4 Tips to Find the Web Host That’s Right For You
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.
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 .
Webhosting Explained
Web hosts are service companies that provide space on their servers for internet users. Web hosts provide online systems for internet connectivity and for storing information, image mediums and other internet content. For the company interested in conducting business on the web, the proper choice of web host is a crucial step in any internet marketing plan.
There are several types of web hosting available. Free hosting is the least costly, but the most limited with regard to services and space; though a free web host may be a consideration for an individual professional or small business to start out. The restrictions on advertising, bandwidth and permissible edit sites, may be limiting for a company looking for rapid growth.
Shared hosting places your website on the same server as several (potentially hundreds) of other sites. Although these are less restricted than free hosts, they do impose some limitations on site capabilities. Reseller hosting allows an e-business to obtain a large amount of bandwidth and space on its account and divide the space as it sees fit. This is similar to a shared hosting because your server is placed on the same server as others. But you can decide on the amount of the divisions and with whom to share.
Less Restricted Web Hosting Choices
Dedicated hosting and Virtual Private Server hosting provide very similar results. A dedicated hosting is relatively expensive, but is less restricted than those previously discussed. With dedicated hosting, you, as the user, have a server to yourself. Thus, there are very little restrictions and you are on your own with regard to services.
Virtual private server technology enables one server to host multiple virtual environments. These environments have the characteristics of individual stand-alone servers. Essentially, the results are the same, though a virtual private server hosting is less expensive. With Colocated hosting, the user installs a self-purchased server at the data center of the host. The services often provided for other types of hosting, must be paid for by the colocated hosting user, thus the costs associated with this choice tend to be high.
In order to use a web-hosting service, your e-business must already have an existing website ready to go. So as you develop your website, one of the crucial planning components is deciding what web hosting service your e-business and site will require. Valiss are the internet marketing experts. They will help you design and implement your entire internet marketing plan, and will then help you navigate the many issues involving your web hosting choice.
Ted Prodromou spent over 25 years in the computer industry working for IBM, Digital, and Cellular one. Today he’s the owner of Valiss IT, a consulting firm that provides small business coaching and marketing help. He’s also a certified personal and professional coach.
Ted has created and led many coaching workshops and today is helping small businesses automate their marketing with his latest coaching program, “Attract Clients While You Sleep”. For more information visit http://www.valiss.com/specials
If you would like to download his free report “How To Attract Clients While You Sleep” visit http://www.valiss.com
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What to Look for in a Free Hosting Providers
The first thing that you must realize when looking for a free hosting provider is that nothing is truly “free”. There will be some sacrifices…
First of all, if you see free hosting that promises to be without ads or banners, then it’s not truly free.
For example, DotEasy.com, promises “Cost-free, Banner-free” hosting, but in reality what they are really saying is that IF you register a domain from them for $25/year (GoDaddy.com $8.95/year) or if you would like to transfer a domain for a $35 fee THEN and only then will they give you 100 MB of free hosting, that’s why they can offer $5 dollars for each referral to DotEasy.com’s “free” hosting. Great deal, right?
Tips on choosing a free hosting provider…
1) Always choose the provider that puts ads on your site over the one that claims not to. The companies that place ads on your site tend to be more stable and you always no your partnership with them, “I make site” + “They put ads” = Win-Win. But when you choose a host that claims not to put ads on your site you are giving him all kinds of freedoms to exploit you to make a quick dollar, like selling your e-mail address or shrinking your space to force you to upgrade to a paid package.
2) Always choose a free hosting provider that offers sub domains in the format of “http//yoursite.theirsite.com” instead of “http//www.theirsite.com/yousite”. Not only is this more professional but it also helps with getting returning visitors and Search Engine Optimization, which every site strides for.
3) Make sure that they can provide you with upgrades (both for sub domains and domains), because when the day comes that your sub domain site gets a million hits and starts making sufficient amounts of money you will not want to be changing your sites URL and loosing all of your returning visitors and search engine rankings.
The main point is that free hosting is a partnership between the provider and the “customer”. Everybody wants to get something in return, whether it is advertising space or selling other services, so the basic rule of thumb would be to find a win-win situation but to make sure there is a way to get out unharmed if the partnership becomes unbalanced one way or the other.
Emil Davtyan currently works for Gig4Free.com, a performace based free hosting provider which offers 1GB Storage and 20GB bandwidth for free.
Transferring Your Existing Website to a New Hosting Provider
You’ve already got a website, but your current hosting provider can no longer meet your needs, provide adequate service, costs too much, or is going out of business. You need to move your website to a new host. How do you do this? This situation arises all the time, but many people don’t know where to begin. This guide is designed to help you understand what is involved in a hosting transfer so that you can transition from one host to another as smoothly as possible.
Step 1: Determine What You Have
Before you move anything, you need to know what you’ve got to transfer so that you can determine your requirements of the new hosting provider. Ask yourself these questions and find out the answers. You may need to ask your website designer or your current hosting provider for some of this information.
- Do you have all of the information you need to manage your domain names? If you don’t know what this is, read our guide to Understanding Your Domain Name.
- Can you get a complete backup copy of your website?
- What kind of server are you currently hosting on? Windows, Linux/Unix, something else?
- Is your site running any kind of dynamic code, scripts, or software, such as ASP, PHP, CGI, Java, etc.? What kind? Most shopping carts and data processing applications fall under this description.
- Does your site have a database? What kind? MySQL, SQL, PostgreSQL, Access, Oracle, something else?
- How many e-mail addresses do you have? Do you have a list of usernames and passwords? Are there any e-mail aliases or forwarded addresses set up?
- Are any parts of your site password protected or secured? How is this set up?
- Are there any elements of your site, such as the shopping cart, that are not under your domain name and cannot be taken with you? Some hosting providers offer a shopping cart which can only be used by their customers.
- How much storage space does your website take up?
- How much bandwidth does your website use up every month?
- Do you have any special requirements, such as the ability to receive delivery receipts for your e-mail?
If you can gather all of this information then you are in good shape. As with anything, preparation and good record keeping is the key to success.
Step 2: Find a Host That Can Meet Your Needs
Now that you know what you have, it’s time to look for somebody who can handle it. Check out different hosting companies, look at their packages to see what they offer, and contact them and ask what they can do to assist you in moving your website. A good host should not just be able to support your website on their servers, they should be able to help you move it as well.
If the new host you are looking at runs a different setup or a different type of server than your old host, find out how that will affect you. Some of your settings such as e-mail servers may change, you might have a different type of website control panel, you might gain some new options that you didn’t have before and you might lose some that you did.
Step 3: Set Up the New Camp Before You Break the Old One
Before you cancel your services with your old host, you need to make sure that everything is set up and running to your satisfaction on the new host. This is necessary to avoid having a broken website and interruption of your e-mail service once the hosting is transferred. The ideal is to leave your old host active up until the activation of the new host’s DNS, and to have a fully configured and operational website waiting for it when the domain is repointed. This will provide the smoothest possible transition from one host to another.
Most hosts provide a way for you to access your site prior to changing the DNS on your domain name. You should be able to access your control panel, upload your files, and perform all the operations necessary to recreate your website and e-mail accounts on the new host’s server. Tutorials should be provided on how to use all of the tools and features that the host provides you to perform these tasks, so be sure and read them. If you are still unsure how to proceed with anything, request assistance from the host’s support department.
Step 4: Notify Your Customers
If you have customers who regularly visit your site for purchases or information, you need to notify them that you are making administrative changes to the site and that it may be temporarily unavailable. While downtime may be what you’re trying to avoid, it’s better to be safe than sorry, and it shows your customers that you care. You may notify customers by email or by posting a notice on your website where it will be seen by those who need to know. Be sure to include a target date for your move in the notice.
Step 5: Move Your Domain Names
At this point you should have all of your files transferred, your e-mail accounts set up, shopping cart installed, etc. on the new host’s server. However, officially you are still being hosted by your old provider. Now it’s time to use that domain management information you found in Step 1. First you need to find out the names of your new host’s DNS. There should be a minimum of two, and they should look something like this:
NS1.YOURHOST.COM
NS2.YOURHOST.COM
You will need to enter this information in the DNS section of your domain manager for each domain that you wish to repoint to the new host. If you are parking multiple domains on the same site, make sure that the new host’s DNS is programmed to handle all of the parked domains and not just the one you are setting up the primary hosting account with.
The process of changing DNS does not occur instantaneously. Most DNS servers update their records at 12 or 24 hour intervals, although sometimes it may take as long as 48 hours. When you change your domain’s DNS, a notice is also issued to routers all across the internet that your domain is now using different DNS so that they can update their DNS tables accordingly to point your domain in the right direction when a request is issued for it in their sphere of influence. This notice does not spread evenly or instantaneously, which means that while Houston might recognize the move almost as soon as it happens, Berlin might not be able to see your new IP address for another 24 hours. This process generally completes itself within 48-72 hours.
Step 6: Test Your Site and Cancel Your Old Provider’s Services
Once you have repointed your domains and given the DNS system a couple of days to propagate the changes, you should be checking out all of the functions of your website once it is live on the new server to make sure that everything is operating as expected. Once you are satisfied that you no longer need to retrieve any information from the old host, then it is safe to cancel your services with them.
© Copyright 2005 by Stacy Clifford
Stacy Clifford is the founder of ChiliPepperWeb.net and has spent four years assisting customers in understanding how their web services work.
Which Is The Better Server Operating System, Unix or Windows?
Anybody who decides to get a web hosting service or facility for their website will also soon be faced with the tough question of what server they will need. Will their website be run by a Windows server operating system or will they prefer to go for a Unix system?
Typical Windows servers will run on Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP, while Unix servers could be Linux or Open BSD to name just two. The truth is that both systems have there pros and cons.
If site stability and uptime are critical for you and your new website, then Unix should be your choice because they are generally thought to be superior in stability. Windows have the disadvantage that they usually require rebooting much more often. Still Windows are miles ahead when it comes to ease of use. A Windows server operating system will generally be much easier to operate and administer than its’ Unix counterpart.
On the other hand, Unix, even with its’ stability may not end up being so user-friendly, especially for non-techies. There is also a price to pay for the extra stability which is evident in Unix systems. Usually Unix machines will require their software to be updated on a very regular basis. All in all, Unix server operating systems are favored over windows as they are widely considered to be more stable.
Still if truth be told, when both systems are correctly installed, there is really very little difference and they will give you basically the same results. In effect this does not make this an easy decision to reach. In fact this is the main factor that complicates the issue, causing even more confusion and making it very difficult for the webmaster to make a decision either way. However for many, the final answer to the question of which server operating system is preferable, is quite often made by analyzing and comparing the costs of both and going with the more affordable option.
About the Author
Lois S. is a Technical Executive Writer for http://www.websitesource.com and http://www.lowpricedomains.com with experience in the website hosting industry.