Personal web hosting like any other type of web hosting covers a certain amount of ground rules. The only difference between a business web hosting and a personal web hosting may be the payment arrangements like secure server for credit cards payment. Other than that, the checklist remains the same as for the business web hosting.
The checklist given below will guide you in choosing the right host:
1. How much time does it take for the domain to be put on the net? It should be less than 36 hours.
2. Can I host other sites through my domain? It should be possible for you to use alias domains, provided they lead to the main page of your domain.
3. Am I the owner of the domain name hosted? The answer should be YES, without any other conditions.
4. Will it be possible for me to update the information of my website/ domain? All rights to your domain, i.e. billing, technical, administrative, etc, should be given to you. And YES, the web host should be able to update your website’s information at your request.
5. Can I modify my web? The answer should be basically YES, though some websites will ask you to route the changes through them. This might be inconvenient for those who can do it themselves and have a lot of updating to do.
6. What is the protocol for the setting of html directory permissions? Most web hosts will allow you the use of the Control Panel to set permissions and modify your web design.
7. Do I get web mail usage through my domain? Most web hosts will have squirrel mail accounts in their packages. With this facility also comes the forwarding of the email and auto-responders.
8. Can I access my cgi and perl scripts? The answer should be YES.
9. Do you have prompt and efficient technical support/ service support? The answer should be YES, round-the-clock 24/7.
10. Do you use advanced search engine optimization tools above metatags? The answer should be again YES. Today servers use sophisticated SEO tools. However, you should definitely have your ‘keyword’ and ‘description’ metatags attached to your main content page for easy access over the web.
Other factors include payment and billing details, traffic space so called bandwidth, and disk or storage space. You should be expecting an annual billing in addition to a monthly billing. Web hosting companies do offer an annual billing for a discount rate, and some saying you should be careful to avoid one-year period packages as this will block your shifting in case you are unhappy with the web host. This is not always true because, in today’s competition between web hosting companies, many reliable companies do offer 30-90 days money-back guarantee in case you are not satisfied.
As regards the traffic space or bandwidth the minimum you would need would be somewhere around 25 GB/month, while for storing a simple personal website, the storage requirements should be minimum of 500 MB disk space. I would consider 1 GB or more of disk space to avoid extra fees in case your needed space gets bigger in the future. But it all depends on what kind and how big of files you put up on your web site. Hence, do not go after web hosts who offer you 15 GB or more of disk space for extra fees because you would never need so much space. Even with complicated business websites, you would not use more than 10 GB.
The best is to research the feedback of the web host before you decide which one to choose, and the above questions will definitely guide towards a wise decision.
Showing posts with label web hosting comparison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label web hosting comparison. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Free Web Hosting – Is It For You?
If you are a newcomer in the land of the WWW or World Wide Web, you definitely must be wondering about many aspects of the functioning of the web and what are the best possible ways to project your website or domain on the Internet. The best bet for starters, of course, if ‘free web hosting’.
Free web hosting is good, if you are new and want to learn the ropes first hand. It is definitely not a good idea if you are starting a dot.com business. So, what do you get with a free web hosting provider?
First of all you will get a web space on the net FREE OF COST. This is quite a big plus point. Another plus point is that it will provide you with a free email account in most cases. The downside would be that you will not have the permission to have your domain name. You cannot get any technical support for your database, nor can you accept advertisements.
Hence, if you are hosting your web just to post out a few ideas, a hobby broadcast site, or similar things, and then definitely you can choose a free web-hosting provider. Free web hosting is good for those with low traffic. For example you may like to have your website so your friends and family can access and exchange ideas with you. Or just plain curious to see how things work out when you are out there, posting on the Internet.
It is definitely not advisable for a person who wants to run or launch a business on the net, however rosy the free web-hosting provider would paint it. No free web-hosting provider will offer you free traffic transfer space and hence your business will be doomed, or you will end up with huge traffic transfer charges. So also, you would loose out in terms of visitors if and when the server is not up to the mark and has an uptime less than 95%. Poor technical support would be another major obstacle if you have heavy traffic to your website, as any interruption would frustrate your visitors chasing them away from your website.
Besides, the point that would decide anyone who runs a web-based business NOT to choose a free web hosting, is that the company would look cheap and amateurish. The host of your free website will impose advertisements on your website, which you may not like. There are a lot of downside points. A few are enumerated below:
•No tech support
•No guarantee on server uptime
•No free traffic transfer space
•No access to cgi and/or perl script
•No advertisement for money can be hosted on your free website
•No sub-directories
•No secure server for credit card payments
•Very low SEO visibility as search engines bypass free sites often
Having gone through the above, I still reiterate that for beginners who want to see what it looks like to be on the web, for those who want to share things with family and friends, and for hobby purposes, free web hosting is a good option. For any other reason, by all means go for a professional web hosting service.
Free web hosting is good, if you are new and want to learn the ropes first hand. It is definitely not a good idea if you are starting a dot.com business. So, what do you get with a free web hosting provider?
First of all you will get a web space on the net FREE OF COST. This is quite a big plus point. Another plus point is that it will provide you with a free email account in most cases. The downside would be that you will not have the permission to have your domain name. You cannot get any technical support for your database, nor can you accept advertisements.
Hence, if you are hosting your web just to post out a few ideas, a hobby broadcast site, or similar things, and then definitely you can choose a free web-hosting provider. Free web hosting is good for those with low traffic. For example you may like to have your website so your friends and family can access and exchange ideas with you. Or just plain curious to see how things work out when you are out there, posting on the Internet.
It is definitely not advisable for a person who wants to run or launch a business on the net, however rosy the free web-hosting provider would paint it. No free web-hosting provider will offer you free traffic transfer space and hence your business will be doomed, or you will end up with huge traffic transfer charges. So also, you would loose out in terms of visitors if and when the server is not up to the mark and has an uptime less than 95%. Poor technical support would be another major obstacle if you have heavy traffic to your website, as any interruption would frustrate your visitors chasing them away from your website.
Besides, the point that would decide anyone who runs a web-based business NOT to choose a free web hosting, is that the company would look cheap and amateurish. The host of your free website will impose advertisements on your website, which you may not like. There are a lot of downside points. A few are enumerated below:
•No tech support
•No guarantee on server uptime
•No free traffic transfer space
•No access to cgi and/or perl script
•No advertisement for money can be hosted on your free website
•No sub-directories
•No secure server for credit card payments
•Very low SEO visibility as search engines bypass free sites often
Having gone through the above, I still reiterate that for beginners who want to see what it looks like to be on the web, for those who want to share things with family and friends, and for hobby purposes, free web hosting is a good option. For any other reason, by all means go for a professional web hosting service.
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