Frequently Asked Web
Hosting Questions
Congratulations!
After much thought and consideration, you finally took the plunge and decided
it was time to have your own web site. That's a great accomplishment in itself.
However, now you're left with another daunting task -- selecting a quality
web host.
Selecting a good web host is of the utmost importance. However, with all
of the technical mumbo jumbo, knowing what to look for can be very intimidating
to say the least.
For this reason, I have devised a list of the most frequently asked web hosting
questions.
Question: I'm not exactly sure what a web
host is. Can you please explain?
Answer: A web host is a company that provides
you with server space for your web site. This includes all of the files
associated with your web site. When your web address is typed into a browser,
the web host displays your pages.
Question: Is it true that a good web host
will cost me a lot of money each month?
Answer: Although the old adage "you get
what you pay for" still holds true, there are many quality web hosts that
are reasonably priced. You can expect to pay $20 - $50 a month for up to
50MB of space depending on the company and your specific needs.
Question: I have been considering hosting
my site with a free hosting company, but I'm a little concerned with their
reliability. Can you shed some light?
Answer: NEVER host an ecommerce web site
with a free hosting service. These services are highly unreliable and could
care less if your site goes down. Their main concern is with their advertisers.
As long as their ads are up and running, for the most part, they could care
less about you or your site.
In addition, sites hosted with free services look very unprofessional. If
you've taken the time to get your own web site designed and your own domain
name, why would you risk your success and host with a free service? It's
just not worth it.
Question:
I'm at my wits end. I've been to so many hosting companies and am completely
overwhelmed. I have no idea what company to go with. Can you please tell
me what I should be looking for in a good host?
Answer: Selecting a quality hosting company
can be an intimidating process. Your first consideration should be the company.
• Do they offer fast connections?
• Do they have a back-up system in place to protect your
data in case there is a power outage?
• Do they require you to make payments in advance?
• Do they require a long-term contract?
• Do they charge set up fees?
• How is their customer support? Test them.
• Do they provide you with free access to a secure server
for order processing?
• Do they offer shopping cart software to process your
orders?
• Do they provide you with an online Web Site Manager?
• Do they provide you with an online support manual?
Ask for references. Talk with some of their customers and ask them if they
have been satisfied.
Here are some basic features you should look for when selecting a web host:
1) 24/7 reliable tech support
2) Your own domain name (www.yourname.com)
3) At least 10GB of monthly transfer (traffic)
4) A minimum of 20MB - 50MB of server space
5) Unlimited true POP email accounts - name@yourdomain.com
6) Unlimited email aliases
7) Email forwarding
8) Unlimited autoresponders
9) Your own unrestricted CGI-Bin
10) Access to SSL Encryption for secure transactions
11) MySQL Database
12) Perl
13) htaccess password protection
14) Server Side Includes (SSI) support
15) Design (and upload to) your site using Netscape or other HTML editing
software
16) Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions for those utilizing FrontPage
17) Unlimited free access to your server via FTP/Telnet
18) Easy access to your log files
19) Statistics on visits to your site
20) Referral Program
When selecting a web host, you must look at the entire picture prior to making
your decision. You may find a host that charges $5.00 - $15.00 a month to
host your site, however, their technical support may be poor, or your web
site may be slow or down a lot.
A lower monthly payment may look appealing, but how much is it actually going
to cost you in lost sales? Most likely much more than the amount you'll save.
Although there are many web hosting companies online, there is only one that
I can recommend:
Host4Profit - Professional web hosting specifically designed for the Internet
marketer. $24.95/mo. for 300MB
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=h4p
Take your time and select the host that best meets your needs. It will be
well worth your time and effort in the long run.
Copyright © Shelley
Lowery
About the Author:
Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design course, Web Design
Mastery.
http://www.webdesignmastery.com
And, Ebook Starter - Give Your Ebooks the look and feel of a REAL book.
http://www.ebookstarter.com
Visit Web-Source.net to sign up for a complimentary subscription to Etips
and receive a copy of the acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet Marketing
Strategies."
http://www.web-source.net
You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print,
in your ebook or on your web site, free of charge, as long as the author
bylines are included.
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