Website Hosting Service

If you’re just getting started in Internet Marketing or any Web-related activity, you probably have lots of questions about Website hosting. There are many options available and monthly fees range from a few dollars to a hundred dollars or more. And you definitely don’t want to make a choice and then realize shortly after that you should have gone with something different – moving sites can be a pain. So how does a newbie figure out what’s right for their needs? Read on…Shared Hosting

The first type of hosting you’ll find is shared hosting. Shared hosting means that you are given a block of hard drive space on a server that houses other accounts as well. You are sharing the server’s resources with dozens or even hundreds of other customers. And if the shared hosting account allows you to host multiple Websites, this means that there can be thousands of Websites living on this one server.

Let’s look at the good things about shared hosting. It is the most inexpensive type of hosting, which is a major plus for those just starting out. It usually includes a control panel (most often cpanel or plesk) which makes it easier to configure things on your hosting account. You often get an assortment of script installers (Fantastico is one of the more popular ways of providing this) which allow you to add a blog, a shopping cart, a guestbook and other options to your Website.

On the negative side, using shared hosting means that your Website is, to some extent, at the mercy of other sites on the same server. If another site is running a script that uses a lot of the server’s memory or processing power, it can slow down or even interrupt access to the other sites on the box. A good hosting provider will usually catch this problem and resolve it with the owner of the offending site, but it can still cause unnecessary headaches. Another potential problem is with spamming. If someone else on your server is sending out a lot of spam e-mail, the server’s IP address (the unique address of the server on the Internet) can be blacklisted by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) meaning that email sent from your Website might not get through, even though you aren’t the one spamming people!

Shared hosting is a good way to start if your Websites will be just HTML pages without any major scripts running, or if you don’t plan to send out a lot of email through the mail server. The pricing can’t be beat, but you have to be aware of the limitations and potential pitfalls I’ve outlined above.

One shared hosting provider I’d recommend is:Omnis NetworkVirtual Private Server/Virtual Dedicated Server

A step up from shared hosting is the VPS or Virtual Private Server (also called Virtual Dedicated Server or VDS). VPS hosting is similar to shared hosting in that you share a physical server with others. The big difference is that the server is outfitted with something called virtualization (Virtuozzo is one of the most common solutions used). Virtualization basically splits up the server’s resources into defined and dedicated blocks. Whereas with shared hosting, another user’s site can hog the physical server’s resources and bring all the other sites to a crawl, with VPS you get a certain amount of RAM and a certain percentage of processor usage that is dedicated to your sites. Similarly, each virtual server, or “chunk” of the overall physical server usually has it’s own IP address, thus reducing the potential for your IP being blocked because of someone else’s spam.

On the negative side, the cost of a VPS solution is usually significantly higher than a shared hosting package. Expect to spend about $40 to $90 a month. Look for coupons or specials that will either reduce your monthly cost or increase the level of resources assigned to your account without increasing the cost. And speaking of resources, make sure that you get a minimum of 128 MB of RAM (256 MB is strongly recommended). You also want to look for “burstable” resources, meaning that you can “borrow” unused resources beyond your dedicated limit for short periods of time. Another thing to watch out for is that many of the cheaper VPS packages do not come with much, if any, management of your virtual server. This means that you are responsible for installing any scripts you need (including a control panel in some cases). Unless you are a major tech geek willing to learn a lot about server configuration, try to find a managed VPS service that includes an already installed control panel (again, cpanel and plesk are recommended). It will save you a lot of headaches. Also look for WHM (Web Host Manager), which allows you to create sub-accounts for all of the domains you want to host.

Recommended VPS/VDS providers:EasyCGI VPS HostingmidPhase VPS HostingDedicated Server

Hosting your site or sites on a dedicated server means that you are the only customer of the hosting company on a given server. You have the entire server and all its resources to yourself. No one else to bog down the server with complex scripts, no one else to get the IP address blacklisted for spamming. Just you. It sounds great, but the cost ($100 per month and up) is often prohibitive for many folks, especially those who are new at Internet marketing. Additionally, while you can sometimes find good deals on a dedicated server, there is usually a catch. That catch is that you take full responsibility for the software that is running on the box. You are responsible for updating to the latest version of the Apache web server, the latest version of PHP, the latest version of mySQL, etc. You are also responsible for making sure that security holes are patched so that your server doesn’t get hacked. In short, you probably have a lot to learn before you are ready for this type of responsibility.

That said, there are managed dedicated servers available, where someone at the hosting company takes care of some or all of these responsibilities. Of course, this costs even more money.

I don’t recommend a dedicated server for anyone just starting out, unless you’re a network admin who just quit his or her job to pursue the work-from-home dream that Internet marketing promises. Otherwise, steer clear until you have made enough money to pay for the fully managed dedicated server or to hire your own server admin.

So what should you do if you’re just starting out? I’d recommend starting with a good and inexpensive shared hosting provider until you learn the ropes and get comfortable with Web hosting. Once you’ve got some experience, move to a VPS solution. A smart way to go is to look for a hosting company that provides both shared and VPS plans – they may be able to help you move your sites if and when you need to upgrade your plan. (Both EasyCGI Hosting and midPhase Hosting – see links above – offer shared and VPS plans – check them out.)

Finally, the best tip I can give you is to make sure you understand what you’re getting in your hosting plan. Check the list of features against what you plan to do with your sites. If you are planning to run an ASP script, don’t sign up for Linux hosting – you need Windows hosting for ASP, in most cases. If you are planning to run a PHP application, make sure the plan you sign up for supports PHP (most do, but the point is to be diligent in checking your requirements before you sign up).

A good hosting provider can be a valuable asset to your online business for years to come. A poor one can be a major obstacle to success. Follow the advice I’ve provided here and you should be in good shape.

In a down market it is more necessary than ever to consider how to cut costs. You look at every penny spent and trim the fat so much that sometimes you trim the meat as well. In this case, the meat I’m referring to is hosting your website—or having a website at all. Losing the power a properly designed and marketed site can provide you in today’s marketplace would truly be a tragedy, so before you even think about putting the carving knife to your hosting; consider this.Seek Those ReferralsNow’s the time where you really should be putting your website’s marketing power to use. Look at rebuilding your site to better utilize calls to action. It’s OK to blatantly ask your customers for referrals. If they didn’t like what you are offering, they wouldn’t be customers, and most people will be happy to provide their friends and family with the same opportunity to benefit from your service or product. Offer incentives that make it worth their while such as discounts on services, unique sales prices, or even products or services that aren’t available to the layman. In your redesign of your site, present your customers with every possible opportunity to participate as this will enhance your referral program.Build Smart Landing PagesRather than solely marketing a slew of products or services by trying to drive customers to your homepage, create smart landing pages for your best selling, or most profitable, products and/or services. You wouldn’t believe the marketing power a landing page can provide. It’s like placing an advertisement specifically for that one item in every visitor’s mailbox…only instead of using it to line their birdcages, they’ll actually convert! Well, a good percentage of them do, and certainly more than a mailer campaign (which is also much more costly). Pay a professional who really understands the proper methodology for building a landing page to create many different pages depending on your offerings, and you’ve just increased your sales potential.Open 24-7I’m not suggesting that you start up a midnight shift, but I am suggesting that whenever possible, you look into automating your offering so that those individuals who operate in a different time zone, or the insomniac who prefers to surf instead of sit on the couch, can take advantage of your product and/or services even when you’re sleeping. If you’re offering actual, physical products, I have no idea why you wouldn’t want to open an e-commerce solution on your site. Imagine the benefit of waking up in the morning to find additional sales you might have otherwise missed waiting for you to process! It’s enough to incite drooling, no?SummaryWhile it can be tempting to knock that website hosting charge from your monthly statement, it isn’t the wise course of action. In today’s age you need a website to truly be successful. More and more people are turning to the Internet for their answers, for their purchasing, and for their own peace of mind. According to InternetWorldStats.com, North America has had a growth in Internet users of 128.3% from 2000 to 2008 with nearly 73.1% of the population using the Internet, and that’s just the Homeland, friend! If you’re international, those numbers grow astronomically. How can you afford not to maintain your website hosting?

Whether you’re a growing business planning on starting a website business or just a website programmer looking for a good hosting account, its a good idea to learn how web hosting works to ensure that your website launch goes smoothly.
There are many website hosting companies on the internet, and all of them offer a different list of services for different types of websites. Here are some of the common features that you’ll see on most web hosts and how to decipher them.
Website Space: Website space is the actual location of where your website files and images reside. Your HTML web pages and even your web programming pages will be stored at this location. Some web hosts offer 100MB and others offer up to 10,000MB or more.
If your company’s website only uses up five to seven pages then even 100mb might be too much space because almost all average web pages take up very little space.
If your website is content based and requires tons of images, text, articles, videos, then you should ensure that your host has more then 100mb of webspace. Many times though webspace will not be a major factor when searching for a webhost. Most hosts will provide you with a lot web space for the average website.
Bandwidth / Traffic / Monthly Transfer: Bandwidth is how much information can be transferred from your website.
Think of it this way. If you have 1 webpage which takes up 1mb and you’re monthly bandwidth limit is 100mb. This means that once 100 people visit your website, then your bandwidth limit will be maxed out. You will not have any bandwidth available until the next month. Most of the time though website hosts offer monthly bandwidth limits of 3,000 MB or 10,000 MB. Don’t worry about bandwidth because 99 percent of your webpages won’t take up 1mb.
Once you start generating thousands of visitors monthly and see your bandwidth increase then you may have to pay additional fee for that month for the extra bandwidth, and consider upgrading your hosting account. As with website space bandwidth should not be an issue when searching for a webhost because most will provide you with adequate bandwidth for your website.
Website Programming Language: If you have features like Comments Form – to email comments directly from visitors to online email account, Newsletter Opt-in for your visitors or any other dynamic features then you need to have support for a web programming language. There are several web programming languages. To find out which one you need for your website ask your website development team and find out. They might already know which programming language they plan on using for your website. Common Web Programming languages include PHP, Net and CFML.
Web Programming language will be a big factor when searching for a webhost because each firm will offer a different combination of support for web programming languages, so pick carefully.
Database: If your website needs to store visitor’s email address, name and other important information, or keep a catalog of all your products then you will need to use a database. Some of the most common databases that are widely used include Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, and Access. Almost all hosting plans will provide support for atleast one of these databases. As for web programming, you need to ask your website development team which database they plan to use.
Domain Hosting: Most of the time though a website hosting company will allow you to host one domain name such as a com, or net, but some website hosts support hosting for several website name. This is a great feature because this allows you to host multiple websites on one host, and manage everything from a convenient place. The downside is that you will have to share your website space, your bandwidth, and maybe even several other features with your other website. If you’re goal is to have more then one website then it’s a good idea to find out exactly how many domains your web host allows on your account.
Email: Email should not be an issue when searching for a webhost. Many web hosting firms support some type of email account which allows you to have an email address with your website name: sales at yourwebsitename or something like that. Remember the amount of website space you use for your email may be limited to your overall website account, so if possible delete large and unwanted emails.
Customer Support: Support won’t be a factor until it becomes one. This is why its a good idea to speak with a hosting staff and see how they respond. Great customer service will become a very important factor, and usually up to your website firm that will be working with them.
So how do you decide which webhost is right for you?
A good method is to first find out which of these website hosting is more important for you. If your website offers business training videos that takes up a lot of bandwidth then you should find a website host that can provide you a lot of bandwidth unless you’d rather wait until it turns into a bottleneck. Videos often take up hundreds if not thousand times more bandwidth then regular webpage and in this case your first priority during your search should be to ensure that your host includes adequate bandwidth. If you find a host that you like and if bandwidth does turn into an issue then make sure that the hosting firm allows the ability to upgrade your hosting services. Be prepared and make sure to find out the expenses for the upgraded plan.
Once you find a good host try hosting your website on a monthly basis instead of the long term discounted plans. Just like other companies, firms will offer lower price to motivate you to buy long term contracts. There’s nothing wrong with having a long term contract, but it’s not worth it if you decide you don’t like this host, or if you find a better host.
If you’re still not sure which host to sign up with then just ask you webmaster. They can recommend web hosts or offer to host your website with them. You will also see website hosts provide you with additional features such as ecommerce functionality, website statistics, easy to use control panel software such as Plesk, and other great features and software programs that can help you manage and create a great website.
Dedicated Server
If none of those plans sound right or if you plan on creating a gateway type website, with tons of content, images, videos, and if you want to be able to install your own custom software then there’s another option for you, a dedicated server. With a dedicated server you can install your own software, support for your own choice of programming languages, and as the title suggests it is dedicated for your website or websites depending on what you need. The cost is usually 8 to 10 times more then your average web host, but it allows you more control and provide you more ways to customize it. And if you plan on hosting dozens of websites then you should consider using a dedicated server.

Whether you’re a growing business planning on starting a website business or just a website programmer looking for a good hosting account, its a good idea to learn how web hosting works to ensure that your website launch goes smoothly.
There are many website hosting companies on the internet, and all of them offer a different list of services for different types of websites. Here are some of the common features that you’ll see on most web hosts and how to decipher them.
Website Space: Website space is the actual location of where your website files and images reside. Your HTML web pages and even your web programming pages will be stored at this location. Some web hosts offer 100MB and others offer up to 10,000MB or more.
If your company’s website only uses up five to seven pages then even 100mb might be too much space because almost all average web pages take up very little space.
If your website is content based and requires tons of images, text, articles, videos, then you should ensure that your host has more then 100mb of webspace. Many times though webspace will not be a major factor when searching for a webhost. Most hosts will provide you with a lot web space for the average website.
Bandwidth / Traffic / Monthly Transfer: Bandwidth is how much information can be transferred from your website.
Think of it this way. If you have 1 webpage which takes up 1mb and you’re monthly bandwidth limit is 100mb. This means that once 100 people visit your website, then your bandwidth limit will be maxed out. You will not have any bandwidth available until the next month. Most of the time though website hosts offer monthly bandwidth limits of 3,000 MB or 10,000 MB. Don’t worry about bandwidth because 99 percent of your webpages won’t take up 1mb.
Once you start generating thousands of visitors monthly and see your bandwidth increase then you may have to pay additional fee for that month for the extra bandwidth, and consider upgrading your hosting account. As with website space bandwidth should not be an issue when searching for a webhost because most will provide you with adequate bandwidth for your website.
Website Programming Language: If you have features like Comments Form – to email comments directly from visitors to online email account, Newsletter Opt-in for your visitors or any other dynamic features then you need to have support for a web programming language. There are several web programming languages. To find out which one you need for your website ask your website development team and find out. They might already know which programming language they plan on using for your website. Common Web Programming languages include PHP, Net and CFML.
Web Programming language will be a big factor when searching for a webhost because each firm will offer a different combination of support for web programming languages, so pick carefully.
Database: If your website needs to store visitor’s email address, name and other important information, or keep a catalog of all your products then you will need to use a database. Some of the most common databases that are widely used include Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, and Access. Almost all hosting plans will provide support for atleast one of these databases. As for web programming, you need to ask your website development team which database they plan to use.
Domain Hosting: Most of the time though a website hosting company will allow you to host one domain name such as a com, or net, but some website hosts support hosting for several website name. This is a great feature because this allows you to host multiple websites on one host, and manage everything from a convenient place. The downside is that you will have to share your website space, your bandwidth, and maybe even several other features with your other website. If you’re goal is to have more then one website then it’s a good idea to find out exactly how many domains your web host allows on your account.
Email: Email should not be an issue when searching for a webhost. Many web hosting firms support some type of email account which allows you to have an email address with your website name: sales at yourwebsitename or something like that. Remember the amount of website space you use for your email may be limited to your overall website account, so if possible delete large and unwanted emails.
Customer Support: Support won’t be a factor until it becomes one. This is why its a good idea to speak with a hosting staff and see how they respond. Great customer service will become a very important factor, and usually up to your website firm that will be working with them.
So how do you decide which webhost is right for you?
A good method is to first find out which of these website hosting is more important for you. If your website offers business training videos that takes up a lot of bandwidth then you should find a website host that can provide you a lot of bandwidth unless you’d rather wait until it turns into a bottleneck. Videos often take up hundreds if not thousand times more bandwidth then regular webpage and in this case your first priority during your search should be to ensure that your host includes adequate bandwidth. If you find a host that you like and if bandwidth does turn into an issue then make sure that the hosting firm allows the ability to upgrade your hosting services. Be prepared and make sure to find out the expenses for the upgraded plan.
Once you find a good host try hosting your website on a monthly basis instead of the long term discounted plans. Just like other companies, firms will offer lower price to motivate you to buy long term contracts. There’s nothing wrong with having a long term contract, but it’s not worth it if you decide you don’t like this host, or if you find a better host.
If you’re still not sure which host to sign up with then just ask you webmaster. They can recommend web hosts or offer to host your website with them. You will also see website hosts provide you with additional features such as ecommerce functionality, website statistics, easy to use control panel software such as Plesk, and other great features and software programs that can help you manage and create a great website.
Dedicated Server
If none of those plans sound right or if you plan on creating a gateway type website, with tons of content, images, videos, and if you want to be able to install your own custom software then there’s another option for you, a dedicated server. With a dedicated server you can install your own software, support for your own choice of programming languages, and as the title suggests it is dedicated for your website or websites depending on what you need. The cost is usually 8 to 10 times more then your average web host, but it allows you more control and provide you more ways to customize it. And if you plan on hosting dozens of websites then you should consider using a dedicated server.