Web Hosting Geeks' Blog » web hosting solution http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog Web Hosting Industry News, Latest Trends, and Analyses. Thu, 24 May 2012 11:11:11 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Questions About Free Web Hostinghttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/questions-about-free-web-hosting/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/questions-about-free-web-hosting/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:27:15 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=790 The internet is an ever-growing sea of entrepreneurs and small business owners, and with every passing day new people are joining the gold rush trying to get their piece of the pie. If you are in this situation and you’re trying to make a name for yourself in the online world, then you’ll need a web hosting solution. Simply put, you’re site cannot exist without a web host. A web hosting plan gives your site access to a web server, which stores all of the site’s data and makes this information viewable to the world. Selecting a web hosting plan when you know absolutely nothing about web hosting or site creation can be nearly impossible to do correctly. In fact, you’ll almost always regret your first decision unless you do all of the research necessary before deciding upon a web hosting solution. If you’re having trouble figuring out which hosting plan would be right for you, then you may want to consider a free web hosting solution.

Free Web Hosting Really Exists?

Yes. You can get free web hosting from many different  companies, the only set back is you’re not going to be able to build your business with free web hosting. However, you can become acquainted with the web hosting industry and you can learn how to build and operate your site with a basic free web hosting solution. Instead of spending your money on a plan that you’re not sure about, you can opt to test the waters with free web hosting instead. If you are looking for a free web host, just do a web search for the term “free web hosting.”

What Can I Do With Free Web Hosting?

The answer to this question is a broad one, in that you can do pretty much anything you would do with a regular hosting plan, except you are limited by the amount of server resources. Free web hosting provides a sample of what web hosting is like, and it let’s you site up a small site that you could use as a personal profile or a small personal blog. Free web hosting is similar to the food sample you’ll find at the food court in the mall – you can get a taste of what is on offer, but don’t expect to make an entire meal out of it!

Can I Upgrade My Free Web Hosting Plan?

One of the best aspects of free web hosting plans is that most web hosting companies will let you upgrade your free plan to a more inclusive paid plan. Many times upgrading is as simple as sending an email or making a phone call. If you are looking for a way to test the waters before you set your boat a sail, you may want to consider free web hosting with a company that offers the option to upgrade. Since free web hosting is such a limited solution, you are undoubtedly going to have the need for an upgrade in the near future, so you’ll want to leave this option open and make the transition as smooth as possible.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/questions-about-free-web-hosting/feed/ 1 Managed Web Hosting – A Variety of Options to Considerhttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/managed-web-hosting-a-variety-of-options-to-consider/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/managed-web-hosting-a-variety-of-options-to-consider/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:16:31 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=782 Managed web hosting is the perfect web hosting solution for novice users, as it lets them enjoy the benefits of a web hosting account without having to deal with the administrative tasks that are commonly associated with maintaining your own web hosting account.

Why Are There Different Types of Managed Web Hosting?

There are various types of managed web hosting plans available, all of which give the end user a certain degree of control. For the highly inexperienced user on a lower budget, there are completely managed plans that involve little to no administrative work. Depending on the package, the amount of work that needs to be done by the end user will vary greatly. For the users that demand the least amount of work, there is fully managed hosting, while other more experienced webmasters may opt for partially managed web hosting.

Fully Managed Web Hosting

Fully managed web hosting may sound as if it web hosting on autopilot, however this is often not the case. Therefore it is important to make sure you know what you are paying for before deciding on a particular plan. In general, fully managed web hosting is the easiest type of web hosting you could purchase. Users usually need only to specify their needs and make whatever adjustments they see fit, and the server is autoconfigured to take care of the rest for them. As mentioned before, this is most definitely the most beneficial form of web hosting for novice users.

Partially Managed Web Hosting

Partially managed web hosting is a bit different than fully managed web hosting, as the end user will need to perform more administrative functions to keep their website performing optimally. While this may sound as if it is a disadvantage to fully managed web hosting, ultimately the user has more control over the server with this kind of web hosting. While inexperienced users may not want the burden of control, more capable webmasters will find it absolutely necessary to possess full or at least partial control over their web server.

Control vs. Convenience – Which is Right for You?

If you can’t decide which kind of managed web hosting would be right for you, you may want to use this simple  comparison to decide – control vs. convenience. If you need as more control then you may want to consider partially managed web hosting. However if you are looking for the simplest web hosting plan available, then you will undoubtedly benefit from fully managed web hosting. If you are going to purchase a fully managed web hosting plan then you should make sure you are paying for a fully automated service. Likewise, if you decide upon a partially managed web hosting solution, you should make sure you fully understand what aspects of your web server you’ll be able to control.

Regardless of the decision you make, be sure it is an informed decision that you will not regret after the fact. Making the right decision the first time around will save you a lot of time, money and frustration.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/managed-web-hosting-a-variety-of-options-to-consider/feed/ 0 Emphasizing “Reliability” in Web Hostinghttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/emphasizing-%e2%80%9creliability%e2%80%9d-in-web-hosting/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/emphasizing-%e2%80%9creliability%e2%80%9d-in-web-hosting/#comments Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:39:03 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=503 One would think that with all the web hosts on the market, picking a reliable provider out of the bunch would be a fairly easy process.  Unfortunately, that is not the case at all.  Reliability is essential for a website, especially one that handles business transactions or other mission-critical functions.  In fact, it can make the difference in whether people become frequent visitors to your site, or simply make one trip and never come back at all.  While most companies will advertise a 99.9% uptime guarantee and make the claim of being reliable, not all are in the position to provide you with a dependable service.

The Importance of Reliability

Why is it so important to invest in a reliable web hosting solution?  The easy answer would be the peace of mind that stems from knowing your site is always up and running.  Just imagine trying to log into your site to make updates or add new content and not being able to do so because the service is down.  These days, web users expect more and more from webmasters so if you can’t ensure accessibility, they will not be coming back to your site after suffering a miserable experience the first time.  Many businesses have crumbled and never really get off the ground because their websites either ran incredibly slow or were not available at all.  If you are concerned about people being able to view your website, signing up with a host that can assure its availability is a must.

Aids in Credibility

Reliability is not only essential to your website, but your overall web presence as well.  On the hosting marketplace, 99.9% has become the standard for uptime so you should expect and accept nothing less from prospective web hosts.  Some even have infrastructures in place that allow them to exceed this figure.  If a hosting company cannot provide you with a reliable services, the chances of you obtaining success online are very slim.  A website that runs slow or is always down because of technical difficulties is one that will send visitors clicking their way to competition and cause you to lose substantial potential revenues.  The web host should be the partner that helps you succeed with a website or online business, not lose money and ruin your credibility.

Obtaining a Reliable Solution

Accessing a hosting company’s reliability can be difficult without actually being a customer.  In fact,  most web host’s appear very professional and dependable on the surface.   However, there are a few approaches you can take before signing up.  For example, reviews serve as a great source of information as they tend to carry a lot of useful details about certain companies.  Aside from price and features, many of them also hint at the host’s reliability and overall quality of the service.  A good mix of expert and user reviews can go a long way in helping you decide what companies are worth a closer look as well as those that should be avoided.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/emphasizing-%e2%80%9creliability%e2%80%9d-in-web-hosting/feed/ 1 Choosing a Hosting Platform for Your Businesshttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/choosing-a-hosting-platform-for-your-business/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/choosing-a-hosting-platform-for-your-business/#comments Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:08:13 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=301 If you are looking to make your mark as an online business owner, one of the first things you need to do is find yourself a web hosting solution.  The web has grown tremendously over the years and so have your choices.  Web hosting services are not hard to find as companies have the industry covered from every angle of the market.  While there are many critical factors involved in choosing a service, one of the most important is the platform your business site is hosted on.

What is a Platform?

In web hosting terms, a platform refers to an operating system like Mac OS X or even an something older like DOS.  This type of software stores critical files, gives basic commands, tells the server how to interact with applications.  In the early days of the internet and World Wide Web, most servers ran on the Unix platform, a very powerful system that while flexible, has always required a considerable amount of technical skill to administer.  Though still a popular choice, hosting customers now have a greater variety to choose from in platforms such as Linux, Windows and FreeBSD.

Linux

Linux is a newer version of Unix and perhaps the most popular variation.  This platform is incredibly versatile and made to perform in the server environment.  It is makes an ideal solution for demanding tasks and activities such as messaging and multimedia streaming. Unlike Unix, Linux is an open-source system under the GNU General Public License, making it a cost effective solution for both web hosting providers and their customers.  Perhaps the greatest advantage of this platform is its compatibility with various open-source technologies.  A Linux hosting package typically means you also get the benefit of tools like Apache, PHP and MySQL.

Windows

Often regarded as the main competitor to Linux, Windows is the server version of the popular Microsoft desktop operating system.  Upon first entering the server environment, these platforms were powered by systems like Windows NT and 2000.  Most plans now are based on either Windows 2003 or 2008.  What makes this system so popular is the user-friendly interface that gives IT teams a familiar environment to work with.  Not only is it supported by a large number of applications, but also Microsoft technologies that were specifically designed to work with the platform.  Some of the main selling points of Windows hosting include ASP or ASP.NET programing, the SQL Server and other services like Exchange and SharePoint.

FreeBSD

The FreeBSD platform is based on the BSD system, which is one of the many Unix variants.  Similar to Linux, FreeBDS offer cost efficiency as an open-source system.  Extremely well integrated, this platform is well known for its speed and stability, making it an excellent choice for mission-critical operations.  FreeBSD is becoming increasingly popular and offers support for a growing number of technologies.

Choosing a Platform

All the platforms mentioned in this article are great for business hosting, Windows especially.  The key is finding a web host that delivers a reliable infrastructure and enables the chosen system to effectively meet your needs.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/choosing-a-hosting-platform-for-your-business/feed/ 1 Shared Hosting: The Ideal Small Business Solutionhttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/shared-hosting-the-ideal-small-business-solution/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/shared-hosting-the-ideal-small-business-solution/#comments Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:05:00 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=125 Shared hosting is the most popular web hosting solution today, ideal for individuals and small business owners as well.  So, what exactly is shared hosting?  Well, as the name implies, it refers to an arrangement where you share space on a web server and resources such as bandwidth and RAM with other hosting customers.  Though shared hosting providers are abundant, the key is finding a company that will set you up for success.  This article will provide a checklist to help you use the shared hosting platform as a vehicle to establishing your small business.

Finding a Reliable Shared Host

In order to give yourself the best chance of succeeding with a small business, you need a shared hosting provider that takes hosting serious.  First and foremost, they should be dedicated to making sure your site is always up and running, ensuring that visitors enjoy a smooth performance.  If your site is frequently down due to technical difficulties or performs sluggishly, converting visitors into customers will be nearly impossible.  You can better assure accessibility and performance by looking for these technical specifics:

Uptime - This refers to the amount of time your site will be available on the web.  Right now, the industry standard is 99.9% so anything less than that can be considered unacceptable.  Don’t simply take the provider’s word on its advertised guarantee.  Do a little investigating and find out how the percentage is calculated and what is actually covered in the guarantee.

Disk Space – If you are planning to start an online business, a shared hosting plan must provide an adequate amount of disk space to store your content.  You probably won’t require a tremendous amount of storage space so look for something that suits your needs rather than falling for the glamorous “unlimited” offering.

Bandwidth – Equally important is bandwidth, often referred to as data transfer.  Bandwidth is another resource that is often advertised as an unlimited offering, but just as with disk space, that simply isn’t true.  We suggest selecting a shared host that offers an accurate amount of bandwidth to support your web traffic.  Without enough, your site will lag.  If you exceed the allotted amount, you could be taxed hefty overage fees despite the unlimited offering.

E-commerce Tools – Shared hosting is your ticket into online business and essentially the world of e-commerce.  Depending on the nature of your business, some of the e-commerce features you may want to look out for are shopping cart programs, multiple email accounts, SSL support, and database access among other features.   These tools will give you the ability to open up an online storefront, keep in touch with customers and facilitate secure transactions on your site.

Support - A small business hosting solution just wouldn’t be complete without solid support.  A reliable shared host should offer support 24/7 to step in and make the save when you have questions or concerns.  If they can’t provide quality customer support, the overall quality of their hosting service is questionable as well.

The most attractive benefit of shared hosting is cost efficiency.  By referring to this checklist, you should be able to find a small business solution that is both reliable and affordable.

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