What is web hosting?
Do I need to pay web hosting ?
Above used terms may be incomprehensible to those who have no idea, what web hosting is.
What is web hosting?
Web hosting is a way of placing the website on the Internet for people to view globally. Once you have placed your website on a server anyone can access it by typing its domain name in their web browser. Access to the site is possible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
To place your website in the network, you must:
- Have your own domain name;
- Copy of your website files on your own system in html or in the language you have built your website pages;
- Script that lets you to build a website directly on the server.
You need to find and purchase a domain name from a professional domain name registration services. It is advisable to choose a domain which indicates the niche of your site and easy to remember. Its your decision, which domain extension you choose .Com, .Net, .Org or .Info . However, the most recommended domain extension is the .Com extension, which allows you to target the global audience. If you site is a commercial site then you should go with .Com, and if your site is related to any government agencies then its should use .Gov and if its a community organizations then you should opt for a .Org domain extension. Remember that regional domains indicates membership site to any region. Though its an optional rule, but its worth to remember.
Buy a cheap web hosting plan from the professional companies selling hosting services. The choice of hosting plans is a different topic for conversation, thus, in this article we’ll not discuss it.
What is a server ?
It is a machine located in the premises of a web hosting service provider and connected into a worldwide network that stores a copy of a website. Normally, a single server can hold a lot of websites, due to the availability of large disk space on the server. However, it doesn’t matter, what is more important is the server volume, its computing power and the bandwidth of the hosting service provider.
A website can be easily viewed or accessed simply by typing the website address (www.example.com) in your choice of web browser.
Web hosting can also be taken on rent. There are lots of hosting companies offering hosting services for a small fee, but not many can provide quality web hosting services. Well, talking about the cost of hosting, note that it should not exceed a price of $10 per month. Within this cost, you can find a reliable hosting company that offers around 300MB of disk space on a a server and with great features such as an application like Fantastico or Softaculous to install and run scripts withing few clicks, an administrative control panel to manage all your website aspects, database support and the most importantly 24/7 customer support via live chat, phone and email.
If you are planning to open a branch in the network must not only decide what level will be your website, but also the right to choose your hosting provider. Statistically, over 75% of website owners switch from one host to another at least once. This switching is called dissatisfaction with the quality of the hosting services. Its a shame for a hosting provider, when a client switch to another host just because of the quality issues.
Indeed, any provider says that their service is the best, and they got the lowest prices, etc. But, afterwards it turns out that their customer service does not respond to the issues, and with a delay time the server hangs out due to the heavy traffic. Such carelessness in choosing a provider can bring big losses to your business. Just imagine, that means no access to the company website, where every half-hour update of important information for staff in remote branch offices. Imagine that your potential clients of the firm can not find a contact phone or email, because they cannot get into the site. Perhaps half an hour later they had not made a second attempt to enter the site. Perhaps half an hour later they will find other competing firms. Damage from the hovering servers can be overwhelming.
To avoid making mistakes in selecting a hosting company, it is advisable that you should visit the webmaster forums and web hosting reviews and rating sites, where people discuss about hosting companies services. Carefully read the views of customers about the different hosting provider. Next is to choose the hosting plan.
Web hosting plans cost is generally characterized by the size of disk space, possible number of sub-domains, the restriction on outgoing traffic. Of course, after you have selected some of the most reputable hosting companies must compare their tariff plans. When comparing the requirements, remember that the plan should meet your needs. Following are some features must be consider.
- Size of disk space provided;
- Ability to create multiple email addresses;
- Ability to host multiple domain names and sub-domains;
- Ability to install and run applications;
- FTP access to the server;
- Administrative panel to control the server aspects;
- 24×7 customer support via Live Chat, Phone and Email (tickets).
If you want to host multiple domains then a simple domain web hosting plans can do quite well for you. If your first web site will consist of multiple pages and the logo, then it is quite suitable tariff plan, where the amount of disk space will be from 100 to 500 MB. This is more than enough. Less than 100 MB of disk space no longer offers almost none of the hosting provider.
With mailing addresses easier – almost all providers give at the disposal of an unlimited number of addresses within the same domain. A limit may be only on the number of individual POP3 and SMTP accounts. This means that, despite the different addresses, you have a limited number of individual compounds using the mail program.
Install and run the scripts would be necessary if the website is built on dynamic pages, or you need to implement search function within the site. If your site is built entirely on statistical html-pages, the startup scripts is of minor importance.
Access to the server via FTP is quite necessary. FTP access makes things simple and clear.
The control panel at first sight does not have high value. But when it comes to analysis, it becomes much more important. With the help of the control panel, you can not just install customize the site, but also obtain the statistical information about the site, such as: how much disk space used / available, what is the rate of outgoing traffic for this month (as a rule, all providers set limits on outbound traffic) and the incoming traffic stats to set a new target. Using the control panel you can easily operate with the settings of the site and email to create, configure and manage folders and set permissions to the files and folders within your site directory.
Calculation of the outgoing traffic is very important. As you know that hosting providers always set a limit to the outgoing traffic. You might have to pay for exceeding the limit of bandwidth. Calculating the average level of bandwidth is easy enough. Calculate the average volume of pages, including graphics that are on it. Remember that when loading of other pages that use previously uploaded image, again he is not taken from your website, and from the cache the user’s computer. Now will predict how many pages the average user can see and think for the average number of users per day. Now multiply the volume of pages on the number of pages and the number of users per day. You will get the approximate amount of outgoing traffic per day. Multiply the number by 30 days – you get the approximate amount of bandwidth your will need per month. Choose a plan accordingly.
If the bandwidth amout is too much, do not worry, it’s just your assumption. Maybe you will have much less visitors than you have calculated, and each will visit fewer pages.
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