Web Hosting - Choose
Affordable, Cheap Web Hosting
by: Declan Tobin
The Basics:
Web hosting offers you the opportunity to put your web site online,
when you think about it; it’s the only way you can do it. No
matter how large or small in content your web site happens to be
it has to go onto a web server. A web server is simply a larger and
much more powerful computer than your own. Your internet content
simply sits on this server for people to access and view your information.
The web servers are stored within data centers, all you are simply
doing is renting some space on the server.
Why use a web hosting service:
Firstly it’s very affordable. Web hosting companies will look
after and update all software required to maintain your site, they
will also add all security patches making sure your content is safe
from hackers/viruses and unwanted spam. Once you register your domain
name (web site name) you have to have it hosted for the public to
view your information. If you run into any difficulties you will
have a full technical support team to help you out. To host your
own will cost too much on hardware, bandwidth and ongoing software
updates.
I hear of shared web hosting – What is it?
When shopping around for a web host company you will find that many
are offering shared web hosting. Shared web hosting is simply a server
that has a number of different web sites sitting on it simultaneously.
You will be allocated a certain amount of disk space on the server
and this may allow you to have a number of web sites hosted on the
one server. Shared web hosting is a very secure service even though
you could be sharing the server with many different companies. No
other company will have access to your files. Many people think that
using a shared service will make the web site act very slowly, this
is totally incorrect, the information will be displayed and downloaded
equally as fast as if it where on the server on it’s own. Web
host companies offer shared hosting simply to use up all the space
on the server, there is no benefit to you or them having empty hard
disk space.
What makes a good web host site?
If you have developed a web site for business opportunity or to
sell merchandise online you need reliability. Downtime costs you
money so the less downtime you experience the better chance of making
money. You need to compile a list of questions to ask the web host
company when it comes to hosting your site. You need a guarantee
response time if the unthinkable should happen and the site goes
offline. You need 24 hour access to your files with 24 hour support
if you intend selling products online, most of your sales could be
made in the evening or night time so you have to have support for
any issues that could arise. Statistics are also important; you need
to know how many unique hits (people visiting your site) you are
getting so you can see the trend of people just visiting to those
who are buying. Some web host companies offer very substantial stats
while others can be less informative, you should ask for a demonstration.
Word of mouth is a great way to hear as to who is a good host and
a bad host. If you know somebody in a similar position to you, ask
their opinion from their experience. There are plenty of good honest
web host companies out there but like every market there are a few
bad apples. Ask the questions and make sure you are confident with
the replies before you join up.
Will it matter if I host my web site in my own country or in another?
Generally speaking no. If you are happy with your questions answered
and the company have 24 hour support to allow for time differences
you should have the same level service as if the web host company
was based just down the road. Some people think that by hosting their
website outside of their registered country they will lose their
domain identity, this is false e.g. if I was based in Ireland and
I had a computer website it would be something like www.computerparts.ie The .ie
is the identity of Ireland but if I wanted this site hosted in the
US I would still keep the .ie, there is no need to change to .com.
That’s the great thing about web hosting, the world is your
oyster and you can shop online globally until your are truly happy
with the service.
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