By William MacMahon
The importance of computer is surely on increase and as a result of which, each and every aspect related to computer is of paramount significance at this point of time. It is often found that people are in need of some information regarding this, especially when it is about a website or the world of Internet. This is a common need and goes without saying that having created a website, one is supposed to go to the world of Internet. Once you are in the realm of Internet, it endows you with three alternative options to choose from. The first two options are simple and well known. In fact, if they are placed in an order, they stand like- either hosting the site on your own computer or hosting the site on a server. These are the first two options and the third option is that of employing anyone else to live up to the job of hosting the site for you. To put it in a straightforward manner, the first two options that are talked about are very useful and practical. But, the issue is that these options are perfect if either you have fast connections or if this is all about business related sites. This is not something easy because such options can't be devoid of your vigilant eye to supervise. Moreover, this can only be done successfully if you do have a fast connection facility.
So, if you forget about these two options, the other option that remains is that of having a web-hosting company for this job. When we talk about such companies, it must be said that they are planned to accommodate your site with the aid of their server. The interesting thing is that you have the chance to get into it in order to upload your files on the site. If the aspect of web-hosting is categorized into different sections, we get three types of web-hosting. They are free web-hosting, paid web-hosting and dedicated web-hosting. The most expensive option is that of the dedicated web-hosting and this is perfect if your site is in need of a great attention. Here, the company lives up to the task of hosting your website on their server with their connection.
It is often found that people are inquisitive about the need or role of paid web-hosting as there is the option of getting this service free.
Then comes the two other options - free web hosting and paid web hosting. It is very normal if a question comes into your mind as to why anyone would pay for a service which he can get for free. There are many advantages which accrue to a paid web hosting.
Some free hosts do not place their banner on your website, yet in most cases the services are not good enough. Some free web hosts have brilliant features but the tech-support is unreliable! For a small site, or if you are just venturing into this field go for a free web-host in the initial stages.
As far as the free web-hosting is concerned, they lack in the aspect of reliability notwithstanding having some brilliant features. Honestly speaking, their service is not up to the mark, although, there are some free hosts who do not put their banner on your website. You can consider these options if you have a small site or you are a beginner in this field. The web-hosts provide you with certain features and a list of such features is given below. This is not certainly an extensive list. Let me put it in this manner that in order to get your site hosted, you are expected to know about certain terms.
URL/Address: If you don't have a domain name, then you might need a URL address.
Space: Websites are built of web pages, which consume little space. For a small site of about a hundred pages, a space of 5MB is sufficient. But remember that graphics take more space than plain text, so if your website is one which has a lot of graphics, then go for about 15MB to 20MB space. Many web hosts offer unlimited space, but in most cases, you may not require it.
Bandwidth/ transfer- this is a monthly affair, and accounts for the total number of files transferred from your site in a month. The best option being unlimited bandwidth. You need no less than 1GB per month for average sites.
CGI-BIN: If you run interactive scripts on your website, such as counters, guest books, etc., then you will need this. You can remotely host the site while the banners are carried from a third-party website.
SSI- It points towards a feature of special function. What it adds to your facility is that it lets you employ a plan of prompting your server to put something on your page. It can be either simple text or CGI generated code or anything like this.
MySQL/ASP/PHP Support: These are basically database formats which help you maintain database on your website. ASP's normally generate key sites.
Technical Assistance- As mentioned earlier, a paid host can endow you with better technical support than a free host and your site is in a great need of this. This technical assistance can be had through either e-mail, phone or fax.
E- mail- It is always wise to have a POP3 mail service as it lets you receive any message from your web-host before they send it to you. Actually, it is very common to have such mails provided you have a domain name.
FrontPage Extensions: These extensions are required only if you use the facility of Microsoft FrontPage for construction of your website. Also, the FrontPage components can be added to your website as well.
SSL/Secure Server- this is essential to ensure secure ordering facilities on your web-site.
Statistics/ Log Files- this section provides you with information about your users, like what files have been downloaded and which of the pages have been accessed.
FTP Accounts- with anonymous FTP, users can log in to an area of your site and download files. These allow you to upload files on your website.
Some Information About Paid Hosting: If you agree to spend some money in order to have an ad-free hosting and satisfactory technical support, it is possible to upgrade a free hosting. So, find out a better web-hosting and it cuts down the charge making it $5 to $75 per month (it is $150 per month with dedicated servers).
However, if you are opting for paid web host services, then you must ask them about a list of all the websites which they host. By doing this, you can contact webmasters of those sites and get first-hand information about the web host. Also, enquire about the technical support, since this is a very important factor as far as paid web hosts go.
Always bear in mind to go through all their terms and conditions. It is often seen that some free hosts do ask you for the ownership of the copyright of your page. This is an obstruction to advertise on your own website. So, be aware of all the restrictions to advance properly.
About the Author:
About The Author : William MacMahon is a professional writer in the
web hosting industry. Visit WebHostingMadness.com to read his reviews on the
top hosting companies each month.