Types of Web Hosting

VPS Hosting

If you're interested in learning more about VPS hosting, read on. Most websites start out as fairly modest endeavors, but through quality effort and dedication, they can grow big. Sometimes, they grow too big for your current host, and that's when it's time to consider VPS (or Virtual Private Server) hosting.

With any business model, there are going to be growing pains. Think about a small burger stand on the street corner as an example. When you start out, you have the cart and the materials for the food you sell, but you don't have to worry about the costs of a location, employees, or even advertisements. This is because it's a small venture. Let's say that your type of burger became a big hit, and suddenly you have way too many people in line to handle the "traffic". Now it's time to move on to your own dedicated location.

VPS hosting is much the same. When you are first starting your website, you have a small website that is right at home on a shared web hosting plan. Maybe the website is just a prototype or a practice run, or maybe it's your sole means of exposure, but regardless, most sites start out small, and a more-expensive hosting solution just isn't worth the cost yet.

The difference between VPS and shared web hosting is in how much control you have, the amount of performance you get, and of course, the cost per month. In essence, a virtual private server is a partition on a physical server that the user has full access to. While it varies from host to host, a VPS is much more flexible and versatile for an expert user or someone who wants to do things differently than is possible on a shared host. One disadvantage of this is that you will probably need to learn a great deal before you can handle the details of VPS hosting, or hire someone who does know.

As for dedicated web hosting, VPS hosting is quite a bit cheaper, but with comparable performance and control offered to the user. With a VPS host, you have your own virtual partition of a physical server, which makes it possible for you to customize your partition, install software, and simulate a reboot, all on a powerful machine. Unfortunately, despite the fact that you are on your own partition, it's still not the same degree of flexibility as a full-fledged dedicated server. If you want to have the ultimate in control over your server, you either will want a dedicated server plan or your own server.

It pretty much comes down to what's best for you. The point of VPS hosting is that it bridges the considerable gap in pricing and features between shared hosting and dedicated hosting. VPS hosting simulates the experience of a dedicated host, but doesn't quite match it in terms of features and versatility. In the end, VPS hosting is a valid option for someone whose website requires more space, data transfer, and a further degree of customization, but without the resources or needs to justify a dedicated space.

Windows Web Hosting

So, you're curious about Windows web hosting? Whether you are interested in starting a new website for the first time, or you're just looking to change hosts, it can be very challenging to sort through all of the information and marketing mumbo-jumbo to decide what products and services are right for you. When it comes to web hosting, there are a host of factors to consider (no pun intended). Let's look at why Windows web hosting might be the best decision for your website.

First of all, you should seriously consider the fact that your choice of web host or server could be the deciding factor in whether your business or website gets off the ground or not. This is because server downtime, bad or nonexistent technical support, search engine blacklisting, and a number of other nasty possibilities can result from a poor choice, not to mention that some hosting services aren't yet stable and might go out of business. In other words, do your research and thoroughly investigate your needs before committing to a host.

That said, what does Windows web hosting offer that helps set it apart from other services? It's all about integration and the power of the tools at your disposal. You're able to design your website or websites using the Windows operating system. This means tighter integration and more efficiency when designing in Windows and using Windows software. The tools for developing web applications and sites through Windows are unparalleled, especially considering Windows is the most-used operating system across the globe.

The main reason you would go with Windows for your web hosting needs is if you're already familiar with Microsoft technologies or intend to learn them because of the versatility they offer. The set of Internet-based servers and services available by Microsoft is called the IIS (Internet Information Services), and it allows the use of FTP, FTPS, SMTP, NNTP, and HTTP/HTTPS. Also available as part of the Microsoft Web Platform Installer is Visual Web Developer 2008, SQL Server 2008 Express Edition, Microsoft .NET Framework, and Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio.

Think of the Windows environment as a self-contained group of products designed to maximize your output and the professional quality of your final product. If you want to use Windows databases like Microsoft Access or SQL Server, you'll need IIS as part of a Windows hosting service, and if you want to use any Windows-based components like CGI, ISAPI, or COM, you'll also have to go with Windows hosting.

As far as choosing a Windows web host, it should be about what features and support you require. There are a number of different deals and bonuses that hosts use to entice people to sign up with them, but remember that this is not a decision to be made lightly. You'll want a domain name that you can take with you if you ever choose to leave your current provider, you'll want a service with 99.99% uptime, and you'll want to consider the quality of technical support provided (check to see if they are MCSA and MCSE certified). Windows web hosting is a great option for most business's needs.

Dedicated Web Hosting

Web hosting is perhaps one of the most important aspects of any website or web based business, but it is often the most overlooked, especially the choice between shared or dedicated hosting. Most people are more concerned with how their site will look and the cool functions it will have than where or how it is hosted, but rest assured, that WHERE and HOW it is hosted is major stuff indeed.

Web hosting is your ticket to the internet. It is the difference between your having some cool looking custom designed webpages in a folder on your hard drive and having those cool looking web pages viewed by potentially millions on the World Wide Web. Choosing a quality company that provides 24-7 customer service AND has a great reputation is extremely important. Aside from that, you need to decide if your website will need a shared or dedicated web hosting package. In order to answer this question, you need to look at what your website will do, and just how much traffic you expect it to generate.

You see shared web hosting is fine for a site that is just starting out and is not planning on experiencing much traffic, at least at first. In addition, if the needs of your website are small as far as the functions and activity on the site, a shared hosting package can work great. However, if your website is the hub of your business, and you will not only transact much of your business online, but you expect to use large amounts of bandwidth by hosting many pages of content along with your customer database then you will most likely need a dedicated web hosting package.

Put it this way, if you are looking to save money, and you don't need a lot of space, you may choose to rent one room in a house full of other people. This little room may serve your needs for awhile, but then let's say you start dating. Your significant other has friends and they all want to come over as well. Then let's say you get married and have kids, well, it is easy to that you have outgrown your little room. You need to move into a bigger house that is ALL your own. This is the same exact principle of having dedicated web hosting.

Having your own dedicated server is like owning your own house in the example above. You won't have to share anything with anyone else and you can make decisions as to how to run your business all by yourself. A dedicated server will allow your business to grow as quickly as you want and you will be able to make your website as large and feature rich as you want as well. It is important to keep in mind though, dedicated web hosting can be much more expensive than shared web hosting, but if you need things such as unlimited bandwidth and the ability to make your site as large as you need it to be based on the needs of your business, then investing in a dedicated web hosting package is most likely the solution for your needs.

E-Commerce Web Hosting

When it comes to e-commerce web hosting, you might not be aware of all the options at your disposal. It's great to have options, but it also means there is an awful lot of work to do to decide what best fits your needs. You might be interested in starting a new business that takes advantage of the online space, or you might be a business that would like to expand into the world of e-commerce. Either way, you should do your homework before jumping into an e-commerce web hosting service.

First, let's take a look at what distinguishes an e-commerce host from other types of hosts. E-commerce is online trading, buying, and selling, whether it's a marketplace like Amazon, a personal auction site like eBay, or a single business with a store for selling products and services. The benefit of e-commerce is that small businesses can attempt to compete with larger businesses by reaching a wider audience and attaining exposure, but this is not without its challenges.

If you want your e-commerce website to succeed, you need a site that is easy to navigate, functional, powerful, and of course, professional. Unless you're a large company with a lot of resources, you will find it difficult to afford an in-house data center. In other words, you'll have to look for an e-commerce web hosting service to support your website until you are large enough to handle the traffic in-house.

So what do you look for in an e-commerce web host? Well, the options that you will want available for your consumers and your site should be high on your priority list of factors to consider when you search for the right host. If you want to have a shopping cart available for your customers, look for a host that includes one. If you want a site that makes it easy to do PayPal and credit card transactions, find a host who provides it. Even more than other types of websites, you'll also want to find a secure host who will not allow your website to be compromised. There's nothing worse for your business's reputation than a bunch of identity thefts under your watch.

You'll also want a hosting service that will support a massive amount of traffic and data transfer--unlimited, if possible. This is because, as your business grows, you can suddenly see an exponential increase in traffic, and it would be tragic if, just as your site starts to take off, you suddenly find your website down because the service couldn't handle the traffic. Either that, or you should be prepared to change hosts or upgrade as soon as your site is too big for your current service/plan to handle.

Other factors to consider are the possibility of a free domain name, the kind of advertising support they offer, the quality and reliability of technical support, the number of different statistics they provide for your website to track growth and conversion rates, etc. It all comes down to your individual needs and goals for your website, but don't forget that a large part of your website's success is dependent on the quality of your e-commerce web hosting service.

Free Web Hosting

Wow, free web hosting? Sounds great! And it is great, depending on what your goals are and how much control you want to have over your website. After all, who can argue with free? There are some caveats to a free web host, so before you jump in headfirst with a free host, it would be a good idea to think about what you won't get with one.

First, when you are looking for free web hosting, be wary of all the sites that claim they're free, only to charge you a few months in because you didn't read the “fine print” about their trial offer. Believe it or not, most web hosting services do want to charge you for your usage, so even free ones probably have some kind of “premium” service that they'll bug you to upgrade to.

Now, what do you get for free? Not a lot. With a paid hosting service--either shared or dedicated--there are features available as a result. The kinds of features you might get are a free domain name, unlimited space and unlimited data transfer, database support and management, 99.99% uptime, excellent and timely technical support, statistics for tracking your site's growth, easy-to-use site builders, free sub-domains, spam protection, security, free back-ups, advertising support or credits, media support, etc.

The plain and simple truth is, free web hosting is really not a viable option for someone with a great deal of ambition--at least, not for their primary website. If you want any of the typical features, you'll need at least a shared hosting service, and even then, you might run into trouble if your monthly fee is pretty low. It's a simple matter of “you get what you pay for.” If you want a quality service, you'd better be willing to shell out the cash for it.

When it comes to free web hosting, you also have to ask yourself how and why a free web host is free. If you can't figure out how it's possible for them to be in business, you might want to review the fine print or terms of service again. If it's not a trial period that will turn into a paid subscription, it's likely to be forced ads, banners, and pop-ups on your site. Oh yeah, and guess who gets paid for those ads? If you said the host, you'd be right.

The most dangerous thing about a free web host is the fact that you have no recourse if they decide to shut down your site or your site goes down for days at a time. After all, you're not paying for anything, so what obligation do they have to provide you with helpful technical support? In addition, you don't get your own domain name and you are majorly restricted when it comes to features.

The exception to all of this is free blog hosting with one of the major sites, like Blogger or Wordpress. With them, as long as you know what you are getting, it's not a bad idea to start with them and build your site until you're ready to host it on your own or through a professional hosting service. The key thing to remember is that, generally, you get better results the more you're willing to pay. You might have a good experience with free web hosting if you're just diddling around, but if you're a business professional, you'll want to find a quality paid hosting service.

Green Web Hosting

Did you know that you can use a green web hosting service for your website? Running servers actually has a pretty significant impact on the environment, so being green is a great goal for web hosts. This means that, if you are looking for a web host for your website, or you've been looking to change hosts, it wouldn't be a bad idea to look into green web hosting.

The reasons for a green host are many. First of all, if you are a proponent of the green movement or support conservation of the environment, there's a good chance you can find others who are like you through a network of websites registered with a green web host. Better yet, if your website is affiliated with preserving the environment or being green, one great way to prove your dedication is to advertise your association with a green web host. This lends some credibility to your claims, and you might even get a discount.

So, what exactly is a green web host? Basically, it all comes down to saving energy, recycling, and generally providing services that protect the environment, rather than contribute to its decline. All of the sorts of activities you've come to expect from an environmentally-friendly business apply to green web hosts: recycling whenever possible and safely disposing of waste, using alternative and renewable sources of energy for power, heating their facilities with bio-fuel, etc.

When it comes to running servers--which are usually operating close to 24/7--the fact that green web hosts will use alternative energy is a major benefit to the environment. Alternative energy means solar, wind, geothermal, etc. The benefits of these types of energy are many, but in terms of the environment, they are great because they are totally clean and they're renewable. Unlike fossil fuels or coal, for example, these types of energy will continue to be available in the foreseeable future, especially if more businesses come to use them and the infrastructure for alternative energy is put in place. Beyond this, they don't pollute the environment with nuclear waste or greenhouse gases.

In addition to saving energy for daily operations and utilizing renewable resources, many green web hosts take it a step further. Some actually generate their own power. Others offer discounts to non-profit or green organizations for hosting with them. Others plant a tree when you sign up with them. Some go paperless. Some let their employees telecommute. It is great that there has been a rise in green web hosting recently, because it means that the more green web hosts compete, the more they are all doing for the environment.

But, of course, it comes down to more than the green movement; there's the other type of green too, the one in your wallet. You need to make sure that you find a green web host that's aligned with your environmental views and also provides the features you need for your website. If you can do this, you'll find green web hosting to be a great way to contribute to a better world.

Reseller Hosting - The Basics

Are you interested in reseller hosting? Maybe you want to start your own hosting company, or provide clients or employees with their own hosting options. There is a lot of potential with reseller hosting, but first, let's look at what it actually means.

In a nutshell, a reseller hosting company purchases a reseller hosting or dedicated server plan, then sells that space to end users for a profit. At its most basic, it's a simple numbers game: If you have a reseller hosting plan that costs you $20 per month, and provides you with 1 GB of space, you can sell 100 MB to ten different people and charge them each $10 per month. It's a benefit to you because you make a profit of $80 every month, and it's a benefit to those end users you sold to because they didn't need 1 GB, so they are happy paying less per month for a smaller amount.

Reseller hosting is great because it allows you to earn revenue every month. If you are interested in starting your own hosting company, but you don't have the money for your own server, you can ease into the business with a reseller hosting plan. You also don't have to worry about the maintenance or upkeep of the server itself when you go with a reseller hosting plan, so it really is a win-win situation. Just make sure that you are ready to expand your business as it grows, by either saving up for your own server (which, after you've paid for it, is pure profit, minus the maintenance and

operating costs), or by going for a large reseller hosting plan later on.

To truly succeed, you will need your own website or websites. In the beginning, you can actually use some of the space provided by your reseller plan to host your own site. Bringing in clients is the best way to make it worth your effort, so having a site will allow people to find you and link to you. Also, it is a great idea to come up with a niche that you can support.

The large hosting services are often jacks-of-all-trades when it comes to web hosting, but if you can specialize in a type of hosting environment like blogging or Windows, you can better appeal to potential clients by offering quality support. Further, if you appeal to a certain “genre” of website, like an e-commerce website, you further differentiate yourself, because you can offer plug-ins and scripts that benefit your specific customers. Just be sure you can really support your niche, and you'll be in good shape.

The other thing you must remember is to find an excellent reseller hosting service. Don't settle! If you don't find a quality host from the beginning, it will be a big pain later on, and might even cause your business venture to fail. You don't want to alienate existing customers or generate bad worth of mouth, so get it right from the start. If you have a good reseller hosting service, you're well on your way to being a great hosting company!

Shared Web Hosting Explained

Decisions, decisions, decisions. That is what you are faced with when deciding to create a new website to launch on the internet. What kind of site should you create? Should you design it yourself? What kind of traffic generations tools should you use? What kind of hosting plan should you purchase? Hosting is a biggie when looking at the overall picture of your website project. Your hosting plan and company is the one lifeline that is responsible for keeping your site live and on the web 24-7. The right web plan can make the difference between a successful website and a total waste of money. Part of that decisions lies in what type of plan you purchase. For many who are just coming out of the gate with a new site, shared web hosting is the plan of choice.

Shared web hosting, as the name suggests, is a type of web hosting where your website will be hosted along with several, or many others on the same server. You will share the bandwidth used by all of the websites and in turn, this can result in a much lower price for the actual web hosting package itself. Oftentimes, depending on the needs of your particular website, these shared web hosting packages can be as little as just a few dollars at a time. In addition, because you are on a plan with oftentimes many other websites, the web hosting company may offer quite a few attractive extra options as incentives to use their hosting plan. These incentives could include free or discount web template designs, logo creation services, or even extremely inexpensive URL purchase. Many times, these extra offers will more than pay for the cost of the hosting package itself.

If your site is new and you have little or no traffic, then purchasing a shared hosting plan will probably make the most sense for you. You can always upgrade to another package if your traffic really takes off but either way, these plans represent an incredibly affordable and oftentimes reliable service for new website owners. The plans are not always PERFECT, however…

For one thing, while rare, it is possible for a particular website on the server to commit some sort of heinous act or even a mistake that would cause the server to go down. This would most likely be the result of extremely high website usage. For instance, if a website on your shared hosting plan was only getting 2000 hits per month, then suddenly started getting 500,000 hits per month, this could cause a huge problem. Another factor to consider is spam. If a website on your shared hosting plan is accused of spam, then all of the websites on your server may become blacklisted from certain areas of the internet. It is important to pay close attention to this scenario if you are made aware of it as it can truly hurt your website and your company's name.

Overall though, shared web hosting is a very common, reliable, and affordable solution for most new and burgeoning websites. Investigate the plan thoroughly and check out the other sites on your server and you will most likely have a trouble free and successful shared web hosting experience.