Choosing a Web Host: About Web Hosting and More

The first step that you require to take after creating a website is to get it on the internet, and here you are faced with three alternatives. You could either host the site on your computer, or host it on a server. The third option is getting someone else to host it for you. The first two preferences are practical and suit those with fast connections or other business-oriented sites. Maintaining such a web server requires constant monitoring and attention and you need a very fast connection to keep running it.

Opting for a web hosting company would be a great option to fall back on. The web hosts host your website on their server and you are given access to it via FTP for the purpose of uploading files on your website. Web hosting services are available for free, for a fee, and also a dedicated web hosting.

So the other alternatives are of course, free or paid. And the most common question asked is that why should I pay for something that I can obtain for free?

Then comes the two other options - free web hosting and paid web hosting. It is very normal if a question comes into your mind as to why anyone would pay for a service which he can get for free. There are many advantages which accrue to a paid web hosting.

Some free hosts do not place their banner on your website, yet in most cases the services are not good enough. Some free web hosts have brilliant features but the tech-support is unreliable! For a small site, or if you are just venturing into this field go for a free web-host in the initial stages.

As far as the free web-hosting is concerned, they lack in the aspect of reliability notwithstanding having some brilliant features. Honestly speaking, their service is not up to the mark, although, there are some free hosts who do not put their banner on your website. You can consider these options if you have a small site or you are a beginner in this field. The web-hosts provide you with certain features and a list of such features is given below. This is not certainly an extensive list. Let me put it in this manner that in order to get your site hosted, you are expected to know about certain terms.

URL/ Address- you need a URL address only if you do not have a domain name already.

Space- As far as the aspect of space is concerned, it needs to be said that usually a space of 5MB is enough for a small site and this much space is perfect for over a hundred pages. Normally, what happens is that the graphics occupy a space of about 35KB. Having said this, one must know that it requires a space of 15-20MB in case of a graphics intensive site or one featuring downloads.

Bandwidth/Transfer: This is calculated monthly, and is based on the total number of files which are transferred from your site in the month. This is where unlimited bandwidth kind of helps, since you need at least 1GB space per month for a normal website.

CGI-BIN- this is required when you run interactive scripts like guest-books, counters etc. These sites can be remotely hosted while they carry the banners from the site that presents them.

SSI- It points towards a feature of special function. What it adds to your facility is that it lets you employ a plan of prompting your server to put something on your page. It can be either simple text or CGI generated code or anything like this.

My SQL/PHP/ASP Support- if you desire to maintain a database on your site you need database formats like these. ASP generates key sites often.

Technical Support- paid hosts provide better technical support than free hosts as is obvious. Web-sites require constant monitoring and in case of any problem you should get support from some quarter or the other. You can opt for e-mail, phone or fax support.

Email: If you have a domain name, then emails will be given to you by most web hosts. If you have a POP3 mail service, then you will be able to get connection to their server and get your messages on your own, instead of them being re-addressed to you.

FrontPage Extensions- If you have Microsoft Frontpage for modifying your website, you need such extensions. Front page items are also possible to be had in your site.

SSL/Secure Server: This is needed for ensuring safe facilities for ordering from your website.

Statistics/ Log Files- this section provides you with information about your users, like what files have been downloaded and which of the pages have been accessed.

FTP Accounts: Users get the option of downloading files by logging into an area of your website with anonymous FTP. Basically, File Transfer Protocol [FTP] allows you to upload files on your server.

Paid web hosting service: most web hosts charge a monthly payment for paid services, and they remove the advertisements present on your site, besides offering you good technical support as well. So if you can do some research work and get hold of a good paid web host, you can get rid of the unwanted advertisements. The costs range from $5 to $75 a month, though the dedicated servers cost about $150 a month.

It is always wise to have a list of sites hosted by your web-hosting company. You have this right because you pay them. Once you get this list, it is possible for you to know about the ins and outs of the web-hosting company, especially their technical assistance. This is of immense importance.

Thoroughly read the terms and conditions outlined by them. Some of the free web hosts claim to own the copyrights of our webpage which restricts you from publicizing your own website. So take care of all these issues before you sign the agreement and pay hem the amount.

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