getting a web host that fits your needs

2
Getting A Web Host That Fits Your Needs Choosing a web host for your website can be quite difficult. There are many hosting services to select from, and each service tends to have several packages available. It is also a very important decision due to the fact that your web host directly http://webdesign.about.com/od/beforeyoustartawebsite/a/how-much-should-a-web-design-cost.htm influences your website's up-time. Check your hosting site to determine what type of sites they offer. Many free hosting services offer only static pages, leaving you with limited options for adding your own scripts. If you need a scripting page that is dynamic, you probably need to find a pay host instead. When deciding on a host for a large site, you need to figure out how much bandwidth you will use. Depending on the amount of traffic your site gets, you need to make sure the host can accommodate large files and downloads. If you have a host that cannot handle large amount of traffic, then you will experience a lot of downtime. You must be familiar with band-width, or the amount of data that is able to transfer in and out of your web hosting account. Different hosting companies offer different prices on different band- widths, so you need to make sure you use this to help you make a decision as to who you should select for web page hosting. To get the most out of a free web host, you'll need to back up any data and files related to your site. Because free web hosts don't generally offer any guarantees about backing up your data, if anything disappears, it will be on you, and not on them. A good web hosting provider should have good, responsive customer service, so be sure to consider this when choosing a host. Find out how quickly they respond to problems or complaints that their customers have. You want to choose a host that will work to quickly and professionally resolve any problems you encounter. When selecting a web host, it's vital that you choose one that has excellent support. Although it's important for a host to have lots of experience, they can't avoid all problems. Something is bound to go wrong at some point. When this occurs, having a solid support system set up is crucial. You can test out a host's support system by sending in an email or a support ticket. If you don't receive a response within the next couple of days, then you should probably search for another host. Choose a web host with a CPanel. This feature allows you to install many different plug ins in a few clicks. For instance, most blogging platforms are hard to install without the CPanel feature. This kind of feature will help you improve your site without acquiring any kind of technical skills. Prior to signing up with a website hosting service, ask about their firewalls. You will want to choose one who has a dual firewall in place. Not only will this protect your information during power failure or other malfunctions, but it will also be an added barrier against theft of your personal information.

Upload: vivacioushomici32

Post on 15-Aug-2015

5 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Getting A Web Host That Fits Your Needs

Getting A Web Host That Fits Your Needs

Choosing a web host for your website can be quite difficult. There are many hosting services toselect from, and each service tends to have several packages available. It is also a very importantdecision due to the fact that your web host directlyhttp://webdesign.about.com/od/beforeyoustartawebsite/a/how-much-should-a-web-design-cost.htminfluences your website's up-time.

Check your hosting site to determine what type of sites they offer. Many free hosting services offeronly static pages, leaving you with limited options for adding your own scripts. If you need ascripting page that is dynamic, you probably need to find a pay host instead.

When deciding on a host for a large site, you need to figure out how much bandwidth you will use.Depending on the amount of traffic your site gets, you need to make sure the host can accommodatelarge files and downloads. If you have a host that cannot handle large amount of traffic, then you willexperience a lot of downtime.

You must be familiar with band-width, or the amount of data that is able to transfer in and out ofyour web hosting account. Different hosting companies offer different prices on different band-widths, so you need to make sure you use this to help you make a decision as to who you shouldselect for web page hosting.

To get the most out of a free web host, you'll need to back up any data and files related to your site.Because free web hosts don't generally offer any guarantees about backing up your data, if anythingdisappears, it will be on you, and not on them.

A good web hosting provider should have good, responsive customer service, so be sure to considerthis when choosing a host. Find out how quickly they respond to problems or complaints that theircustomers have. You want to choose a host that will work to quickly and professionally resolve anyproblems you encounter.

When selecting a web host, it's vital that you choose one that has excellent support. Although it'simportant for a host to have lots of experience, they can't avoid all problems. Something is bound togo wrong at some point. When this occurs, having a solid support system set up is crucial. You cantest out a host's support system by sending in an email or a support ticket. If you don't receive aresponse within the next couple of days, then you should probably search for another host.

Choose a web host with a CPanel. This feature allowsyou to install many different plug ins in a few clicks.For instance, most blogging platforms are hard toinstall without the CPanel feature. This kind of featurewill help you improve your site without acquiring anykind of technical skills.

Prior to signing up with a website hosting service, ask about their firewalls. You will want to chooseone who has a dual firewall in place. Not only will this protect your information during power failureor other malfunctions, but it will also be an added barrier against theft of your personal information.

Page 2: Getting A Web Host That Fits Your Needs

Look for a money back guarantee. Look for a minimum of a 14 to 30 day money back guarantee withany company you are considering as your web host. If a company is reliable as they claim, theyshould be willing to back that claim up. This will also allow you to really get a good look at thecompany and website seo audits experience their service before you lose your money for good.

Always get a pricing breakdown for you hosting package. You will need to include hosting fees aspart of your website's budget. By knowing exactly what your monthly fees are covering, it will allowyou to budget any factors that may be relevant, such as time, bandwidth and data. Inspect the termsclosely for any fees that may be incurred and should be budgeted as a precaution.

Use search engines to help you decide. By checking out results on Yahoo or Google, you will be ableto get an idea of how many hosting sites exist out there. Sometimes just based on the number ofresults a host gets or the higher the hosting site is ranked in the results is a good sign of its quality.

When you are faced with the new to transfer your existing service to a new web host provider,consider using a file transfer service to make the change much easier. It can be very time-consumingto do it one file at a time, and fraught with dangers of accidentally losing valuable content. Thesoftware you will need is called FTP (file transfer protocol) client software. There are variousproviders on the Internet and most are reasonably priced.

If you have chosen to change to another web host, do not cancel your existing account before youhave established an account with the new host. You will need access to both your old and newaccounts in order to transfer your web files from one host to another. So, keep your old accountactive until the transfer is complete.

Have a good idea of how you want your website to look and function before choosing a web host.While it may seem premature, having a good idea of what your site will be like can save youheadaches in the future. You need to be sure that the web host you choose will be able to handleeverything you have planned for your site, from bandwidth to email policy.

You should be wary of web hosting packages that offer you free domain names. In many cases, thereason why the domain names are free is because they will be owned by the web host. This cancause problems if your website becomes extremely successful since your domain name will becomevery valuable. In addition, there might be issues if you have to switch web hosts because you maynot be able to keep your domain name.

Selecting a web host is important to anyone who has an online presence. It's important to choose ahost who will be there when you need them, offer the services you want now and in the future.

As you can see from the above article, it is possible to keep your website active while you switch to adifferent hosting company. If you understand the transfer process and what you have to dobeforehand, then there is no reason why you should lose a second of downtime. Apply the advicefrom this article to help you switch hosting companies without having to worry about your websitegoing offline.