| Web hosting is the term used to describe the | | | | your site can be impacted as well. |
| service that allows customers to store websites, | | | | Dedicated hosting is the obvious solution to this |
| files and other information on the World Wide | | | | problem, allowing you to have your own server |
| Web. Web hosting is becoming a more and more | | | | without any other inhabitants sharing your space, |
| important service, even for the average user | | | | bandwidth or system resources. Of course, the |
| thanks to increased use in business or even the | | | | drawback is that dedicated hosting costs |
| wider use of personal sites or blogs for families or | | | | significantly more than shared hosting and you |
| hobbies. Therefore, finding a good web hosting | | | | may also be responsible for managing your |
| package is an important task but it doesn't have | | | | server-no one to call or point the finger at when |
| to cost you an arm and a leg either. | | | | something goes wrong. |
| Free Hosting | | | | What to Look For From Any Type of Web |
| The most basic web hosting packages typically | | | | Hosting |
| available usually allow you to create a single web | | | | Regardless of the type of hosting you decide on, |
| page and give you enough disk space on the | | | | you should also be sure that you understand |
| server to store that web page and the | | | | exactly what is (or is not) included in the price. As |
| associated files. You'll also get a certain amount of | | | | with anything else, know what you're paying for. |
| bandwidth which is a measure of the amount of | | | | For instance, the hosting provider should tell you |
| traffic the web site can handle (usually this | | | | how much disk space and bandwidth you'll get. |
| number is an amount per month and resets each | | | | Usually, 5GB of disk space and 50GB of bandwidth |
| month). Most free web hosting packages are | | | | will be enough for most websites and is a fairly |
| offered at no cost because they are supported | | | | typical setup to find. If the numbers happen to be |
| by advertising. If this is okay for your particular | | | | a little off from this estimate, not to worry. But if |
| situation and the intended use of the site, then a | | | | you find a web host offering an extremely low |
| free web host might be a good option for you. | | | | amount of disk space/bandwidth, run away and |
| However, most people would prefer to pay a little | | | | run away quickly. The last thing you want to do is |
| more and not have to have ads on their sites. | | | | deal with moving a website from one host to |
| Cheap Hosting | | | | another because they're providing poor features. |
| By using a paid web host, you can still find a | | | | You might also want to ask how many email |
| cheap hosting package but you'll get all the | | | | addresses you'll be able to set up. Usually this |
| benefits of not having those annoying ads and | | | | number is some insane amount for the normal |
| quite possibly, more disk space and greater | | | | user, something like thousands, if not an unlimited |
| monthly bandwidth. More than likely, you can find | | | | amount. The same holds true for FTP accounts. |
| such a service for a monthly cost that's less than | | | | Also check to see if the web host provides PHP, |
| the cost of a large pizza, just to put things in | | | | MySQL, PERL, CGI or other features you might |
| perspective. Clearly, a lot of times it makes sense | | | | need. This will vary depending on your intended |
| to pay such a nominal fee for much better | | | | use for your site. For instance, if you're setting up |
| service and features so you can see why this is | | | | a family website, a blog, or an ecommerce site to |
| the type of service most people end up choosing, | | | | advertise your business online, each of these |
| especially for personal or family sites or blogs. | | | | could require different features. The good thing is |
| Shared Hosting vs. Dedicated Hosting | | | | that for that same cheap price mentioned earlier, |
| Shared hosting is what most customers end up | | | | all of the items mentioned usually come as |
| using, or at least starting out with. In this type of | | | | standard features. |
| setup, the hosting company divides the available | | | | As with anything else, it's always a good idea to |
| web space on one of their servers and allows | | | | check out reviews of top rated web hosting |
| multiple customers to share the space. The | | | | companies to see how they compare with one |
| customers get to enjoy all the benefits of hosting | | | | another. That way, you know you're getting the |
| but can share the burden of the cost, bringing the | | | | most for your money and can potentially avoid |
| monthly payments way down compared to | | | | headaches down the road. Hopefully by following |
| having a dedicated server. The down side is that | | | | these simple guidelines, you can quickly find a |
| your website is on the same computer as several | | | | good quality, affordable web hosting package and |
| other sites, so if one of those sites has a | | | | be well on your way to building a great personal, |
| problem, gets hacked or takes up too many | | | | business or ecommerce website. |
| system resources (memory, CPU time, etc) then | | | | |