When setting up a website and shopping around for a web host, you might find all the technical terminology a little confusing. In fact, it’s really not that complicated. By understanding some basics about web hosting and web hosting service providers, you can easily select a web host that is best for you. Some of the questions you may be asked are related to your business and others are related to the web hosting industry. Here’s a quick rundown of basic questions you need to know before choosing a web host.
What is a Web Host?
A web host is a service provider that manages many different websites on a particular server. They provide the platform on which your website is located. Many web hosts will have several different hosting packages available. They may have shared or dedicated hosting facilities as separate options. The type of hosting package you choose will largely depend on your hosting needs.
Where is Your Business and Where are You Going?
If you have a start-up business, keeping costs down is a major priority. However, if you see your business growing rapidly in the future, you need to keep in mind how it can affect things like your website and web hosting packages. There are many good entry-level basic web hosting packages. These are usually on shared servers and there is a limit to the bandwidth available. If your business grows rapidly, you may find that you need to expand your website and increase your hosting package. Not all web hosts have migration or upgrade features and this can make upgrading your web hosting package a daunting task. Your best option is to choose a web hosting that has the potential to grow your business.
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What Level of Technical Expertise Do you Have?
Often business owners have a limited understanding of web hosting and web design. If so, you may want to sign up with a web hosting provider that has a wealth of technical knowledge and expertise that you can draw on. Ideally, if your budget allows, you will want to go for a web host that offers a managed hosting service. This means that they will take care of all web server maintenance and security, ensuring that you have maximum uptime on your website.
Are Free Hosting Packages Worthwhile?
While there are some good free hosting companies out there, you need to think carefully about signing up for one. Generally, these hosting packages are free because hosting providers sell ad space on the websites they host. This means that you may not be able to fully control the content of your website. In addition, free hosting packages generally have limited support services and can rarely be upgraded to other packages.
What is the Difference Between Shared and Dedicated Hosting?
Dedicated hosting means that your website is allotted a separate server of its own. This means you have more control over your website and generally improve hosting efficiency. You can also ensure a higher security level on your servers and have more flexibility in how you manage your website; However, it comes at a premium. Dedicated servers are generally quite expensive, which is why the option of shared servers became available. A shared server hosts many different websites. Generally, each has a limited capacity and because there are different site owners accessing the server, you have low levels of security.
What is an E-commerce Website?
An e-commerce website is basically an online shop. It requires specialized hosting and web design to function properly. The web host you choose should be knowledgeable about hosting e-commerce sites and should be able to provide you with technical support.
What is a Marketing or Corporate Website?
A standard commercial or marketing-type website is less complex than an e-commerce website. This type of website is a shop window to your business because it shows who you are and what your business is about. Although you cannot sell products on the website, it is still essential that you choose a reliable web hosting service provider.
What Makes a Web Host Reliable?
One of the most important considerations is the level and efficiency of the technical support provided. No system is flawless, so when things go wrong, you should be able to fix problems as quickly as possible. A good hosting provider will have technical experts at their support desk who can assist you with any issues. Another important consideration is the stability of the server. A well-maintained and managed server should rarely go down and this is exactly what you want from a web host – a website that is accessible 24/7.
What About Website Security?
A good web host should provide a level of security on the server. However, as a website owner, it is important to maintain a good level of security on your website as well. This may include having anti-spyware, anti-virus, and anti-tracking software installed on your system. To keep your system secure, it is important to keep it constantly updated.
Where Do you Find a Good Web Host?
Your web designer will likely have a hosting provider they have an established relationship with. It’s a good idea to follow their recommendations. Alternatively, you can ask coworkers and business associates which company they use. Lastly, you can search online. However, if you do, be careful to read industry reviews of web hosts to make sure they are reputable.
Top Web Hosting Types
If you are just getting started in the world of the Internet and the World-Wide-Web, welcome to the fastest growing, most competitive, and most exciting marketplace in the history of buying and selling. By definition, web hosting is a type of service that gives individuals and organizations the opportunity to make their own websites accessible through the world wide web. Therefore, if you want to set up a website on the Internet, you will need a web host. But after a quick search in Google, you will see that choosing the type of web hosting you will need for your website is no easy task.
Spend a little time searching the web and you’ll find a gazillion web hosting providers, review sites, data centers, collocation facilities, and even a company that offers domain name registration by a hunter of African elephants. They Make Building a Profitable Web Business Easy, But Wake-Up-Call Time: Building a profitable, web-based business takes hard work, long hours, and most important, careful planning and choosing the right vendors. Sure, your neighbor brags about the dough he’s raising on his maintenance-free Web site, or your brother-in-law just bought a fancy car on his PPC earnings. People make money on the web, but it’s not luck or good karma. It’s planning for success and if you’re just starting to think about taking a digital dive into the world of the Internet, consider these questions and, yes, develop the answers before spending a dime on your vision.
Top 10 Web Hosting Trends:
Green Web Hosting – Green or eco-friendly website hosting is a contemporary addition to the field that involves trying to prove to a given provider that they do not have a negative impact on the environment. Many webmasters are moving their websites to a green web hosting provider not only to reduce their carbon footprint but to prove to their visitors that their company values and is respectful of the environment.
Cloud hosting – Cloud computing provides on-demand resources through a computer network and provides compute, software, data access, and storage services that require end-user knowledge of the physical location and configuration of the systems delivering the services. is not required. Parallels to this concept can be drawn with the power grid, where the end-users consume electricity without needing to understand the components equipment, or infrastructure needed to provide service.
VPS Hosting – VPS hosting or Virtual Private Server refers to a virtual machine for use exclusively by an individual customer of the hosting service. A virtual machine is a completely independent and isolated operating system installation within a common operating system. VPS hosting allows customers who need a dedicated machine and root access, but are not yet ready to pay the large investment required for a dedicated machine.
Carbon Neutral Hosting – Carbon neutral hosting refers to a service that has a net-zero carbon footprint and gives webmasters the opportunity to achieve net-zero carbon emissions as a result of hosting their online pages.
Wind-Powered Hosting – Wind-powered web hosting refers to web hosting services that use wind power from wind turbines, for example, converted into electricity.
Solar Powered Web Hosting – This refers to solar-powered web hosting which is powered by radiant light and heat from the sun as opposed to traditional electricity.
Joomla Hosting – Joomla is an increasingly popular open-source content management system for publishing content on the World Wide Web. Joomla easily integrates with themes and extensions that are available from third-party sources that make it easy to design and develop a sophisticated yet aesthetically pleasing website. There are many commercial extensions available from the official Joomla! Much more is available from extension directories and other sources. Many providers offer the installation of Joomla on their accounts at no additional charge but are warned that many providers do not have sufficient experience to provide support to customers developing their sites with Joomla.
WordPress Hosting – WordPress is an open-source blogging tool used by about thirteen percent of all websites on the Internet. It is an easy-to-learn and uses a tool that makes setting up a website easy due to its plug-in architecture and template system.
Drupal Hosting – Drupal is an open-source content management system that provides web developers with the tools they need to customize the behavior and appearance of Drupal. And Drupal provides a futuristic programming interface for developers, and basic website installation and administration requires no programming skills but is more complex than Joomla and WordPress. Drupal powers about two percent of all websites on the Internet. Drupal provides modules, themes, and associated configuration settings that prepare Drupal for custom operation for sophisticated web developers.
Reseller Hosting – Reseller hosting refers to the provider that has purchased the services with the intention of the reseller. Due to the multitude of resellers in the web hosting industry, it has become more difficult to differentiate a reseller from a web hosting provider that has its own dedicated servers. Reseller hosting has become increasingly popular as a means of generating income for web design firms.
Choosing a New Web Host for the Redesign Project
Many companies are redesigning their websites to remain competitive, simplify navigation, and provide a more user-friendly experience to visitors. By redesigning a website, companies have the opportunity to remain more competitive and stay updated with new technology. And a better Website — voila — by offering simpler navigation, a simple search for a specific item can lead to an increase in sales or leads. Yes, even the most successful sites are constantly revamping their look, organization, and ease of use for site visitors.