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Monday, March 17, 2008

Finding a Dependable Web Host

Finding a Dependable Web Host

Your new website is ready to upload, and now you need a web host. Or perhaps you already have a web host, but uptime and support are lacking. Of the thousands of web hosts to choose from, how do you find one that you can depend on?

Know what can go wrong and what to watch out for, and research prospective web hosts carefully.

What can go wrong with web hosting

Too much downtime
Problems happen, and even when they don’t, server maintenance results in a minimal amount of downtime. A dependable web host not only maintains servers well, but also monitors the servers and fixes problems immediately. With the type of web host you want to avoid, however, your site may be down for days.

Features that don’t work
When your email doesn’t work, your business shuts down. Problems with databases and other features can also slow down or stop your business. Most web hosts understand this, but some don’t place a high priority on keeping not only your site online but everything working as well.

Poor support
Dependable web hosts answer tech support questions within hours. Other web hosts, however, have been known to take days. And when those responses come, sometimes they’re canned responses that don’t address the issue.

Poor communication
Support people with good communication skills help keep problems from becoming bigger problems. Being told, “Everything looks fine here, so the problem is solved,” leads to frustration. So is having your site shut down because it used too many resources rather than the web host contacting you about the problem first.

Billing problems
Even after you cancel your account, problems may continue. Some less-than-dependable web hosts don’t honor their refund policy. Others don’t stop automatic billing after the account is cancelled.

What to watch out for
When you see the following at web host websites, consider them red flags to warn you of possible problems.

Unsustainable pricing
If the pricing looks too good to be true, it probably is. Is it enough to pay for server maintenance and tech support? You get what you pay for.

Unlimited bandwidth
Nothing is really unlimited. If you sign up for an account offering unlimited bandwidth and then use a lot of bandwidth, expect to have the plug pulled on your site. The web host may find another explanation for discontinuing your account, but “unlimited” typically means “as long as you don’t use a lot.”

An unprofessional-looking website
Consider how much effort the web host put into providing a usable website with informative content. Does it give you confidence in the web host, or is it full of unsubstantiated statements and grammar and spelling mistakes? A web host doesn’t need to be a spelling expert, of course. But if the company hasn’t put much effort into telling you about their services, will they be conscientious about meeting clients’ needs?

How to research web hosts
Finding web hosts is easy enough. Search engines can take you to the websites of thousands of web hosts. But after you’ve narrowed down your list by features and price, how do you find out which web hosts are dependable?

Read web host package details and TOS

If the hosting packages offer huge amounts of disk space and bandwidth for very low prices, consider yourself warned. Don’t expect the company to have enough money for maintenance and support.

If you want to be sure that you can get a refund if you want one, check what the Terms of Service (TOS) says about refunds.

Read the web host forum
What is the ambience in the forum? Are clients’ questions answered satisfactorily? Don’t be concerned if you see problems; instead, be concerned if you don’t see any problems. Some web hosts remove posts that don’t show their company in a positive light. If posts about problems remain in the forum, you can observe how the host handles problems.

Read web host reviews
Client feedback at the web host’s site may or may not be valid. It’s possible for hosts to make up feedback, and some have even copied feedback from other sites. Look for feedback with links to the clients’ sites, and check via Whois Source to see if the particular web host actually hosts that site.

Numerous forums allow people to post web host reviews. When you read reviews, consider the poster’s credibility. Some people bash their hosts just because they’re unhappy about something. If the host posts in response to a problem, observe how the host tries to resolve it.

Check the company background
The “About Us” or “Company Background” page at the web host’s site should answer these questions.

* How long has the company been in business? A new company may be excellent, but it’s good to keep in mind that a lot of businesses fail within the first year.
* Does the company publish a privacy policy? Does this policy clearly protect clients’ privacy?
* Where are the servers located? Ideally, they should be in a datacenter, and not in someone’s basement.
* What are the server uptime statistics? If the web host doesn’t publish a link to a server uptime monitor, ask for a link to one. Uptime of about 99.7 percent or higher is generally considered good.
* Does the company publish an address? You may never need it, but when you’re placing your company website in another company’s hands, you want to know that the company is legitimate and accessible.

Email pre-sales questions
Answers to your pre-sales questions tell you a lot about the web host. You’ll see how fast the company responds and how well they communicate. Ask questions about any of the above points as well as questions specific to your needs.

Finding a dependable web host takes time, but dealing with problems and moving your site takes more time. The time spent looking for a dependable web host is a worthwhile investment.

Article Source: Article Beam - a service of A1 Web Server Web Hosting

Top Ten Hosts- List of Top Ten Hosts; User reviews and comments

PLR Ebooks- PLR Ebooks, software, audio, and video products.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Choosing an excellent host: 3 steps

Choosing a Web hosting services provider can be a challenge. There are literally thousands of companies that offer countless products and services. It can be a difficult task for a novice as well as for a seasoned professional, but it doesn’t have to be. We’ve broken the process down into three steps:

Step One: Free or Paid Hosting?
Step Two: Determine Expectations
Step Three: Compare Hosts in the Right Category

Step One: Free or Paid Hosting?
To Pay or Not To Pay?
A large percentage of Web sites are ‘free’ and posted by individuals for personal reasons. Typically, these sites are associated with one of the larger portals such as Yahoo or AOL and consist of a page or two with limited content. If you’re looking to put up a personal site like this, look no further than the solutions offered by these two companies. The tools and applications such as email, community interest portals and photo management software provided are straightforward and make setting your site up very easy.

The downside to free hosting? Generally you'll have to put up with banner ads on your homepage or other ads you don’t get to pick. To be fair, it’s how these companies can afford to set up your infrastructure for free. All the same, you have no control over whose ad shows up on your site. If that’s unacceptable, a paid hosting solution (some start lower than $5/mo) might be your best bet. Some low cost solutionas are EasyCGI, IPower, and StartLogic.

Most Web hosting companies bundle services into a series of packages. The standard hosting service component is normally a bundle of disk storage space (where your site is stored) and bandwidth (the capacity for data transfer of a wired or wireless communication system.) In addition, hosting companies usually bundle email services with standard plans. The email service contains POP and IMAP solutions which direct email received through your site to desktop applications (Outlook® or Exchange®.) “Web-mail” is also provided to view and manage email through a Web browser.

Frequently, small businesses want a Web site that functions only as an online brochure that provides information about the business but not sell products. Standard packages are ideal if you’re building a simple brochure site. Additional service packages offer eCommerce, media intensive applications for video and audio sharing and dedicated servers, designed to back-up more complex business requirements. Paid solutions pretty much come down to whether you’re going to sell products and services online or just display information in a brochure format and what kind of customer and technical support you’ll require.

Step Two: Determine Expectations
You Get What you Pay For
There are basically two price levels prevalent in Web hosting. There’s a large group of Low Price or Discount hosts that offer nice solutions from below $5 to $15 per month and there are hosts that offer solutions that start above $15 and the pricing goes up from there. Companies such as Affinity have developed a number of different hosting brands to help simplify the customer experience. As an example, Affinity uses the HostSave and WinSave brands for their low-cost hosting solutions and the ValueWeb brand for their premium services.

Customer service is usually the primary difference between inexpensive hosting solutions and the higher priced options. Here’s where the “you get what you pay for” maxim comes into play. Prior to choosing a provider its important to determine how serious you are. In other words, if the site is your small business lifeline, where you’ll find customers, display, sell and even ship products you probably don’t want a hosting company that won’t answer calls when there’s a problem. On the contrary, many experienced professionals would rather not talk to someone and prefer technical support and customer service through email or online chat.

Clarifying expectations ahead of time can mean the difference between a great online experience or completely frustrated and without support. The extra $10 per month may be worth the piece of mind it buys.

Step Three: Compare Hosts in the Right Category
Once you know whether you need a standard hosting plan or an eCommerce solution and whether low price or premium (a.k.a. better customer support) hosting is right for you, it’s time to shop. Any of the major search engines will provide a multitude of responses with a query such as Web Hosting or eCommerce hosting. You can even narrow your search with more definition. A search for “Cheap eCommerce hosting” will yield mostly companies whose solutions fall in the low price category. Actually, you don't even have to go to a search engine to find cheap hosts. Everything you need is here. Go to Hosting Reviews and you will find a large list of hosts, all with reviews, user comments and ratings. From there you can find the cheapest or best host to suit your needs.

Take some time and visit several hosting company’s Web sites. Go over plan options and see which offer the services and support that match your expectations. Because of the similarities, hosting plans can become confusing. Most major providers have a “Compare Plans” page you can print. Its good to print out the various packages and have them in hand while you shop.

Using Affinity’s ValueWeb brand as an example, some hosts offer a portal where you’re free to ask existing customers if they’re satisfied and recommend the provider. Look for this function as you shop, it’s an excellent tool in how to determine whether a company is right for you. Unless you’re an experienced professional you shouldn’t buy a solution without at least first talking to a sales rep at the company. This gives a sense of the company’s commitment to its customers. Many also call the technical support numbers to see how long it takes to answer and how friendly and knowledgeable the staff is. Companies such as Affinity, combined sales and support departments so when you order an account you’re talking to a technical support representative as well. This creates a forum in which all questions can be answered without having to be transferred to other departments.

It’s important to find a hosting relationship that fits your needs and who’s level of involvement you feel comfortable with. Following these steps will make choosing a Web hosting solution easier and, hopefully, even fun.

Article Source: Article Beam - a service of A1 Web Server Web Hosting

Web Hosting Reviews- List of Top Ten Hosts; User reviews and comments

Private Label Rights Products- PLR Ebooks, software, audio, and video products.

Dummy's Guide To Finding a Web Host

One of the terms that new Web users see over and over is "Web Hosting." A basic question we get from these folks is, "What is a Web Host?" and "What is Web Hosting?" This is natural for people who are new to the terminology of the Internet. They see the term "Web Host" pop up all the time on the Internet at various sites. Who better to ask for a definition than Web-Hosting-Reviewz ?
Definition
The term "Web Hosting" is simple, but the mechanics behind it are not. Web Hosting is a term that was coined to explain the services performed by someone that "hosts" a Web site on the World Wide Web. You already know that a host is someone that facilitates an event, or a function, like the host at a party, or an emcee on the radio or TV. In our case, a "host" involves a computer that is setup to control the networking and communications necessary to allow a Web Site to display specially formatted documents on the World Wide Web. Typically, these documents are formatted using a special language called HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) that supports mouse click connections to other similar documents on the World Wide Web. These HTML documents are normally called Web Pages, and you are looking at one such page now in your browser window. To keep track of these Web pages in an organized manner, individual and specific areas are set-aside for them called Web Sites. A Web Site may hold one Web page, or thousands. Web sites are stored on "host" computers that are connected to the Internet and setup to communicate their contents to the rest of the Internet. The people and companies that handle these special computers are called Web Hosts. The computers that handle the Web Hosting chores are called Servers, and they may serve any number of Web sites, one or even hundreds.
A Web Host ensures that the Web Servers that contain the Web Sites are functioning properly all of the time. That may include adding a customer's Web sites to the Servers, moving Web sites from one Server to another, deleting old Web Sites, monitoring the amount of Internet traffic and activity taking place and a multitude of other tasks required to ensure smooth operation. Web Host companies come in various shapes and sizes, and many specialize in certain types of Hosting. Our staff at Web-Hosting-Reviewz refers to these special Web Hosting types as Web Host Communities.
Impact
There is little argument in the fact that the Internet and the World Wide Web have changed the world forever. The Internet has greatly affected the economies of all the major industrial nations, and is beginning to have its affect on other nations as well. However, it is important to remember that the Internet would be nothing without the Web Host. Every single one of the millions and millions of Web sites, from simple one-page advertisements to e-commerce online super stores, reside on a Web Server that is administered by a Web Host in some capacity.
URLs, Domains and Addresses
Each Web site has a "home" on the World Wide Web and each home has an address. In fact, this is much like your own home where there is an actual physical area where each Web site resides. As mentioned above, this physical area is called a Web Server. A Web Server "serves up" Web pages and is actually somewhat similar to your personal computer except that it is capable of connecting to the Internet in a manner that allows the rest of the Internet to see the Web sites residing there.
In its simplest form, space is "rented" on a Web Server for a Web site, much like renting property. The Web Host facilitates the Hosting efforts by creating an "address" for the site on the World Wide Web so the Internet community can find it. A Web site address is generally called a URL (Uniform Resource Locator). In fact, every page on the Internet has a URL, with the URL being the primary method through which you find the Web site.

Along with the name and path of the actual Web Page document, the URL includes a Domain name or a series of numbers called an IP address. Like your home address, the URL makes it easy for people to find any Web site on the Internet.
So what is an IP Address? This is a unique set of numbers that Web Servers connected to the Internet are identified by. An IP (Internet Protocol) address is composed of 4 sets of numbers separated by periods (such as 111.222.33.444 - sometime called a "dotted quad") and hence is fairly difficult to remember. IP Addresses are great for computers talking to one another, but most of us use normal words in our communication so we assign an identifier, called a Domain Name, to the IP address. The Domain Name makes it easier to remember and use.
You probably already know what a Domain Name is. It's the familiar "DOT COM" name you see in commercials. Web-Hosting-Reviewz and Yahoo are examples of Domain names. The IP Address hardly matters to us as long as we know the Domain Name.
Basic Kinds of Web Hosts
There are plenty of Web Host companies that will rent you space on a web server and there are a wide range of services available to you. Services can range from free hosting to buying your own Web Server for your private use. However, choosing a host is not an easy task. There are so many features, services and options to consider. The most important factor is making sure that the host you choose will provide everything that you need. For instance, if you wanted to build a, E-Commerce store on the Internet, you would consider a Web Host that could provide at least the following:
• The ability to gather data
• The ability to show data to mass quantities of people
• The ability to sell consumer products and services electronically
• The facilitation of ideas on a global scale
Web Host providers have four basic types. These four basic types are the foundation of the majority of all Web Hosting on the Internet.
Sub-Domain
Sub-Domains are web plans that do not have their own web domain name. They reside in a sub-directory of a primary domain. These can include both free and pay packages. On the whole, the price is cheaper and the sub-domain plans are easier to setup with no addition costs of registering a domain name. The major drawback is name recognition. Since they are but branches off of a larger tree, the URLs are longer and harder to remember. For e-commerce sites, the 'piggy-backing' of a electronic store to another domain gives a less polished feel.

Virtual
A step above sub-domains in both professional polish and complication, virtual web sites are the most common. A virtual web site is one that has a domain name off of a server, which incorporates multiple users. Unlike sub-domains, virtual Web sites have a slightly higher price do to the registering of a domain name, but there is a lot more freedom as to content, size, usage, etc. Virtual web sites are your standard-issue Web site.

Web Server/Dedicated Server
Explained in more detail later in this article, dedicated and co-located web sites are the heavy hitters of the web host world. A dedicated server is a server designed solely for either one or a few customers. Because of this, service, space, overall usage, and control are at an optimum level.Dedicated users get a great deal of options and garner a lot of tech support from the web host provider staff. For this, these power users get a highly polished, good quality site, with room for lots of data, and even separate programs for a high cost.
Co-Location Servers
Co-Location servers are almost identical to dedicated servers with on exception. The machine itself is owned by the user (not rented) and is located in the web host provider's server buildings. Co-located servers use the web host provider's links to the Internet and infrastructure investments such as UPS systems, diesel generators, and climate control systems. Users usually have to pay the price of buying a whole server and renting out the location and usage of Internet connections, however single user use and access is guaranteed.
Our Main Web Hosting Communities (See Our Web Hosting Community)
We took the most popular categories of Web Hosting and divided them up into nine Web Host Sections. The following text outlines these categories and gives a brief description of each.
Cheap Hosting (or Budget Hosting):
We classify Cheap Web Hosts as ones that provide a standard grouping of services and hosting plans for less than 7.95 per month. These hosts provide a key stepping stone for users looking to move from Free Web Hosting to paid hosting, but do not want to pay a large monthly fee.
Budget Hosting plans typically include the following features:
• Own domain name (www.yourdomain )
• 1 to 25MB of disk space
• 1 to 10 e-mail accounts
• FTP account
• Microsoft FrontPage Support
• Basic Technical Support

Typical Budget Hosting Customers are:
• Family sites (photo albums, etc.)
• Single-page brochure sites
• Hobby sites
• Small personal interest sites

Database Hosting
The use of web-enabled databases provides of means of changing the way Web sites can be managed, produced and scaled. The use of a database as a means of holding Web page resources is an efficient means of data storage, allowing for easier search operations and a cleaner means of presentation. However, to use web-based databases requires both an understanding of database software, Web usage, and, in some cases, different aspects of programming languages.
The rise of interest in full-fledge database accounts continues as the Web Hosting industry provides more Internet connectivity as well as old-fashioned networking (intranet) capabilities. Database storage design is such that easy access and transfer of information is making it the number one way of transport ideas across both inter and intranets.
Typical Database Hosting plans include the following:
• 25MB to 1GB + of disk space
• Support for database applications (SQL, mySQL, and others)
• Advanced technical support options
• Sub-domains and redirect capabilities

Typical users of Database Hosting include:
• Museums
• Libraries
• Collectors
• Auction Sites
• Catalog Sites

E-Commerce Hosting
With the rising growth of the Internet, businesses are learning new ways to expand their storefronts. Businesses across the board are finding that the Internet hosts a multitude of opportunities for success. However, the task of setting up an e-commerce Web site is often not as simple as it seems. The Internet is proving to be the great equalizer, allowing the smallest of businesses to access markets and present a presence that allows them to compete against the giants in the industry.
Most small and mid-size online businesses aren't candidates for hosting their own sites in-house. The cost of running an in-house operation as opposed to the profits one would make from such a venture renders the option unfeasible. Fortunately, there are alternatives. Companies specializing in E-Commerce Hosting abound, and enable even the smallest e-business to gain an online presence quickly and inexpensively.
Typical E-Commerce Hosting plans include:
• Own domain name
• 100MB to 1GB + of disk space
• 10 to 1000 e-mail accounts
• E-mail autoresponders
• E-commerce tools including storefront software
• Payment gateway and merchant service assistance

Typical users of E-Commerce Hosting include
• Stores
• Auctions
• Catalog Sites

Free Hosting
Fairly self-explanatory, free web sites are just that, free. Space, content freedom, and many other areas are severely limited. Technical assistance is virtually non-existent and the ability to make money off the site can be just as difficult. Free Web sites are good for dabbling in development and practice web creation as well as making personal or family Web sites, but not much else.
Typical Free Hosting plans include:
• Sub-domain (www.yourdomain.somehost )
• 1-5 E-mail accounts
• FTP upload support only
• E-mail only technical support

The typical users of Free Hosting include:
• Internet newcomers
• Teens
• Hobbyists

Full Service Hosting
A Full Service Host is a host that provides a thorough set of features and options. The technical staff also provides extra attention and care for its clientele. Items such as 24/7 technical support should not be unheard of. Features such as ASP, PHP3, CGI support, predefined CGI, Custom 404 pages, etc. should be standard.
Customers looking for full service sites usually require one or more of the following:
• More hard drive space
• More bandwidth
• Better Technical Support
• Need for advanced features
• Need for 'extended' services

Most Full Service Hosting plans will include:
• Own domain
• 24X7 Technical Support
• Advanced scripting support
• Database support
• Basic e-commerce support
• 25MB to 1GB = of disk space
Typical users of Full Service hosting include:
• Larger companies/organizations looking for stability
• Professional Web developers
• Small to medium sized businesses looking for a Web interface to existing systems

Article Source: Article Beam - a service of A1 Web Server Web Hosting

Top Ten Hosts- List of Top Ten Hosts; User reviews and comments

PLR Ebooks- PLR Ebooks, software, audio, and video products.

Choosing A Reliable Web Hosting Service

Choosing A Reliable Web Hosting Service

A web hosting service is essential for anybody wishing to do business online and there is certainly no shortage of companies stepping forward to take your business. In many ways this huge range of choices for consumers is a great thing, but, it also means that making a decision on where to host your websites becomes that much more difficult.

The web hosting industry has seen its fair share of companies making big promises and under delivering time and again. The end result is a minefiled of misinformation and disappointed customers who often take it upon themselves to do everything in their power to discredit the hosting company who they feel has done them an injustice.

When you enter the web hosting arena as a new customer, you will often face the difficult task of trying to decide just what is true about the company's you investigate and what is not. On the one hand, there will be aggressive cautions against using one firm while somewhere else you will read a glowing report on their services. If you are new to the whole subject, it often feels as though you are negotiating a minefield and feel like bashing your head against a wall in sheer frustration.

Is there a simple response to the question you most want answered - 'who is the best web host for me?' Unfortunately, the answer to that is almost certainly 'no'.

No matter who you turn to for advice, there will always be a conflict of opinion arising somewhere along your avenues of enquiry. Web hosting is like that. It is an industry where some people are almost fanatical in their condemnation of a particular hosting company, and often their anger and resentment is out of all proportion to the situation that brought it on. Sometimes of course complaints are justified - the web hosting industry is far from perfect and faces few controls or official standards. Rubbing shoulders with those crying foul to anyone who will listen, are those who wax lyrical about a company, when, in point of fact, they have no experience of the company whatsoever and whose only interest is in trying to earn an affiliate commission.

Hosting companies and hosting deals come in so many different shapes and sizes that it is impossible to cover them in an introductory article such as this. However, here are a few pointers to help you when entering the very competitive world of web hosting services.

1) It seems obvious, but do your research before you buy. If you find a deal that seems to be just what you are looking for, don't let the odd dissatisfied or negative review put you off. There probably isn't a single hosting company in existence that hasn't had any bad feedback. Use your commonsense - if you find nothing but bad feedback, then it probably holds some water.

2) There is no definitive "best deal" in the web hosting arena. What you should be looking for is a package that bests suits you, both in terms of features and budget. Before you shop around, make a list of things that are important to you.

3) A lot of hosting company's work through affiliates. This should not be seen as a red flag by any means. The hugely competitive market place makes an affiliate program almost an essential requirement for these companies. You will also often find that the only way to benefit from special deals and discount coupons is to go through an affiliate.

4) Don't believe everything you read. Many disgruntled customers who have not chosen wisely, or who have failed to read a particular company's terms and conditions, bring about their own problems. This is very common in the web hosting field, and many customers try to blame their misunderstandings on the company. The more vitriolic the attacks on a particular host, the more often you should look for reasoned and calm assessments of their shortcomings. Obviously if you see nothing but bad press, you should be wary. The larger the company's customer base, the more likely you are to find complaints, but the law of averages will always make this so.

Read through some web hosting forums in search of feedback by all means, but remember that some of the invective posted by users often has little in the way of both sides of a particular story. Pay attention to those who give calm and well reasoned feedback, not those who cuss and rage.

5) If you have questions, ask the company before you sign up. This is also a good way to see how prompt and effective their customer service channels are. A good host will offer various channels of communication for their customers, usually telephone, live online support and email. 24/7 support covers a wide range of interpretations! I

6) As a new webmaster, you may have no idea of how much bandwidth or storage space you are going to need and unfortunately nobody can really give you an answer to such questions. If you are buying hosting for the first time, don't be blinded by huge numbers, because often they are meaningless. Shared hosting deals are usually perfectly adequate for those just starting out. You can always upgrade your hosting plan as your business grows - in many cases you will find that you won't need to do this for some time, so unless you are expecting to see hundreds of thousands of visitors as soon as you launch your website or blog or are going to be hosting huge amounts of data from the outset, don't worry too much about this.

7) If you are hosting a business related site, reliability and technical support are going to be major considerations. Guarantees of uptime are not always reliable, but, a company should have the confidence to be able to offer 99.9% - if they don't, whilst their honesty is to be applauded, maybe they are not the place for your business site. Excessive downtime costs money and loses you customers. Reliability is very important. If you are not operating a commercial site, this may not be quite such a vital consideration but it is reassuring to know that your site is not going to be offline when people are trying to visit you!

8) Cheapest is not always best. The temptation to control your monthly budget is a strong one and there are many very cheap deals on offer. Whilst these should not be dismissed out of hand, for business users they should be studied very carefully. Good quality hosting is not expensive, but neither is it available for pennies a month. You will find, as with most things, that the universal rule, 'you get what you pay for', applies to hosting too. Good shared hosting is still available at very reasonable prices - being cheap may cost you dear.

9) Some hosting companies are geared towards certain specialities. If you are involved in the adult industry for example, some hosts will not want your business. It is pointless to try and use a hosting company who don't want your type of website on their servers. It's not just adult sites that sometimes require specialist hosting and if you think that your online operation is in any way out of the ordinary, talk to your list of potential hosts before signing up.

10) Choosing a good hosting company at the outset will save a lot of potential grief as your business grows. Being cheap at the start may well end up costing you much more in terms of lost time and hassle a little farther down the road. Steer clear of free hosting for any serious business operation.

There are a couple of hosting companies who, in addition to their hosting services, also offer monthly recurring commissions under their affiliate programs. If you are looking to offset the costs of your web hosting, this can be a good way to do so and even to see a residual income from supporting and promoting your webhost. This is not something offered by the majority of hosts, but if it is something that appeals to you, you will find more information in the resource links quoted below.

The world of web hosting is often a confusing soup of jargon and conflicting opinion, but eventually you will have to make a decision. Hopefully these basic pointers will help to guide you towards a sensible purchase and a happier future relationship with your hosting company.

Article Source: Article Beam - a service of A1 Web Server Web Hosting

Maurice Snell writes regularly at his marketing blog and also operates a weeb hosting directory where you can find specialist hosting for online marketers and affordable hosting and domain names

Choosing the right web Hosting Company

Web hosting companies have mushroomed in the market with the growth in the web hosting business over the last few years. It has become quite hard to be a web hosting company nowadays. With the growth in business almost every web hosting company now offers reseller hosting, so starting your own company for web hosting has become quite easy and profitable as the initial investments in this case are low.

But choosing right hosting solutions requires some precise knowledge and guidelines. First of all you should be well aware of your hosting requirements. You won’t be requiring a great bandwidth and huge disk space if you are planning to start a small website. No one will suggest you to go for expensive hosting plans in this case. You can go for any shared hosting company and save some of your precious investment. You can also compare plans being offered by these shared hosting companies and choose the one which suits you best.

If you are looking for big space and huge bandwidth then you must go for dedicated server or VPS. Dedicated servers are recommended for those people who are having large websites with many advanced features and which require continuous updating. If you are going to have huge data transfer through your website then dedicated server is recommended as in case of forums. But in case of static websites which do not require huge bandwidth and disk space and blogs, shared hosting is recommended as it saves you money.

Once you have penned down your hosting needs, go to some of the top hosting companies and have a look at their hosting features. You won’t be required to look at advanced features such as perl, mysql.php etc when you are going for a static website. But for blog or dynamic website you should look for these features as these features will be needed. Nowadays almost all hosts provide Fantastico, a feature which automatically installs Wordpress and other scripts within few seconds when required. If you are planning for a dynamic website then do not forget to look for the latest version of PHP i.e. PHP5 which has some advanced features when compared to PHP4. It has many inbuilt advanced features and programming libraries which are very useful if you are a PHP developer.

As far as reliability on the hosting company is concerned, it can be easily measured once you go through the features list of the concerned company. You can also go to some forum having discussions related to web hosting and type the name of the company in search box and check the reviews of the company. Here you can find all the negative and positive aspects of the company and can decide the best option for you. You can also go through the testimonials of the clients if being posted on the websites. Some advice from friends or experienced people is also useful in deciding right company for you. Never ignore any warning when you are asking someone any advice.

Article Source: Article Beam - a service of A1 Web Server Web Hosting

Abdul Vasi is a Marketing Expert specialized in Internet Marketing, His Linux Shared Hosting Company Linux Reseller Hosting provides you with reliable but affordable web hosting solution for your online business.

To Select Proper Web Hosting Company.

By: rupali01

Having the right hosting can make all the difference in the world. But with thousands of web hosting companies in the market place it can be difficult if not impossible to know which web site hosting companies truly provide an excellent hosting solution.

You can make a list before selecting for the perfect web-hosting provider.Which includes disk space and bandwidth at the first place which are to be decided as per the type of website that you are to launch. How much space web-hosting provider will give you for your account. If you simply want a single page on the Internet with little or no graphics, you can get by with purchasing an account with the smallest amount of space available. However, if you are planning to create a full e-commerce site with multiple pages and order forms, you will need to make sure you have enough server space to support your entire operation.

Last but not the least user should determine the amount of data transfer. Data transfer (or bandwidth) is simply the amount of information of data that is received by way of the time frame. The more people that drop in on your website, the more bandwidth is used. The amount of files that are downloaded from your site during a four-week period should be smaller than the portion of bandwidth that the web hosting company allows you.

In addition, it would also include server speed and uptime for proper functioning of your website. Other than the checklist, it is insistent to perform a systematic research before you finalize your website hosting company so that their reliability and support proves undisputable. But that is not the end of web site hosting! The next stage would include picking the right hosting type/plan. You must decide a web hosting plan based on reliability and your requirement. Other than choosing benefits and space, you must give top priority to a hosting company who values reliability as the top most feature of a hosting company.

You are to choose the most suitable type of hosting - a shared hosting, a dedicated server, virtual private web server or collocation. Shared Web Hosting is ideal if you want your site online within 24 hours! , you have little or no technical experience and Want low cost hosting solutions. A dedicated hosting account is one that is most often used by advanced webmasters who know the ins and the outs of hosting and all the protocols that go with it. However, there are also plans that offer management services as well so that you can concentrate solely on your sites. Server Collocation is another concept for the ones who own server hardware and wants to have complete control over the configuration of server. The Collocation specialists provide connectivity to user's server through a fast internet connection, usually in a secure datacenter, with complete support round the clock.

Thus before finalizing web hosting provider one must keep in mind all the specification described above.

Article Source: Article Beam - a service of A1 Web Server Web Hosting