Choosing the right web host is a very important process that is all to often hurried through or; simply misunderstood.

Choosing a web host is in fact one the most important parts of setting up an online business. You need a service that is fast; easy to use and understand; provides excellent support; and is serious enough about its operations to guarantee that your website will never be down unless the entire datacenter were completely demolished.

Below is a list of the most common questions and answers to consider when looking for a web host. Understanding the different areas of web hosting and services available will help you to make a better educated decision when you do subscribe to a web hosting service.

What is Web Hosting?

Web hosting is the process of putting your web site on a web server or web host, so everyone connected to the Internet can see it. If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you could host your web site on your own computer, but that is in general not a good idea. A good web host is a real server in a datacenter with a fast high bandwidth connection to the Internet. And, to make sure you can move your web site to another web host, if necessary, you need a web hosting provider that supports domain hosting.

What is Domain Hosting?

Most Internet Service Providers (or ISP) will give you a free web site when they provide you with access to the Internet. They do this because they don’t want to give you a permanent IP address, which is what you need if you’d like to host a web site on your own computer. Unfortunately, most ISPs don’t support domain hosting with their free web sites. Hence, the URL of your web site is an extension of the URL of your ISP. So what happens when you change ISP? You will have to change the URL and nobody can find you anymore.

The use of a domain name for your web site is absolutely necessary for a professional web site, and to host your own domain you will need to find a real web hosting provider with domain hosting. Many web hosting plans actually include the price of a domain registration, so don’t register your domain before you have chosen your web hosting company.

What is Virtual Hosting?

Virtual hosting is often used as a synonym for shared hosting, e.g. you host your web site on a web server with hundreds of other web sites and you share the IP address with these web sites.
The term virtual hosting should imply, however, that while you share the web server it looks from the outside world that you are the only web site on that server. That means that with virtual hosting you should not only have your own IP address, but also a dedicated bandwidth to the Internet and a dedicated slice of the computers processing power. So, if a web hosting provider uses the term virtual hosting, have a close look if these features are offered before you decide on paying a premium price above standard shared hosting.

What is Bandwidth?

Bandwidth is a measure that reflects how much data can be transferred over a data communication channel.
In web hosting plans the allowed bandwidth generally indicates how much data can be downloaded from your web site per month, and therefore indicates how many web pages and pictures your visitors are allowed to download. If the average amount of page views per visitor is assumed constant, the allowable bandwidth restricts how many visitors you are allowed to have per month.
Just as important, however, is how fast the communication channel between your web host and the Internet is. The amount of data that can be transferred per second is also called the bandwidth of this channel, and this bandwidth is shared by all the web sites hosted by the same provider. If this bandwidth is insufficient, you’ll sometimes notice a slow down in the display of your web pages. In most cases, however, such a slow down is more likely to be caused by an overload on the web server itself.

What is a web server?

A web server is either a special computer or server for reliable hosting of web sites, or the software application that runs on that server. The two main web server applications used by most web hosting providers are

Microsoft’s Internet Information Services (IIS) for windows hosting and Apache for Unix hosting. Both use the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) to transfer web pages to your web browser.

What is a datacenter?

A datacenter is building, or part of a building, which offers a professional environment for running computer servers. A datacenter will generally have high speed connections to the Internet and other networks, as well as good security to protect against natural hazards, such as fire, and other hazards, such as intruders and hackers.

Web Hosting Summary.

In summary, what are the important things to look for when selecting a web host?

1.Price
2.Datacenter Standards
3.Easy access to a Control Panel
4.Easy to navigate Control Panel
5.24 / 7 Support
6.Host supports scripting languages / databases required to operate your site
7.Multiple packages available (As your business grows you may need to upgrade. Make sure the web host provider will allow you to do this)

This is really just the basics; although all very important things to consider. Most web host will have a FAQ file or Knowledgebase file available which you can read through before signing up.

In most case cheap is not better; in most cases. However I must say the web host I am now using combines an impressive price with impressive services. Over the years I have used approximately 8 10 different web hosts and HostGator.com is in my opinion one of the best I have ever used. But you can see for yourself here:

http://www.hostgator.com

Make sure you go through the checklist above while browsing their site and you’ll get a better feel for comparing web host services.

Registering Your Domain? I have always used GoDaddy.com as do many other internet experts I have spoken with. I can safely recommend their service without hesitation.

Good luck and as always feel free to drop me an email if you have any questions concerning this article or most any aspects of starting your own online business.

Best regards,
Joseph Murray

http://www.aitechworld.com

With thousands of web hosting providers all around competing for one’s business, it may be confusing to find the one that’s right for one’s web site. The following are some key considerations that can help one to narrow down his/her choices to the most affordable and best options to meet one’s personal, professional or business web page needs.

What is the kind of web site that one is planning?

One’s personal web page has far different needs than one professional web page and that needs a different style of hosting than an eCommerce storefront. There are several web hosting companies offering plans sized to fit any size of style of web site. Thus selecting an appropriate plan depends upon the purpose for which one is developing his/her site.

Personal Web Page Hosting

Just like hosts there are dozens of free servers that will host your personal web pages for free, and many of them even offer most of the perks that one gets with a paid web hosting account. If one wants a personal web page without the ads, though, he/she can get a web page hosting for as little as $4.95 per month with no advertising, and with support for things like PHP and mySQL. There are many affordable web hosting packages that even register a domain name for free.

Professional Web Page Hosting

If one is setting up a web site for a professional firm, he/she will definitely want to opt for a web page hosting provider offering excellent support, free or cheap domain name registration and a good web site builder with professional looking templates to make creating one’s web site easy. If one is planning to take orders or any sort of customer information via his/her web site, then he/she will also want a web hosting provider that offers one secure server access (SSL).Thus depending on the features one opts for ,one can pay $4.95-$29.95 per month.

Business/eCommerce Web Page Hosting

If one’s business web site is more than informational web pages about his/her business, his/her web hosting package should include eCommerce software like a shopping cart, a checkout, a payment system and SSL access. Thus one needs more space and bandwidth allowance than a typical personal site. One can find many affordable eCommerce web hosting packages starting at around $14.95 per month.

Enterprise Level Web Page Hosting

Does one need space for one’s business to collaborate on projects, store information for easy retrieval and to track orders, deliveries and work hours? One requires a web hosting company that specializes in providing enterprise level web hosting solutions to large businesses. The best web hosting account should include the highest level security access to keep one’s important information secure, 24/7 customer support and tools to make access easy for all his/her employees. An affordable enterprise level packages start at around $99 per month and range upwards from there depending on the amount of customization and use that one’s web pages will obtain from it.

After completing the tough part i.e. creating the web site, the next further step to be followed is to host it, so that public can find ones site. The bad web host company traps the customers who are new to this web world and are web host seekers. There are many factors to be considered while selecting a web host, but the factor placed at the top is none other than price. All the users want cheap web hosting but if the web hosting is chosen on the basis of only price then it will not satisfy other requirements.

One should be very careful while choosing the web hosting company.

If one is having the budget he can fix to it, if one is not having much idea about web hosting he/she may wonder “how do they make money” its better to be away, the chances are in order to save cost, the web site will be hosted with less bandwidth resulting in a very slow accessible and unprofessional web site. Also in this case, the customer support will be absent or very less.

One should be very clear about his/her requirements from the web hosting company, if the customer do not choose the company as per his/her requirements then its not the fault of host but only he/she will be solely responsible for that .Its good to make a list of requirements such as particular files needed and thereafter he/she can send his/her requirements to multiple hosting companies and can wait for the company come back with the greater service.

If any user is having more than one web site to host, as in case of affiliate marketers, its not good to put all sites with single host in the very beginning rather one should be 100% confident with the service and start with one web site as a test. The user should also keep in mind that if he/she wants to host all of his/her websites with one host company only, all it takes is, one problem to bring all his sites down and could result in lose of revenue. It is good to host some of the websites by another company so they can work even in case of problems.

Some web host companies offer testimonials on their own web site from valued customers recommending them. Seeing is not believing, one should call these customers and get a face value recommendation for him/her self.

What to do with the problems?

Now the problems can arise either due to the customer’s fault or by the web host company. There is no certainty of the technological Problem to occur, as it can occur any time but it’s all depending upon the host company how to handle such problem in order to keep the customer. If the user finds his/her web site dropping off line or slow downloading at a regular basis, then he/she should move to another web host company. If the problems pertain and the company is not paying attention to it means they are showing arrogant behavior towards their customers. Support is vital from a web host company and it should be 24 hour if it’s a large organization.

Virus Problems and Hackers

It is the responsibility of the company to ensure that the files of the customers are protected from virus and hackers at all times. There are number of companies having their web sites hacked and that happens only due to the reason that their web host company had not got the latest patches and security software applied. The new comers to web hosting should always ask how often updates and what software is used to protect web sites.

Tips:

One can have a good earning by his/her web site or can be this only source of income for him/her. Therefore one should always do his/her own backups of the web site. If due to any reason the web host company experiences problem and has no backups available, then the whole business could go stop. Backups are very crucial and have to be done as regular as possible in order to avoid problems afterwards. Some companies have testimonials on their web site from customers, one should not be afraid to call these guys for an up to date reference.

One should be very careful while dealing with host companies and should check recommendations and references very carefully. Always one should ask for the full contact details of the web hosting company, as there are many people who simply go online and have an email address only as the contact. Now if their email goes down and one needs to contact them one should have their full details at hand. One should always shop around for the different web hosting plans and should compare all the features available. On comparison it’s sure to get large differences, therefore it’s very important to check each and every thing before final sign up.

Finding an affordable ASP hosting plan can be challenging.  ASP.net is one of the most popular options on the market with those who demand dynamically generated web pages.  ASP offers some of the best functionality out there for websites.  Can you find cheap ASP web hosting, though?  What should you look for in a quality ASP host?  How can this affect your website and your success?

Cheap ASP web hosting options can certainly be found online.  However, not all hosting plans are created equal.  For that matter, not all ASP hosts are created equal.  You will need to take a cautious approach here, particularly when dealing with web hosts that offer “discount” pricing.  All too often, these hosts are able to offer low pricing because they reduce the amount of service offered.  How do you find cheap ASP web hosting plans that are right for your needs?

First, you will need to consider those aforementioned needs.  What do you need in a hosting plan?  How much disk space will your website require?  How much bandwidth do you anticipate needing on a regular basis?  What about future growth – how many visitors do you expect to visit your site on a regular basis in 6 months or a year?  Planning now for the future can help ensure that you find a viable webhosting option that will work for the long term, rather than only for the short term.

You will also need to know what version of ASP the web host supports.  ASP.net has moved into its fourth iteration, and if you plan to use the newest version, then finding a host that offers ASP.net version 2 will not do you very much good.  Therefore, you need to determine exactly where you want to go with your website long before you begin searching for cheap ASP web hosting.

Of course, there are other considerations that you will need to make here.  For instance, how many email addresses does the webhost offer?  What sort of virus protection and security does the host have in place to safeguard your website?  You will also need to consider what comes preinstalled with your account, such as MS IE Web Controls, GUIDMaker and WSE.  These elements can provide a considerable number of benefits for you, and can make your decision to purchase cheap ASP web hosting a very good one, indeed.

It’s difficult to chose right web hosting service for your web site at the time when there are numerous of web hosting providers all assuring for identical web hosting packages. So its necessary to take care of 3 aspects before starting a web hosting search which are given below. Features required for web hosting Technical requirements for a web site is the most important point to be taken into consideration which includes-

a) Hardware requirements and platform for server

According to your need such as if you want to set up a website that uses programming environments such as Active Server Pages (ASP), Visual Basic scripts, Cold Fusion or Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL database, then a need for a web hosting service will arise that supports Windows platform such as Windows NT or Windows 2000 servers.

Similarly as for programming languages such as Perl, CGI, SSI, PHP or mySQL database, then any web hosting plans that support Unix/Linux platform can be helpful. After having these types of requirements in mind one can decide for the best web hosting plan.

b) Disk space & Bandwidth requirement

Next technical requirement to be taken care of is disk space and bandwidth requirement, however disk space requirement may not be a big deal if you want to publish website with very less contents. Generally 200 MB to 500MB disk space will be quite enough as hosting requirements. Further for hosting a website with enormous amount of graphic pictures, mp3 or video files, a web hosting providing huge disk space example 500 to 1000 MB will be crucial. In the same manner site traffic estimation can be held responsible for bandwidth requirement .A website that attracts high traffic will tend to consume monthly bandwidth allowance very fast, then in that case one web hosting service that offers huge bandwidth with 40GB to 100 GB per month is needed.

Web hosting service that provides sufficient amount of disk space and bandwidth can be opted as per website requirement and that consideration will help not only to reduce costs but also tend to proper disk management.

c) Some other hosting features

Apart from above there are many other hosting features that are to taken into consideration such as Is web hosting provider supports video clips on the website? Is there any plan for setting a virtual store online? Is the host providing e-commerce facilities without charging more and top of all finding number of email accounts provided, number of FTP accounts, web statistic software etc.

Trustworthiness and scalability

If the web-hosting provider is offering reliable server uptime and fast Internet connection then it can be considered as a good host. For selecting an appropriate provider one must look for a web hosting service that guarantee 99% server uptime with high speed internet using at least OC3 (Optical Carrier) lines (155 Megabits per second) or above instead of T1 or T3 lines. A trustworthy hosting provider invests hugely on high performance servers, high speed multiple backbones providers with fail-over redundancy, backup power generators and firewall software protection in place so as to ensure they fulfill the uptime guarantee specified in the terms of service.

In the same manner selection would depend upon the hosting service that can ensure hardware facilities that are designed for scalability, so that they can also expand with user’s business. For example if requirement emerges for increasing disk space, bandwidth or number of mySQL databases, there should not emerge any problem and that all can be upgraded easily.

Customer service and support

Last but not the least excellent customer service and support is also important while selecting appropriate host provider. A web hosting provider must provide 24 hours a day, 7 days a week technical support with highly experienced technicians, so as to ensure timely resolution of any problem. Checking must be made by sending inquiry emails to the web-hosting provider so as to check the responsiveness of the customer support. Generally if a response comes within 24 hours can be considered as indication of acceptance but if no response comes then it is taken as a poor customer service. In world of competition, a web hosting provider must be also equipped with multiple support like Toll-free phone support, 24/7 email support, live chat, FAQ etc.

Apart of above important factors some other minor factors must also brew taken care of while selecting an appropriate web hosting provider like since how long that provider is in business and quantity of customers they hold as these shows the credibility and stability of the company. Cost of web hosting is an important factor also but due to growing competition now their charges have come to as low as US$10 per month and so this major factor needs to be ignored. Thus besides of all most important is that the website hosting requirements are met, website is always accessible with good speed, there is scalability in provider to grow and expand the website and that it also offers best customer support.

While choosing ones Web hosting provider one has to confront with thousands of companies, tens of thousands of different plans as out of these thousands of companies and plans only few are suitable for the website and online needs.

In today’s world Webhosting has become a part of the informational revolution brought by the Internet and it has become compulsory for both business and also individuals.

Here we are just going to point on few things related to choosing an adequate web host for a web site as there is no need explaining why a website is a must on World Wide Web. This business might seem very complicated but once one knows what to look for it is easy to find out. Stick to ones requirements after analyzing it properly.

Many inexperienced web owners often buy more than required while evaluating their needs in terms of space and bandwidth. Thus many web-hosting providers size their web servers taking this into account as this is exceptionally common and in fact over sell the space and bandwidth assuming that customers will never make full use of it.

Ask ones web host provider per server ration to avoid web hosts that result to just that or crowed their web servers to get an extra profit per customer. To become a clever buyer one should do this with all the other companies one finds interesting to do business with and are eligible to host web site. Never buy a web-hosting plan that fits just perfectly instead always leave some space as website is like a living creature which always grows so buy a little extra space so that when website is expanded one have resources available. Always leave margin for error too as supposing the initial bandwidth evaluation proves itself insufficient then one might not be able to use its website because of exceeded bandwidth. For both knowledgeable and less knowledgeable web owners most web hosting plans come packed with features and some even offer pre-installed scripts and programs that might come handy.

Do not forget things actually required like the OS (Operating System) or the PHP support, as one could consider any extra feature a plus. Do not allow the provider to tell something not required or is less than expected so one should decide of its own what is needed.

Importance of Support: – One might overlook Support facility when one finds an offer which is suitable both in terms of space, bandwidth and has all other facilities which one needs but remember all the good features will go in vein if one does not have good support. If the web-hosting provider is too careless then any technical problem, which arises, will take long hours to be solved even after making many support help calls thus curtailing the work.

If one wants to test the quality and how responsive the support personnel is then one should fire many pre-sales questions through email. Check if the response fact is enough. Now supposing that a conference has to be attended and the site is down and many clicks are expected, check if the website is online to get them and also whether the response one is getting from the support is thorough or is just scratching the surface and is the response understandable.

Look for these qualities when looking for good support: -

-Online support staff, help desk, message boards etc.

-Try to find on forums or discussion boards Information on the reputation of a web-

hosting provider.

-Would one like to be among one those discontented customers there?

Another aspect of the problem is reliability. Company’s web server’s uptime should be asked. Usually 99.9% of uptime is guaranteed by Most of the hosts, as 100% is not a realistic figure in the computer world. This guarantee means that, the money will be refunded for that month or free webhosting will be given for a month as compensation for web site being unavailable if the web site was not available 99.9% of the time.

Our sincere advice to everyone looking for web host provider is don’t try too hard to find the cheapest possible web host though it is true that one has to pay for paid web hosting. Still if one goes for cheaper one then within two weeks from the date of purchase one will stumble upon a better deal and thus will most likely end-up wasting an incredible amount of time. On the other hand paying extra amount to get what one could have got for less is also not a good deal. Getting 200 MB of space with 2 GB of bandwidth for $60 one is getting cheated and at the same time getting same service for $6 or $10 can be a good deal. A thin line between Nightmare of getting slow server response, unreachable support and irritating server downtime and Profitable and enjoyable web presence is drawn by individuals’ themselves.

So we conclude saying one should always choose ones web-hosting provider vigilantly who can live up the promises and can deliver good quality web hosting!

What is Web Hosting?

Technology moves so quickly, many of us feel like an ostrich with our head buried in the sand. Often we find that what was new yesterday is suddenly old news today and trying to keep up with the technological advances with concerns to the web hosting industry can be mind-boggling for the common individual.

If you have worked in an occupation that did not move swiftly along with the Internet, your knowledge of even the basics can now be considered illiterate. Now, more than ever before people are utilizing the Internet to advertise themselves and their businesses on the World Wide Web.

In order to establish your own web page on the Internet, it is important to understand some very important terms. The first and most important term to getting your website on the Internet is “web hosting“.

Who or What is a Web Hosting Server

A web host is a company or an individual that owns a server that is connected to the internet 24 hours per day, seven days per week and who is willing to sell you a space on that server for a certain number of dollars. The ideal web host is online 99.9% of the time, however, many cannot fulfill this goal. There is a broad range of what hosting services can and will do, so research is a large key to successfully finding the correct server for your intentions.

How Do I Find the Best Web Hosting Server for My Needs?

There are many types of web hosting. It is very important to review, outline and determine exactly what your personal needs in a web hosting company are prior to establishing any type of business relationship. It is also extremely important to research each web hosting company thoroughly to insure that they are capable of providing the type of services you need for a price you can afford. There are many different ways to research a web hosting company.

You can take the time to contact each company personally and inquire as to the parameters of their services; hoping that they will honestly tell you the pros and cons of their business. However, you could access an independent Internet review company that specializes in web hosting and compare their findings with your needs.