How To Pick A Hosting Company

If you are seeking a new hosting company let me give you some words of wisdom because I have been through a few. One company even went belly up in the middle of the night giving me no notice. That was disastrous for me as well as my customers. If you are tired of hosting companies with poor service and excessive downtime then get ready to print this page out.

First thing first, you might take a step back from your website or E-business and think about what you want it to look like in the future. Then start making decisions about the hosting. Think about things like: How much traffic are you expecting? How many more sites will you build or could possibly build in the future? Are you going to load software to the server? Some of the best programs that smart marketers use need to be loaded: such as; affiliate programs and autoresponders and require a dedicated IP address. If you intend on growing then make sure these things are an option.

If you realized that you will want to have more sites in the future or currently are moving a lot of sites from one account to another. One thing you can do is get a dedicated server or keep your money in your pocket and find a hosting company that'll allow you to have add-on domains. Did you realize that you could have one account for around $25 a month and all your domains on it? You, for the cost of $25 a month could host 2, 10, 15, 26, 45 domains. There ar e accounts out there that will let you do this. But here's what you should know about these types of accounts, you are not limited in domains, but limited in the amount of space you have. So if you need more space, just ask and they'll be happy to give it to you for a price.

If you want to market your website you should get your own IP address with your accounts. This will play a big part when it comes to search engines finding you, as well as increasing the utilization of your autoresponders.

One big thing to watch out for:

Make sure that you find out what type of control panel the hosting company is using. If they don't tell you I would be scared. I believe that the best hosting companies out there will use cPanel. If the hosting company is using cPanel then they will probably be bragging about it since it is designed very well.

Now here's a quick checklist:

ü Step back and think about what you want

ü Check to see if they allow you to have add-on domains. If so, then what will it cost in additional fees? (Some companies have a one time fee for this).

ü Make sure you own your own IP address, not a shared IP. Most companies call this a dedicated IP address.

ü Look at the control panel, is it cPanel?

Now for the biggest question I always get: What hosting company do you highly recommend? I recommend a company called Frontier Power Hosting because of their specialized knowledge, excellent customer support reputation, and they meet these criteria. You can find them at http://www.frontierpowerhosting.com.

Elements Of Web Hosting

When you first start out trying to get a site on the Internet everything seems so confusing. Obtuse acronyms flow freely through the 'Beginner Friendly' information sites and definitions can be hard to come across. The main reason for this is that the Internet and the process of getting a website online is really very simple, and once people get past the first stumbling steps they rarely remember the difficulty they once had, which leads to them being unable to understand the next wave of dot com newbies.

So let's begin with defining some of the basic terms that are commonly thrown around when looking for a web host. You'll quickly realize that computer geeks like using big words for simple concepts. What do you expect from a group of people that decided to call half a Byte a Nibble?

Web Host: These are the people that supply your website with somewhere to sit and be accessed from. They're often a wealth of information, so when you're trying to find your feet it will often be worthwhile to contact their tech support and get your questions answered. Because of this, it's important to contact them BEFORE you sign up for any packages to ensure that you'll receive a timely response. Just fire an email their way and see what happens.

Disk Space: This is the same as the space on your own PC's hard drive. Web Hosts will allocate a certain amount of space to your website, usually in Megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB). This determines how much you can store on your site.

Bandwidth: Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be retrieved from your site within the bandwidth period. The bandwidth period is the length of time before your bandwidth gets reset once again, usually about a month. Bandwidth is measured in MB and GB, like disk space. Always find out the consequences of exceeding your allocated bandwidth before you purchase a hosting package.

Domain Name: The domain name is your personal identifier on the Internet. This is what gets typed into a web browser's address bar to reach your site. Some hosting companies will offer a domain for free, while others will have the facilities to provide one for a minimal cost.

SQL (MySQL, SQL Server etc.): Structured Query Language. This is the language used to interact with databases. Chances are that if you don't know about it when you start looking for web hosting, you're not going to need to know about it for at least a little while longer.

HTTP: Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. Basically, how the Internet works. It is the protocol governing the transfer of web pages from one place to another.

HTML: Hyper Text Markup Language. This is (usually) what you'll be using to make your website, whether directly or indirectly. Don't be scared by the name, the 'language' is very easy to learn.

FTP: File Transfer Protocol. This is a method for sending pages and files from your home PC to a server. It is quite simple to use and your host will provide login information if this is the method that they use for file access. Typing "FTP://

Is Managed Hosting For You?

Many people move from a shared server to a dedicated server because they manage a high traffic website, and they think that the dedicated server will fix all of their current issues. After managing the site with the dedicated server most companies or individuals also realize that they have a need to outsource the management of their web server, and this is a service often called managed hosting.

Managing a dedicated server can be easier because your transfer time is less and you have complete control over your website and server, but that is not all there is to it. When you have a dedicated server you will also have to deal with issues such as selecting the right hardware and operating systems. You will also have to choose your own applications, address security issues, as well as backing up your data and monitoring your uptime and other statistics! There is a lot involved in having your own dedicated server, so it’s easy to see why many opt for managed hosting!

Managed hosting provides all of those services for you so that you do not have to worry about addressing all of these complex and time consuming issues on your own. With managed hosting you will not only have your own dedicated server, but you’ll also be provided with all of the management, maintenance, and monitoring needs that will help your website run more smoothly, giving you more time to concentrate on business.

The great thing about managed hosting is that all of these needs will be met 24 hours a day, so that you are always on top of your business. Of course, because of all the services that are provided, managed hosting solutions are more expensive than either shared or dedicated hosting services. While the managed hosting plans are more expensive at first glance, in the long run they will be very cost effective because you won’t have to worry about all of the small things that detract from your ability to run a great web business.

Choosing a managed host is not as difficult as one might think, as most of the dedicated hosting services also offer managed hosting services. Remember that you may initially suffer from sticker shock, but for those that have high traffic, rapidly growing websites, managed hosting is worth every penny you will pay for the service. ViaNetWork is one of the most well known managed hosting services out there, but there are plenty others to choose from if you spend some time researching.

What Is Web Hosting?

One easy and effective way to explain “Web Hosting” is to use apartments as an analogy. Why do people rent apartments instead of buying a house? The quick and easy answer is that many people either can’t afford to own their own house or they don’t think their specific needs require them to have a separate house. And don’t forget the maintenance. It’s really nice not to have to worry about fixing the roof or mowing the lawn. So, a quick answer to the previous question is “People rent apartments because renting is the main option to buying when it comes to finding a home that meets their needs.”

People use Web hosting for the same reasons. Their Web site needs a place to live. Why? Well, let’s quickly define what Web hosting service normally includes. First, it provides a place for you to put all of your Web site files (HTML, and images for example). They, just like you, have to live somewhere. Next, Web hosting gives your site an address so people can find it among the hundreds of millions of other Web pages that exist on the Internet. Web hosting also normally (but not always) provides people with a way to get in touch with you. This could be a Web form or an email address. And finally, Web hosting provides a service known as “bandwidth.” Bandwidth is the service that transmits all of your site’s data to each viewer. Transmitting that kind of data requires a very high-speed Internet connection and very stable (i.e. expensive) computer hardware. All of these services are supplied to a Web site by a computer known as a “Web server.” All Web sites, from the largest to the smallest, use a Web server.

So, getting back to our apartment analogy, your Web site needs a place to live and you need to decide whether to rent or buy. Why do people rent (i.e. use a Web hosting service) instead of buying a Web Server? The answers are the exact same as they were when we were discussing apartments. First, Web servers can be expensive. The expenses involved include the price of the hardware itself and the high-speed internet connection required to process all of the Web site’s data.

Another reason people use a Web hosting service is that their Web site doesn’t need its own Web server. How do you decide that? Many Web sites are not large enough (in file size) and do not get enough visitors to justify having their own Web server. Other key factors in determining whether (and where) to host a Web site include the programming language (example: HTML, ASP, PHP, JSP, Cold Fusion, etc.) used by the Web site and the type and size of any databases that the Web site may be using. Determining a Web site’s specific hosting needs is usually best left to a professional Web designer/developer.

Web hosting is an integral factor in Web site ownership and maintenance. Choosing the wrong Web hosting solution can be an expensive mistake. And don’t think I was being facetious when I mentioned the roof and the lawn. Web hosting companies maintain the peek performance a Web server needs to quickly get a Web site to its viewers. And they make back-up files of all Web site data so, if something does go wrong, their trained professionals can have the Web site up and going again as fast a possible. Unless your company has the money and the in-house expertise involved in maintaining your own Web server, finding a good, reputable Web hosting company should be one of the first steps you take when you decide your company needs a Web site.

5 Critical Things to Consider Before Choosing a Free Website Host

Many free web hosting accounts are free to use, however they will cost you a lot of money, time, and customers as well if you have a site that is meant for business purposes and is more than the simplest site imaginable. Consider the following items as to why free web hosting might cost you more than you had bargained for when you signed up.
Consideration #1 Bandwidth
Frequently, free web hosting providers offer you little bandwidth which means it will take longer for your page to load. When your page takes more than 10 seconds to load you will lose visitors because they will simply move on. Because of this, you might lose a lot of customers and sales from your free web host.

Consideration #2 Advertising
Many free web hosting companies are “free” to you, however, you will have advertising posted on your website as well as pop up ads. Most people do not like this and will not visit your site because of it. Be careful about signing up with a free web hosting company that uses advertising. It might not bother you, but it will probably affect your traffic and sales.

Consideration #3 Web Space
Since the web host is free, you cannot expect a whole lot of web space. Frequently people do not have the space they need to upload their web page and include all of their information. Be sure to check with your free web space provider or the ones you are considering to make sure you will have enough web space to host all of the required elements of your web pages.

Consideration #4 Reliability
Another consideration with free web hosting companies is reliability. Often times limitations are put on your traffic flow and if you exceed this, your site may be disabled for a period of time or you may even receive a bill. Find out what the rules are for traffic and what the consequences are for exceeding your limits.

Consideration #5 Limitations
More often than not, your free web host will have rules regarding the size of photos, icons, and more that you can upload. You will want to check into this before you sign up for free web hosting because if you cannot upload what you need, it is time to look at other options.

While free web hosting is technically free, it frequently costs websites more money in the long run because it limits activity and business from occurring at the rate set by consumers. Because of this, if you have a growing site it will eventually be too big for the free account and you will have to make some changes. Instead of dealing with the hassle, figure out if a free server will really be worthwhile and make a plan for change and growth ahead of time.

Getting The Most From Your Hosting.

Most hosting companies offer one or more email accounts with your hosting service. These email accounts are a gaping hole for fraudsters, scam artists, and other criminals to slip through take advantage of your naivety, and possibly steal your valuable personal information or sabotage your computer's operations. Phishing: One form of such criminality is phishing where emails appear in your account that, by all rights, seem to have been sent from a trusted company with which you do business (ie a financial institution, an eMerchant, or your hosting company) claiming that your personal information needs updating in their records.

A link embedded in the email takes you to a webpage that mimics that companys website. If you dont know any better, and your hosting company doesnt catch it, youre liable to hand over such valuable personal information as your password and credit card number to a criminal.But many hosting providers include software in their hosting packages that can detect and intercept such schemes before you ever have to see them. Viruses: Another insidious crime is the sending of viruses through email attachments. We've all heard of viruses, and consumers and hosting companies alike often rely on such tools as Norton AntiVirus to protect their system(s). But your hosting company can often provide you additional protection.

Having a firewall as part of your hosting package, for example, is a great source of peace of mind. Its worth seeking a hosting provider that can scan attachments to ensure their virus-free, a hosting provider that is constantly updating their database of new viruses. Spam: And then there's spam. Yuck! We're all sick of it (your hosting provider sure is) and yet so many companies still dont seem to get it, continuing to spew it out indiscriminately. Well, you shouldn't have to deal with spam anymore, and many hosting companies are seeing to it.

Spam filters allow hosting companies to detect suspicious emails Ð for example, ones that have been sent out en masse to a list, or ones sent from addresses that dont match any in your personal address book. Some hosting companys spam filters can even learn over to time to match a growing list compiled partially by you and partially by your hosting company of unsolicited and unwelcome senders. Text analysis technology allows your hosting company to review the actual content in emails sent to you to discover impersonal, targeted marketing pitches, often matching those sent to others of their hosting clients.Then you let your hosting company know whether to automatically delete suspicious emails from your account or simply store them in a different mailbox for you to review at your convenience.

Keep in mind, spam isn't only annoying; it can also be dangerous. Spam can contain viruses that'll infect your system before you or your hosting provider even notice there's a problem. Your mail is private, and so is your precious personal data. If your hosting company doesnt protect your mailbox like Brink's security, find another hosting provider. There are plenty.

Professional Web Hosting vs. Free Web Hosting

Both free and professional web hosting have their benefits and down sides. However, before the best type of web solution can be found the webmaster will need to consider the main motivator for the website.

For those looking for a home page, hobby site, or non-profit website a free hosting service will provide the basics of what is needed at just the right price- free. Although a free website will not provide a professional scene for a business, or a webmaster looking for credibility, as unfortunately free services look very "cheap" then little else can be expected from something that costs nothing.

A free website will offer webmaster's free templates for the design of the website, and helpful wizards that take the webmaster step by step through the uploading process. Often a free service may offer free domain names and email facilities with their package.

Customer service is often included, although how good the service is will often vary. The biggest problem with a free service is, the amount of traffic onto the sight may be limited, and the sizes of the files being transported may also be limited. Free hosting companies often experience a lot of down time, so they can at times be unreliable.

Because the site is free, the hosting company may very well be relying on sponsors in the way of banner ads to keep the company in business. If this is the case, setting up a business with flashing banners will really cramp your style, credibility, and scare away potential customers.

Paid services are used by webmasters to keep things running smoothly in business, what this means is the good web hosting companies will provide excellent customer service, and have plenty of happy customers who are willing to add their testimonies. Professional companies will usually offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee, live chats, and telephone services for customers experiencing difficulties.

Many professional companies will also offer discounts and bonuses for your business, and reward you for paying early. Other things that a professional web hosting company will offer is ample web space, and disk space. Often large amounts of uptime will be guaranteed, and sometimes failure to keep this amount of uptime will result in compensation from company to their clients.

Professional services may cost money, but the service is far more advanced, and professional companies never take space from their customers in order to place their paid advertisements on. Depending on what a customer is looking for when they create a website, will have a lot of bearing on their choice of providers. For a webmaster that is creating a credible business venture, a professional web hosting plan is vital to business success.

Windows Hosting Versus Linux Hosting - Which Is Right For You?

There are literally hundreds of thousands of netting hosting companies out there. Many of these companies adduce both Windows hosting and Linux hosting plans. Windows plans usually equivalent supplementary since of the license costs imposed by Microsoft. Knowing this, how can you discern when you ravenousness Windows hosting and when Linux hosting entrust
hoopla applicable as well or better? Keep reading to find out.

Windows operating systems are begin on relevant fancy 95% of all inherent computers in the world. With agnate a maraud dominance, Microsoft Windows is blessing of certainty to markedly deeper people looking for web hosting.

In the netting server creation though, Windows based servers are dilatory less than 20% of all websites on the internet. This is according to the late lacework server analyze from http://securityspace.com. By choosing a Linux hosting plan, you leave pride yourself in opportune company.

When finish you have to blessing Windows Hosting?

1. .NET technologies including http://ASP.net are not available on Linux platforms. If you have a website built with Microsoft .NET technologies you entrust have to round up a Windows hosting plan. In fact, if you itch ASP without .NET features, powerfully Linux hosting plans bring about not advance sustain
for it.

2. Access Databases are unitary available with a Windows hosting plan. Access runs on a Microsoft Windows meaning and cannot beat on a Linux Operating system.

3. MSSQL is an vitality shapeliness database root out by Microsoft. If you avidity an commotion loveliness database trained are some alternatives that circuit on a Linux trick but if you rapaciousness Microsoft's MSSQL database, a Windows hosting plan will have to be your choice.

4. If you are using Microsoft's Sharepoint services relish some of the Sharepoint disposition activate in Frontpage 2003, a Windows Hosting going is your alone choice.

What is the headway to selection Linux Hosting?

All the leading services you motive to migration an movement comeliness website are available on Linux based systems for free. Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP are over used deep to protect the infrastructure unpunctual some of the strikingly traffic intensive sites on the internet.

PHP runs larger on a Linux server than on a Windows server. Having said that, unless you are putting a trying deadweight on your PHP scripts, this consign not be noticable.

In general, Linux hosting plans are at anterior 20% cheaper than Windows hosting plans. If you don't craze measure of the one's thing mentioned above, Linux hosting is a shapely superior for your needs.

For Microsoft peculiar technologies, Windows hosting plans are usually your finest bet. For everthing else, Linux hosting plans leave usually sign exorbitantly well. With the appraisal capital usually mount with Linux hosting plans, Linux hosting is usually the right more useful for you.

This fantasy was written by Joe Duchesne, baton of http://www.yowling.com/, a lattice hosting mission that offers Linux Hosting plans. Copyright 2004 Yowling. Reprint Freely as big league as you safeguard a clickable bracket

4 Factors In Choosing A Hosting Company Web Hosting

When poll a lacework hosting company skillful are a whole-hog covey of contrastive factors that should pursuit regard your verdict making process. One of the biggest factors should be:

1) Phone support. Email sustain is nice, but email occasionally deluge in between the virtual cracks. Getting someone on the phone when your venue goes left can share a congregation of question out of the unabbreviated process. A cartel of the preferable web hosting companies offer toll free support and weekend hours to boot. Phone support is a great benefit for any web hosting client.

2) Another aspect to perk in deciding whether to gravy train a fixed lacework hosting corporation is their history. How decided has this matter been in business? Web hosting companies that have been in patience for less than a year knack not be the best choice. A hosting company with a proven track record and a ton of happy clients is certainly a good sign and might work well for you.

3) How about the company's software? This varies widely between lacework hosting companies. I am quite familiar of Cpanel merely due to I am used to it, presume where the buttons are and what the drift do. It's indeed easier to baton with exceptional you feel certain than switching to a new User Interface. Some web hosts offer Frontpage features and others don't. Another specific area you might want to research are the statistics programs. What sort of web statistics software is included with your web hosting account? Is Awstats included? This is one area you definitely want to heavily research before signing up.

4) Fees. I'd reasonably finances a smooth supplementary to execute all the make-up than altercation it out with a sub par lacework hosting establishment who I can't get if my site goes down. I've found decent web hosting for as cheap as $4 per month but generally pay around $15 per month if I want all the bells and whistles that I'll need to host a larger site. A lot of people worry about hosting fees, but I've had the experience that I generally get what I pay for. Finally, I'd look carefully at the web hosting company's refund policy. Most offer a full refund if you aren't happy with your service. If you are paying for a full year of web hosting up front, you might want to examine the company's refund policy in detail.

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Free Web Hosting or Paid - How to Decide

Have you wondered if free web hosting is any good? More importantly, is it a viable option for someone who wants to set up an online business presence without a significant cash commitment?. It may be but only if you take the time to understand what it will and will not provide.

Free web hosting usually comes with significantly limited capacity and services. And while free web hosts may not charge you anything for hosting your web site, they still have to generate revenue to stay in business.

The Price of “Free”

The way most of them do this (there are exceptions as you’ll see below) is by inserting paid ads on your web site. And since you won’t be able to control what kind of ads are posted on your site, there’s a good chance you’ll have ads from competitors (if you’re trying to run a business) or ads that may not be on a topic you want to be associated with. Unfortunately, that's often the price you’ll pay for "free" web hosting.

To limit the amount of resources you can use, free web hosting plans come with very limited disk space and bandwidth and may even impose restrictions on the types of content you can upload to your site. For example, you may not be allowed to sell anything on your web site.

What do you really want to do?

If you intend to start a business on the cheap then this obviously isn’t going to be satisfactory. Some free web hosting plans prevent you from uploading videos or music files because they take up a lot of storage space and use a great deal of bandwidth when your visitors try to access them.

The Big Risk

Finally, and of greatest concern, is that you may wake up one day and find that your web site has simply vanished without warning. Companies that provide free web hosting pop up practically every day, but they also disappear with alarming regularity.

So if you plan on putting any real effort into developing a web site for personal or business use, you'll be better served by selecting an established, reliable web host.

Professional Image

There are a number of companies that provide free web hosting, under your own unique domain name (not a subdomain under them). All you have to do register your domain through them and pay the annual renewal fee of around $15-25. This way you’ll be able to have free hosting under your own domain and the credibility that comes with it.

The Bottom Line

You should look for a free hosting provider that provides a simple upgrade path. This way you can can enjoy free web hosting now and have your own unique domain name (plus the credibility it brings) for nothing more than the cost of a domain registration fee. You should later be able to upgrade with no disruption when and if you decide you’re ready to move up to a paid plan.

Anthony Hamill is the founder of http://www.Web-Host-Watch.Com which is devoted to helping new webmasters learn the basics of web hosting. It provides tutorials, tips on avoiding common mistakes, a glossary of web hosting terms, and a list of Top Web Hosts.

Understanding How Hosting Poviders Work

Website Hosting - How To Select A Web Host Provider That Wants You To Succeed

As with a lot of purchases, your first urge when choosing website hosting is to go with the cheapest. After all they are all similar, so why should you pay more?

There are a number of objective standards which separates one website hosting company from some others, and money is only one of them. And it should be made clear that the cost should not be the most crucial one.

Choosing a website hosting company based on price alone is equivalent to selecting a builder or electrician on price alone. Certainly, they might maintain or fix your house cheaper, but will your house be safe?

The first consideration is power. Will the website hosting company have the capability to provide and deliver adequate performance? Most web hosting companies advertise that they are able to provide massive bandwidth and hundreds of dedicated servers, and they are usually telling the truth.

However, there is a big difference between existing capacity and usable capacity. Think of it this way; If a website hosting provider has thousands of websites with millions of visitors per day, the usable free capacity would be much lower. Here is a simple example; A delivery truck may have the capacity to carry 8,000 lbs. But not if it is already carrying 7,999lbs!

The experts would advise you ask about available capacity, and have the hosting company back up their proof with reliable numbers. And of course, if you cannot read the data they provide, find somebody to help you do so.

Next, and a very close second, is dependability. A lot of power is worthless if it is cut or goes down often.

Power outages are actually a normal part of business. Even Microsoft, yahoo and google go down on occasions. The difference is, with decent website hosting companies, it seldom happens and a decent provider would have failover plans, which means if their system does go down it is either up once again instantaneously, or you never see the drop because a backup system sets in automatically.

A good rule of thumb is to grill the website hosting company closely about their up time. Most quality hosting providers will say they run at 99.5%, or higher. However, like the infamous on-time estimates of airlines, those figures can sometimes be considered shady by adjusting the definition of up time.

When it comes to website hosting, what should really matter is whether your visitors will be able to reach your site at any time, 24 hours a days should they want to.

Again, the experts would suggest to find out what back up systems, both human and technical the hosting provider has in place to address failures of all sorts. It is a fact that servers can go down, networks do fail, hard disks could become defective and data lose is an absolute fact, and believe me, these conditions can dramatically mean the difference between success and failure for any website owner.

The result is your website becomes unavailable, which is not good for business. As far as a quality website hosting company, the hosting provider must be equipped to deal with any eventuality and have your website up again as quickly as possible.

Last, but not least, is website hosting security.

With the continuing prevalence of computer viruses and the dreaded Spam problems, you need to guarantee the website hosting company you choose has an array of techniques for addressing them. This basically means the hosting provider has excellent technical plans in place and experienced staff available 24 hours a day who are well-educated in addressing with those problems.

There is a very old saying that goes: one ounce of prevention is worth at least one pound of cure, and when it comes to your website, it is vital you understand the meaning.

All these website issues are paramount to locating a website hosting provider that can deliver the best services you need.

Subsequently, once those criteria are fulfilled by a number of prospects, then you are able to begin narrowing down the hosting companies by price.