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What to look for while choosing a Web Hosting Company
How do you get a web site hosted?
It's quite simply really. All you need to do to get your site is a reputable company with a web server. Like placing an ad on a billboard, or a brochure in public spot, web sites need to be stored where they can be seen. And like many loaned spaces, you pay a monthly rent for that service. The web server acts as a home for the information that you want to show to the world. A web hosting company simply provides you with the space on one of their computers. Therefore, to get you site hosted, just rent the space - or in this case, rent the folder on the computer connected to the Internet. If you'd like, you could create your own server, but that is expensive and you would really need to know what you are doing. Web hosting providers can supply what you need for a fraction of the price - provided the company is capable and reliable. So step one: Find a reputable company to store your business or personal web site information. Who should you choose? To know who to choose, you need to know what you are looking for in a hosting service. Some of the questions you'll need to ask are: How large will me site be? Normally, your web sites will reflect the size of the company. However, you may want to have a large database of pertinent information. Try to assess how much you are interested in showing on your site. Data in the form of words is light - it takes up little space. Data in the form of pictures is heavier, and videos take up a great deal of space. Will you be using the server to store email, company databases, music files, etc. All this contributes to the size you will need. Remember, you can always upgrade if the server starts getting too full. How much can you afford to spend? Prices range from free to hundreds of dollars a month. Know your budget before you begin to search for the right company. Will you need an online store? Will you need a database? How often will you be updating the content? This is a particularly relevant question since you will want a server with easy FTP (file transfer protocol) access - the program used to transfer files from your computer to your server. Not all hosting services make this easy, although the ability to FTP is standard in all programs. Dedicated Hosting - Leasing the entire server from a hosting company. You have control and the support of the company. Prices range from $100 a month and up. Shared Hosting - The best solution for most individuals and businesses. This is simply renting only the space you need for your site. You can always increase the amount of space if needed (although it is good to know in advance what you expect in order to save money on the right plan). You can have a domain name point to your site and no one will ever know what kind of server or plan you have running in the background. Shared hosting has several sub-categories, such as: Free hosting - It's free, but will usually cost you in the look and feel of the site, since they will find a way to get ads that you have no control over onto your site. Good for non-commerce, personal sites. Budget hosting - Affordable and simple. Basic Shared For more powerful web site needs. E-Commerce - When you need to sell your products online. This solution will provide you with an E-store that sometimes can be a nightmare to set up. That is why good 24/7 tech support is critical from a host of this type. Choosing the Package - Once you have found the type of hosting you need, you can choose the package you want. Here is a list of items that you will want to know about before making that decision: - Disk Space - How much data can you store on the server before having to increase your plan?- Monthly Data Transfer - How much data can you transfer to the server? - FTP Users - Do you need a number of accounts so different people can upload files to the server? - Email Accounts - How many do you need? - Setup Fees - Is there one? - Min. Purchase Length - Usually one or two months. - Webmail (Forwarding, Auto-Responder, Catch-All Email Address, Mailing lists, Virus and Spam Protection, Message Encryption) - Databases (MS Access, MS SQL, MySQL) - What do you get with your plan? - Domains and DNS Management - How many domains can you have pointing to the server? How many will you need? - Access w/o "www." - A nice feature to have. It saves users getting error messages when they leave off the www. - Subdomains - These are handy for creating multiple sites from one domain (Example: http://yourname.yourdomain.com). - Alias Domains - These are domain names other than your main domain that point to your server (Example: yourdomaincentral.com, yourdomains.com, theyourdomain.com, etc.) How many do you get, and again, how many do you need? |
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