http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/computers/what-kind-of-web-hosting-do-you-need.html http://www.articletrader.com/computers/what-kind-of-web-hosting-do-you-need.html Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0500
There are basically three primary options when selecting your web hosting platform. Shared Hosting, consisting of Unix and Windows based, and the third is Dedicated Servers. Below are brief explanations of each and how one makes their selection.

Shared Hosting
Shared web hosting is the most common level of hosting today. Shared hosting means that you share a web server with other web sites. This in no way means that you share the same files or domain or anything like that, but that other web sites are hosted on the same server. The number of sites hosted per server typically ranges from a few dozen to a few hundred or more depending on hardware used.

These days most shared hosting plans come with lots of bells and whistles such as hit counters and shopping carts. It's important to find a host that provides the features you need before you just compare prices. Shared hosting fees can range anywhere from a few dollars per month, to in the hundreds, although that high is rare. Look to spend from $10 - $30 per month for hosting a pretty basic web site that does not get tons of traffic. If you are doing eCommerce or hosting a complex dynamic web site expect to pay a little more.

Unix or Windows NT / 2000 shared hosting?
It is a very common misconception that if a person uses Windows on their PC, as most of us do, that they must need Windows based web hosting. Oh if Bill only had it that sweet. What OS you have on your PC has nothing to do with what OS your web host plans needs to be running.

The server type needed is easiest determined by the types of programming languages your site uses. If your site uses just HTML pages, then most likely Unix hosting is your best bet as it tends to be slightly cheaper than Windows hosting. If your site uses perl, PHP or Python, then Unix is also your best bet.

In most cases Windows NT or Windows 2000 hosting is used when your site uses a programming language called Active Server Pages and / or is connecting to a database such as Microsoft Access or SQL server.

Dedicated Servers
Dedicated servers are for those that want or need total control of their server. Dedicated servers cost considerably more than shared hosting and are for the experienced developers. Believe it or not, dedicated servers rarely include as many bells and whistles as shared hosting. In most cases, those that need dedicated servers typically know that they need it, so if you are questioning, then most likely shared hosting is your best choice. Dedicated servers typically range from $200 to $1,000 per month depending on hardware used.

About HostChart.com
Hostchart is a leading web hosting directory website that has been in business for 6 years. That provides numerous web hosting articles and tutorials as well as news, interviews, and reviews. You can use its extensive set of tools to research and evaluate your current or future web hosts.

About the Author: Rodney Ringler is President of Advantage1 Web Services, Inc., which owns a network of Web Hosting Informational Websites including HostChart.com, ResellerConnection.com, FoundHost.com, ResellerForums.com, and HostingKnowledge.net. Rodney has over 15 years industry experience from programming to internet marketing.


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Rodney Ringler is President of Advantage1 Web Services, Inc., which owns a network of Web Hosting Informational Websites including HostChart.com, ResellerConnection.com, FoundHost.com, ResellerForums.com, and HostingKnowledge.net. Rodney has over 15 years industry experience from programming to internet marketing.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/web-hosting/how-to-switch-web-hosting-companies-without-downtime.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/web-hosting/how-to-switch-web-hosting-companies-without-downtime.html Mon, 28 May 2007 00:00:00 -0500
Let's face it - quite often many people tolerate less than great service from their hosting provider simply because it can be a real pain to move your site, your domain name and your email accounts without creating major downtime for you and your site visitors. Here's a general checklist to follow to ensure that you have the smoothest move possible, and hopefully with no down time.

Note: although this procedure will work fine on most all sites, there are some template generated sites that this procedure may not apply. For example, if you have a CitySearch site then you are going to need to just rebuild a new site.

Step 1: Get all of your files local.
Using a basic FTP program or whatever development tool you may be using, such as FrontPage, download all current files used in your web site including graphics, html files, and anything else that may be used in your site. Most likely you already know this - but when you are copying down your files you want to keep the directory structure exactly as it is on your web server. If you built the site then most likely you already have all of this.

Step 2: Analyze your hosting needs and select a new host.
Is your site just basic html or will you need a Cold Fusion host or one that supports active server pages? Depending on your site needs, select a host that can provide what you need. HostChart.com features some of the most advanced and reliable hosts out there, so finding a good one should not be hard. Most hosts these days allow you to either handle the domain name change yourself, or they can handle it for you. Just so your domain name does not get switched faster than you can get your new files posted, you may want to handle the domain name change yourself. Be sure they know to still add a record the their DNS, but that you will handling the NIC record change.

Step 3: Get everything loaded to your new server.
Before making the domain name change, go ahead and load up all of your site files to your new host using just the IP address. If your new account does not have a dedicated IP address, then request that they create a subdomain for temporary use from their domain - something like newcustomer.hostingcompany.com for you to work with before transferring your name. Most should gladly do this for you. Although they won't really work yet, go ahead and set up all of the email accounts that are used on your domain as well. Be sure to create a "catchall" or "wild-card" address just in case you forgot to someone - at least their email will not bounce.

Step 4: Initiate the domain name record change.
Either through Network Solutions or whatever registrar you used to register your domain, initiate the name change. Technically speaking the only thing that really need to be changed in your record is the name server information. If you host has not already provided you with this information, just email their support and ask what their Name Server information is. It is also a good idea to update the technical contact on your domain name record to your new host, although that is not required.

Step 5: Monitor for the domain name change.
Depending on who you used to register your domain through, you should get one or more emails confirming the domain name change. Once the change has been initiated it will typically take 24 - 48 hours for the entire world to see the change. This period is called propagation and is simply the time it takes for all the DNS servers around the globe to "catch up" and take note of your domains new location. Once propagation has completed its course you are free to safely cancel service with your previous host.

A note about the Propagation period: As mentioned before, it takes about 24 - 48 hours for the domain name change to propagate through everyone's DNS server. This means that during this time some people will get the new site, and some will still get the old site. As far as web surfing, that's really no big deal but can be tricky in regards to email. Depending on where an email is from, it may go to your new email server or your old server. To safeguard against losing messages, try creating 2 accounts for your email address, and use each mail server's IP address instead of the domain name in your POP settings. For example, if you are using mail.yourdomain.com as your pop settings, try replacing that with the IP address of your web site or email server. Creating an account that checks both mail servers insures you don't miss any messages during this 24 - 48 hour period.
About HostChart.com
HostChart, a Web Hosting Resource, is a leading web hosting directory website that has been in business for over 5 years. They provide numerous web hosting articles and tutorials as well as news, interviews, and reviews. You can use their extensive set of tools to research and evaluate your current or future web hosts.


--
Rodney Ringler is President of Advantage1 Web Services, Inc., which owns a network of Web Hosting Informational Websites including HostChart.com, ResellerConnection.com, FoundHost.com, ResellerForums.com, and HostingKnowledge.net. Rodney has over 15 years industry experience from programming to internet marketing.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/web-hosting/selecting-a-web-hosting-company.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/web-hosting/selecting-a-web-hosting-company.html Mon, 28 May 2007 00:00:00 -0500
As the owner of a network of web hosting information sites, I often get asked “Which Web Hosting Company should I go with?”. Most people are pretty disappointed by my answer. This is a question that requires a lot of additional questions. Which web hosting company is right for your website depends on many factors. What platform does your site run on? Which language was it written in? Is it a business or personal site? How critical is occasional downtime? How web savy are you? What is your budget? How much traffic does the site get?

The reason there are thousands of web hosting companies is because there are millions of sites and these websites use different technologies, have different memory and traffic requirements, have different downtime requirements, etc.

There are 2 large sections that I have broken this discussion into. What types of hosting services do you need/want? And what type of company do you need/want? The reason I chose the words “need” and “want” is because a lot of the answer are your preferences more then absolute needs.

What Type of Hosting Services do You Need?

The best way to start this discussion is to determine the type of hosting services that your web business requires. Notice I didn’t say website. A lot of people have multiple websites as part of their web business, and this, too, plays a role in selecting a hosting company.

In the big picture of the hosting industry, it all starts with datacenters. These are high availability facilities usually with multiple fiber feeds to them, backup power systems, network switching equipment, and racks of servers. Hosting companies that own and operate their own datacenter sit at the top of the chain. They can offer the complete range of services from shared hosting to co-location, although most specialize in an area.

Next in the chain are hosting companies who own and manage their own set of servers. These companies “co-locate” their servers in a datacenter. Which means they rent space for racks or slots in racks in a datacenter to put their servers. The datacenter provides the fiber connections to the internet and the facilities(power, AC, security, fire suppression, etc.). This starts to get into how to select the right hosting company for co-location services.

Then comes hosting companies that rent Dedicated Servers already in a datacenter. These companies do not have near the capital investment as the first 2 groups because they do not have to build a datacenter or buy servers. But they are dependent on the company they rent servers and rack space from. When selecting a hosting company that uses leased servers it is nice to know if the datacenter is local or in another city. Do they have the ability to troubleshoot their server themselves?

Finally, there are reseller hosting companies. These companies rent space on a dedicated server from another hosting company. They have the least capital investment, the least monthly overhead, but also the least control over there environment. In some cases their are hosting companies buying a reseller plan from a hosting company that leases dedicated servers from another hosting company that owns servers but co-locates them at a final and fourth hosting company’s datacenter. If you have a shared hosting plan with this company and the server goes down there are 4 companies that get involved to resolve the issue. At first glance you might ask, Why would I choose such a company? Maybe because he can offer super low plans with his low overhead, and he provides great fast service. But then again you may want the comfort to know that when you call your hosting company for support the server is sitting right there in their datacenter.

As you can see from the above discussion there are multiple types of hosting companies. But the services they offer can be broken into the following 4 categories, shared hosting, reseller hosting, dedicated servers, co-location.

There are subcategories in each of these. In the dedicated server category for instance, there are managed and unmanaged unix and windows servers. There are certain web hosting companies that specialize in each of these 4 aspects of dedicated server hosting. I would recommend a different company to someone who needs a managed windows servers versus someone who needs an unmanaged unix server.

How do you know what category of hosting services fits your needs?

The majority of all sites use shared hosting plans. These are ideal for personal, community, and small business websites. If your site does a lot of processing(like database transactions) or a lot of user traffic it may require a dedicated server. Otherwise a shared plan is fine.

Shared hosting plans can( and usually are) provided by all types of hosting companies. These are the most used and most available. The competition is high. Selecting a company for a shared plan depends on your preferences more then anything. There are literally thousands of quality companies that can provide you great shared hosting services. For Windows based website the selection is less and a little more expensive.

You can get shared Unix hosting plans for as little as a couple of dollars a month. But most companies offering these plans are small startups operating with a Reseller plan or in some cases an unmanaged server. This limits their initial investment, but also might leave you with a company that is out of business in a couple of months.

Reseller plans are used for 2 main reasons. First, people use them as a platform for their own hosting company. Many reseller plans amount to a “franchise” in the parent hosting company with everything included to run your own hosting company without all of the startup costs.

The other use is multi domain accounts. A lot of web business and web designers have more then 1 website. It gets hard to maintain several hosting plans even if they are from the same company. A reseller plan allows you to consolidate all of your sites under one plan with the ability to add more as you need them without adding to your costs(assuming the reseller plan has room left in it).

Next, are Dedicated Servers. These are most leased by small hosting companies who have out grown reseller plans. But some companies that run websites use a dedicated server instead of a shared hosting plan due to performance and security. These are mostly higher end sites with a lot of traffic and database interactions. If you have questions about your website start with a shared plan and if this does not have the speed you need then consider a dedicated server. Depending on your system admin skills and budget it can be managed or unmanaged. A managed server means the company provides support and maintenance such as troubleshooting downtime, OS upgrades, installing programs, monitoring system performance, etc.

Co-location is for the most part is a service bought by other hosting companies or medium size companies who do not want to invest in their own datacenter. It is really not a service that a website owner would need.

When a hosting company fills a 20-40 leased servers it usually makes sense to buy their own servers and co-locate them at a near by datacenter. The other market is medium size non internet companies who use a lot of servers to run their business but do not want to invest in a datacenter facility.


What Type of Hosting Company do you Want/Need?

Now that you know weather you need a shared plan, a reseller plan, a dedicated server, or a place to co-locate your server, the next question is which company is right to provide this service? This is the second part of our discussion.

The first discussion is more technical and determines the right service for your internet needs. This discussion is about what makes you feel comfortable. I have composed a list of questions to ask a potential hosting company and yourself.

Do they provide Unix and/or Windows? Does your site run on Unix or Windows. Almost every host provides Unix platforms but fewer provide Windows.

Are they a large or small company? Some customers like the comfort of a large company for their stability. Others like the personal service of knowing the owner and having his direct phone number.

Do they provide phone support or just email? There are a lot of companies who only provide email support. If your business is mission critical this might not be a good option.

Is the datacenter housing their servers local? A hosting company might provide great support, but if their server goes down and its located in a datacenter in another city then they are dependent on their datacenter provider to fix it.

How long has the company been in business? In the hosting business there are over 15,000 hosting companies. Many are one man companies or web designers that get a few customers but never develop it into a real business and fade over time. The cost of entry to the hosting business is very low especially if you use a reseller plan. Make sure the company has a history or if it is a one person company you know the person.

How many domains do they host? This will give you an idea of their size. This gets to your preference for a smaller or larger hosting company.

Your Value Proposition for the hosting company? This is best explained with an example. If you are one of 100,000 people paying $5/month then you provide 1/100,000 of their revenue, which is not much value for them. If your site requires a lot of work will they really help? Afterall losing your account will not impact them.

Do they provide their own server support or is it outsourced? This goes toward your preferences for support. Some do not want their hosting company relying on others to keep things running. Others prefer to let people who only do support do their support.

Is it a one person company? A lot of hosting companies are one person companies with a reseller plan or dedicated server and outsourced support. But if they lease a robust server, have an excellent support company, and provide you with personal service then they might be the right choice for you.

Are they local? A lot of small business owners who are not that web savy prefer a company that they can visit and know versus a company they order from over the internet. On the other hand a lot of programmers who are web savy just want the cheapest plan and do not care the location.

Go to a search engine or hosting directory and compile a list of companies that provide the service you need(shared, reseller, dedicated, co-location), ask them these questions, and then go with the company that matches best with your answers to the questions.
key to success is spotting the changes before your competitors do. Technological changes mean nothing. Introducing a new feature to your plans or reducing prices can be matched in literally days.

About HostChart.com
HostChart, a Web Hosting Resource, is a leading web hosting directory website that has been in business for over 5 years. They provide numerous web hosting articles and tutorials as well as news, interviews, and reviews. You can use their extensive set of tools to research and evaluate your current or future web hosts.


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Rodney Ringler is President of Advantage1 Web Services, Inc., which owns a network of Web Hosting Informational Websites including HostChart.com, ResellerConnection.com, FoundHost.com, ResellerForums.com, and HostingKnowledge.net. Rodney has over 15 years industry experience from programming to internet marketing.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/web-hosting/marketing-your-web-hosting-company-in-2007.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/web-hosting/marketing-your-web-hosting-company-in-2007.html Mon, 28 May 2007 00:00:00 -0500
There are many ways to market a web hosting company and many articles have touched on them. There are web hosting directories, banner ads on webmaster sits, search engine placements, ppc advertising, etc. These are all effective methods if used and managed properly.

But these are mostly forms that market on the internet to webmasters, programmers, graphic designers, and small hosting companies. Traditionally the online webmaster was the target audience. They were the ones who built websites and the ones non technical people looked to. But today with the evolution of web hosting and website builder tools as well as the continued education of the common person, the average web hosting customer is no longer your online webmaster. It can be any father with baby photos, a neighborhood association, a church, an artist, etc. We looked at the signups from a popular web hosting company over the last month and that is exactly what we found. The number of signups from people in the industry was less then 20%.

Increasingly the average person has 2 things. First, is digital content. People have photos, letters, videos, blogs, etc. Secondly, they have enough internet savy to research hosting companies and their plans. It has become a way of life in America. It is not just for web hosting but everything. When I want to buy a car I research the models and dealers online and make my choices. Same for real estate; likewise with vacations. I research products before I buy them online. Everything from cameras to coats.

Historically, customers, also, did not change hosting companies often. Most people were not comfortable moving their website and risking the loss of uptime and data. Unless a host was really bad you stayed with them and rode out the bad times.

Today it is different. People are educated and comfortable with their websites and there are plenty of services and web hosts who will move them for you without downtime. Now, people feel free to move from host to host when they can get a better plan. Unlike the cell phone business web hosts have never required yearly commitments.

If the average person, with or without a website, is the target audience then the marketing methods can be greatly expanded from just targeting online webmasters. Even online this opens up a lot of possibilities. Advertising on community websites, artist websites, and photography websites can yield a lot of prospective customers.




About HostChart.com
HostChart, a Web Hosting Company Resource, is a leading web hosting directory website that has been in business for over 5 years. They provide numerous web hosting articles and tutorials as well as news, interviews, and reviews. You can use their extensive set of tools to research and evaluate your current or future web hosts. HostChart is a Property of Advantage1 Web Services, which also operates ResellerConnection.com, a a href="http://www.resellerconnection.com">Reseller Web Hosting Resource, HostingKnowledge.net, and FoundHost.com, a a href="http://www.foundhost.com">Budget Hosting Resource.


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Rodney Ringler is President of Advantage1 Web Services, Inc., which owns a network of Web Hosting Informational Websites including HostChart.com, ResellerConnection.com, FoundHost.com, ResellerForums.com, and HostingKnowledge.net. Rodney has over 15 years industry experience from programming to internet marketing.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/web-hosting/personal-web-hosting.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/web-hosting/personal-web-hosting.html Mon, 28 May 2007 00:00:00 -0500
Personal web hosting has fueled a large part of the web hosting industry. Personal web hosts are booming selling powerful hosting plans tailored to personal homepages, blogs, digital photo albums, video files, etc. With Prices under $5/month personal web hosting plans are very affordable not to mention the full features. Most come with full control panels to manage emails, stats, and the website. Personal Hosting plans also come with a wide array of functionality already ready such as blogs or digital photo albums. A lot have a website builder tool that will let a non programmer build a website by following a set of options. These tools have become quite sophisticated and full of functionality. Even a novice can build a professional website without ever programming.

When looking for a personal web hosting company, look for one that tailors to your needs. If you want to start a blog then go to a blog web hosting site. If you want to build your own website but do not know how to program then go to one that has a website builder tool. Make sure they have a demo of the tool and give it a try before you sign up. Do some research to make sure the website builder tool that the hosting company uses will have the features that you need.

Most of all, your personal web hosting company should make your web hosting goals easy to achieve. If they do not then move on.

The cost should also be very small. Do not pay more then $10/month and unless you have real special needs you should be able to get a nice hosting plan from a reputable web hosting company for less then $5/month.

Go to web hosting directory websites and read hosting reviews of the potential personal web hosts that you are considering. Also, check out their website for helpful guides and tutorials. They should have everything you need to make publishing your website easy. If they do not then move on. They should have guides and FAQ’s that answer common questions and explain the process.

But also remember that you are purchasing a personal web hosting plan and not a dedicated server or virtual private server. You will get what you pay for. Plans for $5/month are also on shared servers with other customers. So, you will not have 99.9% uptime no matter what the web hosts says. A lot will promise this kind of uptime for their network or datacenter but not your server itself. But if it is truly a personal website then you will never notice these kinds of hiccups.

Support is another aspect to examine when choosing a personal web host. Since you are not an expert you will need to make sure that the hosting company has experts that are always available. Email support should be adequate for personal websites, but they should respond to hosting support request within 1 hour. A good way to test this is to email their Support team a question and wait for their response. This will be a good indicator. Doing this in the middle of the night will also help test their response during off hours, which is inevitably when problems occur.

Personal websites are also ideal for clubs, neighborhoods, teams, and churches. They allow any group or organization to publish news and coordinate activities. We even see people using personal hosting plans to just host photos for Ebay auctions.

Another common use for personal websites are resumes. People will buy the domain name of their full name and post their resume there. This is an excellent way to network for job hunters. You can post links to their website in forums and online discussion groups.

The next time you have the need for a website don’t be intimidated. Go to a top web hosting resource website and pick one of the personal web hosting companies that they recommend. The personal hosting plan should be easy for the novice. It’s time to take advantage of the internet and the expertise of web hosting companies.



About HostChart.com
HostChart, a Web Hosting Company Resource, is a leading web hosting directory website that has been in business for over 5 years. They provide numerous web hosting articles and tutorials as well as news, interviews, and reviews. You can use their extensive set of tools to research and evaluate your current or future web hosts. HostChart is a Property of Advantage1 Web Services, which also operates ResellerConnection.com, a a href="http://www.resellerconnection.com">Reseller Web Hosting Resource, HostingKnowledge.net, and FoundHost.com, a a href="http://www.foundhost.com">Budget Hosting Resource.


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Rodney Ringler is President of Advantage1 Web Services, Inc., which owns a network of Web Hosting Informational Websites including HostChart.com, ResellerConnection.com, FoundHost.com, ResellerForums.com, and HostingKnowledge.net. Rodney has over 15 years industry experience from programming to internet marketing.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>