Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Web Hosting for Your New Website

By Matt Hedges

To venture into World Wide Web, either with the objective of business or sharing knowledge, a niche has to be created in the internet. Web hosting empowers user to covey information over the new media which is the biggest craze now a days. Web hosting is purchasing a space in the internet server where websites can be launched. The hosted websites are generally accessible by clients using internet. Web Hosts are companies that offer such services to the clients. They are also responsible for providing data center space and connectivity to internet servers. Web hosting of a new website involves considerable financial investments but is equally cost-effective for the user or the website owner. Moreover, there are several website hosting service providers who serve exclusively for the small businesses who have a limited budget.

People starting a new website should always be aware about the goal of the website. What the website wants to archive? This has to be asked before any step is taken to host it on the web. Search engine factors and typical SEO guidelines can complement the web hosting services to make a website popular and worthy enough. Self targeted questions like, why will people read a website? What are the benefits they carry and how can that be marketed over the web, would enable a website owner to structure the website in the desired format.

Below are some of the tips for web hosting of your new website:

Choosing a web host:

Before anything else, the choice a future website owner needs to make is which web host to use. There are guidelines to base a good decision on. Some of these are:

* Tech support: Be sure the web host offers technical support. Find a server that has 24/7 support so that they will be there when you need them. It's preferable that they have this available in several ways such as via email, phone, or live chat. Check out their performance in this area by reporting an issue and gauging the time of response.

* Discounts and package availability: For beginning owners discounts can offer great benefits in startup fees. Packages can allow for a greater variety of services at reduced fees and add to the function on your website.

* All in one service provider: There are several web hosting service providers that design websites according to the customer's requirements as well as host it. If this kind of service provider is available it is always better to go for it or else reliable hosting service providers can be beneficial.

* MySQ Provisions: This is the most popular database systems. It should be in the basic hosting plan of any web host you consider. Whenever you have a need to build a database MySQL is the database you need to use. Many programs available to add to your website also use MySQL to function.

* SSL certificate security: An individual wishing to open an online business, service, or other eCommerce site needs to be capable of providing security to its customers. These types of web-stores often gather and store private information on their customers. Taking payments online with credit cards, and requiring insertion of addresses and other data demand the need for 'Secured Socket Layer' certificate security. Your web hosting service must provide this complicated service and be able to implement it as it needs vast technical knowledge to apply.

How to Calculate Disc Space Needs

The disc space depends on the structure and volume of the website that has to be created. Big portals with chat, email services and news items coupled with videos then the storage capacity is very large. In comparison to this, a 10-15 page website with no such additional items won't consume much space. For a new website, the hosting plans might change later on and there might be the requirement to include more features. Hence it is advisable that the disc space meant for start off. Later on with change in pans those can be upgraded.

Go for dedicated server

This is not as expensive as it might seem, and it offers a great benefit for the cost. One of the many benefits with having a dedicated server are increased stability over a shared server. There is lesser risk of crashing due to the other operators sharing space with your website. You run into less chance of violating the search engine guidelines and devaluing your website on account of it. You have a much greater flexibility, degree of independence, and higher performance with utilities and abilities with a dedicated host for your website.

Deciding on bandwidth requirements:

New websites typically do not require large amounts of bandwidth and can start at the lower rates available. These plans usually last 3 to 4 months. You can adjust your needs accordingly at that time. Starting small saves you unnecessary charges at the start.

Hosting should be country specific:

It is always desired that the hosting is conducted, country specific and this is a search engine rule. Google, a popular search engine, identifies a website with relevance to the country. For e.g.: If a England based software company hosts its website in US server, Google will identify the website as relevant for US searcher rather than searcher based in England or places nearby it. Hence the site would be ranked higher in Google.com than in Google.UK.

Selecting the proper operating system

Most new websites are created on a Linux, or on the UNIX based BSD software. Such applications support Perl/CGI, PHP, and FrontPage. You will need a Windows based host if you need, or prefer to run .NET, ASP, MySQL, Access, or SBS as they require Windows to operate properly. The technicalities of your website may be difficult to understand but are vital.

While hosting a website several 'ifs' and 'buts' will come into the way. Impediments, that are highly technical, can also hinder web hosting services. But one has to seek the aid of a web hosts who can perceive the requirements professionally and implement it with efficiency.

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