Simple Steps For Choosing A Great Web Host
There are thousands of web hosts around today with thousands of plans to choose from making what was once a simple procedure seem like a daunting task for both newbie and pro alike.
Whether you’re looking for your first host or looking to move on to a better one there are 7 simple steps you must follow to succeed in choosing a great host.
1. Platform
The first and most crucial step in choosing a web host is determining the platform the web server should run, usually a choice between Unix/Linux and Windows.
Your choice is largely determined by your website and the technologies used to create it, generally a website created with Microsoft technologies (ASP, VB) will run on Windows servers while most other sites using open source technologies (PHP, Perl, Python etc) will run on Linux based systems.
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ASP Hosting Simplified
ASP stands for Active Server Pages. It is a technology that enables users to design and creative interactive pages for their websites, using something called “server-side scripting”. What do we mean by interactive? Forms, in-site search engines, blogs, user forums, newsletters, calendars, WhoIs searches, web-based email, polls, surveys, hit counters and more.
Best of all, with ASP, no longer do webmasters have to concern themselves with what browser a visitor to their site is using. With ASP hosting, your website will appear identically on all computers, on all browsers, a claim that HTML simply cannot make.
Anytime a browser requests a webpage that has the .asp extension where the more familiar .htm or .html would be, the hosting provider’s web server interprets any ASP scripts in the program first and foremost, before delivering any HTML info to the browser. This is why you cannot simply run ASP websites with just any hosting company. The hosting company you choose must have servers that support ASP, or else the ASP scripts you use will be rendered useless.
cPanel Primer For The New Webmaster
If you are about to purchase web hosting, it is very likely that you will be using cPanel to manage your hosting. To get the most from your web hosting, you need to learn the workings of cPanel.
What Can Be Done with cPanel?
If your web hosting doesn’t offer shell access, cPanel will be the only way to manage your web hosting, cPanel is a web based server control software that allows you to do the following operations and a whole lot more. Common operations such as adding FTP users, creating databases, creating mail accounts and a multitude of other hosting operations can all be performed with cPanel.
All about Linux/Unix-based hosting
What is Linux/Unix-based hosting?
It means hosting that is provided on Linux/Unix operating systems platforms. There isn’t much difference between these two types of operating systems because Linux/Unix is an improved version of Linux/Unix operating system. When just applying for web hosting companies for web hosting that is based on Linux operating system it doesn’t matter which one you are using on your computer as it is commensurable with any operating system.
Usability
Some years ago Linux operating system used to be available only for professionals and if you were not an experienced user you had no future with this OS. In the last couple of years the situation has changed. Providers have done their best to make users’ web sites administrating more comfortable and easier. In case you’re just a beginner you’ll find friendly control panels that include Web- interface. And if you are an experienced user you can control your site by means of shell.
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Do You Really Own Your Web Site?
Posted in: Web Hosting | March 12th, 2008
If you have a web site, chances are you hired someone to help you get it launched. If you did, you have three primary components under the umbrella of “a web site.” There is your domain name, also known as a “URL” or your web address. There is your web hosting - the space you rent on a server out there somewhere, to put your web site on. And then there is your web site itself, which is a combination of HTML files and images which are uploaded to that web hosting you rent.
The most cautious rule of thumb is that you should have three separate providers - a domain name registrar, a web hosting company, and a web site designer. The reason many web experts believe this is that if you have a problem with one, you still have control over the other two. For example, if your web hosting company causes you problems, you have your web content, and you have access to your domain, and you can easily shut off one hosting account, find another, and move your site. If your web designer goes bad, you can at least change access to your site, move it or provide the information to a new designer. Conversely, if you have all three components in one place, you run the risk of finding yourself without a web site, perhaps temporarily, or worst case, having to start from scratch.
All About Dedicated Hosting Providers
Unless overtly listed otherwise, most web hosting packages you’ll come across in your search are what are called shared hosting providers. What this means is that the server or servers that host your website are simultaneously hosting numerous other websites also. This gives you a discounted rate on web hosting services in exchange for tolerating certain technical constraints, like bandwidth, disk space, upload and download speeds, security and privacy, traffic, and probably the most notable restriction — total control.
If you want total control not only over the administration of your website but also over the very hardware and software used to run it, then you should be evaluating not shared hosting providers, but dedicated hosting providers. If your business is large enough or growing fast enough that it requires its own internet connection and server, you may need a dedicated web host.
Hosting Matters When It Comes To Interactive Marketing
Most people choose a Web host based on price, technology and/or the recommendation of their Web agency. All of these are important factors, but most people overlook the destructive impact choosing the wrong host can have on your interactive marketing initiatives.
How do you choose a hosting company? One of the most important factors when choosing a host is determining which tools and services they support and don’t support. What statistics or Web analytics packages does your host offer? You don’t want to pay a third party a premium for your Web analytics package because your host only provides “free-ware” statistics. Many hosts have strategic relationships with some of the best Web analytics vendors in an effort to provide their customers with powerful site measurement tools bundled into the cost of their hosting packages.
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36 Questions to ask your Web Host before you buy
Getting a website is essential for business. Making a mistake could cost you money as well as lost reputation. We have put together 36 questions across 10 areas that you should as any hosting company before you purchase a website. How they answer these questions will determine if this is the right website solution for you.
Technical Support:
Technical support should be readily available. Your average hold time should not exceed a couple of minutes. If the hold time for support is long, this means that there are a lot of problems with the product or there support is understaffed.
1. How strong is their technical support division?
2. What do they provide?
3. When are they available?
4. Does tech support cost extra?
USA Reseller Web Hosting: Unix or Microsoft?
If you’re in the USA, and you’re planning to get into the USA reseller web hosting industry, you need to consider one major issue, first and foremost: would you like to offer Unix-ready features along with Microsoft-only ones?
Offering Microsoft-only services may seem to be the smart choice, but supporting Unix is its own asset, which could open a world of opportunities for you as a USA reseller web hosting outfit. In fact, if you have avenues to ask for both Microsoft and Unix support from your web host, all the better!
Free Website Hosting Vs. Paid Website Hosting Basics
Web site hosting service companies on the Internet permit the user to make their web site accessible through the World Wide Web. There are huge numbers of companies that offer web space on their server for their customers and also offer Internet connectivity in general in a data center. There can be various types of web site hosting companies. The main classification is the free web site hosting and the paid web site hosting service companies.
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