Bandwidth can make all the difference when choosing where to host your website
A common mistake made by so many people when looking to choose a web host company is not asking about bandwidth. After spending so long designing or with a developer designing your web site you do not want to see a good web site ruined and only viewed by a handful of people at a time. A web site is generally your shop window and you want as many people as possible to look in and hopefully click on your information or purchase online if you are offering products. All web host companies will offer you a limited amount of bandwidth, it’s then up to you to calculate whether or not you need to pay a little extra for bandwidth you may require.
Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from the web host company, it is there job to help you along the way and after all it’s you who is paying for there service. You will need to advice them as to how big each page is on your website and if possible a rough calculation as to how many people you think may view your site on a weekly or daily basis.
Is it possible to save bandwidth?
Yes it is and this comes into play at the time of designing your website. If you are looking to save the bandwidth you should put all photos in the JPEG format and all graphics in GIF format. By doing so you are compressing the files using only the very least bandwidth required.
Why do some companies offer only a very limited amount of bandwidth?
You have got to remember that web hosting is an extensive market and very profitably for the web hosting company. The more people they can attract to their services the more profit they make. They in turn have to pay out to the telecoms companies for the bandwidth provided to them and are only wanting to pay the bare amount to keep profits high. Web host companies that are not offering you the additional bandwidth are the ones to avoid. If they say it is not possible to purchase additional bandwidth, then the chances are this is a small company with poor technology behind them operating on a shoestring budget.
What will happen if I do not have enough bandwidth?
It’s very simply really, if your website has not got enough bandwidth to operate with, one of two things will happen. Your website will download onto peoples monitors very slowly and the chances are they will not wait around. The second problem is that your web site may only be viewed by a very limited audience at one time. You may have great link backs from other websites driving traffic your way only for that traffic to be diverted elsewhere to a properly functioning competitor.
How can I ensure that this will not happen to me?
Undoubtedly it is very frustrating to spend time and money developing a good informative website only to have it’s viewing reduced by lack of bandwidth. You need to be honest with your web host company and tell them the number of pages and how large your overall files are, by doing this the onus is on them to offer us the service your require. You can ask for a guarantee from the web host company that all will be fine with your site and there are many out there willing to give such guarantees. If you decide to go it cheap and risk the low bandwidth you are only fooling yourself. Look at the rates from the different web host companies for extra bandwidth and you will be pleasantly surprised that it will not cost an arm and a leg to have a little extra. Knowingly going over bandwidth with only cost you revenue in the long run and makes your website very unprofessional. If you are hosting with a reliable web host company they will not allow this happen anyway.
If you are unsure as to how large your website actually is act the person or company who developed the site for you to advise or simply ask the web host company, all will be happy to oblige you.
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There are millions of sites out there offering some form of webhosting. With
prices ranging from fifty dollars a year to thousands of dollars a month, it
can be difficult to make the right choice. Before you spend your hard earned
dollars, know what features you need and what type of fees you can expect.
One main issue you need to look is your requirements. Costs vary depending
on a number of factors:
- The amount of server space. This refers to the actual physical size your
files take on the webhost, same as the concept of hard drive space on your
own computer. Unless you are hosting large graphics and other media files,
such as music and movies, the default offered with your package should be
more than sufficient. In general, HTML files take up very little space.
- The amount of traffic. This refers to the “bandwidth” your site uses.
Every time someone views a page or downloads a file, the size of the file is
deducted from your allocated bandwidth. One again, the size of your site and
media file dictates how much bandwidth you need.
- The types of additional features you require. Do you need support for
php? MySQL or other databases? Frontpage support? Shell access? These are
required for different types of web technology and programming. If you don’t
know what they are, then you probably shouldn’t be concerned. If, however,
someone else has created your page for you, it would be wise to check with
him.
With most hosting services you can purchase extra space and bandwidth for a
monthly rate. A basic package often includes a range of features such as
those listed above, as well as support for many other common technologies.
Any webhost worth its salt will also be willing to accommodate your needs,
even if you have the need for seldom used options.
As for fees, you can expect to pay on average somewhere in the range of
fifteen dollars per month for a reasonably robust solution. Most packages
include many features you will never use, as well as bandwidth and storage
limits that even a small business can live with. Additional charges may be
incurred for several reasons. One of these is an initial set-up fee. These
are quite frequently waived if you are willing to pay for several months up
front or sign up for an extended time period.
Domain fees, the cost you pay for your “mydomain.com”, are another
commonality. These can also be purchased from domain sellers, but it is just
as easy to have your web host handle it for you. Purchasing from your web
host eliminates the timely setup you might otherwise occur. The fees
charged for domains typically run around fifteen dollars for a full year.
This cost is usually lower if you pay for a longer period, such as two, five
or ten years.
Finally, there are options that are not usually included with a standard
package. Such fees include those for hosting additional domains. It is
usually easier to host two or more domains from the same account instead of
using several. There may be an additional monthly or yearly fee per domain.
Shop around. Check a few different sites to compare features and costs. It
is always better to buy a package with more features and bandwidth that you
will use, rather than pay over usage charges with a cheaper account. As you
would when making any purchase, make sure you buy what you need to meet your
needs.
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Web hosting offers you the opportunity to put your web site online, when you think about it; it’s the only way you can do it. No matter how large or small in content your web site happens to be it has to go onto a web server. A web server is simply a larger and much more powerful computer than your own. Your internet content simply sits on this server for people to access and view your information. The web servers are stored within data centers, all you are simply doing is renting some space on the server.
Why use a web hosting service:
Firstly it’s very affordable. Web hosting companies will look after and update all software required to maintain your site, they will also add all security patches making sure your content is safe from hackers/viruses and unwanted spam. Once you register your domain name (web site name) you have to have it hosted for the public to view your information. If you run into any difficulties you will have a full technical support team to help you out. To host your own will cost too much on hardware, bandwidth and ongoing software updates.
I hear of shared web hosting – What is it?
When shopping around for a web host company you will find that many are offering shared web hosting. Shared web hosting is simply a server that has a number of different web sites sitting on it simultaneously. You will be allocated a certain amount of disk space on the server and this may allow you to have a number of web sites hosted on the one server. Shared web hosting is a very secure service even though you could be sharing the server with many different companies. No other company will have access to your files. Many people think that using a shared service will make the web site act very slowly, this is totally incorrect, the information will be displayed and downloaded equally as fast as if it where on the server on it’s own. Web host companies offer shared hosting simply to use up all the space on the server, there is no benefit to you or them having empty hard disk space.
What makes a good web host site?
If you have developed a web site for business opportunity or to sell merchandise online you need reliability. Downtime costs you money so the less downtime you experience the better chance of making money. You need to compile a list of questions to ask the web host company when it comes to hosting your site. You need a guarantee response time if the unthinkable should happen and the site goes offline. You need 24 hour access to your files with 24 hour support if you intend selling products online, most of your sales could be made in the evening or night time so you have to have support for any issues that could arise. Statistics are also important; you need to know how many unique hits (people visiting your site) you are getting so you can see the trend of people just visiting to those who are buying. Some web host companies offer very substantial stats while others can be less informative, you should ask for a demonstration.
Word of mouth is a great way to hear as to who is a good host and a bad host. If you know somebody in a similar position to you, ask their opinion from their experience. There are plenty of good honest web host companies out there but like every market there are a few bad apples. Ask the questions and make sure you are confident with the replies before you join up.
Will it matter if I host my web site in my own country or in another?
Generally speaking no. If you are happy with your questions answered and the company have 24 hour support to allow for time differences you should have the same level service as if the web host company was based just down the road. Some people think that by hosting their website outside of their registered country they will lose their domain identity, this is false e.g. if I was based in Ireland and I had a computer website it would be something like www.computerparts.ie The .ie is the identity of Ireland but if I wanted this site hosted in the US I would still keep the .ie, there is no need to change to .com. That’s the great thing about web hosting, the world is your oyster and you can shop online globally until your are truly happy with the service.
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The first thing before choosing a web hosting provider is that you should be fully aware of your hosting requirements. If you are a beginner wanting to host a personal web site, then your only concern is that you get a decent amount of disk space for your web site with a host that is as cheap as $5 per month. However, if you are a developer, an online entrepreneur or an online business looking for e-commerce capabilities or advanced scripting technologies, then you can determine your requirements in the following order.
(1) Whether you need Shared Hosting or Dedicated Hosting:
This depends mainly on two major requirements, the traffic your web site is expected to receive and the degree of administrative privileges you need. If you expect your web site to receive huge amounts of traffic, then you will need to have a Dedicated Server which definitely has a much greater bandwidth offering. Also you should select Dedicated server hosting if your web site requires customized options, secure information or complex applications i.e. e-commerce, dynamic content, database and multimedia applications.
(2) Whether you need Linux Hosting or Windows Hosting:
If you’re going to use server technologies such as ASP, JSP etc or intend to run Microsoft applications like Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL database on your server, then you should use a Windows hosting provider. Although ASP can be run on the Linux platform using some commercial applications, there are security and reliability concerns related to it. However, if you want to use ColdFusion, it can run on both Linux and Windows platforms.
(3) What are your Space and Bandwidth requirements:
Many web hosting providers nowadays offer generous amounts of disk space from 1 GB to 3 GB. However, if your web site mainly acts as a download resource, then your disk space requirements may be 5 to 10 times greater than this. The second consideration is how much traffic your web site is expected to receive which will let you estimate your bandwidth requirements.
(4) How many Parked Domains and Subdomains do you need:
Parked domains are very advantageous and can significantly increase the amount of traffic to your web site. Similarly, subdomains can help with your search engine rankings by pointing to specific directories of your web site. Parked domains and subdomains occasionally come free with certain web hosting packages. However if you need more, you will have to pay an additional price per month.
(5) FTP Accounts and Anonymous FTP Requirements:
You may need more than one FTP account if you have coworkers working on your web site project at different locations. The Anonymous FTP permits the general public to access certain directories on your web server to whom they have been granted permission by you. In most cases, you will need a dedicated IP address for Anonymous FTP to function.
(6) Whether you need e-commerce Features:
If you need e-commerce features, you should choose a web hosting provider that provides e-commerce functionality such as shopping carts and the ability to accept credit cards. You should also check whether their server is SSL secure.
In addition to your own hosting requirements, the following considerations must be kept in mind when looking for a quality web hosting provider.
(1) More than 99.5% uptime:
Choose a web hosting provider that has an uptime greater than 99.5% and if there is an uptime guarantee, it’s even better. If your web site is for business purposes, it’s very crucial that your site stays online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year.
(2) Fast Servers:
The level of connectivity of your web hosting provider to the Internet is very important. So you should choose a web hosting provider with at least a T3 connection to the major Internet backbone. Analysis has shown that the average web visitor waits for about 30 seconds before your web page loads. So if your web site takes more than 30 seconds to load, chances are that you will loose a lot of visitors and consequently sales.
(3) Server Backups:
To make your data secure, your web hosting provider must have a power backup system and should backup the data to an external device in order to prevent the data loss due to failure. Check how frequently the web hosting provider backups the data, i.e. daily or weekly.
(4) Disk Space and Bandwidth:
Choose a web hosting provider that meets your disk space and bandwidth requirements. Most web hosting providers offer 1 GB to 3 GB of disk space, so if your web site is not mainly a download resource, then this factor is not that important for you. However, as regards the bandwidth, it should be as much as possible because your traffic can increase in the future thereby requiring more data transfer. Also check that you have the option of buying more disk space and bandwidth when required.
(5) Unrestricted CGI, SSH, FTP access & Anonymous FTP:
If you have a professional web site, you will need to run CGI scripts, have SSH (Secure Shell) access and FTP access. CGI and FTP access is provided by most web hosting providers whereas SSH access is provided by a few. You may also need to check if anonymous FTP access is provided.
(6) Software/Scripts:
Choose a web hosting provider that has an extensive script library that you can use to add guestbooks, forms, surveys, newsletters etc to your web site.
(7) E-commerce capabilities and SSL:
Choose a web hosting provider that provides you with e-commerce capabilities with shopping cart software and also merchant accounts. The web hosting provider must also have an SSL secure server for safe and risk-free transactions.
(8) Web-Based Administration:
Almost all web hosting providers nowadays provide a control panel to access and manage web site features. Ask for a demo of their control panel if possible and check to make sure that it is simple as well as comprehensive. The control panel should provide access to FTP, e-mail, databases, e-commerce and all other functions for effective web site management. VDeck 2.0 and CPanel are the leading brands of administration control panels.
(9) Full e-mail services:
Choose a web hosting provider that provides both POP3 and IMAP e-mail accounts, web-based e-mail, autoresponders, mailing lists, forwarding accounts and antivirus and spam filtering software.
(10) Moneyback Guarantee:
If the Web hosting provider gives a moneyback guarantee, it’s even better because it makes you absolutely risk-free.
(11) 24/7/365 Customer Support:
The web hosting provider should provide as many support channels as possible including an FAQ section, a knowledgebase, video and flash tutorials, toll-free support, e-mails support, live chat support and a community forum. Try e-mailing the web host a couple of times to check how quickly they respond to your request. The customer support should be as prompt as possible and should be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. This is crucial because if you run into problems and the support staff is not receptive or knowledgeable, you will be helpless.
I’ve got plans and I need the best domain hosting service possible.
Also, what’s a good company for getting money when people click on ads besides Google?
