Anyone who is involved with a website needs to understand something about web hosting, but it can be a confusing subject for the uninitiated. However, if you take the time to master some basic concepts, you will find it much easier to understand. The following article will help you get started.
Choose a hosting service that allows you to instantly and easily view your web statistics. You will want to know things such as how many people are visiting your website and what pages they are viewing. You can even find out how long they stayed on your site, and what search words they used to find you. These can be important in the long run, so use a server who has these tools.
Avoid choosing the cheapest web-hosting service out there, and certainly think long and hard before you go with a free one. If you are running a business online, your reputation can be severely damaged if you choose an unreliable hosting service. In addition, the free ones will often have advertisements that make it obvious you are not willing to pay for a basic service that is important to your livelihood.
If you are thinking about using a free web hosting provider, it is generally a good idea if you can find a hosting provider that will allow you to use your own custom domain name. Most free providers don’t allow this so finding one that does will make it much more valuable.
Go for Linux hosting unless you need to use certain applications or server-side languages. Linux hosting has a better reputation for uptime, stability, and resource use. Shared hosting that runs on Linux tends to be somewhat cheaper, as well. There are, however, certain applications that need Windows hosting, including Plesk, Microsoft Access, Silverlight, MSSQL, and ASP.net.
A great tip that all web designers looking to choose a hosting service should use is to register each domain name separately. Don’t ever rely on your hosting provider to register your domain name for you because this could lead to problems down the road if you ever decide to switch providers.
When looking at prices for web hosting, make sure you are looking at packages that correspond to e-commerce websites. If you want to use your site to sell products, you will need a host that supports certain features such as databases or shopping carts, perhaps at an extra costs not included in basic packages.
Choose a web host that offers unlimited disk space and bandwidth. You will not need to worry about going over the usage limit. Hosting plans that limit disk space and bandwidth usually will charge you extra for each unit of disk space or bandwidth used over the limit. If you do not monitor it, this can cost you a lot of money.
Be sure to pay for your host by the month. Avoid being sucked into a discount plan where you would have to pay for several months in advance. You never know what could happen with the host or what issues you may encounter. By paying on a monthly basis, you will be able to switch hosts quickly if needed.
Save yourself some money by upgrading your account with your web host to an annual plan. Most of the yearly web hosting plans cost less on a monthly basis than a pay as you go arrangement. If you are pleased with your web host, there is no reason not to upgrade to take advantage of these savings.
Ensure that you choose a web host that provides both cPanel and Fantastico. CPanel can assist you in controlling and maintaining your website easily by using this control panel that is very user friendly. Fantastico is a strong script installer that lets you install scripts in only two minutes instead of the thirty minutes that it takes to install them manually. Both these features can be extremely useful for you. If the host you’re considering selecting doesn’t provide both of these, then you may want to consider finding another host.
One thing that anyone looking for a web hosting provider should understand is that there is no such thing as unlimited resources. Some providers claim that they have unlimited space and bandwidth that you can use for your site but this is simply not true. They only claim this because the average user does not use up their allocated bandwidth.
Avoid free web hosting from companies that do not ask you to place ads on your site. While free hosting with no ads sounds great, the company needs to make money somehow. Avoid the shock that would come if the web hosting company suddenly went out of business and shut down. Choose a web hosting company that has stability, a solid revenue stream and good business history.
Look for different reviews on a web hosting service. If you know any webmasters personally, ask them which service they use and how much they pay. Compare different sources and look for reviews written by people who have a site similar to the kind of project you are working on.
To prepare yourself for the experience of using a free web host, get used to the idea that you will have a lot of downtime. Staying up all the time takes some specialized equipment that free hosts don’t really have the budget for. As a result, your site may be down more than it is up.
Before deciding to ditch your current web host and go for one that is cheaper, consider the software platforms of other companies. You will want to make sure that they are compatible with your current provider, so that you can easily transfer or replicate your files. Save yourself some real headaches by choosing carefully.
Web hosting really does not have to be so difficult a subject to understand. It does require an understanding of some basic concepts, but once you have a handle on these ideas, you will find the subject less intimidating. Put the advice you have learned in this article to use in your next web hosting endeavor.
