If you have a website, you need to have a web host. You may not know too much about website hosting,...

1. Determine The Essentials Of Hosting
If you have a website, you need to have a web host. You may not know too much about website
hosting, but you would do well to learn as much as you can about it, since it can be a big part of
whether people can use your site.
If you are hosting your site with a Linux based site, be sure the company you choose updates their
information regularly, and at all levels. You don't want your page to crash or be insecure because
your host is not properly maintaining their servers and networks, so look for those that do.
When deciding on a host for a large site, you need to figure out how much bandwidth you will use.
Depending on the amount of traffic your site gets, you need to make sure the host can accommodate
large files and downloads. If you have a host that cannot handle large amount of traffic, then you will
experience a lot of downtime.
Go for Linux hosting unless you need to use certain applications or server-side languages. Linux
hosting has a better reputation for uptime, stability, and resource use. Shared hosting that runs on
Linux tends to be somewhat cheaper, as well. There are, however, certain applications that need
Windows hosting, including Plesk, Microsoft Access, Silverlight, MSSQL, and ASP.net.
The company you choose must be one that will accommodate your future needs. If you want to add
data intensive things, like video or photos, you will need more space. 100MB of space should be
good enough to start, for most sites.
Always get a pricing breakdown for you hosting package. You will need to include hosting fees as
part of your website's budget. By knowing exactly what your monthly fees are covering, it will allow
you to budget any factors that may be relevant, such as time, bandwidth and data. Inspect the terms
closely for any fees that may be incurred and should be budgeted as a precaution.
Do you want to use free website hosting? Make sure to back up everything that you want to keep,
because http://www.webdesign.org/web-design-basics/design-principles/page-1.html free hosts don't
usually provide any sort of backup service. Remember, you get what you pay for. This means that if
something disappears, its gone for good.
If you choose to host your site on your home or office computer, you must protect yourself from
attacks by hackers. In order to do this, you must check and double-check all of your system
configurations to ensure that the files and programs on the system are secured. Unless your website
is hosted on a completely secured system, it is at risk for security breaches and malicious use.
Stay away from a web host who has an issue with automating or properly administrating the most
basic and necessary aspect of business. If you see they have issues with their billing and payments,
then try to stay away from them since this usually means that they will have many other issues
including having frequent site outages.

2. If you are going to obtain a shared hosting solution, conduct some research on the websites that you
will be sharing your server with. You should definitely avoid sharing servers with websites that
participate in spam due to the fact that if any of these websites receive an IP address ban from
search engines or internet service providers, your website will be banned along with them. Adult
websites in particular tend to participate in these kinds of activities.
Beware of free hosting. Some websites advertise free hosting but charge you a ridiculous amount to
register your domain or by charging you extra traffic. If you want a professional website, you should
consider web hosting services as an investment that will allow you to create a much better website.
Don't forget the importance of security and safety when it comes to picking a web host. Your
information and website should be efficiently protected from hackers. A good hosting site will be
constantly backing up their servers.
If you are using a dial-up connection, you will need to get a web host. Your site must be online 24/7
to be effective, so use the services of a professional web host. Downtime and lagging will ensure that
you don't reach any of your goals.
When comparing web-hosting services, you should choose the ones that inspires you the most
confidence and stands apart from the competition. Choose a plan that includes all the features you
are planning on using and allows for your site to grow. The price should also correspond to your
budget.
When you've finally narrowed down your search for a website hosting provider, look for one that has
a satisfaction guarantee. Typically, these guarantees are valid for anywhere between one week and
one month. The guarantee allows you to experience the full functionality of the web host without
risk. If any issues arise that can't be resolved within the guarantee period, you'll get your money
back and you can move on to a different host.
A key factor for choosing a web host is available tech support. Should your site go down for any
reason, you do not want to have to wait for tech support to be available during specified business
hours. If a company is offering less than a full web design 24-hour support, 7 days a week, year-
round, they should not fall under consideration. You need to know that someone besides yourself is

3. concerned with keeping your site up.
Selecting a web host can be an excellent chance for you to contribute to the environment. If you are
running an online business, this can also be a fantastic marketing opportunity. You should be able to
easily determine whether the web host utilizes renewable power sources, and if they have energy
saving practices in place.
As you are now aware after reading the article above, choosing a web host is not always cut and dry.
There are many elements that make up a hosting service and if you are not aware of these things,
you could end up paying a lot more money.
If you are not familiar with the principles behind website hosting service, how can you expect to
choose the best one? How can you get the most from your provider? Hopefully, the article you have
just read helped to clarify these things and others. Regardless of your needs, these tips will surely
serve you well!