There are certain things that people have been arguing about since their invention – what religion is supreme, which brand of car to drive, and which operating system you should run on. For some reason, that last debate in particular has been quite the subject of many online debates. Linux supporters will argue that Windows is unstable; Windows people will say that Linux isn’t compatible with current computer languages and trends. Unlike most debates, though, this one has a definite winning side – that is, the Linux hosting supporters.

That isn’t to say that Windows hosting is bad – indeed, it does support the popular programming language of ASP, while Linux does not. However, many people agree that that is about where the advantages of Windows ends. While Windows is a more household name than Linux, that doesn’t mean that it’s the better system: only that it has the better marketing campaign. In fact, as far as web hosting goes you’re unlikely to find anything better or more reliable than Linux hosting.

First, let’s examine the side commonly taken by Linux supporters that Windows is unstable. Is it true? Ask any person who ran on a Windows operating system in the late ’90s – they’ll likely all have a story about that dreaded “blue screen” that would randomly pop up indicating a system crash and require the system to be restarted. While in later versions of the Windows operating systems this problem has more or less been eradicated, that instability does carry over to their hosting services. Just like their desktop computer OS counterparts, Linux hosting tends to be able to handle more processes running at the same time than a Windows server can before failing. However, many people will debate that so long as the person in charge of the hosting server is knowledgeable about what they’re doing, the difference is negligible.

The difference that persuades more people to support Linux servers over Windows is the same thing that drives the choice between brands for people in any situation where they’re looking to purchase an item: money. For a dedicated server, a person can get the same amount of space and data storage for a cheaper price on a Linux server.

In the end, that pretty much sums up why Linux is generally agreed upon to be the better web host – they’re more stable, they offer more space and computer power, and all of it comes at a lower price than a windows system.

There are tons of questions that may (and sometimes have to) be asked when you’re choosing a web hosting company to provide a server for your website. While things like how much you want to pay for the server, if they’re reliable, and of course if you’re going to want a shared server or a dedicated server are all equally important questions to ask, there is one more. That is, should you opt for a Windows or a Linux hosting site?

The assumption that many people make, particularly those without a vast knowledge of computers and the world of web hosting, is that a windows machine can only run on a windows server, and vise versa for a Linux machine. However, that is not true. Regardless of what type of machine you’re using, it has nothing to do with what kind of hosting you use – rather, what type of website you are running is what matters when choosing the type of hosting you use.

One of the most basic programming languages is HTML – this produces basic websites. If your website is going to be only in HTML, then which system you use doesn’t really matter. However, if you’re looking to start up a more interactive page – such as a shopping site where a visitor can put items into their virtual shopping cart – then it changes things a bit. The most common programming languages for this type of website are PHP and ASP. While PHP works equally well with both Linux and Windows hosting, ASP only works on Windows. This means that if you insist on working with ASP, Windows is your only choice for a hosting system.

However, there are other factors that would effect your choice of hosting besides the programming language of the site. An obvious one is brand loyalty – which is particularly prevalent in the world of operating systems. For example, if you’ve always been a fan of Linux, then you’re likely to automatically choose a Linux hosting service. While brand loyalty like this isn’t the most efficient or best way of making a choice about your hosting service, it is a way that many people do choose. However, you will find that both systems have their ups and downs, and both are excellent choices depending on what type of website you’re planning on starting. There is no right choice in this case – it’s simply a matter of what works best for you and your website on a more personal level.

It’s no small wonder that more and more people are flocking to the Internet as a source for creating their own businesses recently – again and again you’ll hear of someone starting a website for fun only to become wildly successful. For those wanting to get in on the action, though, there are a few steps you’ll have to take before your online business or website is ready to take flight.

First, consider what type of website you’ll have. This greatly influences a number of things – mainly, what kind of server you will be needing. If you’re planning on your website serving as an online business, then a dedicated server is by far the best option, as you can control most everything about the site to personal the experience for your customers, and support more business. However, if you’re just planning on having a personal blog or online journal, then a shared server will likely suit you fine – though you lose the amount of control you would have with dedicated servers, you gain the perk of getting cheap hosting.

Design is another large component of creating a successful website – if a potential visitor comes to your site only to see a cluttered or otherwise unappealing layout on the main page, they’ll likely navigate away without a second thought. Having a clean, well organized website is key – try to keep flashy graphics and advertisements down to a minimum, and make sure that your links are well-organized and easy to read.

Finally, there is the biggest choice you’ll make: which web hosting company you decide to use. This is not only a matter of what type of server you’ll want to use or how much money you have to spend. Though those things are factors, the biggest thing you should consider is the reputation of the web hosting service. Like most things, not all servers are created equal – if you don’t want to have to deal with constant site crashes, then it’s best that you find yourself a top hosting companies list. This will allow you to look at reviews from users of different hosting companies and decide from there which sound reliable enough for you to use.

After you’ve made sure that you’re choosing only from the best of web hosting services and that you have a clear and concise plan for your website, you’re ready to get started. Who knows – you could be the next Internet-created celebrity.

Let’s ask a simple question. If your servers were down for a week, would your life change? Could you meet payroll? Would you have to cancel that family vacation? Could you pay your server bill? If you are unsure how to answer any of these questions, then you really need to take a hard look at how much you spend to assure your IT infrastructure continues to earn you money.Too often, I see clients who started with a small project that later became a stable source of revenue. Along the way, they’ve never re-evaluated their hosting infrastructure. Not aligning your hosting costs and infrastructure with your business needs can be a serious business mistake. 

IT will Fail 

Just like the stock market, past performance does not indicated future results. Just because your server has operated flawlessly for 2 years does not mean it will continue to do so. The hardware, network or human error can cause an outage at any time. 

Google did a huge study on hard drive failure. Their conclusion? SMART and similar items like temperature are poor indicators of drive failures. In other words, there’s no easy way to predict a drive failure. The point is outages will happen, and you need to be prepared. 

Affording Downtime  

A key component in looking at how much to spend on your hosting solutions is to ask how much downtime can you afford. To figure out how much downtime you can afford, you need to get a grasp on how much an outage would impact your business. 

The more sensitive your business operations are to an outage the less downtime you can afford. Trying to identify exactly how much downtime you can afford is not an exact science, but there are some useful starting points. 

Costs of Downtime  

Most of the information you find on the web for calculating the cost of downtime is geared to large businesses, especially the manufacturing sector. Many small online businesses don’t fit these models and have many indirect costs associated with a downtime event. 

I like to break cost into direct and indirect costs. With direct costs being those immediate expenses and losses related to the outage and indirect costs being less tangible or potential future losses.  

• Server Repair Costs
• Support Staff Costs
• Client Refunds or Lost Sales
• Overtime for Staff
• There are many indirect costs you need to consider as well:
• Search Engine Impact
• Delayed Cancellations
• Loss of New Clients
• Delayed Support Costs

If you server is down for an extended period, then your search engine results may be impacted. Also, consider the client who bears with you through the outage but then 3 months later cancels once they’ve moved their operations elsewhere. 

Crunching the Numbers  

I like to look at downtime from the standpoint of the number of hours your operations are impacted. Set benchmarks for 30 minutes, 60 minutes, and the in reasonable increments for 72 hours. 

If you are a web designer for small businesses with no e-commerce operations, you may be able to “afford” 24 hours of downtime with negligible business impact. However, if you site is generating revenue 24/7, an outage may be more costly. Take into account the impact of an outage and set a hosting budget. 

Infrastructure as Insurance  

Just like your office catching on fire, for which you likely have insurance, investing in the proper infrastructure insures you against downtime events. 

Insuring yourself can be something as simple as spending an extra money for RAID and off site backups. Or you may need fully redundant operations. 

If you need help getting these hosting costs right, then you may need to turn to a managed service provider (MSP) and IT consultant to get a solution in place. A good MSP will walk you through a needs assessment and recommend a solution.

Branding a web host service provider as the best is not the tag they should feel proud to carry; it is the dependability that customers have on them that differentiates them from other providers. The best web host providers promise you that your web site can easily be put up on the net, sans any difficulty or issues in the future. It should indeed be maintained. Your web site should run at anytime you wish, that is the reason they are branded as the best.

Once you are sure about having found a web host service provider that fulfills your needs precisely, you need to check out for some basic requirements before you sign the deal with them. In case the provider falls short in any of the requirements, they cannot be called the best. You can either choose to compromise with the features they support or seek some other provider. Here are some of the criteria that a good host provider should meet.

· If a web host service provider is named the best, they need to keep scrutinizing your web pages all the time. Yes, the web host service provider has to monitor your web pages and intimate you when there is a problem. This can help you figure out the needful to be done as quickly as possible. In case you feel that the provider is not responsible enough to watch out for proper functioning of your server, you definitely need to switch to some other provider.

· You should be made available all the software that is necessary to keep your web site running. As an example, in the event of you needing to create a blog, a good web host provider should provide you with the blog softwares, free applications to install.

· Any good web host service provider should maintain a daily backup feature. It helps to save files in case of an emergency situation, where all files are deleted by mistake.

· Lastly, any good provider must provide you a support system such as a live chat service to address your customers problems and e-mail ticketing system, free 1-800 number to call, fast e-mail response.

You should understand that the lack of support of any of the above requirements is certainly unfavorable for your business. Happy customers means more business and more sales.

I spent over a year trying and wondering how to simply buy a domain, and upload a WordPress blog to that domain. I even asked people over the phone but still didn’t get it. I just learn visually and by reading instructions so for those of you who are like me, here you go!

WordPress is a very incredible and powerful tool for everyone interested in creating a website. Once you learn how to use the dashboard and post your content you are in a great position to write and manage your very own website! The only problem we face is HOW!. I wrote these following steps with the assumption that you know what your cpanel is and how to log in.

Simple steps to install WordPress on your new domain name.

#1. Buy your domain name from go daddy or any reputable place online. Once you have purchased it you will need to set your nameservers. You’ll need to log in to your cpanel and get your name servers, they are located on the left hand side of the page near the bottom and look like AB1234.YOURHOSTING.com and AB1235.YOURHOSTING.com

#2. Open your domain management area from where you purchased your domain name. In the management area you will look for an icon that says SET or CHANGE NAMESERVERS. Click on this and simply copy and paste your HOSTING ACCOUNT name servers on your domain management account.

#3. Now back to your cpanel, click on the icon that says AD ON DOMAIN. Once their follow the prompts to add and install your new domain on your hosting account.

#4. Scroll down the page to SOFTWARE/SERVICES category. You will see an Icon with a blue-ish smiley face named FANTASTICO DE LUXE. Click on the icon.

#5. Your at the next page now and on the left hand side you will see the category “Blogs” and WordPress will be located under that. Click the WordPress option and then click NEW INSTALLATION. Follow the simple instructions, enter domain name, passwords and click install!

I was so excited to finally figure this out. For more information on how-to stuff for your websites and marketing questions please feel free to contact me! Thanks for reading the simple 5 step process to install WordPress on your own domain.

In case you are looking for server backup services, then there is a lot you should know about these services. For starters, any kind of backup services will normally contain two main elements. These include data and configuration.

To this end, the configuration is what undertakes the backup of the installation. This is so that in case you need an upgrade, a replacement or if the configuration fails, then you only have to upload the necessary configuration settings. This will get your new installation back on the internet without wasting any valuable time.

Secondly, the data backup will preserve all the customer data especially as regards set off- sites. This is so that you can restore it quickly. To note, however, is that both the data and the configuration backups are very critical. This is because they ensure business continuity and help in recovering after disasters.

This said and done, there are a number of benefits that you stand to gain from server backup services. With regards to these benefits, it is rather obvious that any man- made system will fail. In fact, it is no longer a matter of ‘if’, rather, ‘when’ should be used with regards to system failure.

This failure may come from any place whatsoever. It may be as a result of hardware failure. At some other times, it may be because of external threats or configuration problems. This means that you can be certain that at one point or another, your server will fail.

However, in case your server system is completely and fully redundant, then there is less likelihood of it failing. However, you can be certain that only an appropriate backup service for your server will preserve your data and configuration off- site.

Everyone in an organization, from the administrative staff, to the CEO down to the employees needs a secure network. This way, they can be certain that they will get data reliably at any time they need it.

The main advantage that you will get from server backups services, in this case, is that they will maintain continuity. This way, in case of any failure or destruction of the serve, vital data can be quickly recovered. Therefore, everyone within your organization will benefit from these services.

The implication being made here is that you cannot afford to overlook the threats that can be posed by server failure. This is especially so in case your company transacts most of its business through the internet and your employees rely heavily on your server.

To conclude, you can be certain that once you hire suitable server backup services you will stand to gain a lot. This is because you will be safe and secure so that in case your server goes down, you will not lose essential data. The implication being made here is that you do need these services especially in case your company is web- based.

Managed hosting entails the provision of a server for organizational use. A client, the organization, leases the server from a hosting provider. The hosting provider provides monitoring and other support of the server while the organization is leasing it. Hosting provides beneficial services to the organization leasing the server and the services provided could go towards increasing an organization’s efficiency.

Hosting typically entails storing an organization’s information and data in a server. The information is meant to be accessed over the internet. The access ranges from organizational access to public access. Managed hosting gives the organization the power to control certain components of the server. Since the organization leases the server for the organization’s specific use, they are able to control the softwares, applications and hardware that accompany the server. This includes choosing the operating system to use with the server and connecting hardwares like printers to the server.

All computers within an organization are usually hooked to the server allowing the employees to share work with each other using softwares, which enhance data sharing. The efficiency of the workers is enhanced since they can all simultaneously work on documents accessible through the server. The hardwares hooked within these server networks are shared among the employees of an organization. This saves up on the cost of buying several computer accompanying hardwares to hook up to individual computers within the organization.

The organization requires the server to function at all times to allow the employees to undertake their different duties. Servers just like any other available technologies are bound to face malfunctions or break downs. The organization is simply a user of the server and may not have the knowledge to handle the break downs or malfunctions when they occur. Managed hosting provides monitoring and evaluation services to ensure that the server and its accompanying hardwares function optimally throughout. Monitoring the server allows the detection of any problems and they can be immediately fixed before they affect the entire system. Intrusions into the system can also be detected and prevented.

The management of the server also extends to ensuring that the server is accorded the highest level of security at all times. The server contains organizational information, which is usually sensitive and should not be accessed for malicious use. The hosting services ensure that the server’s firewall is up and running throughout. Anti virus softwares are also installed to the server and updates are carried out to ensure that the software provides the server the highest level of protection.

Managed hosting services also extend to updating the server and its softwares in line with technological advancements. An organization may not necessarily be aware of the latest technological advancements, which can enhance how the server performs. The hosting service providers take it upon themselves to carry out the updates as part of the services they offer.

Managed hosting is simply internet hosting where the client gets to lease a server to use for organizational purposes. The server leased by the client is not shared by anyone else and is exclusively used by the client only. This type of hosting allows the organization to control the server including choosing the software, operating systems and hardware to accompany the use of the server. These servers are found in data centers, which operate like colocation facilities. They offer environmental comfort, involving providing heating and ventilation systems, with regards to technologies used indoors and provide back up power systems for emergency use.

The managed hosting service extends to offering the client support when it comes to the use of operating systems. Since the client has the control over which operating system is used; the operating system used on the server depends on the client’s choice and the client’s level of familiarity with the operating software. The price and availability of the application software is also factored. Some of the operating softwares used on servers include Windows server and the Linux Red Hat Enterprise.

Open source operating systems are also available at no cost. They include Fedora core, OpenBSD, Debian, FreeBSD among other Linux and BSD systems. The management and support extended to an organization’s operating software depends on the managed hosting plan, which the organization opts for. The support extended to the server’s operating system involves carrying out upgrades on the system. The data’s rate of transfer, or bandwidth as it is popularly known, is usually high through server use.

The client usually gets into an agreement with the hosting service provider with regards to the organization’s monthly bandwidth limit. Different providers have different billing rates, which are usually tied to the bandwidth level used by an organization in a given period of time.

Managed hosting extends to infrastructure administration, which entails ensuring that the server and its components function optimally are required. The server security is also handled by the hosting provider who ensures that firewalls are running and providing protection to the server and all the information passed through it. All the applications and softwares used by the server are also monitored to ensure that they are functioning efficiently. Back up of the server documents is carried out to ensure that data can be recovered in the event that the server malfunctions and data is lost.

The management service also includes carrying out system upgrades when necessary and in line with technological advancement. Different hosting providers provide varied management services and the services could extend to performance tuning, Antivirus updates, detecting intrusions into the server, application monitoring and management, user management, database administration among other services.

Different hosting plans provide varied services that the client receives from the provider. The plans determine the level of management extended to the server and its components from the hosting provider. The managed support is offered is through, fully managed, managed, self managed and unmanaged plans.

Affordable web hosting services are legion on the Web these days. Can you just pick one and run with it?

Not if you value your Web business! As all true Web veterans know – many having learned the hard way – web hosting providers vary tremendously in terms of reliability and value. And many if not most of your worst headaches as an ecommerce pro can come from choosing a loser at the outset of your Web endeavors.

May I mention just a few of the experiences I’ve had with a certain web host (which I won’t name) before switching to a more reliable company? Frequent downtime. Busy signal when calling customer service. Customer service reps who barely speak English. Continual technical issues with the company’s servers that mess up the site, cause order forms to malfunction, or take the whole site down.

Another serious problem you can run into is inadequate functionality (such as inability to support PHP, MySQL, CGI, Perl, etc.). Note: CGI, in particular, is vital. CGI, or Common Gateway Interface, is used in developing order forms on your site. You can’t conduct much ecommerce without order forms!

What about inadequate bandwidth or disc space? You should make sure the hosting company package you choose provides at least 200 GB bandwidth and at least 25 G disc space.

Other useful features you should look for include: statistics reporting (number, kind, and origin of visitors to your site per day, week, month, year, etc.); website development software; both Unix and Windows functionality; and an adequate number of email accounts (at least 25).

Following is a checklist that may be helpful in choosing a virtual hosting service. (Note: virtual simply meaning you’re renting space on a server, as opposed to renting an entire server). This checklist applies to small ecommerce and company websites just starting out. If you’re expecting a huge amount of traffic you’ll need more disc space and bandwidth than indicated in the table. But for nearly all new sites the following amounts are are more than adequate and can be easily adjusted upward later if needed.

Disk Space: at least 25 GB
Bandwidth: at least 200 GB
Reliability: At least 99 percent uptime
Support: 24 hours a day 7 days a week
Cost: No more than $15 a month if you’re looking for affordable web hosting services
CGI functionality
Both Unix and Windows hosting (Some more complex applications require Windows.)
MySQL and Perl functionality
At least 25 email accounts available
Statistics reporting: Number of visitors to your site and to its individual pages, page views, etc.

Of course, your hosting package should should also have a Cpanel (control panel) and FTP access included, but virtually all hosting companies provide those features. However, below are a few less common features you may need. These are not necessary but, for some sites, useful.

Audio streaming: Will this be offered by your site? Then you’ll need a lot more bandwidth.
Encrypted passwords: Provide better security.
Domain Names: Some affordable web hosting services provide free domain names.

To sum up: Don’t jump at the first WEB HOSTING FOR $4.95 ad you see! The reliability and features of affordable web hosting services vary enormously. Research this subject before you make your decision. A bad decision will hinder your Web efforts greatly while a good one will make everything a whole lot easier.

Web hosting is one of the fastest growing industries today. Given the growing number of businesses seeking to produce their own Internet sites; it is no wonder that web hosting providers continuously strive hard to improve their services. Also, they never stop doing researches that will help them promote their products better.

Coming up with an Internet site for your business is very important. It is where you can introduce new products and give updates about the services you provide. It is therefore necessary that your web hosting company is able to provide you with what you need, when you need it. There are a lot of companies to choose from but it takes a lot of research to find out which one is the most reliable.

Before choosing a provider, take extra time to find out what features each company provides. Most companies now offer FTP web space that allows business owners to look after their site even if they are not in the office. It also enables them to transfer files between their PC and the server. Through FTP web space, uploading and downloading files can be done faster than you could ever imagine.

How does FTP work?

Companies deal with files which are confidential in nature. Business owners want assurance that important files can only be accessed by authorized employees. FTP online space makes it possible. FTP stands for “File Transfer Protocol.” It is mainly responsible for the transfer of files between a computer and a server.

FTP is not as complicated as it may sound. Any business owner can easily learn how to use it. In fact, transferring your files into your online space can be completed in just a few clicks. To upload files into your site, just drag it from your screen background into your very own FTP web space. Wait until transfer becomes successful, and then update your Internet site.

FTP is widely used because of its flexibility. It works with any operating system. It is compatible with Linux, Windows and Mac. Entrepreneurs now have the ability to edit and update their site regardless of what computer and operating system they are using. This is most suitable for business owners who travel a lot.

Features of a good FTP web hosting provider

There has been an increasing demand for web hosting services these days. Entrepreneurs have a wide variety of companies to choose from. A simple search in Google will give you hundreds of companies that you can do business with. Out of the many providers that offer FTP Internet space, you have to determine which one will best suit your company.

Below are some features most companies offer:

1. Excellent Customer Service and Technical Support

Go with a provider that offers the best customer support. All companies seem to offer the same features. It is not surprising. Web hosting providers always put their best foot forward in presenting the benefits one could get from doing business with them. It is therefore important to determine which one is the most reliable.

We cannot prevent technical difficulties from happening. But it is important to get the support we need right away. Most providers offer 24/7 assistance. This is recommended as most websites operate non-stop.

2. Adequate Disk Space

There are a lot of FTP web space plans a business owner could choose from. A careful assessment of how much space you would need will guide you in choosing which plan is suitable for you. If this is your first time to sign up for a web hosting plan, then may choose to settle with the most basic package. It has the same features as the expensive ones do. They just vary in amount and in quality. You may wish to request for an upgrade later if your plan is not appropriate for your needs.

3. Security

This is the most important feature any business owner should look for in a provider. Of course, you would not want your files to be accessed by a third party. Make sure that your provider offers security measures like round the clock monitoring and multiple firewalls. This will prevent third parties from penetrating the server.

4. Unlimited Accounts

This is the best feature of an FTP web space plan. A user can create unlimited accounts which are password protected. These accounts can then be assigned for use by different persons working for the company. The business owner can adjust the permission of each account according to his preference. This will prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing confidential files.

5. Unlimited Bandwidth

Unlimited transfers are recommended for starters. As a new Internet site owner, you do not have an idea yet as to how many customers will visit it in a day. Hence, you should go for a provider that will allow unlimited number of customers to visit your site. This means more opportunity for you to grow your business and establish your online presence.

Choosing the right provider can be tedious and tricky. There are a lot of things to be considered before you can come up with an intelligent decision. You must remember that a good website is an investment. Hence, it is necessary that you settle with a provider that can meet your demands and answer your needs.

If you are going to have multiple websites, you need a hosting service that provides unlimited domain hosting. There is little benefit to having a different hosting account for each of your websites and there are a lot of advantages to having them all in one account.

Benefits of Unlimited Domains Hosting

The best benefit of unlimited domains hosting is the money you save. For $6.95/month you can host all the websites that you need to instead of paying that much or more per account with other hosting providers that don’t provide multiple domains hosting.

Another great benefit is being able to move from one website to another within the control panel of your hosting account. Cpanel gives you a lot of helpful tools for making sites, tracking results, making email accounts and more. With unlimited domains hosting you can do all of those things under the same account.

Possible Drawbacks of Hosting Multiple Domains

There is a lot of concern that with one of these unlimited domains hosting accounts you will lose speed and efficiency. For the average website this doesn’t need to be a concern. With unlimited gigs of site transfer, you won’t have any problem hosting multiple websites under the same hosting service.

How Do I Get Started?

Getting websites started with the recommended hosting services on this site is easy. When you sign up for your unlimited domains hosting account you will receive a free domain name with the account. You can log into the account and load the files of your website onto the server. If you don’t have a website designed and you don’t have any experience building websites, I’d recommend putting together a WordPress site first. Here’s how:

1. Click the SimpleScripts button on the cpanel once you have created created your account
2. Under the Blogs section click on WordPress
3. Click Install Now and follow the prompts
4. When the site is created find a theme that you like by searching Google for free WordPress themes
5. When you’ve found a theme or themes that you like download them onto your computer.
6. Click the unlimited FTP button on your CPanel.
7. Upload your new theme in the the “themes” folder in the wp-content folder
8. Now you can add content and get your website rolling.

What Types of Sites Should I Build?

There are lots of great ways to make money online. One of the most enjoyable ways is through blogging. Creating a website that plays to your interests makes the process more fun and more effective. With unlimited domains hosting, you can make several websites about your favorite pastimes or areas of expertise and keep them under the same account.

Monetizing a blog site is not difficult as long as you are getting traffic to the site. The key to getting traffic is quality content. Once traffic is coming, you can use pay per click programs or affiliate programs to make money from the people that visit your site.

Online presence of a business in the form of a website is something becoming common. Businesses nowadays want to spend time to make their online presences accessible and reliable. These business sites help present businesses with a lot of useful ways for communicating with the customers. There are many things to consider while launching a website for a business. One of the most important things to consider is the web hosting services provided to host that company’s website online. Many business owners don’t give any importance about how the web hosts play a vital role in their online presence. Think of yourself in place of a customer. How do you feel when you are not able to access your account for any service online you subscribed to, doesn’t that boil your blood? Will you like some hacker just getting into your credit card details you just dropped online to get all the money you have? Now think about your customers facing similar to these or other complex problems.

Web hosting services are of many types and have different price ranges. First you should consult with your web designer as well as your web developer on the type of site they have made for you. They will tell you the capabilities your website has and what will be the hosting requirements for that. If you are expecting a lot of website traffic then you will have to be considering some really traffic tacking heavy web host provider. On the other hand if your traffic is low, you don’t need to get yourself entangle into high paying options.

Some of the criteria if you made your site your self include server uptime, maintenance standards, operating system, your traffic support, email accounts supported, users supported simultaneously and also the total space available. Uptime is something which tells us how much we should expect a hosting server to be down for maintenance in terms of percentage of times it has been accessed. Good companies have usually more then 95% server uptime. They usually have backup servers available in case of any problem. Do ask for the backup facilities available. Certain websites don’t run on systems with different operating systems. Clearly ask the web host provider the operating system it supports. Also ask for other details like emails and users support. If your website is worked on by many people then you need hosting that supports these advance features. Web hosting service again needs to be planned by your web designer or developer and then you need to check the service from a web host service provider.

The actual meaning of “FTP” is file transfer protocol, in new modern world, most of the people who are in online business requires Internet technology to transfer their important files over the Internet which is an usual process. File transfer protocol allows users to upload as well as download large number of files by keeping essential security measures so if you are not aware about this service you might be lacking something that can change the file exchange process of your online business. This service comes with storage system where you can upload the copy of a file, no matter of the size and content. This storage act as a file transfer protocol server or site. You can transfer the files masterly from one location to another by this protocol. And the those who have the permission to gain access your file transfer protocol server can download, upload or delete the files.

There is no matter if you are belong with small company or large organization, you can take complete benefit of Internet technology in your business process. Usually people are more well known about the term of hyper text transfer protocol which comes with a set of rules for transferring files, no matter of the content. But in recent time, people started realizing the importance of file transfer protocol in their business process. For Website business purpose FTP is the standard choice, you cannot transfer your important files without this protocol. This is a secure mode of transferring files without any hassle. There is no matter of content, you can transfer simple text, images, video files or huge multimedia files. In Website business you need to exchange files with business person or merchant and there is nothing better than this hosting service that takes absolute care of your Website information.

The advantage of this service in your Website business is, after carrying out it into the business process, you can safely manage your information and can improve the speed of the business process by maintaining necessary security. This hosting services comes with a web based interface through with you can manage all the file transfer protocol accounts in your business process. However, the article based on file transferring system will give you a brief information, how important is file transfer protocol in web hosting. Hope this whole article will helps you to improve information or knowledge about this kind of the service.

All online marketers will be aware of the term web hosting. Each of them is a client of one or other hosting providers. The number of providers have increased rapidly with the increasing use of internet in promoting online businesses. Everything from goods to services is sold on the Internet today. In this case, each of these businesses would require a web hosting company to promote web space for them where they can put a website and promote their businesses.

The requirements of each type of business are different from those of others. A cheap web hosting provider can offer tools to run a business type, but the same hosting service can not be good for the performance of other business. There is a common notion that only high price paid hosting company can offer all the tools you need. However, this is not the case. The tools and features offered by this cheap hosting company might be useless for your type of business and will only end up spending more money.

Although the price is the main consideration for most people, while selecting a hosting service provider, there are some other points to be studied.

1) Ease of use: You should be able to easily update and edit your site, even if they are aware of its technical aspects. cPanel is the control tool web’s most popular used by most web hosting providers.

2) Customer Service: The hosting company should be able to diagnose the problem with your website and put back into operation as soon as possible. While some web hosting providers to offer cheap, are very helpful and can easily connect to them via a phone line support, live chat or email support.

3) Uptime Guarantee: Check the operation of the guarantee prescribed by your web hosting provider. This warranty indicates the percentage of time during which the hosting server will be accessible. This information is usually indicated on the website. A web host is reliable only if you have a guarantee of operability of at least 99.5%.

4) hidden fees: Some web hosting providers charge additional fees for creating or improving your website. The charges for the different operations must not be too high, anyway.

The Internet world is growing day by day and if you are launching new Website on world wide web, you require the hosting services for it and suppose if you are newish in the world of world wide web, you might definitely surprised about abounding terms of the web and what are the best accessible way to launch your Web site project on the Internet. So might be getting fumble, how to start? There are lot of hosting packages are available and each stands with specific advantage.

Which type of hosting plan is suitable for Website hosting is mostly depends on the requirement of your web site project. There are many companies who advertise about “free web hosting” services and usually they provide you good service but getting such kind of service is comes with some drawbacks, like you can ask yourself why these companies offer free web space to launch web sites. The actual reason behind this is, the service provider of free hosting actually advertise his products, banners and links on free hosted Website so it becomes well for those who are planning to launch their private blog or Website which is not related with business kind aspects. Therefore it is definitely not a good idea for starting a business with free web hosting service.

However, to start business in beginning stage you might be searching a low cost rate hosting plans, for this, you can simply select shared web hosting plans to start your business. This is really cost effective solution for those who still using the free web hosting plans. And as I notice many people who are using e Bay or amazon or any other site for selling their products, usually have the site which is hosted on free hosting plans, I think they need to consider shared web hosting packages for more reliability.

I would recommend that those who run the web based business, do not choose a free web hosting service. As there are many drawbacks while choosing these kind of free services, such as you will never get the above facilities like technical support, guarantee on server uptime free traffic transfer space access to web based scripts, sub-directories, even the site hosted these type of plan get very low level visibility as per search engine optimization aspect and sometimes, most of the free hosting users experienced that their Website gets disappeared without any notification. So at the end, it is always best to choose a Paid web hosting Packages for best results.

Today, every business that wants to succeed needs a fully functioning website. Running a website can be an expensive and time consuming task which can take valuable time and resources away from the business. Because a business needs to focus on day-to-day tasks, the use of fully managed hosting services has become a popular choice. A fully managed hosting service is an internet hosting services that leases servers to businesses. This kind of company will provide a range of services and the business will pay a fee for the services and the use of the server.

Below are a number of benefits to enlisting the services of a fully managed hosting service:

Effective Security: In today’s high tech world, businesses rely on technology for such functions as maintaining sensitive customer data such as personal information and financial information, maintaining a businesses operational data, and running applications and programs that keep the business running smoothly and efficiently. Unfortunately, there are such risks that come with relying on technology such as hackers looking to steal information, viruses, Trojans, worms, and natural disaster risks such as a sudden power outage that causes information to be lost. Managed hosting provides efficient real time security 24 hours a day. They implement security features such as the best firewalls, virus detectors, and programs, preventing unauthorized intrusions to ensure the system and data stays protected. As well, they provide back up facilities to ensure data is recovered in the event of a system wide failure. Managed hosting provides a secure infrastructure to ensure there are no disruptions in business operations.

Convenience and Cost Efficiency: A business will save money when hiring this kind of service. A hosting company will work off site with their own IT team so a business does not have to set up their own team to work on site. The business saves money on hiring costs, training, equipment, and overhead. This allows the company to concentrate on other prioritized business tasks. The company will take care of all the server tasks and functions and deal with any technical issues in real time. The business will receive a report of their activities so managers will always be kept up-to-date on critical issues. As well, the managed hosting company will normally provide cheaper prices than if a company set up their own server because they divide the cost of the bandwidth across a number of clients.

Effective Managed Hosting Services: These services provide a number of essential services that will benefit a company. Such services include; 24 hour a day and 365 days a year technical support, server monitoring 24 hours a day, trouble shooting in real time, eliminating instances of server down time, back up services for disaster recovery, and the highest security optimization. The result is the business site will stay up and running efficiently 24 hours a day. It gives the business peace of mind knowing their website is in safe hands so that they can concentrate of running their business.

Today, technology has become an essential part of business operations. Using fully managed hosting services allows a business to operate more efficiently, protect their sensitive data, cut operational costs, and allow them to focus on other important business tasks. It makes good business sense to take advantage of the services of fully managed hosting.

Today is the age of the internet where cheap web hosting service is abundant. If you want to stay ahead of the game in your business, you might consider setting up your own website in the World Wide Web. To do this, there are many things to consider, one of which is web hosting. This is probably the main thing to take care of when you plan to create a website because it could not exist in the virtual world without a web host.

Web hosting services used to be very expensive. It was more difficult then to put up a website to showcase your products and services because of the price you have to pay. But nowadays, things are different. The internet is becoming the main avenue where people do their businesses and almost every business outfit has its own website. Cheap web hosting service abounds to meet the demands of a growing number of clientele.

People can now choose from many packages of cheap web hosting service. The website can be for personal use only, as a way to showcase your personal profile and other personal information you want to share with the rest of the world. Businesses of any size can also put up a website for their products and services to gain virtual exposure. By cheap, it could mean anywhere from $10 a month or even as low as just $1 a month. This is very inexpensive compared to the benefits you will reap and the exposure you will get in the internet.

Many people equate cheapness to poor quality but actually this is not always the case. It only needs a little know-how of what to look for and where to look for cheap hosting that is nevertheless reliable. The search may take some time and it may require prudence on your part to look for a cheap yet perfect service provider. In the end though, it will be all worth it.

While searching for a cheap service provider, be sure to take note of several factors. First of all, it should be very reliable. Your website should be up almost all the time. If it is too slow to load, online viewers will be disappointed and might not come back to visit.

Other factors to consider are bandwidth, disk space and technical support. You need a good bandwidth such that even if multiple users go to your website all at the same time, they could surf without a hassle. This is very crucial especially for big international businesses catering to millions of internet users daily. Remember that quality of service should not be compromised in cheap web hosting service.

The online business is increasing day by day. Every webmaster like you will certainly expect to make your website a cut above the rest and bring high sales volume. Well, this is not an impossible dream; however, it requires a lot of work to be done to fulfill your dream. There are many aspects you need to change or add in your website, such as, great design and informative content. Personally, I think the first most important thing you should make is to find a web server that is smart, realizable and conducive to search engine.

A web server is the backbone of every online web site and it can influence the success of your website or blog. For one thing, all of the great design and quality content you are going to post on your website need the networking connecting service so that they would be accessible to users from all around the world. For another thing, as e-commerce is a cut throat business nowadays, many ecommerce website pay great efforts on Search Engine Optimization, which is one of the most prominent marketing techniques that everyone uses on the internet today, if you are able to select an outstanding web hosting provider and package that would aid your SEO efforts, you can be rest assured that your usage will totally sprout up and the popularity of the blog will rise. Conversely, if you choose the wrong hosting company, you will not able to get a large audience base.

A top ranking can bring thousands of visitors to your website, to find an eminent hosting provider to keep step of SEO effort, you must keep in minds of a number of factors. Reading through this article will help you find the right SEO web host to empower your website.

Location of your target audience
Actually, getting traffic to your website is not so hard. Instead, getting the right traffic that would increase your business possibility and help you generate money will be not so easy. To expect a higher the click through rate, you need to make sure that your website is physically located in a place where your target audience are. Imagine that you are running a business in US and focus on delivering product or service within your own geographic region, it is necessary that your website is located in that area. If you choose a cheap hosting on a server that located in Asia, which will be harmful for you to attain top search engine ranking in your target places, then you will shot yourself in the foot. You should choose the right hosting company with its servers located in the right region.

For my own point of view, the majority of website owners and bloggers target their audience to Americans and fortunately, most online web providers have their servers in the United States, therefore, as far as geography is concerned, it will be very easy for you to find an ideal one. If most of your readers are from other countries, such as, Spain, Germany, you should never forget to choose a web server that is located there. When picking a web server for the benefit of search engine optimization, this is the main thing you need to aware of.

IP Addresses
Another factor that you need to take into account when choosing a hosting company for SEO benefit is the IP address that provided by the company. A lot of people are wondering whether IP addresses play role for SEO result. The answer is definitely “yes”. Firstly, you need to consider about the history of the IP address. Assuming that you are using an IP address that was used to ant other website and keep close relationship with any illegal online activity such as, spam, phishing or anything else, then it is very likely that the search engines will lower its ranking on search results, or even worse, it will not index your website. Secondly, if you are going to run more than one site with different IP, then it is essential that the IP addresses of your website should not reside in the same C class group. It will be hard for you make a network in the future for the search engines might consider it as artificial linking which will do harm to your search engine optimization.

Company Reputation
The web host provider should have a good reputation in web hosting industry. A hosting company that has the best reputation should have a record of dealing with infractions quickly and strictly. If you mistakenly choose a company that pretends to withhold those spammers, hackers, and then you website will be affected as well. You should at least pay a visit to their website to see their customer feedback. It is necessary to type the company name in the search engines to see what their customers are talking about them. If you are luckily enough to find out that most of their customer feedback are positive, it is a good sign that the company could offer satisfying service. Without doubt, the biggest things to look for are dependability and reliable customer service.

Your Future Neighborhoods
Since your website is hosted on a shared server with numbers of other website, the neighborhood of your site will also plays a role to the Search Engine Optimization. Even though some people may think that this might be obsolete in the near future, however, currently you are suggested to take it into account as long as you hope to get your website ranked higher. Imagine that when you are choosing a house for your family, you should ensure that the environment around it is secure enough so that your family can be protected and free from crime and indecent activities. So does finding a home for your website. Although you have no choice to choose who to be your neighbors, if you check out with the hosting provider that they promise to be strict when dealing with spammers and any other indecent websites, then I can say that you have made a good choice. Of course, the best practice is often to buy a dedicated IP address for your own website and to keep your website in safe.

With the increasing important role of SEO, finding a SEO web host that helping you to reach the best result is terribly important for every webmasters. Hostease.com now is serving for a large number of websites from all around the world. Get hosted with Hostease.com, your websites will reach top ranks on all major search engines.

As the internet has grown and technology has advanced many myths have surfaced. A number of the most prevalent myths center on domain names and website hosting. Before you purchase a domain name or find a website host, it’s important to debunk these myths and uncover the truth. Let’s take a look at three of the most common domain name and website hosting myths.

* Myth #1 – All Website Hosting Services Are The Same

The Truth – Website hosting services are not created equally. In fact, there are many differences between hosting services. Some of the most basic differences, and items you’ll want to compare when searching for a website host, include:

- Control Panels. – Some control panels seem to require a textbook to decipher. While other control panels are truly easy to use.

- Website building tools. – Most website hosting services offer some level of website building tools even if it’s a collection of basic templates. An added bonus is a website host that allows for FTP transfer – a system that allows you to upload your web pages to your host’s server.

- Easy file upload and compatibility. – Some website hosts are only compatible with certain file types. Make sure your website host is compatible with your website design language and tools.

- Size. – An ideal website hosting service will allow for varying levels of data space, bandwidth and file sizes. Your host should be able to accommodate your current needs and provide options for growth.

- Reliability. – Does the server stay up 99.9% of the time?

- Security. – How secure is your website and how secure is your visitor’s information?

- Website and hosting features and functions. – What do you need your website to have? Do you need a shopping cart, email or autoresponders? Do you need to be able to sell?

As you can see there is a lot of room for difference between website hosting services. We’ve yet to even mention price, which is certainly a factor in your purchase.

* Myth #2 – You Have To Get A (.Com)

The Truth – There is some truth to this because (.com) domains are the most common and easy to recognize. That being said, there are other very valid extensions for various website needs. For example, there is a growing trend toward video based websites and a (.tv) extension makes sense. Also a (.org) is appropriate for non-profit and other organizations. There are definitely real and valid reason to grab a (.net), (.biz), and other extensions. So if you do not see your desired domain name available as a (.com), don’t lose heart. Your desired name is likely available under another equally appropriate extension.

* Myth #3 – All Good Domain Names Are Gone

The Truth – That’s like saying all the good songs have been sung or all the good books have been written. The only limit to domain names is imagination and innovation and humans have proven we are infinitely capable of coming up with new ideas. If you think of a good name, and someone owns it, consider contacting them and ask if they are willing to sell it or you can place a backorder on it.

Conclusion
While there are many more myths around domain names and website hosting, these three are the most common and they’re all untrue. Website hosting services are not created equally. Shop for a quality website hosting service that offers what you need, makes it easy for you to create and run your website and has a quality reputation. Choose your domain names wisely and strategically, but also know that there are many great name options still available. If you have a name in mind, check out its availability right now and register it today so you can rest easy knowing you have your domain name locked up.

Guide To High bandwidth hosting

With websites as one of the most powerful and efficient ways of mass communication, there might be a few problems you encounter while hosting your site. A good server host is very difficult to find and you need to look things such as support offered, uptime, bandwidth and easiness to use before picking a hosting service.

If you are using a poor website host, you are losing traffic. Remember that the visitors don’t spend more time on your if your site has any technical issues. If you do not have a high bandwidth hosting, your site will not be able to run the multimedia content efficiently. When you run out of bandwidth, you are losing the most important factor of your business – the customers.

It’s extremely important for video or image site to have high bandwidth as users frequently visit the site for updates. Higher bandwidth enables quicker sharing of files and the content immediately appears on the screen. This leads to user satisfaction and can be one of the reasons for driving quality traffic to your site.

If you use up the entire bandwidth allotted for a month, then you are in trouble. Before you choose a host that will give you access to high bandwidth, make sure that you do a detailed study on their features. Many hosts give you attractive offers in the first few months but only to put you in trouble later on. So make sure you read all the clauses correctly. Another feature that marks a good host is the technical support they are able to provide. A sound technical base is required for the smooth functioning of any site. Also make sure that they are not overcharging you for the facilities they are providing you with. Before you choose a host, compare their prices with that of others in the market. Check out sites that they already host and see what all features are enabled. These simple things can go a long way in avoiding trouble in the future.

High bandwidth hosting is very important today as the load taken by a site is huge. So the next time you choose a host, make sure that the bandwidth provided is unlimited or is flexible.

Are you considering selling your product, or any product on line? There are many ways you can get an e-commerce store off the ground. This can be more of a dilemma than you think. This series of articles will help you decide which method is best for you.

The are three basic methods to getting started in e-commerce.

1. Using an All-In-One method (Which is what we will discuss in this article)

2. Hiring a website developer and webmaster to install, modify and run your e-commerce store (This will be discussed in part two of this series of articles)

3. Doing it yourself (This will be discussed in part three of this series of articles)

While there are many more methods for starting an e-commerce store these are three basic solutions. You can also combine some of these to suit your needs as you feel best. For instance some people may feel that they have enough technical expertise to install, set up and run their e-commerce store but will leave the design portion to a good website developer.

In this article we will look at and discuss the All-In-One method of starting an e-commerce store. You can use one of the many All-In-One providers that give you a host, shopping cart software already installed and hopefully a merchant account. Some of the more get rich quick type of providers will offer you their products to sell as well. This is probably the quickest, easiest and cheapest (up front costs) way to go. But is it the best way? An all-in-one provider makes things simple and quick. Especially for those who have little to no experience in setting up and getting started. There are other upsides to this method especially if you use a legitimate provider. The upsides are that most everything is installed, set up and tested for you before you even sign up. You will have no problems with all the different pieces working together and you will have one point of contact for whatever you need. In most cases all you have to do is choose a color scheme, a store layout and learn how to upload your products and you will be ready to go. The upfront costs are usually very reasonable.

But there are down sides to using this type of provider. A lot of All-In-One providers will also sell you your domain name. Be VERY careful when buying your domain name through a provider whose main business is not selling domain names. Your domain name is your unique address on the Internet. It is where your customers will find you. Besides being your address it is your trademark and brand. Most of the time when you purchase a domain name through a provider that is not a domain name registrar you do not hold control of your domain name. Which means if the provider goes out of business who controls your domain name? Not you. Make sure you purchase your domain name directly from one of the large registrars on the Internet. Set up your own account so you maintain control of your domain name at all times.

Another thing to consider when choosing an All-In-One provider is that you have to use their shopping cart software. This can be good and bad. The good side is that they will install it for you and set it up so all you have to do is upload your products. But the down side is that you do not own the software license. What is so bad about that you ask? What if your provider doesn’t renew the software license? Or what if the provider goes out of business? All the work you put into your store is now all gone. And there is not one thing you can do about it. There are other cosiderations here. Let’s say you grow and you want to add certain features to your store such as an affiliate program. What do you do if your store software does not support this feature or there is no add-on module for it? Now you have to look for another provider with a different software package. This means all the work you have done on your store may be useless. Software written by different companies are not usually compatible. So under most circumstances it pays to own your own software.

Along with purchasing your domain name you have to use their web host. If you use an All-In-One provider you do not have a choice. Let’s say you put 30-40 hours of your time into developing and stocking your online store. And now it runs VERY slow or worse it disappears. What happened? The web host could have gone out of business. Web hosts are a dime a dozen. Good web hosts are hard to find. Thousands of web hosts will go out of business every year. And many more will overload their servers so your site runs slow. If your store is slow your customers will stop shopping and go somewhere else. If your store disappears then what do you do? Chances are if your web host disappears your All-In-One provider will too. So make sure the provider you use has been around for a long time and has a good reputation on the Internet.

The last piece to this solution is the merchant account. This is where you really have to be careful because the merchant account costs are not usually included in the fees charged by the All-In-One provider. And this is where your cost of doing business can skyrocket! When you shop around for a merchant account you compare the rates that each merchant charges for using their credit card and bank services. These charges vary widely from merchant to merchant. But what if you don’t have a choice? The chances of you having the merchant account with the best rates is slim to none. And this is where you can get stuck paying exorbitant fees. So it obviously pays to be able to shop around for the merchant with the best rates that fits your particular needs. Most All-In-One providers will tell you that you must use their merchant otherwise they cannot guarantee that your merchant is compatible. Try and find a provider that will allow you to use different merchant accounts and gateways.

Overall an All-In-One provider can be a great solution for those who know nothing about the Internet and do not want to take the time to learn. Also, anyone who wants to operate a small store should consider this method as the fees for doing doing a small amount of business will not be much different between the three methods. But as you can see from this discussion there can be numerous down sides to using this method.

One piece of advice, always back up your website and databases weekly if not daily and keep your backups on a different server. At least if disaster strikes you may have a fighting chance of quick and easy recovery!

Are you considering selling your product, or any product on line? There are many ways you can get an e-commerce store off the ground. This can be more of a dilemma than you think. This series of articles will help you decide which method is best for you.

The are three basic methods to getting started in e-commerce.

1. Using an All-In-One method (This will be discussed in part one of this series of articles)

2. Hiring a website developer and webmaster to install, modify and run your e-commerce store (Which is what we will discuss in this article)

3. Doing it yourself (This will be discussed in part three of this series of articles)

While there are many more methods for starting an e-commerce store these are the three basic solutions. You can also combine some of these to suit your needs as you feel best. For instance some people may feel that they have enough technical expertise to install, set up and run their e-commerce store but will leave the design portion to a good website developer.

In this article we will look at and discuss hiring a website developer and webmaster. A website developer is a person that will design a competent and good looking website for you for a fee. Some will obtain hosting and install the software for you as well. Usually it is at this point that they hand off the website to you and thank you for giving them your business. Some people feel perfectly comfortable with this arrangement and will go on to add their products and begin to run their online business. Many, on the other hand still are not sure enough of themselves and want someone to upload their products and run their site for them. This service is usually known as a Webmaster. A Webmaster can be the same person that developed the site or can be a different person or company. The Webmaster will handle the day to day operation of your website and can do as much or as little as your contract calls out for.

You can pay a web developer/webmaster to do everything for you. This is the probably the most expensive way to go and may or may not take a long time to get up and running. For those of you who know nothing and don’t want to learn anything about selling online then this is probably going to make your online presence look professional but will be the most expensive solution you can use. A good solution for you? It could be a good solution but be aware that all of these services are VERY expensive and your online store has to make a large enough profit eventually to cover the costs of running the store. Be sure that you take all of your costs into consideration when choosing this method. It is best that you request bids from numerous freelance developers/companies because you will get a wide range of prices. It is usually best to not pick the lowest price unless all of the bids are close. This is in part due to the fact that most good developers are probably already busy. So they don’t need to low ball a bid just to get work. It is the developer that has little to no work that usually low balls the bid in hopes they get the contract. Just remember whoever you choose is going to be building the website that you want customers to visit, shop and purchase your items from. Anything less than perfect can mean the difference between poor sales and great sales.

Web Hosting refers to an internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to place their website online and make it available for visitors via the World Wide Web. When you want your website to go online so users can browse through it, you require a host ‘server’ to store all your web pages and files and make them accessible to internet users. The main hosting server that stores your website data is connected to internet 24 hours and when someone types your site’s URL, the server connects them to your website. Simple isn’t it? 

 A ‘Web Server’ is typically like the computer you have at home; the only difference is that it is set up to serve up websites. Web hosts charge a minimal monthly rental and take care of hosting, managing and monitoring your site on a daily basis. 

 Now that you know what is web hosting, you need to understand its various parameters too. 

 - Basics of Web hosting  

 There are thousands of web hosting companies that offer a wide variety of hosting packages. Each plan is different and caters to a specific niche, but when it comes to choosing one for your website it can be a confusing game. 

 Learning about what is web hosting is the first step towards choosing a good hosting plan, but there are many other considerations you need to think about. Here’s a list of some basic web hosting parameters that can help you make a better decision regarding a hosting plan. 

 - Type of Server 

 You know the basic definition of a web server but there are various types of servers and you need to pick the one that is right for your online business or website. 

 The three most common server types are Windows, Linux & UNIX. Linux provides great security and more control, Windows is a user-friendly and feature-rich operating system while UNIX is a more complex OS but provides very high-level of security. 

 If you have a simple, text-based website then the server type does not really matter but for dynamic websites with database functions, you need to choose the server type carefully. 

 - Disk Space 

 As the name suggests, this is the storage space available to you for storing your website data including the content, images, videos/audios, emails and so on. Generally text takes the least amount of space and images or flash files take the maximum space. 

 If your website is graphics-based or has lots of videos, you will require a hosting plan with more disk space. 

 - Bandwidth  

 What is the amount of web traffic you expect coming to your site? Will you be offering free downloads? The answer to these questions lies in the amount of bandwidth you have at your disposal. Technically Bandwidth is the amount of data transfer that can take place on your site at any given point. 

 - Type of Hosting 

 When talking about what is Web hosting, it is also necessary to get an idea about the different types of hosting available. These include:   

• Shared
• Dedicated
• Virtual Private Server
• Colocation
• Free Web hosting

 Understanding what is web hosting can go a long way in helping you select the perfect hosting package that will take your online business to newer heights.  

The first step in locating affordable web hosting for business should be to determine exactly what it is your business needs to get out of its web hosting service. There are so many different web hosting services out there that you have to start your search by narrowing down the options.

The best way of doing this is by creating a list of the absolute hosting needs of your business and those things that you can do without, if you find them unaffordable. If you choose a host that offers more features than you need, you will probably end up spending more money than you need to. Likewise, if you choose a service simply because it is cheap, you will probably wind up not having enough features to accommodate your needs.

Next, make it a point to set a basic and maximum price range that you are able to spend on hiring a web hosting service. Your ultimate goal is to find a service with a price tag somewhere in between.

As you browse through search engine hits, these two decisions will help you to sort out the companies that might have what you want from the ones who definitely do not.

There are also basic features that you will want to be certain any service will provide, like telephone and email customer service available 24 hours per day, seven days a week. They should have a money back guarantee in the event you are dissatisfied. The service should also be able to guarantee an up time of 99% and provide a simple method you can use to back up your site. They should have accreditation or awards in excellence and a list of current customers and references. If the service you are considering lacks any one of these basic components, you should move on to other choices. There are just too many hosting services available with all of these features to spend time considering any who do not.

All of these services are very affordable, so you are not taking yourself out of any good deals by demanding these basics, along with the specifics that you need for your company.

The process will no doubt be time consuming. Remember, however, that choosing the right web hosting service is vital to the success of your website. Locating affordable hosting for business can put you well ahead of your online competition.

Are you considering selling your product, or any product on line? There are many ways you can get an e-commerce store off the ground. This can be more of a dilemma than you think. This series of articles will help you decide which method is best for you.

The are three basic methods to getting started in e-commerce.

1. Using an All-In-One method (This will be discussed in part one of this series of articles)

2. Hiring a website developer and webmaster to install, modify and run your e-commerce store (This will be discussed in part two of this series of articles)

3. Doing it yourself (Which is what we will discuss in this article)

While there are many more methods for starting an e-commerce store these are the three basic solutions. You can also combine some of these to suit your needs as you feel best. For instance some people may feel that they have enough technical expertise to install, set up and run their e-commerce store but will leave the design portion to a good website developer.

In this article we will look at and discuss doing it all yourself. The most popular method to get your e-commerce store up and running is to learn and/or have a desire to be hands on with your project. This method is not for everyone but it could be for you. As discussed in part one of this series of articles besides having a product to sell you will need the following:

A. Shopping Cart Software

B. Competent Web Host

C. Merchant Account

There is a specific reason I put these in this order. Most people make the mistake of obtaining the web host and/or the merchant account before they choose their shopping cart. The shopping cart software is going to be your face to your customers. The look and feel of the cart is how your customers are going to view you as a business. If it looks nice and operates smoothly then your customers will feel comfortable putting in their credit card number. The shopping cart should be an extension of your personality. But not all shopping carts support all merchant accounts and and not all web hosts can host every shopping cart. It would be a shame if you chose your web host and/or merchant account first then find that the shopping cart software you like so much is not supported by one or the other. So take your time and choose your shopping cart carefully. Make out a list of all the features you want your store to have and make sure the software you choose supports all of them.

Once you choose your shopping cart you need to research your hosting choices. Many times the developer of the shopping cart will recommend several different web hosts that they certify as being compatible with their software. It is not necessary to use one of their choices but if you have problems finding the right host at least you have a list of hosts you can fall back on. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. Don’t go for the cheapest host or the host that is offering hundreds of gigabytes of space or unlimited space. This is commonly known as overselling. A lot of hosts these days are fly by night operations. If you choose one that oversells themselves they won’t be in business long. And if they have been in business a while there is a good chance that the server they will put you on is so slow your customers will grow old waiting for your store pages to load. Let’s face it, you cannot sell your products if your store is slow or cannot be reached. Hosting services are inexpensive these days so do your research and be prepared to pay a little extra to get the support, up time and performance you need.

A merchant account is not an absolute necessity but it will hurt your sales if you don’t have one. Most people prefer to pay by credit card or PayPal. If they prefer to use a credit card they don’t expect your shopping cart to veer off your domain to go to a payment portal such as PayPal. So if you feel that you want accept credit cards through PayPal please just keep this in mind. People that prefer to use PayPal expect the cart to veer off to the PayPal page. Credit card buyers do not expect this and may stop the sale just because this occurs. Having a merchant account means your cart talks directly to the bank that accepts credit cards and does not take your customer away from your store in order to pay for their items. Once you choose your shopping cart you should choose your merchant account based on the integration choices provided by the software. You can choose one that is not integrated with your cart but you will have to pay a developer to write the code that will allow the two to work together. Make sure you shop around and get the best rates you can. You can save a lot of money by spending your time doing this.

So there you have it. Once you have all your pieces in place and tested you are ready to start selling on line!

Drupal is a registered trademark of developer Dries Buytaert. It is a free software package that allows an individual or a community of users to easily publish, manage and organize a wide variety of content on a website. It is a free and open source platform and modular framework. It is the next generation content management system (CMS) written in the programming language php. I can do better with word press, but Drupal is far more powerful and can run entire communities.

Drupal is quite possibly the best web content management system platform for delivering flexible, easily extensible, powerful websites and online communities. It is, in my experience, the most comprehensive solution out there and the sheer speed at which the community is contributing new modules guarantees that you’ll always have cutting edge functionality and support for a long time to come. It is open-source software distributed under the gpl and is maintained and developed by a community of thousands of users and developers. Users of the Drupal platform often get this error message (is not defined” in JavaScript errors.).

As you might think a web host for this powerful platform is essential. Web hosting is not as hard as you might think but you need to do your homework and the Drupal website gives you all the requirements needed. I suggest going to a review site of Drupal web hosts and asking your questions. Please don’t be afraid it is just software and if you can understand search engine optimization, you won’t have that much trouble with this.

I had accidentally switched scripts in my theme, I immediately received the classic error message “Drupal is not defined” thanks to this I was able to learn much more. Drupal is a registered trademark of Dries Buytaert. It is also described as a web application framework, as it meets the generally accepted feature requirements for such frameworks.

It is English rendering of the Dutch word “Drupal”, which means “drop” (as in “a water droplet”). While running the white house web site on Drupal, it prompted an error message (A b message error). There is concern, a political disaster is waiting to happen as reported by Chris Wilson. Drupal is an open source platform. It is said Drupal is the next great social media platform in the past 5 years. Personally, I can’t wait for Drupal 7 – with increased usability promised it seems Drupal is just going to get better and better!

Drupal is very balky and not user-friendly for the beginner. While Drupal is easy to deploy, no one would expect building it for the White house. In this connection, it doesn’t matter that it is open source; hype is hype. But I think Drupal is really a big threat for old standards. I am a beginner and it is difficult to get around the back office and make it look good. The best training site now is Lynda.com.

Most people don’t have a personal web page or a business web site. But there may come a day when you feel the urge to promote a product or invention or just share your thoughts with the online world. There are thousands of web hosts to choose from out there. But the question is how do you go about choosing the right one for you and do it without getting ripped off in the process. Most people feel they do not have enough knowledge or experience to get a web page or web site up on the Internet. So they are afraid to even try. This article will help those of you who want to but are either too afraid or don’t know how to get started.

You have a choice of using free hosting which gives you a small amount of space and bandwidth on their domain. Or you can have your own domain name and pay a small fee for this privilege. If you decide to use a free host provider then your site address will be something like: YourName(dot)HostDomainName(dot)com or HostDomainName(dot)com/YourName. The free services also force you to have advertisements on your website to pay for your free service. Some people prefer not to have advertisements on their sites and they want to have their own personal and/or business domain name. For instance www(dot)YourName(dot)com or YourName(dot)US or.org or.net. If this is what you want then you want to find the web host that is right for you.

First you should make a short list of things you want to do on your web site and make a list of things you want from your potential web host. As far as things you want to do on your site, that is a personal choice and I cannot tell you what you can and cannot do. But here is a small list of things that you can setup and do easily on a personal web site: 

• Personal Website
• Picture Gallery
• Discussion Forums
• Blogs
• E-Commerce Store and Shopping Cart
• Guest Books
• Mailing Lists
• Polls and Surveys
• Content Management
• Contact Management
• Auction Site (Similar to E-Bay)
• Website Building Tools
• FAQ’s
• Wiki’s

And much much more! The good news is that most of the software required to do all of the above is included with most web hosting packages at no extra cost. The bad news is that if you don’t have much computer know how it can be difficult to install and start running the software mentioned above. The better news is that there are web hosts out there that can and will help you as little or as much as you need to get going on the Internet.

Now you need to make a list of things you want from your potential web host. Don’t worry, I’ll explain some of these in more detail:

• Good server uptime guarantee (You should insist on 99.7% or more uptime)
• 24/7 Technical Support via e-mail
• An address and phone where you can call if you need to talk to a real person
• A host that specializes in supporting New Web Users Called Newbies
• A realistic requirement of how much disk space and bandwidth you really need
• Which Operating System do you want/need
• No requirement to buy your domain name from the web host

A good web host will publish their Terms of Service (TOS) on their website. This TOS should include an uptime guarantee and refund policy. It should also include the hosts’ requirement to provide you with 24/7 support via e-mail as a minimum. Some better hosts also provide online chat and a phone number to call with technical problems. Part of their support for your billing and customer support needs should be e-mail and a telephone number. Be wary of hosts that do not provide an alternate way of contact other than e-mail. It is hard to find a host that will truly support a newbie but they can be found. Some newbie’s will require a minimum amount hand holding and some will require a walk through and some will require that the host do most everything for them. Expect to pay extra for a host that will design and manage your web site for you. You need to know how much disk space and bandwidth you will require. Most people don’t really know how much they need or want and will over estimate their requirements sometimes by 100 fold. Most web sites use between 50MB and 100MB.

And most E-Commerce store sites use less than 1,000MB (or 1GB) of storage. I suggest if you are just starting out you should start with an account with at least 200MB and no more than 500MB for a personal web page and at least 1 GB for a small business site and at least 2GB for an online store. Most people see ads from web hosts with extremely large amounts of each or unlimited amounts at ridiculously low prices. Stay away from these hosts. Hosts like this tend to sell more space and bandwidth than they have and this will cause you to have poor uptime of your website, a lot of sending in support tickets for problems and the frustration of having to deal with these problems. Plus you will not get the support you are truly looking for because they have to cut back somewhere in order to stay in business. Speaking of which it would be a shame to find your web site down and the host ran off with your money just because you didn’t want to pay a little extra. To choose which Operating System you want is easy. You have a basic choice of two, Linux/Unix and Windows. If you have no preference or special needs go with Linux. Linux provides for more inexpensive hosting packages and more hosts use Linux so hosts are easier to find. Too many people make the mistake of buying their domain name from their web host. Do not do this under any condition. Some unscrupulous web hosts will hold your domain name hostage if you want to leave them of if you don’t want to pay their rate hikes. Always buy your domain name from a separate domain name registrar.

Go about e-mailing all the hosts you feel have the requirements you are looking with your list of questions. Then make your decision based on their answers, grammar or the replies and the timeliness of their replies.

Choosing a web host can seem like a daunting task for first time website owners. Fortunately, as long as you know what features are important to pay attention to, creating an accurate and useful web hosting comparison is not a difficult process. Let’s take a look at some of the most important features that you need to take into consideration when choosing a web host.

1. Reliability

There is nothing more important than making sure that your website is always available to your users. The industry standard for uptime bottoms out at 99.5%. Anything less than this is simply unacceptable and a waste of your money. While no hosting company can promise 100%, many of the best companies are currently posting a 99.9% uptime. Many people overlook uptime, because they just assume that the web hosting company will simply make sure that their website is always online. This assumption can quickly ruin the best websites.

2. Support

There is nothing worse than needing to contact your web hosting provider, only to realize that they are not available. If you website goes down, or you are having problems, your web host needs to be there to help you. More and more web hosts are starting to support 24/7 help-desks This ensures that you will get a response within a couple of hours. Some even have real-time chat available to help you solve your problems quickly.

3. Disk Space and Bandwidth

While disk space and bandwidth are inherently related. They both have one thing in common. Many web hosting companies offer unlimited bandwidth and unlimited disk space. However, it is important to keep in mind that this promise can never be truly fulfilled When looking at both disk space and bandwidth, make sure to read the fine print. At the same time, unless you are using a large number of videos or images, disk space will probably not be a big issue, especially for websites with only a couple hundred pages. The same is true for bandwidth. However, it is important to keep an eye on the bandwidth that you are using, to make sure that you will not get saddled with overage charges.

Some web hosting companies will allow you to pre-pay for bandwidth overages. While this may seem like a good idea at first, the truth is, you may never max your bandwidth allowance. Additionally, you may find a better hosting company in six months and switch hosts. If you do this, you will not get reimbursed for all of your pre-payments.

4. Flexibility

What your web host allows you to do, becomes more important depending on what applications you want to run. If you are going to need shell access, then make sure that you get it. The same is true if you want to install PHP or Pearl scripts. It also is important to make sure that you are given the programming tools that you need in order to get your website running. Depending on what programming languages are used, this could include: Ruby on Rails, MySQL databases, the ability to create cron jobs, and much more.

Choosing a web hosting company isn’t difficult as long as you know what features are important to look for. By creating a useful web hosting comparison, you can choose the right host at the right price.

You can simplify your search for a good web host by checking web hosting reviews. You have certainly seen reviews of other products online or in newspapers. Web hosting is no different; you can find plenty reviews online.

If you are planning to start a website, you are going to need to choose a good hosting service. With the rapid growth of the number of websites on the Internet has come the rapid growth of web hosting services. With so many of them out there, all claiming to be the lowest cost and best service, it can be difficult to make a choice. That is why it’s a good idea to begin your search by looking up web host reviews.

There are so many web hosts out there that just punching the topic into a search engine is going to swamp you with possibilities. If you can, try to get leads and references to hosting services, as this will give you a head start over the search engines. If not, just start hunting until you find what you need.

There are several things that you will want to know about when reading hosting reviews. Price, of course is an extremely relative factor, but you will also need to check for technical aspects when reading web hosting reviews. Bandwidth and disk space will be the two most important factors you will want to look for when you are reading web host reviews.

A good review will also cover factors like guarantees and reliability. You will want a web host with at least 99% up time as any down time is costly to your website and can result in a lowering of search engine ranking. This is one of the points where low price hosting often fails. You can find yourself trading price for reliability if you don’t pay attention to the web host reviews.

A well-written review will also look into the web host’s customer service support. You want a host with reliable telephone and email customer service on the control panel. It must be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help curtail down time.

If you pay attention to these details, you will find that scrutinizing hosting reviews in order to make the best choice is a great tactic for choosing your web hosting service.

Choosing the right web host is the most critical task of web site development. Once you develop, upload and add your site to a search engine, it’s difficult to move to another host. It’s always good to do the thing right at first place. New webmaster always ask what should be the criteria of picking a web hosting company. Here is your check list.

Price and Features
Price and features are always a major factor in choosing web host. Are you getting the features that you are suppose to get for the price you are paying? Higher price do not mean that you will get best host. On the other hand don’t fall for any plan by just looking at the low price. Do the homework first, make list of features that you need for your web site. Now hunt for the plans that meet your requirement with economical budget. Many hosting companies offer low price web hosting plans that looks very attractive. In return they provide very less bandwidth and disk space, or very few features. You may be charge additional fee for extra bandwidth, disk space or any particular feature you need. If you add up these additional fees you may be paying than you would if you had signed up for a plan that included more features and bandwidth.

Support
Technical support is another big factor in picking a host. As i said earlier higher price do not mean that you will get best host in the world. However, higher price mean you may get a good chance of getting better technical support because they have money to hire people to provide round the click (24/7) technical support. Also consider what level of technical support hosting company is providing, toll free or round the clock (24/7), and email support or just only online manuals. Ask yourself, how comfortable are you with company that provides only online manual as technical support? Hosting companies that do not provides technical support is not worth considering.

Uptime
If you are running a web business or commercial website you would not want to take any chance. Bad support and downtime would be the worst nightmare for you. Many visitors ask me what is the meaning of 99.5% uptime guarantee? Its simply mean your site will be up and running for 99.5% of the time and if it goes down more then 0.5% of the time, hosting company will refund you money for down period. The best is 100% uptime (which I don’t think any company can offer). Most of the hosting company offers 99.5% uptime but anything lest then 99.5% is not worth considering.

Reviews and Feedback
Use this directory or similar directory to find out feedback about web hosting companies. Lots of unsatisfied customers means there is some issue with technical support of hosting company. Try to gather as much information as possible.

Money Back Guarantee
It is nice to have money back. If you are not satisfies you can always take you money and go to some other company. Most of the company offer money back guarantee of 2 weeks to 3 months. If any company that meet all the above criteria and offer money back guarantee, definitely worth considering.

Conclusion
Selecting the right hosting provider for you depends on your individual needs. A hosting account that is perfect for me not be suitable for you. There are thousands of host and each company offer different plan with varying features. If you sincerely do you homework, figure out your requirements and need and evaluate companies based upon above criteria, you should be satisfied with your hosting company.

And finally..
Good luck for choosing a right web hosting company.