find out what users think of the service, features and performance. Simply doing a little bit of homework can save you a lot of frustration and money in the long run.

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uk web hosting reseller

Are you looking to build a UK website, but aren't sure how to get started? One of the latest trends in web hosting involves hosting resellers. If you are looking for domain hosting in the UK, going with a web hosting reseller may be to your advantage. Here is a brief primer of UK web hosting reseller providers, and what they can do for you.

UK Web Hosting: What Can Resellers Do For You?

A UK web hosting reseller provider is essentially a vendor that can resell web space. Resellers tend to specialize in selling space to those looking for UK web hosting to establish a business presence on the World Wide Web. A UK web hosting reseller, then, will sell you space on a web server where you can locate your domain name and all of the contents on your website.

Why Go With a UK Web Hosting Reseller?

Why should you choose to buy web space from a UK web hosting reseller? One of the best reasons for going with a UK web hosting reseller is that it allows you to establish an online presence without having to put up a large initial investment. Establishing an online presence is crucial to just about any kind of business these days. Going for a web host reseller can sometimes be much less costly than establishing your own server. If you take the time to comparison shop, you will probably find that going with a UK web hosting provider will save you money. Many reseller plans are also comparable with more conventional web hosting options in terms of features.

Disadvantages to Using a UK Web Hosting Reseller

However, there are some possible disadvantages to using a UK web hosting reseller provider in lieu of a more conventional web hosting service. For instance, you may find that going with a web hosting reseller may not be enough to sustain a large, high performance and high traffic website. Or perhaps you may find that using a hosting reseller makes it more difficult to get in touch with customer service. Make sure what you are getting before you make the decision to subscribe to any kind of UK web hosting reseller provider.

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Web hosting reviews

We all know what a review is: there are movie reviews, book reviews, and restaurant reviews, but did you know there are also many web hosting reviews out there? It's true, and they can make all the difference when you are searching for the right web host for your new web site. If you are planning on designing, building, and launching your very own web site, you need to know who will be taking care of your web site before you sign up with a web hosting service. Different services offer different standards of quality and loads of different features, so reading a web hosting reviews can make all the difference when you go to choose a web host providers.

Web Host Reviews and What They Can Do For You

What can web hosting reviews do for you? Web hosting reviews can let you know what other users think about a web hosting service before you sign up to work with them. Check out the review for a web host and see what information you can attain. For instance, let us say that you have done an online search on your favorite Internet search engine, and it looks like you have found the right web hosting service provider for your web site. Before you sign on the dotted line, make sure to check if there is a web host review for that particular company. What you will find can often be surprising.

Scan Information in Web Hosting Reviews

Let's say that it looks like you have found the perfect web host for your needs. You have found a cheap, affordable web host, and you check out the web hosting review to see if the site really is as great as it looks. However, once you check out the web hosting reviews for that company, you find that most of its customers are complaining about downed servers, slow upload times, and poor customer service. It's a good thing you checked out the web hosting reviews!

Web Hosting Reviews Tell You What You Need To Hear

Web hosting reviews can let you know whether users deem a web hosting service as reliable, or if they have experienced problems with the host in the past. This is invaluable information to consider when you are looking for the right web hosting service for you. Make sure you have checked out the entire web hosting reviews online before you make a final decision.

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Free web hosting

Free web hosting has allowed millions of Internet users to knock down the virtual door to the Internet. Pretty much anyone can get his or her own web site these days. There are free web hosting sites suited for just about every need. Need somewhere to save all your digital pictures? Try a free image hosting site. Need a place to share video with friends, co-workers, and family members? Simply head to one of the free video hosting sites that are currently all the rage on the World Wide Web. Or maybe you have just always wanted your own web site. Well, lucky for you: there are literally dozens of free web site hosting providers online today.

Free Web Hosting for Everyone

When the Internet was new, it was the case that only a few people could build there own websites. Widespread web hosting services were non-existent and only the most savvy Internet users could figure out how to build there own working websites. Then, during the Internet heyday of the 1990s, something happened. Suddenly everyone clamored for their own website, and companies surged to fill that void. The idea of free web hosting gained popularity during this period, and since that time, most web users would agree that service has improved. New free web hosting companies provide users with free hosting software that is increasingly sophisticated yet easy to use.

Feature-Rich Free Web Hosting Services

Another major development in free web hosting services is that they are now equipped with many features that were previously unavailable. Many new free web hosting sites offer potential webmasters use of POP email systems, security features, design help, and sophisticated templates that allow them to build a professional-looking website within the span of a few minutes.

New Free Web Hosting Features

Furthermore, with the explosion of picture and video sites online today, it is no surprise that many free web hosting sites have incorporated many of these features into their free programs. It is now possible to organize extensive photo albums or even television programs on such systems. It is now possible to build a professional, slick site without having to pay a ton of money to a traditional web hosting service.

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Web Hosting Services

TheHostPlanet is an independent directory of web hosting providers. Our guide provides you a detached view of prime web hosting services. Here you will find the most updated information. At our site web hosting reviews and articles are available and the information is constantly being renewed. In order to help you to choose the most suitable hosting provider we made Top 10 ranking of companies, which hold leading position on the market. You have a splendid opportunity to get comprehensive direct data about web hosting services. This site is for those who are looking for the superb web site host that will suit all the requirements.

Before including the company into Top 10 we analyzed the host's advantages. We understand that each customer is interested in reasonable prices, innovative technologies, free extra services, security, uptime guarantee, fine technical support and high level of usability.

Considering all these points we made out a list of 10 web hosting providers, which give the most beneficial services. Information represented at our site is based on the feedback from the users of hosting services. The top hosting providers of our ranking have displayed stability and substantial leadership.

To run a successful on-line business you need safe reliable web site hosting. For example, if you want your ecommerce to show a profit you need your site always on-line and available to everyone. It will allow you to conduct transactions with no barriers of time or distance. You'll be a successful entrepreneur, if consumers go on-line and buy your products any time of the day or night. If the web hosting provider doesn't guarantee at least 99% uptime, than your business may suffer considerable losses. Another point is - if you ecommerce is growing rapidly, soon you'll have to think of widening your web site. In such case you should be aware of affordable free space you can get from your host provider. We can't but mention such an essential item as a security that is needed to protect your business from hackers. In our reviews we have included all key factors that influence the well being of your web affairs.

Wide range of web hosting services are accessible nowadays, such as image hosting, photo website hosting, email hosting, Unix hosting, Windows hosting, Linux web hosting etc. We hope you will find a good web page hosting solution, whether it's image hosting or any other type of web hosting services. We do our best to help you make your right choice for image hosting company. So, think twice before making a final decision. As you see, your welfare may depend on different circumstances. As a web site owner you should mind your actual needs and wants. First, you'd better study intently all data in our Top 10 and afterwards pick up the most rational variant. With well-managed host you'll always keep abreast. Use the given reviews below sagely. Evaluate different web hosting providers and what they have to offer.

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