Frequently Asked Web Hosting Questions
by Shelley Lowery
Congratulations! After much thought and consideration, you
finally took the plunge and decided it was time to have your
own web site. That's a great accomplishment in itself.
However, now you're left with another daunting task --
selecting a quality web host.
Selecting a good web host is of the utmost importance.
However, with all of the technical mumbo jumbo, knowing what
to look for can be very intimidating to say the least.
For this reason, I have devised a list of the most
frequently asked web hosting questions.
Question: I'm not exactly sure what a web host is. Can you
please explain?
Answer: A web host is a company that provides you with
server space for your web site. This includes all of the
files associated with your web site. When your web address
is typed into a browser, the web host displays your pages.
Question: Is it true that a good web host will cost me a lot
of money each month?
Answer: Although the old adage "you get what you pay for"
still holds true, there are many quality web hosts that are
reasonably priced. You can expect to pay $20 - $50 a month
for up to 50MB of space depending on the company and your
specific needs.
Question: I have been considering hosting my site with a
free hosting company, but I'm a little concerned with their
reliability. Can you shed some light?
Answer: NEVER host an ecommerce web site with a free hosting
service. These services are highly unreliable and could care
less if your site goes down. Their main concern is with
their advertisers. As long as their ads are up and running,
for the most part, they could care less about you or your
site.
In addition, sites hosted with free services look very
unprofessional. If you've taken the time to get your own web
site designed and your own domain name, why would you risk
your success and host with a free service? It's just not
worth it.
Question: I'm at my wits end. I've been to so many hosting
companies and am completely overwhelmed. I have no idea what
company to go with. Can you please tell me what I should be
looking for in a good host?
Answer: Selecting a quality hosting company can be an
intimidating process. Your first consideration should be the
company.
• Do they offer fast connections?
• Do they have a back-up system in place to protect your
data in case there is a power outage?
• Do they require you to make payments in advance?
• Do they require a long-term contract?
• Do they charge set up fees?
• How is their customer support? Test them.
• Do they provide you with free access to a secure server
for order processing?
• Do they offer shopping cart software to process
your orders?
• Do they provide you with an online Web Site Manager?
• Do they provide you with an online support manual?
Ask for references. Talk with some of their customers and
ask them if they have been satisfied.
Here are some basic features you should look for when
selecting a web host:
1) 24/7 reliable tech support
2) Your own domain name (www.yourname.com)
3) At least 10GB of monthly transfer (traffic)
4) A minimum of 20MB - 50MB of server space
5) Unlimited true POP email accounts - name@yourdomain.com
6) Unlimited email aliases
7) Email forwarding
8) Unlimited autoresponders
9) Your own unrestricted CGI-Bin
10) Access to SSL Encryption for secure transactions
11) MySQL Database
12) Perl
13) htaccess password protection
14) Server Side Includes (SSI) support
15) Design (and upload to) your site using Netscape or
other HTML editing software
16) Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions for those
utilizing FrontPage
17) Unlimited free access to your server via FTP/Telnet
18) Easy access to your log files
19) Statistics on visits to your site
20) Referral Program
When selecting a web host, you must look at the entire
picture prior to making your decision. You may find a host
that charges $5.00 - $15.00 a month to host your site,
however, their technical support may be poor, or your web
site may be slow or down a lot.
A lower monthly payment may look appealing, but how much is
it actually going to cost you in lost sales? Most likely
much more than the amount you'll save.
Although there are many web hosting companies online, there
are only two that I can recommend. They are as follows:
Adgrafix - Professional web hosting starting at $19.95/mo.
for a 50MB web hosting package.
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=wh
Host4Profit - Professional web hosting specifically designed
for the Internet marketer. $24.95/mo. for 300MB
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=h4p
Take your time and select the host that best meets your
needs. It will be well worth your time and effort in the
long run.
Copyright © Shelley Lowery 2002.
About the Author:
Shelley Lowery is the author of Web Design Mastery - An in-
depth guide to professional web design. And, Ebook Starter -
A complete ebook design kit. Visit Web-Source.net to sign up
for a free subscription to Etips and receive a free copy of
the highly acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet Marketing
Strategies." http://www.web-source.net
You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your ebook or on your web site, free of charge, as long as the author bylines are included.
| DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware. |
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