Cost should be concerned while operating a website. One can find several hosts in the market who not only take the responsibility of one’s website, no matter small or large but also handle it well and the cost what they take is mere 5 to 7 dollars a month.

Generally, user needs to pay additional money on a domain name. However, there are several emerging companies providing a free domain name along with the contract. So, going with reliable offers saving money is not bad!

To know about such companies providing such features one should consult an independent web hosting review site for suggestion. During the process user should keep foot intelligently, as some of the review sites are nothing but scams of a hosting company to attract more people!

One should carefully explore the details of activation fees. This is because users are generally shown mirage, disclosing the truth later on!

It is both duty as well as right of the user to inquire about the customer support of the respective company. Support called web based instant message is a boon for the user to tackle the problem in a quick session of time.

Always think positive and in advance of others while going for a hosting service. What is one’s strategy? Building a plain HTML based site? Or rather there is a probability of addition of a forum or another dynamic feature to the concern site in the upcoming period of time? If the answer is yes, then a site possessing PHP and MySQL or even CGI can be essential.

So, on the surfing pad of these guidelines one can cruise into the sea of his/her own website with mastery!

It is quite surprising that even after knowing the importance of this source several businesses personnel and entrepreneurs put their business in a hazardous situation just to save little money.

It happens occasionally that people take chances in order to save money but finally loose more than that.

Choosing a web host is not a child’s play. If a right decision can benefit a lot then a wrong decision can also have a negative impact.

So, user should take decision after knowing and measuring his/her requirements.

When it is a matter of a little family site with few personal snaps or a non-commercial blogs, then a cheap hosting provider can also fulfill user’s requirements.

If user’s requirement is a basic, but reliable website to sell few of the products then a package of $9 to 20 per month can be appropriate, it may vary according to technical assistance required by the user.

If the user is planning to host a multiple sites for the purpose of producing search engine traffic, to promote and sale products online, then he/she remain ready to spend in the range of $15 to $50 per month.

If user’s choice is to operate a sophisticated e-commerce site with dynamic features, then a dedicated server for around $100 to $200 a month can match the requirement.

One should measure the hosting provider on the following criteria.

Does the website involve scripts?

If the answer is YES! then user should ensure that there is a cgi-bin and MySQL database in the package.

Does user possess his/her own “dedicated IP address?”

One should understand that each domain has its own series of numbers.

It is quite identical to phone number, all having accurate destination anywhere in the world.

Still, depending on the way how one’s host sets up their server, one’s domain can actually share an IP address with dozens, even hundreds, of other websites.

Now the problem is, if one of those websites misbehaves, it can adversely affect everyone on that same IP address.

One should have his/her known dedicated IP address, paying extra amount for that hardly matters.

What amount of space required by the user?

Possessing 100 MB of space is the least criteria not less then that.

In addition to it, user should also confirm that monthly package includes at least 10 email forwarding accounts and 10 GB of data transfer.

Confusion cannot be a solution. In the case of doubt one should shop around, compare and consult someone on whom he/she can trust upon.

Hence, what can be the lesson concluded from the above passage?

The user should know that his/her concerned web hosting account is the base of online business. So, if user hesitates it will harm him/her only, no one else.

1. Is the company offering telephone support or 24/7 email support?

It is very important to have 24/7 Email support and one should always get reply within 1-2 hours. Not only is that telephone support also a must.

2. What is the history of the company? Since how long is the company been in existence?

One must very carefully read the company’s profile from their web page. It is important to check for the existence of the company in business. One should also check for the number of users of the company . The way to obtain all this information is by having a look on the host’s website as large number of host providers posts their customer testimonials on their site to reinforce the message.

3. What is the type of software that the company is offering?

The most important tool for a user is control panel which includes statistic, web mail, adding email account, file manager, Database management etc.

Free Scripts Provided – There are several webhosting provides offering free scripts to users. User can install these scripts through control panel. Some examples of Free Scripts are- Oscommerce, Phpnuke, Phpbb, Moodle, Phpwebsite, Xoops, etc.

4. Fees.

One should also check the provider’s service plan carefully before signing up. This service plan is usually made available by all the providers and by comparing them one can find the suitable provider suiting his/her needs. It is necessary to read the provider’s “terms and conditions” and refund conditions as well.

5. Marketing Service

There are several web hosting providers providing search engine submission to their customers. Not only that they use to provide paid per click service to their customer.

The following are the lists of 11 most essential questions before choosing a web host-

Q1. On which platform is the web hosting built i. e. on windows or UNIX or Linux etc.

Q2. What about the reliability of the service of the web host?

Q3. What is the kind of performance one is expecting?

Q4. How is the quality of email and phone support?

Q5. How expensive is it?

Q6. How much is the bandwidth available?

Q7. What is a type of control panel available?

Q8. What about a POP3 account?

Q9. What about protection i. e. anti spam and viruses features?

Q10. What about running one’s own online store?

Q11. What kind of Online Marketing Support is made available?

Distinction

If one is unsure of the difference; here it is in a nutshell. If one co-locates, it simply means renting space within someone else’s facility to store his/her own server or servers. It is very much similar to a high tech gym locker that user is renting all or part of to house his/her servers. The user either ship or deliver the server to his/her provider. Additional services that are provided by the host along with co-location differ from individual to individual host but it surely will not include the actual server. With a dedicated server the user will get all the features of co-location, as well as, the actual web server itself.

Which is superior?

Between web hosting and co-location webhosting, the best would be which is best suited for one’s need. Comparing both we will find that there are excellent situations for both the dedicated server option is quickly becoming a better choice in more and more cases. If one already possesses a web server, or prefers to use cluster, then obviously co-location possibly will be the user’s ideal choice. If the user is bearing in mind buying new equipment and shipping it off for co-location, he/she should reassess. One should know that, the prices and equipment existing in dedicated hosting currently are outstanding, not only this but it will relieve the user from the burden of hardware. Most hosts prefer to carry suitable spare parts on hand according to the servers used, so that quick action can be taken if any undesirable thing happens. Depending on one’s arrangement with a collocation deal hardware failure could simply mean paying extra to have a server shipped back, having it fixed by oneself rather then sending it back to the data center.

If the answer of above all the questions is yes, then it can be said that one is in a position to host his/her own sites. This article will help one to switch to another host easily.

One can be his/her own web host if he/she is technically inclined and have basic knowledge of operating systems, is able to understand technical terms, is able to understand how to setup a server environment (such as: DNS, IIS, Apache, etc. ), is possessing basic knowledge of scripting languages and databases (PHP, Perl, MySQL, etc. ), is familiar with current technologies, and have a basic understanding of hardware and server components.

However just like anything else there too are some pros & cons as saying is actually quite difficult from doing.

The one side (Pros): -

It carries own sense of responsibility

Due to it awareness level gets raised (one is at the frontline of all server happenings)

Escape from monthly hosting fees/accounts

Eradication of incompetence

Advantage of dedicated server

No limits of websites, databases, content, storage, etc.

Unlimited bandwidth

Saving of time as no more waiting on someone else time

Last but not least complete control

The other side (Cons): –

Much exhausting at times

Problems of server/hardware

Monthly business/broadband expense i. e. ISP business account

In case server goes down, the website is also offline.

No help from technical support team

other expenses in form of Software, hardware, and network

Thus, just like some mentioned above pros and cons there can be many more.

Several avenues are available to explore to locate this best deal. The user can ask the company who designed his/her website, if they know of any hosting companies which they could suggest. Along with that one can explore the Internet with the help of search engine for e. g. Google.

In case user possesses a large quantity of websites, for which he/she requires hosting, it is significant to consider a reseller account. This is an area where user needs to loose his/her pocket a little bit more, usually in form of high yearly fee, and is allowed a limitless amount of websites on the same server floor.

An ideal host charges £500 annually and this works out to be a lot cheaper than having individual hosting accounts for each of one’s websites. There are other companies offering cheap services and usually no body gets any problem with that except their customer support is worst.

Talking about responses to the problem, generally, an ideal hosting company provides answer of lot of the questions though their control panel, therefore it is quite rare that the customer needed to contact them for such purposes.

Selection of webhosting is not just finding a place for website rather it is finding the company that offers resources that enables one’s website to operate effectively and to grow as per demand of the business or public. This implies that one must be able to store and transfer enough data so as to enable smooth functioning of site with less cost.

In case of free webhosting the providers place their ads on one’s site. These ads helps in generating revenue for the hosting company by enabling them to display ads to visitors to one’s website. However, the choice is entirely on user to determine whether the ads are appropriate for visitors or not. In addition one is also having the choice to decide whether the amount of storage and the available bandwidth is sufficient for the type of website one wants to display or not. For a personal website, that is periodically modified, a personal website is sufficient. However using services of free hosting on site with significant traffic or a site, which is with commercial focus, is not a right option.

This is because all commercial web-hosting companies are not created equal. While deciding for the proper service, cost is a factor but reliability and service cant be ignored. One should expect his/her host to be up and functioning 100% of the time but at the same time guarantee of 99-99. 5% uptime is also must. Less than this is not at all acceptable.

If one is managing much of the activity for one’s site, then he/she must make sure that he/she gets the Control Panel of his/her choice. There are some hosts providing Control Panels that are cumbersome and complicated. One must make sure that if the provider is having all the functionality that is required not now but in near future. These features include PHP, MySQL, SSI, . htaccess, SSL, etc. One must examine carefully for the offers for email and auto responders also.

If one is committing for a year or more, many web-hosting services offer very low rates. This proves to be a boon in a long run but it is advisable to pay monthly until one is confident in the service and, quite importantly, the quality of the technical support that they provide. Moreover getting accurate responses to questions and that too immediate makes life of anyone wonderful.

The Distinction

As everyone knows that precise meaning differ from provider to provider, commonly speaking one can say that, managed hosting means user’s provider takes complete or near complete care of his/her server. It may include whatever thing from basic system maintenance and patches to applications maintenance, protection, and monitoring. If the user desires dedicated hosting and wants to trust his/her host for any sort of thing and everything concerning their server requires piling up a bond with a managed service provider. Full blown managed services occupy plenty of skilled people hours. Not only that, as every managed customer has his/her own importance, it’s hard for a managed provider to be excessively systematic. Thus for this even it is expected to pay bit more if it is as per user’s requirement , and it is not at all money waste .

Unmanaged dedicated hosting means dedicated servers with less support, and skilled people support as compared to managed server. The services look so good that as soon as one signs up, pays his/her fees, within a few fractions of minutes or little late he/she will get a welcome email with IP address, login, FAQ’s, etc. Now beyond that one is pretty much on his/her own. But wait, don’t hurry its not so simple as it seems.

In fact, there is no scarcity of technical support in most unmanaged providers and they are very good as well. On choosing an unmanaged dedicated service one must possess someone on his/her team who knows the technical side a good bit, but specialization is not a prime requirement. While user may have to wait for a long period of time like 12 – 24 hours or he/she may even have to pay extra for it, nearly all the unmanaged providers generally possess a team of high level technicians available to tackle down serious issues. In addition to it majority of providers give some sort of immediate reboot service as well. Except the user has been suffering from some form of critical configuration files or contains a hardware failure, a reboot can be very effective with a range of issues. Finally, one can conclude that unmanaged providers may not support the user or whatever he/she put on his/her server after they move in, but they provide full assistance for the hardware and software which they sell to their user. If a hard drive crashes they will definitely replace it for the customer (although he/she had better be doing his/her backups) and if user’s system crashes most of the hosts will re-establish it for the customer.

Review

So one can conclude that, if one has got mission critical needs and don’t have the in-house staff to efficiently keep his/her servers performing the way they should, then they must prefer managed services. Yet it’s a more cost effective path that hiring one’s own staff and most likely the user will receive an advanced, steadier level of service. If one’s needs are more basic, and or user and his/her staff has the time and know-how to perform 75% – 80% of his/her server’s maintenance then a reasonable unmanaged service should be ideal.