Web Hosts And How To Choose One
Your website will need to be hosted on a remote server which is owned, operated and maintained by a web hosting company. Be aware, however, that there's a lot of competition in the web hosting business these days and a lot of differences in features, service, and cost.
Just remember that you usually get what you pay for.
Some hosting companies have so many websites on one system that it is constantly clogged, making all of the sites run slowly. If your site won’t load or is slow because of bandwidth problems, or if their customer service department is never available, it will make the job of running your business much more challenging and stressful.
Don't rush, do your research.
Some deals might look good at first but if one feature you need is missing, then the deal might not be right for you. So do your research and compare different companies and plans until you weigh up all the factors that are important to your needs.
Selecting a Web Host
Most companies offer several different packages with different rates. And their plans might differ greatly from those offered by other companies.
If you've never done it before, it's easy to overlook some of the most important factors when selecting a web host while paying too much attention to splashy features you may not really need at the start.
For example, most people judge a web host by the amount of disk space they offer. The thinking is "the more the better". But there are many other factors to take into consideration.
What Factors Do I Weight Up?
Free web hosts - They might be free but there's a price to pay and usually that means your site has to display their sponsored ads or banners. This is NOT a good image for a professional business website. Give it a miss.
Reliability - Like any other business, you want to make sure your doors are open when customers come calling. Ask what their guaranteed uptime is... 97% to 99% uptime is the accepted standard.
Customer Service - Some web hosts are too small to offer 24/7 customer care. On the other hand, some are so big you end up talking to people far removed from the action. If possible, test their service before signing up.
Tech Support - I don't know about you, but I like the feeling of knowing that technical support is available when I need it. Before you sign up, test different companies by sending their tech team an email with a question or two. If they respond quickly and knowledgeably, this is a good sign. Phone the companies during off peak hours and see who you get to talk to.
Web Space - Decide how much storage space you will require. Most basic web hosting packages have more than enough space for a single-property rental website.
Bandwidth - This factor is usually overlooked until you hit your bandwidth limit and get a hefty bill. If you are running a site with lots of downloads or lots of images, your bandwidth will be higher than a site with mainly text.
CGI Bin - This is now standard with good hosting companies. If you do not have access to your own CGI bin, you cannot install scripts and programs.
Perl - Many good scripts that you buy or get for free are written in Perl. In my opinion, it would be a limitation not to have the latest version of Perl installed.
SSL - If you intend to accept credit card orders using a merchant account directly from your website, you will need Secure Socket Layer included in your web hosting plan. If you sign up for a plan without SSL and then later discover that you need this feature, you might be gob-smacked to learn the extra monthly charge is $10.00. (But there is no need for SSL if you are using a third party credit card processor.)
SSI - Server Side Includes are great if you want to spend minimal time updating your site. Here's how it works. This page contains SSI's. The navigation menus are "included" with an SSI command in the master page template. If I need to update one of the nav links, there is no need to edit all the pages individually by hand. I just edit the one SSI page which contains the menu code and upload it to my site. It's an awesome time saver.
MySQL - Some programs require a MySQL database to run. I had this problem with a particular web host. They wanted to charge me $10.00 per month for a MySQL database. Wow! I just took out a new plan with another hosting company and got five MySQL databases included in the price.
PHP - Many new scripts and programs require PHP support. Again, this feature can be $10 extra but most good hosts offer it standard. Imagine if you do not have PHP support then find out the latest free toplist, blogging script, or shopping cart requires PHP.
Domain Name - What's the point in buying web space if you cannot point your own domain name to the site? Some web hosting companies will help you register a domain name but you should compare prices and learn how to register your domain yourself. This way you are in control of your domain name if you ever change hosts.
FTP Access - You will need an FTP program in order to upload files from your computer to your web host's server. Unlimited and unrestricted FTP access to your site is essential.
Control Panel - Not all control panels are the same. Some are easier to use than others. If you select a hosting plan where you cannot preview your control panel before you buy, you can always use the 30 day money back guarantee to get out if you are not happy, but that's a hassle. If they don't offer a working demo of the control panel, maybe they are not proud of it. I have always been disappointed with the quality of the control panel when a demo was not available.
Statistics Program - A good stats program is handy if you want to keep an eye on how many visitors you are getting, where they are coming from, what pages they visit the most, etc. Some companies include excellent stats programs as a standard feature while others offer only basic stats and charge extra for advanced statistics. If you find a good hosting deal but the stats program is a bit basic, why not ask the company if they can install AWStats before you sign up. AWStats is an excellent FREE advanced statistics program.
Keep in mind... the sooner you get your site up and running, the sooner you can begin marketing and promotion. And that's exactly what we're going to discuss in the next segment.
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