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Web Host Review
| How to choose a good web host and
avoid the "free" hosting nightmares! |
by Philip BambergerThree years ago, I started my grand
campaign to profit from the Internet gold mine. I was
buoyed by the statistics of increasing online spending,
and was convinced that some of those trillions circling
the globe should come my way. So the perfect way to
start, I reasoned, was to build an online store stocked
with the right products. Now the trick was to find out
how on earth to get "on" the Internet.
One of the first things I had to do was to find a web
host. The Web expands every day, and so do our choices.
Just how do you find a web host to meet your business
needs? There are literally tens of thousands, each one
with a different focus and services designed for a
specific segment of the market. As you study your
options, you might consider the following tips from a
battle scarred entrepreneur:
How much should you spend to host your site?
When I started out I (like most persons) was
initially mesmerized by the "free" hosting services.
After all, why pay for something when you can get it
"free". I realized in time that this was a very poor
move on my part. I'll tell you why:
Strike 1: Free web hosting services are quite
suitable for personal, family or hobby activities.
However, if you are looking to establish an online
business or become an affiliate and earn commissions,
free sites often limit your flexibility in terms of real
time credit card processing, choice of shopping cart,
and use of customized scripts (for order forms or other
interactive data gathering from users).
Strike 2: Many affiliate programs will not accept
persons who are hosted on a free web service.
Additionally the constant barrage of advertising by the
free service, will lure your customers away and
eventually hurt the sales-effectiveness of your site.
Strike 3: Free sites don't get treated with much
respect by the Search Engine spiders, and your site is
almost certainly not going to be listed. Here's what
Danny Sullivan, the most well-known Search Engine guru
on the Net, had to say about free hosts in the August
18, 2000 issue of THE SEARCH ENGINE UPDATE...
"... get your own site, under your own domain, rather
than doing it within Tripod.com or any place offering
"free" home pages. Sites offering free home pages are
often looked upon with suspicion by search engines,
because search engine spammers also make use of them.
It's like sharing a house with bad roommates. Move out,
get your own house, and you'll probably do better with
search engines."
We have all seen those Internet hosting
advertisements that offer massive amounts of data
storage for truly ridiculously low prices. Always
remember that you get what you pay for. Data storage is
generally cheap and easy to supply, however it is much
more difficult to provide customers with
uninterrupted high-speed access,
quality customer care, technical expertise, and
guaranteed uptime.
It is important to make sure of exactly what you need,
and what you are getting, before you jump at a bargain.
Choose a provider offering prices commensurate with the
range and quality of its services. In general, the
typical hosting package for most small companies
requirements will cost about US$25 per month. A small
price to pay for your online store monthly rental.
What operating system is best for your web site?
An operating system or "platform," such as Microsoft's
Windows is the basic set of commands that tell your
computer how to open applications and store files. In
the early days of Internet activity, most servers
operated on a UNIX platform, an extremely powerful and
flexible system that requires considerable technical
expertise to administrate. UNIX is still as popular as
ever, but today you have a choice:
Windows Server and UNIX
variations such as Sun Microsystems Solaris, Silicon
Graphics' Irix, and Berkeley's BSD.
Experts offer significantly different opinions as to
which platform works best for web sites. In the end, the
choice depends largely on what you want to do with your
site. UNIX servers are compatible with certain Microsoft
extensions and applications, for example,
MS SQL (a database
program) or Microsoft Front
Page (a web authoring tool). You might
however, be more comfortable operating your site on a
Windows Server
platform, as most persons using a PC are familiar with
the Windows interface. On the other hand, many engineers
prefer the flexibility, security, and control of UNIX
servers. UNIX also allows for more web sites per server,
lowering the cost of hosting per account.
As your site grows in size and complexity, in all
likelihood you'll decide that a particular platform is
desirable. It's best to anticipate this contingency and
choose a web host that offers different operating
systems which are scalable and backs them up with
technical expertise.
Eight attributes you should
expect from your hosting provider.
1. Your Own Domain Name
With most hosting packages you will have to purchase
your domain name separately, however, your host should
have the capability of
searching and registering your domain name. A
domain name e.g. www.mycompany.com gives your site
instant credibility. New customers will have a good
first impression, and returning visitors don't have to
remember where your site is hosted in order to reach
you. It's like having a direct phone number rather than
an extension.
2. Data Storage (Disk Space)
In order to have your web files served to the world, you
need to have a generous amount
of disk space on servers where you can upload
your pages, images, sound clips, etc. and store them. As
a general guide, a 100 page site will easily be
accommodated on 50 Megabytes of server space.
3. Bandwidth (Data Transfer)
Bandwidth is the amount of data transmitted or received
through a unit of time. In web hosting,
bandwidth is consumed when
visitors make requests for files on your web site and
download them to their personal computers.
When you add up the total of all files downloaded off of
your site in a particular month, your total should be
lower than the amount of bandwidth allotted with your
hosting plan. If it is not, your file sizes may be too
large or you may be generating a lot of hits - in which
case you may need to upgrade to a larger hosting plan or
to a dedicated hosting server. Plan to use at least 50
Megabytes of bandwidth for every 1000 visitors per
month.
4. POP3 E-mail Accounts and Auto-Responders
You should be able to send and receive mail through Post
Office Protocol 3 (POP3)
accounts, so that your e-mail addresses end in your web
site's unique domain name. Additionally,
e-mail aliases and forwarding
arrangements allow you to set up names@yourdomain.com
that forward to a POP3 e-mail account that you may
already have (from your ISP). This allows you to check
multiple aliases by downloading mail from one e-mail
account. Auto responders
are also a great feature with hosting accounts since you
can automatically respond to customer e-mail's sent to a
particular address with a standard message, like "Thank
you for contacting our Support team. We will be have a
technician responding to your queries within 24 hours."
5. Technical Support
Whether you are a newbie or veteran on the Internet, you
will want your hosting provider to have
great technical support
online. This way, when you have a question or concern
you can find the help you need
in a timely manner and have the ability to
find the information in the format you wish to receive
it.
6. Redundancy/Reliability
This is a term bandied about in the hosting industry.
Essentially, no matter how excellent the equipment, or
the expertise of the engineers, technology fails
occasionally. A web host with
multiple servers, high speed connections, and UPS
systems with backup generators can provide
consistent, high-speed access and guarantee at least 99%
uptime.
7. Security
It takes many layers of
Internet security, from password protection
to fire wall barriers, to prevent determined hackers
from wreaking havoc with your Web data. Make sure the
hosting company you choose has enough security measures
in place to ensure that your data is completely
protected.
8. Speed
Web hosting companies typically connect to the Internet
through T (Transmission), OC (Optical Carrier), and DS
(Digital Signal) lines. Many smaller web hosting
providers still use T1's to connect your site to the
world at a rate of 1.544 megabits per second (Mbps). The
best hosting companies use
redundant lines
to ensure that customers' sites remain responsive even
if their primary Internet connections are temporarily
unavailable. It's a good idea to determine which
providers offer backup connections fast enough to
maintain your site's performance in the event of a
primary line failure.
In addition to offering the fastest network connections,
a host should provision its lines and circuits to use
less than 50% of available
bandwidth. Overburdened network connections
will inevitably result in poor site performance. In
fact, a lightly used T1 line will transfer data faster
than an overused T3 connection.
Where to find good hosts
OK, so now you know what to look for. Where can you find
a good host with all the above qualities. For
Windows and FrontPage
hosting take a look at the friendly and reliable folks
at
FrontPages Web Hosting Network. For
dedicated hosting try
the professional group at
Web
Hosting Live. An abundance of
Unix hosts can be found
at www.hostindex.com and www.tophosts.com. Good
luck in your search!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Philip Bamberger is a successful entrepreneur with
multiple businesses in the automotive and aviation
industries who spends his free time pursuing his passion
of flying (2 props are better than one).
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