Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The Benefits of Multiple Domain Web Hosting?

Thanks to the low charge of domain names and hosting fees it is conceivable to own many websites without breaking the bank. There are a few ways to handle multiple domains so it is vital to understand what your options are and the benefits and disadvantages of each approach.
The most elementary selection when managing multiple domains is whether to do so with the identical hosting company. Most hosts offer packages which can allow several sites to be attached to one account, or allow single sites to run under separate accounts. You may own an existing website and be delighted with the services your host provides. If you resolve to start a new website using the identical host, dealing with a company you are familiar with and trust will comfort you. You may also get a discount for each added account you open with the same host. On the other hand, using a new host for a second (or third or fourth) website can allow you to compare the quality of hosting offered by different companies. In addition, separate hosts will provide each of your web sites with a different IP address.
Having different IP addresses can be critical if you intend to link the sites together to aid in search engine optimization. Incoming links are an important pointer of how consequential a website is, so a site with many incoming links can get a higher position in search engines like Google . If all the links are coming from the same IP address, however, Google may reduce their value. Hosting your numerous sites with different hosting companies guarantees that each site has a different IP address. Individual IP addresses, however, are available at an extra cost from most web hosts. For a yearly fee each website can have its own unique IP address. This can help with search engine ranking and if you want to have a secure connection (https) on your site.
If you decide to host all your sites with the same company, there are three basic ways to go. Each site could have its own account; you could sign up for a reseller account; or you could get a dedicated server account. As a reseller you are acting as an agent for the hosting company. They apportion some disk space and bandwidth to you which you use as you please. There may be a limitation to the number of websites you can host with your reseller account. If you have space left after using this account for your own sites you could earn some extra income by selling accounts to other people. The advantage of a reseller account is the hosting company taking care of all the technical details. Some will even provide gateways for billing your customers.
A dedicated server account gives you command of all the resources of an entire server. You are free to setup as many websites as you wish and assign disk space and bandwidth as you see fit. The disadvantage to this account is that you are responsible for maintaining the server. This requires significant technical know-how so if you don't have that knowledge or don't feel like learning about it, dedicated servers are not for you. You can, of course, go with a managed dedicated server. The disadvantage of this is the higher cost involved. Hosting all your sites with one host can offer many advantages but there is one chief drawback : if your server goes down, all your sites go down. If you are depending on your sites for income this can be catastrophic. So, it is a good idea to have at least one of your sites with a different host. If your sites are essential for your livelihood and you can't manage any down time whatever, it is better to host everything with (at least) two hosts

Think about quality if you are looking for web hosting?

When you sign up for cheap web hosting, are you reallly getting a bargain? You’ve probably read the ads promising web page hosting at dirt cheap prices, but what do you really get for these low hosting prices? Let’s find out. Here are some great tips on finding low cost web hosting without sacrificing quality service.

Avoid the Freebies

Websites that offer free web site hosting usually aren’t really free when you consider the benefits you must give up. Most free web site hosting offers give you free space on another company’s website, but you are not getting actual domain hosting. You’re getting one or a few of your web pages displayed on someone else’s domain. Therefore, you can never fully promote your website or help it to reach its full potential. If the company is shut down tomorrow, your site will shut down as well.
Another disadvantage of free web page hosting is you will probably have advertisements on your web pages. At the very least, you’ll have an ad for the company that is providing the hosting space. This can cause your visitors to click out of your website before buying your products.
Even some cheap web hosting services offer similar services as the free hosts. The only difference is they charge you for poor hosting service!
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When shopping for cheap web hosting, be sure to compare web site hosting packages - not only prices. Some key features to look for are the amount of web space you’re getting for the money. You might not need much web hosting space at the start, but as you expand, the website will grow much larger. So, you’ll most likely have to purchase more web hosting space if you don’t purchase enough at the start. In comparing low cost web hosting packages, you might be surprised at the differences in amount of web space you get when paying only a dollar or two more.
Other things to look for when comparing cheap web hosting packages include customer and technical support availability, multiple email accounts and auto responders, detailed control panel such as cPanel or a similar program, password protected directories, etc. If you need special web design integration with PHP, MySQL and databases, be sure the virtual host offers these features. Also, if you plan to resell hosting to your customers, be sure the virtual host offers reseller hosting as well.

Decide on Web Design First

Before choosing a cheap web hosting package, decide on how you will design your website. What programming language will you use in your web design? Will you need to integrate a shopping cart and/or customer database? How will you handle your customer emails? All these questions should be considered before choosing a cheap web hosting package.
Take some time to find the web site hosting service that will meet your needs, both today and in the future. Keep in mind that you will probably use your web host’s services for many years to come. Taking time now to find the best possible cheap web hosting with all the features you need will save you from many headaches in the future

Searching around for a web hosting company? Here's what to keep in mind

The current count of web hosts yields just over a gazillion companies claiming to be number 1, offering the very best in what hosting can offer with prices that simply cannot be beat. Needless to say, it can take a trained eye this day and age to see through their gimmicks and get right down to whether this company has what you want. If you're confused about what to choose, read on.
Before even beginning your search, analyze what your needs are. What features would you like your site to have? What Internet programming languages do you anticipate using? Be sure to take under consideration any feedback form features, database connectivity or any other site virtue that is simply too advanced for pure HTML. Would you like e-mail addresses? Do you have a domain name? How much traffic do you expect to receive? All these questions and more help in the final decision for that one glorious hosting company.
In the midst of your search, you'll probably run across hosting services that offer 'unlimited bandwidth'. This is simply not true. The term 'bandwidth' refers to the amount of information that is past between the hosting servers and the end user. Most hosting companies are connected to high-speed Internet backbones (UUNET, Sprint, AT&T, etc) which charge the hosting company based on their monthly bandwidth from customers. Needless to say, if you rack up upwards of 25Gigs of bandwidth a month, that lacks financial prosperity for your hosting company. Be sure to read the terms of service very carefully with each hosting company that you are considering, especially if they advertise 'free' or 'unlimited' site features. A hosting company's support services often goes untested, especially with beginners in the site design and hosting world.
A skilled and prompt support staff should be one of the most important decision breakers in your mind. If you run into trouble getting a perl script to work, or perhaps your database permissions are not setup correctly on the hosting company's side. You want those problems corrected, and fast. One way to test a service's support staff is to simply send them an e-mail and see how long it takes for a response to be sent. Try to send an inquiry to support and sales and any other department you deem necessary. Ask support if they offer a web language that you like, or ask the sales department if they charge your credit card or hire another company to do it for them. If you receive a response the same day, you can probably rest assured you will receive timely help with any inquiries you have. They should not take more than one complete day to get back to you.
Perform research away from the company's web site. Ask questions through e-mail lists and other mediums to try and get some feedback. If the company lists a testimonials section, look into contacting the authors of the testimonials and start asking questions. The more comments you have, the better understanding you'll have on how that hosting service treats its customers. Pay attention to how long they have been online. A well-established hosting company of many years will most likely yield the greatest chances of customer successes. Click on the about page if they have one and read it all; after all, you may very well be giving this company your credit card number.
Now, let's get down to the nitty gritty: Does the service offer what you want? Although you may expect your site to remain fairly small, allow yourself some room to grow, represented in megabytes (Mbs). If you're using 5Mbs, look for 10. If you're using 20Mbs, look for 30 or 40. If you are a photographer and want to use your site as a portfolio, you better opt for a more powerful account with more space and bandwidth, as images take more of both. Depending on how many images you have and how popular your site is, look for at least 50Mbs of space and 5Gigs of bandwidth. However, a regular, average size site with mostly html pages should be fine with 15 or 20Mbs and 1 or 2gigs of bandwidth and paying no more than $15 a month, depending on other features