Web hosting enables you to own a piece of cyberspace which is accessible on the World Wide Web. You can upload several documents, files, data, bulletins or news in that space. There are a number of web hosting companies that provide you space on their server as well as Internet connectivity, typically in a data center. Some web hosting companies also provide connectivity to the Internet and data center space for servers they do not own. This method of web hosting is known as colocation. However, to receive this space it is essential for you to own Internet with a network connection to the Internet backbone and computers operating as servers. It offers access to your files and mail server for people on the World Wide Web in order to view the website as well as to send and receive email with you. Usually simplest web hosting companies provide a page and limited file storage and upload, whereas more advanced website needs a service that provides access to the own control panel for managing e-mail accounts as well as for installing scripts.
Web Hosting Features:
Before selecting the web hosting features, there are certain other factors that must be considered such as your budget, the type of website and required storage and bandwidth. Running an e-commerce site requires an online payment system; thereby you need secure sockets layer (SSL) encryption and shopping carts, whereas online forum sites or a blog requires PHP or Perl/ CGI scripting as well as access to a database system like PostgreSQL, MySQL or Microsoft's SQL Server. Thereby, the first task while selecting a web hosting company is to identify your true needs as any extra feature will add up to the cost of your web site. Fix criteria for your required features selection such as the amount of bandwidth and storage capacity as well as determine whether your site needs features like spam protections and website builders.
Trusting your web host is vital for all firms because if something goes wrong, they need to fix it. To pick the best web host, try and use the following tips as a guideline.
What you Must Do:
Study all the firms: You can never do too little research so you should compile a list of what you need to be aware of. Analysing and comparing firms to the requirements on your list will enable you to make a good choice. Always bear in mind you can ask other users and post on discussion forums for advice from others about a company. If a company has won awards, find out what for and if it is relevant to today. Issues like how many data centers are used by a firm or what is their current staff situation like or how quick are they to react when you need support help are all important. A good way to find out more would be to contact another company who has used the host and gauge their opinion on them.
List what you will need: You need to know what features your site will require, such as bandwidth or how much storage space you need. Everyone wants more bandwidth but do you need it all? Why pay for bandwidth that you will never use, this is a waste of money. If it is likely you will use many features on your site, try and find a host that offers leeway. This will minimize the chance of you being given a large bill for excessive use.
Have something in reserve just in case: Every reliable business needs to have a secondary plan in case things go wrong. Although web hosts will claim to be reliable, things can go wrong, for some sites more than others. If your site offers backup and can help you fix things, this is not a major issue. This will enable you to recover quicker and prevent you from losing a lot of data. Make sure your host provider offers these facilities and if they don't, consider finding a new host.
Do check for contact support: Before deciding on a particular web hosting company, contact the potential company and ask them a few simple queries about their service, expertise and experience. Look out how promptly as well as the way they provide you the answers. The main objective of this is to estimate their response time as well as the quality of their reply.
The Don'ts:
Do not base your decision on only the cost: Choosing a host firm always by price is not a sensible option. The saying you get what you pay for is very true for some web host providers. This may be okay for some but you will be very unlikely to get a quality product or service from these firms. A quick way to consider price and relativity is to think of paying 0.50 cents for 1 GB of bandwidth. If high quality matters to you, try a price about three or four times higher.
Pass up the option to have a free web host: Being taken seriously is vital for a firm so make sure you are by ignoring the free web host service. Free web hosting comes at a price and this advertising being placed on your site. Customers do not appreciate these adverts and they will think less of your site for having these advertisements. It has also been found that some computers are damaged by these adverts popping up on screen. This gives customers another reason to dislike them and sites that use them. You need to build a good reputation and these advertisements will not help. Would you give a site your credit card details if it looked cheap and insecure? No and that's why your customers wouldn't do it on your website. This is a key reason why it is best to work with a reputable provider.
Be wary of testimonials from "customers": Please be advised that each testimonial that you will read with regards to a company may not be the truth. The host will very often create these testimonials to make the firm seem better than what they really are. Some of these reviews may be trustworthy whilst others may be complete fiction. You should always try to read reviews from diverse sources and forums and to gain as many views as you can. A great way to do this is to find clients who have used the company and ask their opinion. Other customers who have used the host before of the company/signature will offer honest evaluations on the company the service they offered. If there are contact details beside a review, why not contact the person and get more news about the firm.
Avoid looking for free domain incorporated with web hosting: Most of people have a tendency to go for web hosting companies that offer free domain along with its hosting plans. But it is always better to keep the domain separate from the hosting company. Purchasing hosting plan along with free domain is fine as long as the domain is registered in your name and belongs to you. However, in most of the cases, such companies register the domain to their name and just let you to borrow it. Hence, there always remains the risk that they might hold the domain as hostage if in case you decide to move to a different web hosting company.
About the Author:
About the author: Matt Hedges is a 12 year veteran of the web hosting industry. Hedges is the head staff writer for WebHostingMadness.com, a web hosting review site.
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