Choosing The Best Web Hosting Provider For You

by: Heris Yunora

The use of good web hosting is badly needed to secure your web site remains online, in addition to the cost that you spend become less. Currently there are so many web hosting companies which respectively have different pricing plans and different features among each other.

Following are the points that you need to observe in choosing a web hosting company:

-Web Space

It constitutes the storage capacity of the whole data as required by your web site. Depending of the type of web site you design, it is better that you also consider your future needs. For example, if you want to build an article directory website, you will need a hosting with large web space.

-Bandwith

Bandwith is the amount of data that is transmitted from your web site. The more visitors visit your web site, the more bandwith you require. It is to be noted that your requirements for web space have not certainly comparable with the requirements for bandwith. For example, if you set up a web site with an Amazon Store script, the web space required is not big, but you need to prepare the bandwith that will possibly consume several Gigas. Keep in mind that other than web site visitors, don't forget that various search engine bots that will make effort to crawl the whole webpages.

-Reliability

The web hosting company you are choosing should have uptime guarantee amounting to at least 99%. In that way, the presence of your web site will be secured for 99% of a time span.

-Speed

Having a web site that can always be accessed is not enough. Your web site must always be loaded rapidly. Otherwise you will be missing a lot of visitors.

-Customer Support

The presence of reliable customer support has to become one of your considerations in choosing a hosting company. A good hosting service provider must be able to be contacted anytime. This is particularly useful to overcome technical problems. If a hosting company provides an online chatting facility for communicating with their customer service, try to submit some requests and observe the way they are serving you.

-Cost

So as to get the best price, compare the pricing plan from several hosting providers that have similar features. Don't forget to conduct checking to the guarantee as provided and whether or not there are other additional costs.

-Technical Features

If later on you have an intention to use certain scripts, check whether the web hosting has complied with the criteria as required. Otherwise, it is better for you to choose a hosting company that has Linux/Unix as the operating system with PHP and MySQL features. There are so many online business support programs such as autoresponder and various CMS's that need server using Linux, Apache, PHP and MySQL. Besides, various free open source programs usually need to enable them for being used. Don't also forget other technical needs, such as whether you will use Audio and Video Streaming or requiring Frontpage Extension.

-Number of Web site

If you have a plant to set up several web sites, choose the one that allow you for hosting your web sites as mentioned in one account (multiple domain hosting). In that way, there is no additional cost that must be spent every month.

Whatever web hosting provider that you choose, it depends on your requirements and the amount of budget that you want to spend. It is to be noted that cheap is not always equal to inferior and expensive is not always equal to good. Some hosting companies which are realiable and having complete enough features, it turns out that they are charging lower monthly cost than other companies which are offering equal or even less complete features. Make sure the web hosting plan you choose will fit your needs.

Happy Choosing...

About The Author


Heris Yunora is the owner of http://www.unlimitedhostingplan.com, a website that provides information on the features of unlimited web hosting services.

Cheap Web Hosting

by: Andy West

Getting set up with cheap web hosting can be a challenge these days in the world of web hosts that provide services like domain bundling, name registration, and free email to get users aboard. Many of these services end up costing you more than a traditional basic hosting account would in the first place, and therefore web hosting can be a hard thing to find for those looking for a bargain. Many people looking for cheap web hosting end up settling for a bundle deal that isn’t what they wanted. In order to get cheap web hosting one must first figure out what his or her needs are, and how best to meet them. This is not easy when it comes to cheap web hosting, because what your needs require may not be the same services offered by any given host. But taking the painful steps of identifying what your web hosting needs are will greatly enhance the ability and chances of finding the best deal in the end.

Most web hosts base their packages on bandwidth and storage space. This means that in order to get a deal on cheap web hosting, one must settle for less bandwidth, and less storage space. How much storage space do you need? Are you going to be hosting large files? Are you going to be hosting large amounts of email addresses, and various data? These questions need to be addressed before one can truly find cheap web hosting. Further, how much traffic you receive each day will have a lot to do with the cost of web hosting. If the traffic is moderate to light, you can expect to get a cheap web hosting deal without problems. If on the other hand there is a lot of traffic headed to your site, more bandwidth might be needed to keep it up and running.

Shopping for cheap web hosting is not an easy task simply because there are so many options today. Everything from basic beginner’s web hosting packages, to deluxe advanced web hosting packages for those running dedicated servers, and virtual servers as well. Making the most out of each package can be hard and therefore it makes sense to compare services.

One of the most popular hosting websites on the net today is godaddy. This website is the benchmark for cheap web hosting, and offers a variety of packages. The godaddy website is best known for its cheap domain registration. Godaddy also offers its users a variety of web hosting packages to fit most anyone's needs.

Another great web host is yahoo business. This website is based upon the need of small businesses looking for an easy way to host a merchant account ready website. This website hosting company provides cheap web hosting solutions for any small business that needs it.

In dealing with cheap web hosting it is important to compare all the options before making a choice. A good spot to compare services is Review Place, a website based on customer reviews of products and services. At Review Place you will be able to look at the different services, and figure out which one works best for you. It is important to compare prices and see what is offered. It will be easier to make an informed choice about what it is that you need, and which service you want to sign up with.


About The Author

Andy West is a freelance writer for ReviewPlace. For more information and reviews of Cheap Web Hosting, please visit ReviewPlace at http://www.reviewplace.com/cat-372-InternetBusinessTools--Web-Hosting.html.

What is the difference between Windows and UNIX web hosting?

by: Paul Santos

Windows and UNIX are in fact two different systems and of course we are referring to computer systems. A web host uses computers, (we shall refer to them as servers, just computers, but sometimes larger) to host websites, and all computers need a operating system, so Windows and UNIX are the operating system.

The Windows used is normally Windows NT or 2000 and of course as you know Microsoft charges for it's software, while UNIX is an open source operating system, this means that the original creators of the system have given up the rights and anyone can use it, change, improve or do anything they want with, free of charge.

From this we already have to main differences, Window hosts are more expensive and UNIX is more reliable, because it as been improved by thousands of anonymous people.

Most probably you are reading this in front of your computer which most probably is operates on a Windows XP, have you noticed that it sometimes, it freezes, and the only solution is to restart it? UNIX is much more stable, robust, time-tested, flexible platform for a web server.

But Windows servers have also it's positive sides, they are compatible with Microsoft applications, and fully support Microsoft FrontPage, Microsoft Access and MS SQL, they also offer advance-programming environments and features such as Active Server Pages (ASP), the ASP.NET framework, Visual Basic Scripts, MS Index Server, Macromedia's and Cold Fusion.

Windows operating system require little or no experience in web development to get advanced features working very quickly because of better graphical user interface (GUI) Software such as Microsoft's FrontPage is specially developed for the webmaster to decrease the website development time and efforts.

Lets go back again to UNIX, they support FrontPage, Flash, Shockwave, Real Audio/Video, Cgi Scripts, Perl, PHP, SSH (Secure Telnet), MySQL, Web-Based Control System, Anonymous FTP, Web Site Graphical Statistics, Web-Based Email System, Miva/XML, Cold Fusion Perl, JAVA, PHP, C, C++, Miva, Shell Access and other wide verity of feature like Telnet and SSH that provides lots of flexibility and freedom in managing file and directories, but some of this require advance knowledge of Unix commands in order for you to customize the scripts to match your website needs.

Because of the nature of UNIX, (open source) and the people who love it, there is on the WWW freely available software and scripts, again bringing the cost down.

Concluding which one is the best, it really depends what you need, if you need high uptime, security and not so expensive then go with UNIX, if you need to run Windows applications like, MS Access or the MS SQL SERVER then Windows is your choice.


About The Author

Paul Santos
CEO
Hosting Marketers
http://hosting-marketers.com

Web Hosting – Let Me Explain

by: John Gibb

If you want a website, then before you do anything else, you’re going to need to get some web hosting.

You might not be too sure exactly how the web works, but don’t worry – it’s quite complicated, and you don’t really need to know about it until you want to make your own website. Basically, every time you go to a website, you connect to another computer (called a server) that sends you copies of that website’s pages. Server have to be powerful, as thousands of people could be asking for those pages every second on the web’s biggest sites.

For a small site, you don’t need your own server. You could set your own computer up to run as a server, but you would have to leave it switched on and connected to the Internet all day long, and if your site got even a little bit popular then your connection probably wouldn’t be able to handle it. Instead, what most people do is rent some space on one of those larger servers, paying a different monthly fee depending on how much data their visitors download and for any extra features they need.

If you want a website, then, the first thing you should do is find which one of these web hosts is best for you – that is, whose server you should rent space on. Much like looking to rent a home, this is really a matter of personal taste. Paying more is no guarantee of quality, as many hosts prey on their customers’ lack of understanding to charge unjustifiably high prices. In general, the best way to find a good web hosting company is to ask around, read reviews, and ask on forums for people’s experiences. You’ll often find that what seemed like a good deal is actually a disaster, and be steered towards something much better.


About The Author

John Gibb is the owner of web-hostng-advice-and-info2k.info, for more information on web hosting check out http://www.web-hostng-advice-and-info2k.info

Website Builder Tools for a Hosting Company

by: Rodney Ringler

In today's very competitive world of web hosting it is hard for a hosting company to set itself apart from the competition. Prices, storage and bandwidth have become such a commodity that adding additional features is about the only way. One feature that is becoming popular is offering your customers a Website Builder tool. These tools allow a user to build a professional looking website in minutes without writing any code or having to be a technical person. They are great packages to attract the novice or beginner to your hosting company. Many find their web hosting company through the website designers they use. Now a hosting company can offer a website builder tool that bypasses the website designer and allows the web host to provide it all.

These packages vary in functionality and costs but they all provide the same basics. A user selects from a set of pre-built templates. The template is the graphic design or "look" of the website. The user then enters company information like name, logo, address, and email. Next you select which subpages you want and enter text and images for them. And finally, for the advanced packages, you select additional pre-built functionality to include such as a photo album, blog, forum, of shopping cart. That's it and you have a professional looking website. The user then has a control panel to log into to make changes, add pages, etc.

Some people love these packages and some people hate them. It really depends on your programming ability and goals. If you want a website that's easy to build and you doesn't need a lot of customization then these packages are great. If you are a programmer and want specific functionality or design then you will find these products very confining.

For this article we researched 4 products, SwSoft's SiteBuilder, SiteGalore, SiteReptile, and RV StieBuilder. In general, by size, costs, and features, SiteGalore is the largest, then SiteBuilder, followed by SiteReptile and RV SiteBuilder. We were disappointed with the response and website from SiteGalore. They did not offer prices or a demo on their website. They require a form to be filled out to request each of these, which we did, and have still not heard back after 3 days. All of the other sites have prices and demos right on their website. So, even though, SiteGalore is the largest we do not recommend them. We have found that value propostion means a lot in a business relationship. If you are one small customer to a large company then what kind of attention will they give you? If a site cannot be responsive when they are trying to sell you their product don't expect it when you need support.

Below is a table we have built comparing the costs and functionality of the 4 products. We recommend Swsoft's SiteBuilder first for it's overall features and low cost. If you need cPanel integration then SiteReptile is your best choice. RV sitebuilder is a new product and is still lacking some key functionality.

SwSoft's SiteBuilder
Price - $19.90/month($199 onetime fee) 100 websites
Control Panel - Plesk
Templates - 300+ templates
Pre-Built Functionality - photo gallery, e-shop, PayPal, blogs, voting

SiteGalore
Prices - Not online. No reply after 2 days
Control Panel - None
Templates - 900+ designs, 15,000+ templates, flash intros
Pre-Built Functionailty - photo album, blog, online shop, customized forms

SiteReptile
Price - $9.95/month($159 onetime fee) 100 websites, your brand
Control Panel - cPanel, Plesk, Ensim, DirectAdmin
Templates - 100+ templates
Pre-Built Functionality - news, polling, photo album

RV SiteBuilder
Price - $6/month unlimited, your brand
Control Panel - cPanel
Templates - 50+ templates
Pre-Built Functionality - page effects, guestbook

There are many more products on the market and this just 4 of them. We tried to pick 2 large ones, a medium one, and a small startup. All of these products will add functionality to attract the beginner website builder to your hosting plans. This will be well worth the monthly or one time license fee that they charge. The fees are relatively low compared to the functionality added to your company. We recommend all personal web hosting and budget web hosting companies add a website builder tool to their business.

About The Author


Rodney Ringler is President of Advantage1 Web Services, Inc., which owns a network of Web Hosting Informational Websites including Web Hosting Providers - HostChart, Reseller Hosting Providers - ResellerConnection, Budget Web Hosting - FoundHost.com, ResellerForums.com, and HostingKnowledge.net. Rodney has over 15 years industry experience from programming to internet marketing.

3 Options For Hosting Multiple Websites

by: John Lenaghan

The prices of domain name registration and web hosting have dropped to the point that it's possible to own multiple websites without going broke. If you plan to operate multiple websites, here is some information on the different options available to you.

The first thing to consider when setting up multiple websites is whether or not to host them all with the same web hosting company. Many web hosts offer packages that let you set up multiple sites on a single account and almost all will let you set up multiple accounts, one for each site.

If you are happy with the hosting company you're using for your existing website(s), one advantage of using them for another site is the fact that you know they offer good service and support.

They might also offer discounts for multiple sites, so your costs might be lower if you stay with them again.

On the other hand, if you choose a different host you'll be able to compare the quality of another company with whomever you're currently using. If you ever run into problems with them, you'll have an alternative. It's wise not to "put all your eggs in one basket" as the saying goes.

Another advantage of using a different host is that you'll get a different IP address for each of your sites. If your sites are related to one another and you want to link them together, having different IP addresses can sometimes help your site rank higher in the search engines.

Links from other sites are one of the most important factors in getting your site ranked highly. If those links come from sites on the same IP address, it is a signal to the search engines that they are quite likely all owned by the same person, and they may discount the value of those links.

If you do choose to host all your sites with one company, there are essentially 3 choices - separate accounts for each site, a reseller account where they are all hosted or a dedicated server, again where they are all hosted.

Separate accounts are self-explanatory, so let's look at reseller accounts. As a reseller, you are basically acting as an agent for the hosting company - a middleman between them and the end user.

The idea is that you can set up your own company offering web hosting that is ultimately hosted by the company. You don't have to resell this hosting however - you can use the hosting services for your own websites, essentially "reselling" the hosting to yourself.

A reseller account is nice because all your websites are "under one roof" and you have a single point of contact for any technical problems.

Hosting on a dedicated server gives you complete control of the computer that is the web server. You can install any software you want, any operating system you want and you can allocate resources like memory and hard disk space however you want to divide it up between your sites.

The disadvantage of a dedicated server is that you are responsible for maintaining the server and sometimes even for the technical side of things. If you aren't familiar with the technical side of running a web server, you may need to choose a managed dedicated server, where the hosting company looks after these issues.

Dedicated server are, of course, more expensive than the other options, so unless your websites are well established, with a lot of traffic, they may not fit within your budget.


About The Author

John Lenaghan writes about web hosting and other related topics for the Hosting Report website. For more information, visit http://www.hostingreport.org