Choosing a Web Host: About Web Hosting and More

You must have worked very hard in creating your website, so don’t let the work go in vain by adopting half-hearted efforts in getting the website online. You have three options to choose from in this regard. First, you can host the site directly on your computer, second is hosting it on a server, and the third option is to get a third-party host it. The first two alternatives are mostly used in practice and are good for people with a fast internet connection, and even for sites that are inclined towards businesses. Monitoring regularly is required for the maintenance of the web server in this case.

So, if you forget about these two options, the other option that remains is that of having a web-hosting company for this job. When we talk about such companies, it must be said that they are planned to accommodate your site with the aid of their server. The interesting thing is that you have the chance to get into it in order to upload your files on the site. If the aspect of web-hosting is categorized into different sections, we get three types of web-hosting. They are free web-hosting, paid web-hosting and dedicated web-hosting. The most expensive option is that of the dedicated web-hosting and this is perfect if your site is in need of a great attention. Here, the company lives up to the task of hosting your website on their server with their connection.

You need a huge cost to go for a dedicated web hosting and is mainly suitable for websites which is expected to have a good number of hits. The web host company hosts your website on their server, while using their connection.

Then comes the two other options – free web hosting and paid web hosting. It is very normal if a question comes into your mind as to why anyone would pay for a service which he can get for free. There are many advantages which accrue to a paid web hosting.

If it is a paid web-hosting, you have fast connection (if compared to free web-hosting) and much more responsibility and technical support. Not only this, they live up to your requirements at the drop of a hat and you also don’t get any unnecessary advertisements on your page.

There are some free web hosting companies which refrain from putting banners on your site, but they offer substandard services. In fact, many free web hosts have attractive features, but the low level of technical support is what pulls them down. A free web hosting package is good for entry-level webmasters. Web hosting companies offer certain features as mentioned below, but keep in mind that the list is inclusive and not exhaustive. But prior to that, you need to get friendly with a few terms:

URL/Address: If you don’t have a domain name, then you might need a URL address.

Space- as a web page most sites require very little space, and 5MB is adequate for a small site, which will take over a hundred pages. Most of the times graphics take up about 35KB of space, but if it is a graphics intensive site, or one featuring downloads, then you will need around 15-20MB. Unlimited space though offered by many web-hosts is not required as such.

Bandwidth/ transfer- this is a monthly affair, and accounts for the total number of files transferred from your site in a month. The best option being unlimited bandwidth. You need no less than 1GB per month for average sites.

CGI-BIN- This is of paramount significance as far as your dealing with interactive scripts like guest-books, counters is concerned. It provides you with the facility of remote hosting also bearing the banners from the site that live up to the task of presenting them.

SSI- a special function feature, which lets you maneuver the server to include something on your page. It could be anything like simple text or CGI generated code etc.

MySQL/ASP/PHP Support: These are basically database formats which help you maintain database on your website. ASP’s normally generate key sites.

Technical Assistance- As mentioned earlier, a paid host can endow you with better technical support than a free host and your site is in a great need of this. This technical assistance can be had through either e-mail, phone or fax.

E- mail- particularly if you have a domain name, most web-hosts will convey e-mails for you. A POP3 mail service permits you to connect to their server and get your own messages rather than have them readdress those to you.

FrontPage Extensions- these are some extensions that you require if you employ Microsoft FrontPage to construct your web-site. You can also include FrontPage components in your site.

SSL/Secure Server- It gives you the advantage of having secure ordering facilities as far as your website is concerned.

Statistics/ Log Files- this section provides you with information about your users, like what files have been downloaded and which of the pages have been accessed.

FTP Accounts- with anonymous FTP, users can log in to an area of your site and download files. These allow you to upload files on your website.

About Paid-hosting: most free web-hosting can be upgraded to ad-free hosting for a minimal monthly fee and usually with better technical support. So you can search out a better web-host and dump those unwanted advertisements. It usually costs $5 to $75 per month, as compared to the dedicated servers which cost around $150 per month.

If you are paying your web-host you must enquire about certain things like, a list of the sites hosted by them. You could get in touch with some of these sites and verify the web-host details from the site-owners. And do ask about the technical support they are willing to provide you with as it the most important service they can render.

Lastly, always read the fine print. Go over the terms and conditions, since it has been seen that some free web-hosts claim ownership of the copyright of YOUR page and bar you from advertising on your own website! Keep in mind the restrictions and stipulations before venturing to put up you website on the internet.

About The Author : William MacMahon is a professional blogger and server admin in the web hosting industry. Visit WebHostingMadness.com to join him on his search for the top hosting companies each month.