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Choosing A Web Host
Choosing a web host for your site is an important decision.
This for two reasons:
- If you are using for web site for business purposes, it is important
that you use a company that you feel comfortable with, and which can
provide the required level of reliability and support.
- Web hosts vary widely in terms of the technical features that they
provide. and obviously you will want to choose a web host that provides
the facilities that you need for your site.
Here are some of the technical features that you might want to consider
in your choice of web host:
- Storage:
Storage is the amount of space that you get to store your web pages. You
will want to ensure that you have at least enough (plus some room for
growth) to store your web site.
- Bandwidth:
Bandwidth is the total
amount of information that you are allowed to transfer
through your web site over a set period of time, and is usually measured in
Megabytes (Mb) or Gigabytes (Gb) per month.
The more people who visit your site, the more bandwidth you will need.
Additionally if your site includes large amounts of images, videos, or downloads,
then they tend to eat up more bandwidth.
(Your basic goal should be to make sure that you have at least enough bandwidth
for your needs).
Here are some examples:
- Suppose your web pages, including graphics etc., add up to about
100K of files per page. If you have 10,000 people visiting your site each
month, and, each on average views 2 pages, then:
Bandwidth used = 100K X 10,000 X 2 per month
= 2,000,000K per month
= 2,000 Mb per month
= 2 Gb per month
- Suppose you have a 1,000K file on your site, and 10,000 people download it
each month:
Bandwidth used = 1,000K X 10,000 per month
= 10,000,000K per month
= 10,000 Mb per month
= 10 Gb per month
- ASP:
ASP
(Active Server Pages) is a scripting technology that some (but not all)
web hosts provide. If you want to install and run ASP scripts on your site,
you need to choose a host that supports ASP.
Additionally, there are
several versions of ASP in use, so this could be an issue that you need
to consider too.
This web site contains a list of
ASP web hosts.
- CGI:
CGI
(Common Gateway Interface) is another scripting technology.
Virtually all (but not quite all) commercial web hosts support CGI.
Please note: Some CGI scripts may require particular operating systems or
other facilities too, in order to operate.
- ColdFusion:
ColdFusion is a scripting technology supported by some web-servers. If you
want to use ColdFusion, you will need to find a compatible web host
- many web hosts do not provide it.
This web site contains a list of
ColdFusion web hosts.
- Dedicated Server vs Shared/Virtual Server:
Cheaper web hosting companies generally provide
"virtual" or "shared" hosting.
This means that each computer at the hosting
companies hosts lots of different web sites.
If you would like to have one computer just dealing with your account,
and nobody else's, then you need a Dedicated Server.
Using a dedicated server may give you greater security (or at least peace
of mind), greater speed, more control over your site's configuration, etc.
- but these things usually come at a price - dedicated servers usually
cost more than virtual/shared servers.
This web site contains lists of
Shared/Virtual Server web hosts and
Dedicated Server web hosts.
- FrontPage Extensions:
FrontPage is Microsoft's program for designing web pages.
If you want to use Microsoft FrontPage, you ought to look for a web host
that supports FrontPage extensions.
This web site contains a list of
web hosts who support FrontPage extensions.
- JSP:
JSP (Java Server Pages) is a scripting technology supported by some web-servers.
If you
want to use JSP, you will need to find a compatible web host
- many web hosts do not provide it.
Note: Do not confuse JSP with Java Applets. Although both are written
using the Java
programming language, they are very different:
- JSP runs on web servers, and requires a web host specially configured
to support it.
- Java Applets run inside the user's web browser (assuming the user
has a compatible web browser) - and typically display as part of the web
page that the user is browing. Most web hosts allow you to use Java
Applets.
This web site contains a list of
JSP web hosts.
- Miva:
Miva is a popular e-commerce application.
This web site contains a list of
Miva web hosts.
- Multiple Domains:
Many web hosting accounts allow you to only create one web site for
one single domain.
But, if you have several domain names for which you want to set up web sites,
you may want to look for a web host that allows you to host multiple
domains under a single account
(Note: some multi-domain hosts may charge to add additional domains
under your account).
Using one multi-domain hosting account,
may be cheaper and/or easier than purchasing separate hosting accounts
for each of your domains.
This web site contains a list of
web hosts who support Multiple Domain hosting.
- MySQL:
MySQL is a database that runs on web-servers. Many PHP scripts (and some
other types of scripts too), require it.
This web site contains a list of
MySQL web hosts.
- No Programming
Most web hosts require you that you create your web pages in
HTML,
and for more advanced facilities require work with scripts in
ASP,
CGI
or PHP.
Some companies however have developed special web hosting solutions that
those without the skills or time to use HTML and Scripts, can still achieve
good results. While some of these solutions may not be quiet as flexible as
those which require programming, they make up for that in easy-of-use and
time-savings.
This web site contains a list of
web hosts who do not require programming.
- PHP:
PHP
is another scripting technology. Most (but
not all) commercial web hosts support PHP. Again, if you need PHP compatibility,
check the hosting companies provides it before choosing a host.
Please note: Many (but not all) PHP scripts also require MySQL.
This web site contains a list of
PHP web hosts.
- SSL:
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a method that is used for users to send
data securely to a web site, for example, in secure credit card transactions.
- If you intend to use a third party payment processor like
ClickBank,
or Verotel
then you probably do not need SSL.
- But, if you intend to use your own
merchant account to accept credit card orders,
then you probably will need SSL.
This web site contains a list of
SSL web hosts.
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