How to select a web host?
Problems with your web host can cost you a lot of money. Make sure that you make a careful choice in this area.
Here are the most important things that you should look out for:
1. Make sure that they have good technical support. Preferably 24 hour 7 day per week support.
2. They need to have a fast connection speed. It is no good if it takes people forever to download your site.
3. Make sure that they guarantee their availability at least 99% of the time, preferably more (some guarantee 99.7% or 99.9%). When your website is successful, one day that it is down can cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars.
4. You should have your own domain name (www.mydomain.com). The problem with free hosting is that they won't offer you your own domain, which means that your website looks very unprofessional
Some other things to look out for, that you may or may not need depending on what type of web business you are going to operate:
- Ability to have a secure server for credit card transactions.
- You might need autoresponders for your website.
- Access to your log files so you can get stats for your visitors.
- Unrestricted FTP access to modify your site.
- Access to your personal CGI bin.
- Shopping cart software.
Here are few recommended web hosts, that offer good service:
15,000 Mb Hosting For $4.95/mo. - Gotwebhost.com is what I use for most of my sites, you really can't go past them in terms of value for money.
10,000 Mb Hosting $7.95/mo. - They have hosting for $7.95 per month with free setup, 10 Gb of space and 200 Gb monthly traffic, FrontPage extensions plus 1 Free web template. .
For domain registration, I recommend Enom Expired Domain - it's a great tool for combining keywords and generating domains. Snap expired domain names the second they become available for registration. Software monitors your domains every second.
Software package that does everything for you
There is a software package which I can highly recommend which is called Site Build It. This service will not only build your website, but it also including hosting for your website, registering your domain name, submitting to the search engines, optimizing your pages so that you can get to the top of the search engines, and there is actually quite a bit more included in the package as well.
Find domains that have just expired
Sometimes you can get a really good domain name by looking for a domain that has just expired. Thousands of domains expire every week, and some of them are just because the owner forgot to pay! If you look carefully you can find some excellent domains. You might even find a domain that is already listed in Yahoo, or a domain that has lots of links to it from other sites - this way you can get a head-start with your web business!
There is a free service where you can search for deleted domains at:
www.deleteddomains.com
4 Tips to Find the Web Host That's Right For You
By Paul Herbert
Choosing to make a web site is a very big decision. However, even more important than deciding to make the website itself, is choosing your web host. There are many web hosts out there, and so it is very difficult to find the web host that's right for you. In order to find the best web host, it is important to find as many options as possible, and have a clear idea of what you want out of your web host. Following these four tips will make your search for a solid web host a lot easier.
1. Use search engines. Search on Google and Yahoo using keywords such as "web host." Carefully going through the results will give you an accurate idea of the web hosting options available. Some may say that the web hosts ranked the highest are clearly the best, but this is not always true. Taking the time to look at a large number of the results will give you an ample group of web hosts to compare.
2. Know how your site is going to work. This tip may sound confusing, but it is important to know what your goals will be for your web site. If you plan to have a great number of large files hosted on your site, then you want a web host that gives you ample amounts of space. Bandwidth should also be taken into consideration. Is the site a personal site, or a commercial site? If you plan on making money with your website, than a larger investment for more storage space and bandwidth is justifiable. If you are making your site a blog and hosting it with a service such as TypePad, you want a web host that allows domain mapping.
3. Have a price range in mind. Knowing the general amount of money you are willing to spend will save you a great amount of time. If a certain web host is simply too expensive, then you move on to the next one with no issues. Additionally, if you set a specific price range, you can search for the best offer within that price range. Some web hosts may offer more space for $20 than others do for the same price.
4. Finally, make sure that you have web host support based on your needs. If it is your first web site, then you might want a web host that is willing to give advice on building new sites. Some web hosts offer a very "hands on" approach to new users. Other web hosts simply let users do whatever they want and no help is offered.
The most important thing when finding a web host is knowing exactly what you want. Your search for a web host will be a lot easier if you search for hosts using Search Engines like Google and Yahoo, and you know what you are looking for. Every web host offers something a little different than others. Simplicity and customer service should be high priorities when searching for a web host. Remember, the most expensive, and highest ranked web host may not always be the best web host for your needs. Beginning your web host search with a clear, informed mind is the perfect way to assure a successful venture.
About the Author
Paul Herbert is very interested in UK web hosting. Learn more at http://www.hosting-netexplorers.co.uk/web_hosting_uk/web_hosting_packages.php
The Best Web Hosting Solutions
1) Top Domain 500Mb Webspace - $5
24/7 online support Reseller Control Panel.
2) Secret Spider Generator.
The Key to Google's Back Door.
3) 15,000 Mb Hosting For $4.95/mo.
4.95 web hosting, Free domain registration! Free setup and online website builder included.
4) How To Set Up A Web Server.
Instructions on how to set up your own web server from home. 5) How To Sell Web Hosting For A Profit.
A comprehensive e-course to help you start your own web hosting business with success-Guaranteed!
6) 10,000 Mb Hosting $7.95/mo. 75% Partners.
Web hosting - 10,000 Mb space, 200 Gb traffic, FrontPage extensions - $7.95/mo. plus 1 Free web template.
7) All Cheap Web Hosting From $3 Per Year.
Linux web hosting, Ftp, MySql Cgi, Perl, Php4, Ssi, Anti virus, Anti spam, Pop3, Domain Name $4.95/Year.
8) Website Hosting - 1000Mbs Of Space!
Popular hosting plan the Flux Ultra contains 1000Mbs of Space, 50Gbs of Traffic, live support and more!
9) SiteGround - $5 Web Hosting.
5000 Mb for your website!
10) Enom Expired Domain Name Software.
Snap Expired Domain Names the Second They become Available for Registration. Software Monitors your Domains Every Second.
11) Site Patrol.
Monitor your web sites and be instantly notified if your site goes down saving you on lost sales and wasted Ppc costs.
12) HostCabin.com.
200Mb premium hosting only $4.99 / month!
13) 1WebSitesHostingPromotions.Com.
Full Featured Banner Free Quality WebHosting $10/year. 30 Days MoneyBack Guarantee & Free trial. Domain Registration $9.75 only.
14) AdTrackZplus - Advanced Adtracking.
Do You Advertise Your Site? Then You Must Track Your Results, or You'll Lose A Lot of Money!
15) Cheap Web Hosting - Powerhoster.com.
Support cgi, perl, mysql, php, Fp, Ssl, Ssi. 24x7 support and 99.9ptime guarantee, 300Mb: $2.99/Mo no setup fee 16) Domain Name & Hosting Provider.
Domain names and hostings from $2.50.
Web Site Hosting An Easy Guide
By Calin Indre
Web Hosting Made Simple
What is web hosting anyway? What do I get when I buy a web hosting solution?
To make thing clear from start let's just say how it all works.
Web pages basically consist of text and images. Generically, the information contained by these files is called content. The look of the web page is called design. In order to be accessible to online users, all these files must be stored on a web server. You can think of web servers as computers storing the files of tens or hundreds of web sites. These computers are all connected to the Internet through high-speed connection. When you access a web page, your browser connects to the web server that stores that page and downloads it to your computer.
So a web server is a must when you plan to share your web site content with online users via the Internet. There are thousands of web servers in the world, and there are companies that own them. Such a company is called web-hosting provider.
A web-hosting provider can have dozens of web servers hosting thousands of web sites. The web server computers are found usually in large numbers and are all housed in special buildings or sections of buildings called data center . Apart from the high-speed Internet connection, these locations are set up to ensure the optimum operational conditions and security for the web servers. HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, & Air Conditioning) control, fire protection, virus protection, data backup facility, power backup, even autonomy in case of disaster. Another term for the web servers in the data center is a web farm.
To be able to run your site properly you need a space on the web server to store your data and an Internet connection to it. The amount of data available to you on a web server is simply referred as space and is usually quantified in MB. The Internet connection needed so that your web site can be accessed online is referred as bandwidth and is also measured in MB or even GB.
Having the glimpse of the basics, it must be said that different web-hosting providers offer different space and bandwidth. Space and bandwidth are usually the main characteristics of a web-hosting plan.
The terminology associated with web hosting can be quite dazzling: virtual web hosting, dedicated hosting; co-locating hosting, shared hosting reseller hosting.
Shared Web Hosting
Shared web hosting or virtual web hosting are two terms for the same thing. Shared web hosting means that on a web server are hosted many web sites that all have a defined quota of HDD space and bandwidth. They all run simultaneously and there can be from hundreds to thousands of web sites on the same web server. Given the high number of web sites should you worry about exceeding the performance of the web server, issue better known as slow server response, meaning that your visitors will have to wait too long for your web pages to load. That is usually not a real problem when dealing with serious web hosting providers, because the operational parameters of the web servers are monitored and appropriate actions will be taken in order to maintain the level of service contracted.
The greater number of web sites sharing the resources of a web server (HDD space, bandwidth, memory, CPU time), the web hosting provider can afford to offer its services at a lower cost. A minus would be that, even with high level of service, you will have to accept a slower server response time when choosing shared web hosting.
Reseller Web Hosting
When web-hosting providers offer their services, typically with a discount, to a third-party (a reseller that will thus become a web-hosting provider itself) and the latter subsequently offers web-hosting services under his branding. Indeed technically the reseller web hosting is very similar to shared web hosting, as many web sites end up sharing space and bandwidth on the same web server. The resellers usually are web designers or web developers who offer web hosting services as part of their integrated services. As the web-hosting provider offers resellers important discounts, the price they can offer is among the smallest in the industry.
Compared with the shared web hosting, this system has technical support problem. It takes time and communication problems may occur on the course of your problem from the reseller to the web-hosting provider. Unless your site is a personal web site or non-commercial one, this poor support issue is enough to not consider this your primary option.
Continuing this line of thought, how can you distinguish a reseller from a real web-hosting provider? It's not the professional design of the web site, not even the support contact facilities offered as may resellers might have contracts with the provider on the technical support and the person taking your calls might be working for the provider and identify himself to you as an employee of the reseller. Solid company information is made available usually only by serious providers. The price, that can get as low as under 5$/month is another hint, but you should consider it carefully with prices dropping through the industry.
Dedicated Web Hosting
In dedicated web hosting one single web server is rented to a single customer. Although this is the common belief, web-hosting providers usually divide a single web server computer between up to three customers. On the other hand there are web-hosting providers that actually give an entire web server to a customer. Even with three customers sharing the web server, the dedicated web hosting option offers the customers the option to host more than one web site, configure the software to best meet the needs of his site or scale the available bandwidth.
The high prices combined with the availability of resources recommend this type of web hosting for highly important web sites such as e-commerce sites
Co-location Web Hosting
Co-locating web hosting is similar with dedicated web hosting. The main difference is that while in dedicated web hosting the web server computer belongs to the web-hosting provider and is only rented by the customer, in co-locating web hosting the customer owns the web server computer. The web-hosting provider only houses the web server computer and sells bandwidth to the customer. This gives the customer using co-locating web hosting full control of the web server combined with the security of the data center.
Now you should be equipped with the necessary information to decide on you web hosting. You shouldn't try and find the lowest price possible, but give some extra thought to the quality of service you are buying and to the support offered by a web host provider.
About the Author
Calin Indre is editor at HostPinPin ( www.hostpinpin.com ), a Cheap Web Hosting Directory Resource.
HostPinPin is a resource for webmasters and consumers looking to find a web hosting company. Providing web hosting articles, tips, web hosting reviews, compare web hosting plans and more.
This article may be reprinted or published without the authors consent as long as the About and weblinks are kept intact.
|
