Web Hosting
No Web Hosting no website, no website no sales! Hosting has certainly been made lot easier in recent years, with hosting even being offered for free. So what are the basic things you need to know?
Free Web Hosting is absolutely fine for people who just want to set up a simple blog or website for friends and family, who don’t need their own domain name and most probably won’t need all the features and functionality of a paid web hosting package. But bear in mind that if your site does take off, you’ll find it very difficult to expand. Many people don’t realise that if the website becomes a hit you don’t own it, your “free” hosting company does! In turn that means that you couldn’t sell it if that was your aim, as you wouldn’t actually own the domain name e.g. you couldn’t have www.stardreams.com it would be w
ww.stardreams/blogspot.com and would belong to Google(TM). Plus of course it doesn’t look professional or that you are serious about doing business on the internet.
Shared Web Hosting is where the web hosting company gives you a share of a dedicated server. The website would share an IP address with the other users on the server. Shared hosting is probably the way most people would start with their online marketing website, as you have full functionality and 24/7 technical support with a lot of companies now offering unlimited domains and bandwidth.
Dedicated Web Hosting, as the name suggests, is where your website has its own server with all the functionality and control that the webmaster would need. If a website becomes a hit, with a lot of high voloume traffic, then a dedicated server solution is needed. This will provide the speed and raw processing power to quickly display the pages and information correctly to the visitors.
This is a process that most people go through, however if you’re an established company i.e. a traditional bricks and mortar business, then a dedicated server package from the beginning would be the way to go.
So with the above in mind, before deciding on any package or provider, you must know what your goals are, where you want to go with the business, and who you’re targeting. Make sure you check with the hosting company that their service will provide the functionality that you require. For example a WordPress site, with particular themes and plugins, will require certain functionality from your hosting provider so make sure they are able to offer what is needed before signing up.
It pays to do some research before you commit to any particular service. A few companies are listed below that have a good standing in the market place. As mentioned earlier, know what you want to do and ask some questions before jumping in.
Web Hosting Solutions
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Hostgator has been on the scene since 2002, providing hosting services for over 200 countries form their base in Texas. They offer a full range of services from the beginner to pro level clients, winning many awards on the way. Hostgator offer very affordable packages with a 45 day money back gaurantee! If you’re thinking of using WordPress, then this is certainly a no hassle option. I personally use Hostgator so I don’t want to sound to biased but I’ve found their service and support to be top notch. Hostgator.
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Go Daddy is one of, if not the largest player, established in 1997 they have a huge market presence. They offer hosting packages for all needs and many other services including domain name registration. Go Daddy are also WordPress friiendly. Sheer size, market presence and 24/7 support plays very well for them. Definatley worth a look into their offerings. Go Daddy.
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Blue Host have been providing Web Hosting Solutions since 1996 both business to business and to the consumer market. They pride themselves on offering a high level Web hosting services on high spec equipment at a very reasonable cost. I suggest having a look at the site, as there is a live demo of their cPanel (control panel), and you’ll find everything there. However if you have questions they provide full phone support, give them a call and see if their web hosting solutions meet your requirements. Blue Host.
