Web Hosting - The Internet Marketing Tool

An important part of doing any kind marketing today is definitely an effective Internet marketing strategy, and for that the first thing you need is reliable web hosting.

I know some people say that you can market this and that without having your own website, but I definitely disagree. Many affiliate programs and various business opportunities offer you "personalized web sites" that you can use without owning you own server space. However, replicated company websites and an often long and cumbersome affiliate link can only take you so far, with thousands of other people using the exact same material.

Another trick, that seems to be really in vogue these days, is people who want to advertise with Google Adsense or Yahoo using your money. Most often they make it sound like this is as easy as it gets, when it comes to making money online as an affiliate.

While Adsense and other pay per click advertising is definitely a viable option, one should remember that it requires thorough keyword research and continuous tracking in order to produce a good ROI. Additionally, according to Google's new Terms of Service, you can't point an AdSense ad directly to an affiliate link - the link must always point to an URL of your own. The very same thing goes for publishing articles in the popular article directories.

Finally, if you have your own company and product, your own high quality server space really is an absolute must these days. However, the big "dot-com bubble" was at least partially caused by people charging obnoxious fees for company websites that actually delivered very little results.

Done right, your online presense doesn't have to be that expensive, while still generating great revenue. The choice of web host is one of the crucial steps in turning your website into a great success.

Points to consider when choosing a hosting company

If you are serious about making it online you definitely need you very own web space, that you can do what you want with. As an affiliate you can, for instance, put up your own websites that offer some unique content to your visitors and pre-sells them on the affiliate product or business opportunity of your choosing. People do not like to be sold, remember - a friend with a genuine recommendation is always more welcome than a stranger with a business pitch.

So how do you choose a web host, then?

In my humble opinion you should be looking for the following:

* Reliability

* Support

* Integrated features

* Price

Exactly in that order. There are many services that provide you hosting space for free, I know, but if you are going to market in a professional manner you definitely need to get professional hosting. Besides, most free webhosts pack YOUR site full with THEIR advertisements.

When you are trying to build credibility with your audience this can easily be fatal.

The webhost I personally have chosen, fulfill the criteria I mentioned above. Their service is extremely reliable and their support is the best I have seen online anywhere - you can call, email or chat live with the friendly support staff 24/7/365.

I can not overemphasize the importance of this, because when working with websites, scripts and things like that, it is not a question of IF you will run into trouble but when. And unless you are a total guru yourself you will need help, the faster the better.

When it comes to features, it is naturally important to be allowed to run scripts like php, cgi, asp etc. Because these are widely used by shopping carts, sequential auto responders and other tools you may need.

Naturally, depending on your business strategy and goals, the features required of your webhost will vary. If you are an affiliate, promoting many different products, you need a web host that will allow you to set up many different domain names on the same server - creating separate web sites containing valuable information for your various target audiences.

If you are going to run a large web shop and/or send out large amounts of email, you should seriously consider investing in a dedicated or virtual server. Shared servers (which means you share a server with several other users) often place limits on how much email and bandwidth you can use per month.

When you have found a suitable web host, that can deliver all of the three first mentioned points according to your needs, you should start looking at prices. As the old saying goes, you generally get what you pay for. However, high quality hosting does not have to cost an arm and a leg these days. There are many excellent web hosts to choose from, and if you shop around a little you will find one that also fits your budget.

Affordable Php Mysql Hosting Is Within Your Reach

Gone are the days of expensive web hosting. There was a time, just a few years ago, when hosting was not as cheap as it is now. Lets see why.

Hosting is all about storage on a hard disk (which resides on the web server) and bandwidth for your data. Till a few years ago, hard disk storage was not as large as it is now. Now-a-days hard disk drives come in a typical 400 GB to 500 GB capacity ranges. Even the smallest ones for home computer usage come in over 100 GB sizes. Compare that with a 40 GB hard drive just a few years ago.

A few of these 400 GB to 500 GB range hard disk drives in a typical Linux powered web server with 4 Intel Xeon Central Processing Units gives more than enough processing power and storage capacity to host hundreds of websites on one server, all of them running happily.

Throw in open source (free) Apache + PHP + MySQL combination and you have a recipe for hosting a real working dynamic website at very low costs. What was once a premium combination is now very standard and very cheap and very affordable. It is not uncommon to find hosting plans as cheap as just 99 cents per month, which come complete with all features including PHP and MySQL and enough storage + bandwidth.

There is, thus, no reason for anyone who wants to host anything from a personal homepage or a home business / small business wanting a dynamic website for their online business, to go only for simple HTML websites. No. That is long gone.

Shared web hosting has become very affordable for every kind of use and application. As storage and processing technology advances, hosting will be available with even better capacities and more powerful features. It makes complete sense to use the power of PHP and MySQL when it is well within everyone's reach.

Virtual vs. Dedicated vs. CoLo: Which Web Hosting Do I Need?

You know you need a web host, but you don’t know where to start. So you do a web search to research potential solutions and get a bit overwhelmed with all the jargon: UNIX, dedicated servers, POP3, CoLo... the list goes on.

Step back a bit. You don’t need to learn everything about web sites to choose a host. You do however need to know what a web host is, and the basic types of web hosting. This knowledge will lead you to know what type of hosting you need, and ultimately you can make a sound decision.

To begin, let’s define the term. Web hosting is a service that hosts web pages on servers that can be accessed through the Internet. There are three primary categories of web hosting providers that cater to the requirements of site owners; these include virtual web hosting, dedicated web hosting, and co-located hosting. There are various sources online that offer detailed information and reviews on these services, but there are several details you should pay most attention to. The points to consider before selecting a web hosting provider include the number of clients they service, years in business, customer service reputation, hardware specifications, and backup routines. With that out of the way, let’s jump in and explore the basic types of web hosting.

Dedicated hosting

A dedicated web server is basically like the name sounds: it’s dedicated to your site only. Typically it is leased to a site owner. The hosting company is responsible for the maintenance, backing up, security, and power management. The site owner manages the software-related issues.

Dedicated hosting is useful for websites that need extra bandwidth and system resources because of the use of technologies such as e-commerce software, customized server applications, and heavy traffic. Such websites are often better served by a dedicated hosting provider rather than developing and running an in-house solution. Dedicated hosting is possible with Windows, Mac, and Linux servers. A dedicated server can cost upward of $100 / month.

Pros and cons: 24/7 tech support is available. Speed, dependability, and customizability of website are often enhanced. The response time of dedicated servers is fast as compared to shared servers where the activity of other sites affects server speeds. Reliability and customizability of websites are improved as dedicated hosting offers greater storage capacity and greater freedom in terms of hardware configurations and software installations; hard drives can be upgraded and bandwidths increased with growth.

Shared servers and CoLo hosting are cheaper alternatives to dedicated hosting. Moreover, as the server is not owned by the site owner, security of sensitive data can be an issue.

Virtual hosting

Virtual hosting, also called shared hosting, is a popular and cost-effective web hosting solution. The hosting provider leases the website hosting server, services, and bandwidth to more than one website. Small and medium-sized websites, which do not have high traffic and have limited bandwidth requirements, benefit from virtual hosting. A virtual hosting offer by a service provider usually includes features such as Internet connection, domain name registration, file storage, email account, and may also include website design assistance. The cost of virtual hosting is in the range of $5-40 per month. It can be more or less depending upon the package selected.

Pros and cons: Virtual hosting enables the establishment of an online presence with no expensive equipment purchases required on part of the site owners and therefore is the perfect solution for SMBs.

One of the limitations of virtual hosting is that sites compete for the provider’s service; this may result in slow server response times in periods of heavy traffic and make browsing inconvenient. Since websites hosted on a server may be grouped under a single IP address, there is a chance that a site owner may have to share an IP address with adult or scam sites. This can lead to debarring from search engine placements which will have an adverse effect on the traffic. As the software components are shared between websites, a site owner may not be able to personalize the website as per his business objectives and target audience.

While purchasing virtual hosting services, it is useful to have an idea of the total anticipated traffic during the day as well as the visits during the peak period. This helps in obtaining a package with sufficient bandwidth for immediate and near term needs. Also, the cost of an upgrade and changes to the package should be understood.

Co-location (Co-lo) hosting

In Co-location hosting, the server is owned by the site owner and it is leased at the co-lo facility, where it is installed along with other servers in the facility. A co-lo service enables site owners to make maximum use of network access points and the freedom to choose between telecom lines provided by the hosting company and other telecom lines. Co-location hosting enables site owners to utilize high bandwidth at a cost that is not significantly higher than that of a normal web hosting package. The site owner maintains the server while the hosting provider ensures smooth running by providing regular power supply and IT support.

Co-location hosting services can be standalone data centers or companies that operate by leasing server space from a co-location web hosting reseller. The cost of the server and the volume of rack space required by the servers of a site owner influence the cost of co-lo hosting. Servers that fit in with the dimensions of the racks can help to save costs; co-locating tower servers usually cost more. Additional services provided by the hosting provider and insurance are other factors that affect cost. The monthly cost of a co-lo service for a half-rack of server space can be up to $1000.

Pros and cons: The benefits of co-location hosting include temperature and humidity controlled environment for the servers; security from hacking, fire, and theft; provision of redundancy and backup. It enables the site owner to control the critical features of web hosting such as bandwidth allocation, routers, VPN, server space, and VLAN.

Site owners may not find it easy to locate a co-lo service that is situated close enough to facilitate easy and safe transfer of servers and at the same time provide the best connection speeds. Co-lo hosting is of greater advantage to those who have hosting experience and consequently are better placed to recover the costs involved.

Ultimately, it is the requirements of the site that dictate the choice of web hosting solution. Online stores and sites with heavy traffic are better off with dedicated hosting, personal blogs and small sites without ecommerce activity that do not have high bandwidth consumption can function with virtual hosting, and websites that require a high degree of customization and deal with sensitive data benefit from a co-lo hosting arrangement.

To determine what type of host you need, ask yourself what type of site you have, and it should all flow naturally from there.

Tips For Choosing A Web Hosting Company

There are literally hundreds of web hosting companies with multiple hosting plans vying for your business. While most are good and will do an adequate or better job of hosting your site, there are a number of considerations to make when looking at various companies.

For most web sites, shared hosting provides the most cost effective solution to web hosting. While the basic hosting is just that, each offer many different features and incentives. Before even looking at a hosting service, it is a good idea to thoroughly assess your present and future needs. For example, an ecommerce site will require much more in the way of storage and features than a personal or hobby site. If you will be hosting multiple domains or sub-domains, you need to know if a given company will support them without additional charges. Plans may include basic shopping carts, free domain registrations, multiple scripting options, etc. The list is endless, but the first order of business is to develop some criteria based on what you need right now and what you may require in the future. Its always possible to switch companies in the future, but much easier to get it as right as possible the first time.

In evaluating various companies, there are several aspects generic to all that you should look at.

Is the company established? Look for a company that has been in business at least 3-5 years and has a physical address and phone number posted on their web site. Use caution with a company whose only contact information is an email address. Also look at the number of domains hosted by the company. An established company should be hosting at least 50,000 (if not more) domains.

Is 24/7 monitoring and service available? The company should have someone monitoring their servers at all times as well as someone available to handle emergency service in the event your site goes down.

Is their a money back guarantee? It is common practice for a company to require a year or two payments up front in order to obtain the best pricing. Check to see if the company offers a pro-rated refund if you choose to switch companies.

How much are additional services? Should you exceed your plans allotted bandwidth or storage, it is important to know what additional transfer or storage will cost. Most companies are quite reasonable, however some require that you purchase additional storage / bandwidth in large blocks. Most companies will send you an alert if you are approaching your plans limits and allow for arrangements to be made. Others will simply shut down your web site until you have paid.

Testimonials? They are nice to see, but should always be taken with a grain of salt. Check to see if the testimonials include a web address and visit the web-site.

Is the sales staff available to answer questions? They should be. Look for a toll free number and call with any questions before making a commitment.

The last thing you need do is evaluate the pricing and assure that it fits in your budget. While you certainly don’t want to choose an obviously shady hosting company for the sake of saving a few bucks, it has been our experience that more expensive does not necessarily mean better when it comes to shared hosting.