Whether you're an entrepreneur thinking about starting a website business or just a website programmer looking for a good website host, its a good idea to learn how web hosting works to ensure that your website launch goes smoothly.
There are tons of website hosting companies on the internet, and each offer a different list of services for different types of websites. Here are some of the common features that you'll see on most web hosts and how to decipher them.
Website Space: Website space is the actual location of where your website files and images are stored. Your HTML web pages and even your web programming pages will be stored at this location. Some website firms offer 100MB and others offer up to 10,000MB or more.
If your website only takes up five to seven pages then even 100mb might be too much space since most regular web pages take up very little space.
If your web pages are content based and requires lots of images, text, articles, videos, then you should ensure that your host has more then 100mb of webspace. Often though webspace will not be a major factor when searching for a webhost. Most companies will provide a lot web space for the average website.
Bandwidth / Traffic / Monthly Transfer: Bandwidth is how much information can be transferred from your website.
Think of it this way. If you have 1 webpage that takes up 1mb and you're monthly bandwidth limit is 100mb. This means that once 100 people visit your website, your bandwidth limit will be maxed out. You won't have any bandwidth available until the next month. Most of the time though website hosts offer monthly bandwidth limits of 3,000 MB or 10,000 MB. Don't worry about bandwidth because 99 percent of your webpages won't take up 1mb.
When you start receiving thousands of visitors monthly and see your bandwidth increase then you may have to pay additional fee for that month for the extra bandwidth, and consider upgrading your hosting account. As with website space bandwidth will not be a factor when searching for a webhost because most will provide you with adequate bandwidth for your online website.
Website Programming Language: If you have features like Comments Form - to email comments directly from visitors to online email account, Newsletter Opt-in for your visitors or any other dynamic features then you need to have support for a web programming language. There are numerous web programming languages. To find out which one you need for your website ask your website development team or your webmaster. They might already know which programming language they plan on using for your website. Common Web Programming languages include PHP, .Net and CFML.
Web Programming language will be a big factor when researching because each firm will offer a different level of support for web programming languages, so choose carefully.
Database: If you plan on storing visitor's email address, name and other information, or keep a catalog of all your products then you will need to use a database. Some of the common databases that websites use include Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, and Access. Most hosting plans will provide you with support for atleast one of these databases. As for web programming, you should ask your website design firm which database they plan to use.
Domain Hosting: Most of the time though a website host will allow you to host one domain name such as a .com, or .net, but some website hosts only allow hosting for more then one website name. This is a great feature because this allows you to host several websites on one host, and manage everything from one convenient place. The downside is that you'll have to share your website space, your bandwidth, and maybe even several other features with your other website. If you're goal is to have several websites then it's a good idea to ask your website host how many website names your hosting company allows on your hosting plan.
Email: Email shouldn't be a factor when determining a webhost. Most web hosting firms support some type of email account which allows you to setup an email account with your website name: sales@yourwebsitename dot com or something similar. Remember the amount of website space you use for your email account might be limited to your overall website space, so get rid of large and unwanted emails.
Website Hosting Support: Support won't be a factor unless you allow it to become one. That's why its a good idea to speak with a hosting reprensentative and see how they respond. Good customer support will become a very important factor, and that's why it's usually up to your website firm that will be working with them.
So how do you decide which firm is right for you?
A good tactic is to first find out which of these features is more important for you. If your website provides business training videos that takes up a lot of bandwidth then you will need a website host that can offer you a lot of bandwidth unless you'd rather wait until it turns into a bottleneck. Videos take up hundreds if not thousand times more bandwidth then regular webpage and in this type of scenario your first priority during your search should be to make sure that your host includes tons of bandwidth. If you find a host that you like and if bandwidth does turn into an issue then make sure that the hosting firm offer the ability to upgrade your hosting services. Be prepared and make sure to find out the prices for the upgraded plan.
Once you find a good host try hosting your websites on a month to month basis instead of the yearly plan. Just like other businesses, firms will offer lower price to entice you to enroll into long term contracts. There's nothing wrong with having a long term contract, but it's better once your more familiar with this website hosting company first.
If you're still skeptical which hosting company to sign up with then just ask you website design firm. They can recommend web hosts or offer to host your website with them. You will also see website hosts provide you with additional features such as ecommerce functionality, website statistics, easy to use control panel software such as Plesk, and other features and software programs that can help you manage and create a great website.
Dedicated Server
If none of those plans sound right or if you plan on creating a huge website, with lots of content, images, videos, and if you want to be able to install your own custom software then there's another option for you, a dedicated server. With a dedicated server you can install your own software, support for your list of programming languages, and as the name suggests it is dedicated for your website or websites depending on what you need. The cost is usually 8 to 10 times more then your average web host, but it will allow you more control and provide you more ways to customize it. And if you plan on hosting dozens of websites then you should consider using a dedicated server.
To find out more information visit Netlyte | Houston Web Design. You can also request free information to find out how we can help you build your Website at Website Design Houston
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