After designing of website next important thing is to get it hosted on the internet. The task is not at easy as there are so many companies offering various types of web hosting packages like shared web hosting, dedicated web hosting, managed web hosting etc. Now the problem is which one to use?
In general it is considered a good idea to go for shared web hosting if the user is in a small business and wants to save cost. However before finalizing the deal it is good to know what is shared web hosting service and what are the merits and demerits of shared web hosting.
Defining shared hosting:
If extremely high performance and high bandwidth are not the points in question, then shared web hosting service can be a most convenient and economic way of hosting web sites.. As name implies, in case of shared web hosting service, the web server that hosts the web pages is shared by several other websites. Talking about number of websites on a shared hosting server, they can be in thousands. Now due to the fact that just one server is fulfilling the requirements of many other websites, the plus point is they can offer cheap prices for their server.
As there are so many websites hosted on a single web server, still there is no pint of worry for the user as the web hosting providers will not compromise on any kind of security and performance issues in case of shared hosting servers. Not only that, shared hosting web servers are operated, monitored and look after around the clock by IT professionals, so as to minimize server downtimes.
Shared hosting servers run on UNIX or other multi-user operating system and each website hosted on the web server is provided a separate account in the operating system. These websites hosted on shared servers are provided unique shared IP addresses and are provided with a fix amount of web resources.
The following are some of the merits and demerits of shared web hosting:
Merits:
1. Cost effective: Due to the fact that many websites are hosted on a single web server, web hosting providers provide economic shared web hosting services. Generally, the cost is as low as $5-10 per month for shared web hosting services. Now-a-days due to cut throat competition in web hosting industry, one can find several web hosting companies offering huge web space and bandwidth with as high as 1000 MB disk space and 40 GB bandwidth.
2. Feasible: Due to the fact that shared hosting web servers are operated, monitored and look after around the clock by IT professionals, who are experts in their respective field, one can concentrate more effectively on his/her web business and the problem of downtime and maintenance will not bother him/her any more.
3. Utility options: In case of shared web hosting, though web resources are shared, utility options are provided by the hosting company so that user can manage his/her website using control panel or similar tools. User is having an option to upload files, modify /remove web pages, add database, check web statistic etc. Not only that, user is also provided facility to create domain name specific e-mails accounts.
4. Efficient: Now-a-days shared web hosting service usually comes with web space and bandwidth that are more than sufficient for small business websites. Efficiency lies in the fact, that in addition to above, one can add more resources and can even overrun the web space or bandwidth usage.
Demerits:
1. Problem with response time: As the web server is shared, websites in the shared web hosting have to face problem of slower server response time as compared to dedicate server hosting.
2. Problem of Reliability: In case of shared web hosting, problem of reliability remains as usually web hosting providers may take care of the security and performance of the shared server but it is also possible that some of websites hosted on the shared server run a nasty program or script or over-utilize the resources, resulting in bringing down the web server. Thus due to fault of one all websites have to suffer downtimes and inaccessibility in case of shared web hosting.
3. Problems related to sharing: As discussed above also, due to fault of one all users have to face the problem for example if there is any one "bad" website in shared web server, due to it all websites on the server can be banned altogether by ISP or search engine due to shared IP address. However it is worth to note that one can always pay extra to get a dedicated IP address to avoid the above problem.
4. Problems related to Security: As many websites shared one server, problem of security always remains in case of shared web hosting as it is quite easy to hack one’s sensitive datas by another on the same server.
Thus in conclusion it can be said that before deciding to deal with shared web hosting, one should consider all the merits and demerits of shared web hosting as highlighted above. One should not forget the success of his/her business depends upon his/her website which in turn depends upon good host provider.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/web-hosting-articles/concept-of-shared-web-hosting-312262.html
Monday, July 20, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
How to Switch Web Hosting Companies Without Downtime
Let's face it - quite often many people tolerate less than great service from their hosting provider simply because it can be a real pain to move your site, your domain name and your email accounts without creating major downtime for you and your site visitors. Here's a general checklist to follow to ensure that you have the smoothest move possible, and hopefully with no down time.
Note: although this procedure will work fine on most all sites, there are some template generated sites that this procedure may not apply. For example, if you have a CitySearch site then you are going to need to just rebuild a new site.
Step 1: Get all of your files local.
Using a basic FTP program or whatever development tool you may be using, such as FrontPage, download all current files used in your web site including graphics, html files, and anything else that may be used in your site. Most likely you already know this - but when you are copying down your files you want to keep the directory structure exactly as it is on your web server. If you built the site then most likely you already have all of this.
Step 2: Analyze your hosting needs and select a new host.
Is your site just basic html or will you need a Cold Fusion host or one that supports active server pages? Depending on your site needs, select a host that can provide what you need. HostChart.com features some of the most advanced and reliable hosts out there, so finding a good one should not be hard. Most hosts these days allow you to either handle the domain name change yourself, or they can handle it for you. Just so your domain name does not get switched faster than you can get your new files posted, you may want to handle the domain name change yourself. Be sure they know to still add a record the their DNS, but that you will handling the NIC record change.
Step 3: Get everything loaded to your new server.
Before making the domain name change, go ahead and load up all of your site files to your new host using just the IP address. If your new account does not have a dedicated IP address, then request that they create a subdomain for temporary use from their domain - something like newcustomer.hostingcompany.com for you to work with before transferring your name. Most should gladly do this for you. Although they won't really work yet, go ahead and set up all of the email accounts that are used on your domain as well. Be sure to create a "catchall" or "wild-card" address just in case you forgot to someone - at least their email will not bounce.
Step 4: Initiate the domain name record change.
Either through Network Solutions or whatever registrar you used to register your domain, initiate the name change. Technically speaking the only thing that really need to be changed in your record is the name server information. If you host has not already provided you with this information, just email their support and ask what their Name Server information is. It is also a good idea to update the technical contact on your domain name record to your new host, although that is not required.
Step 5: Monitor for the domain name change.
Depending on who you used to register your domain through, you should get one or more emails confirming the domain name change. Once the change has been initiated it will typically take 24 - 48 hours for the entire world to see the change. This period is called propagation and is simply the time it takes for all the DNS servers around the globe to "catch up" and take note of your domains new location. Once propagation has completed its course you are free to safely cancel service with your previous host.
A note about the Propagation period: As mentioned before, it takes about 24 - 48 hours for the domain name change to propagate through everyone's DNS server. This means that during this time some people will get the new site, and some will still get the old site. As far as web surfing, that's really no big deal but can be tricky in regards to email. Depending on where an email is from, it may go to your new email server or your old server. To safeguard against losing messages, try creating 2 accounts for your email address, and use each mail server's IP address instead of the domain name in your POP settings. For example, if you are using mail.yourdomain.com as your pop settings, try replacing that with the IP address of your web site or email server. Creating an account that checks both mail servers insures you don't miss any messages during this 24 - 48 hour period.
Note: although this procedure will work fine on most all sites, there are some template generated sites that this procedure may not apply. For example, if you have a CitySearch site then you are going to need to just rebuild a new site.
Step 1: Get all of your files local.
Using a basic FTP program or whatever development tool you may be using, such as FrontPage, download all current files used in your web site including graphics, html files, and anything else that may be used in your site. Most likely you already know this - but when you are copying down your files you want to keep the directory structure exactly as it is on your web server. If you built the site then most likely you already have all of this.
Step 2: Analyze your hosting needs and select a new host.
Is your site just basic html or will you need a Cold Fusion host or one that supports active server pages? Depending on your site needs, select a host that can provide what you need. HostChart.com features some of the most advanced and reliable hosts out there, so finding a good one should not be hard. Most hosts these days allow you to either handle the domain name change yourself, or they can handle it for you. Just so your domain name does not get switched faster than you can get your new files posted, you may want to handle the domain name change yourself. Be sure they know to still add a record the their DNS, but that you will handling the NIC record change.
Step 3: Get everything loaded to your new server.
Before making the domain name change, go ahead and load up all of your site files to your new host using just the IP address. If your new account does not have a dedicated IP address, then request that they create a subdomain for temporary use from their domain - something like newcustomer.hostingcompany.com for you to work with before transferring your name. Most should gladly do this for you. Although they won't really work yet, go ahead and set up all of the email accounts that are used on your domain as well. Be sure to create a "catchall" or "wild-card" address just in case you forgot to someone - at least their email will not bounce.
Step 4: Initiate the domain name record change.
Either through Network Solutions or whatever registrar you used to register your domain, initiate the name change. Technically speaking the only thing that really need to be changed in your record is the name server information. If you host has not already provided you with this information, just email their support and ask what their Name Server information is. It is also a good idea to update the technical contact on your domain name record to your new host, although that is not required.
Step 5: Monitor for the domain name change.
Depending on who you used to register your domain through, you should get one or more emails confirming the domain name change. Once the change has been initiated it will typically take 24 - 48 hours for the entire world to see the change. This period is called propagation and is simply the time it takes for all the DNS servers around the globe to "catch up" and take note of your domains new location. Once propagation has completed its course you are free to safely cancel service with your previous host.
A note about the Propagation period: As mentioned before, it takes about 24 - 48 hours for the domain name change to propagate through everyone's DNS server. This means that during this time some people will get the new site, and some will still get the old site. As far as web surfing, that's really no big deal but can be tricky in regards to email. Depending on where an email is from, it may go to your new email server or your old server. To safeguard against losing messages, try creating 2 accounts for your email address, and use each mail server's IP address instead of the domain name in your POP settings. For example, if you are using mail.yourdomain.com as your pop settings, try replacing that with the IP address of your web site or email server. Creating an account that checks both mail servers insures you don't miss any messages during this 24 - 48 hour period.
Helpful tools in Hosted SharePoint Web Sites
Providing a starting point for the developers and the partner who look forward to build deeper solutions based on SharePoint hosting, the SharePoint Templates caters to the different business process needs in organization (irrespective of the size of the organizations). Fully compatible with the Microsoft office SharePoint designer 2007, the SharePoint Templates can actually be divided into two separate groups namely server admin templates and site admin templates. Providing out-of-the-box custom scenarios, the SharePoint Templates in SharePoint WSS 3.0 hosting can be applied in certain business tasks like sales campaign tracking or managing the helpdesk. Site admin templates are custom SharePoint Templates (*.stp files) which can be easily installed into the template gallery by a SharePoint site administrator without requiring access to server administration. Server admin SharePoint Templates are site definitions (*.wsp files). They enable tighter integration and increased functionality within Windows SharePoint Services platform. As against the Site admin templates their installation requires a server administrator.
The Application Templates which are out-of-the-box options and are pre-created can help you to start with your hosted SharePoint web site, or pages inside SharePoint Hosting Site. Easily applicable to the new pages, the SharePoint Templates and can be easily manipulated and changed, just like you do while building a SharePoint page from right from the scratch. The application templates also help to create web based applications which are capable of increasing the overall efficiency.
There are in total 40 SharePoint Templates created by Microsoft. These templates do not only save time but also increases the overall efficiency and also helps in the manipulation of the web parts (which are used to construct the SharePoint pages). The SharePoint templates are added or removed or can be edited according to your needs. All that you need to do is to identify your needs… You have a solution to your problem!
The Application Templates which are out-of-the-box options and are pre-created can help you to start with your hosted SharePoint web site, or pages inside SharePoint Hosting Site. Easily applicable to the new pages, the SharePoint Templates and can be easily manipulated and changed, just like you do while building a SharePoint page from right from the scratch. The application templates also help to create web based applications which are capable of increasing the overall efficiency.
There are in total 40 SharePoint Templates created by Microsoft. These templates do not only save time but also increases the overall efficiency and also helps in the manipulation of the web parts (which are used to construct the SharePoint pages). The SharePoint templates are added or removed or can be edited according to your needs. All that you need to do is to identify your needs… You have a solution to your problem!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Free web hosting
Free website hosting plans" are a type of web hosting service where you get free web space on their hosting server to create and host your web site free. Free web page hosting has several advantages, but mainly that it costs nothing (no money and no credit cards needed). Free web site hosting services also often have several disadvantages (though a few actually surpass some of the cheapest paid hosting servers in some features), such as limited webhosting features and forced ads. Usually in exchange for these free hosting services, the free web hosting company places advertisements on your free web pages of some sort (banners, textlinks, popups, etc.) to cover their costs, and hopefully make a profit. However there are some free website hosts that provide free bannerless hosting (no ads, no popups, and no advert of any kind), so they make money in other ways, such as displaying ads for the webmaster to click in their control panel, sending email ads, or requiring forum posting (which of course displays ads, as well as causing you to create free website content for them). Other free web page hosts offer very limited services (such as limited web page space, bandwidth limit, and no scripting) to attract users and hope that many people upgrade to a paid webhosting service. Many free website hosts provide a subdomain or sub-directory of their own domainname instead of (or an option to) allowing its users to host their own top-level domain name free. Most of the free webpage hosting providers over the years have proven to often not be reliable servers, but most of the free hosts listed on this web site have been in service several years, so are more reliable than most newer free hosts
Free Host Reviews :
Free Host Reviews :
000Space Review
5,500 Mb
NONE
FTP, Web
PHP
Domain or Subdomain
007Sites Review
700 Mb
Banner-Top
FTP, Web
PHP, SSI
Domain or Subdomain
100Webspace Review
100 Mb
Banner-Top + TextLinks
FTP, Web
CGI, PHP, SSI, FrontPage
Domain or Subdomain
110mb Review
5,000 Mb
NONE
FTP, Web
PHP, SSI
Domain or Subdomain
123BeMyHost Review
5,500 Mb
NONE
FTP, Web
PHP
Domain or Subdomain
125mb Review
150 Mb
NONE
FTP, Web
CGI, PHP, SSI, FrontPage
Domain or Subdomain
1AspHost Review
100 Mb
TextLink-Bottom
Web
ASP, SSI
/you
1Free Review
256 Mb
NONE
FTP, Web
PHP, SSI
Domain or Subdomain
250Free Review
250 Mb
Banner-Top + Bottom
FTP, Web
Subdomain
50Megs Review
50 Mb
Banner-Top + Popup
Web
-
Subdomain
Tips in choosing a webhosting company
Tips in choosing a webhosting company:Google is your friend, search there first.You will find a lot of websites that present top hosting companies, please keep in mind that some of that lists are made by hosting companies, or are ads, not real reviews.After you've choosed a hosting company verify if it has support for PHP and MySQL.Usualy all hosting companies supports CGI, so if your script is written in Perl it will work.If you are planning to build multiple webistes please verify if you can setup multiple domains on a single account.A golden rule: cheap webhosting do not means also reliable hosting. Nowdays many hosting companies offers you 2-4 GB of disk space and 20-40 GB monthly traffic. This is a lot of traffic, a lot of resources, when you start an Internet Business you will not need so much traffic. Only high trafficed website will need 40 GB of monthly bandwidth. Also I've deal with problem when a webhosting offered me 40 GB of webspace but they had so many customers so their webservers were high loaded and from time to time my website could not be accessed.So you do not need all this web traffic, you need instead a high availability of your website, your website must be accessible anytime. If your website is down, you will lose money and also reputation with your business.Another golden rule: after you've decided at a hosting company, do a Google search for "hosting" "forum" words and that company name to see if other people had problems with this company. This is important.Keep in mind that most of the times cheap hosting means bad hosting.Is good to know that all hosting companies have support for web log analyzers (statistics), email severs, so this will be default, do not worry about that extra options.So you found the company, you have multiple domain support, you have php and mysql. You did not choose a 5$ / month hosting (cheap=poor quality). What's next? First time you read web hosting plans and prices you will see that every hosting companies have cheap plans. But when looking carefuly you'll see that even if you buy a 10$ hosting you have to pay for 3 month, also for short period payments on many hosting companies you must pay a setup fee. So when is time to pay (at signup time) you must pay more than 50$, sometims more than 100$. This is the trick some hosting companies are doing, sometimes they offer free setup if you pay for an year. So you must decide carefuly because if you pay for an year and you do not like the quality of hosting? This is the method used by some hosting companies to keep customers. Who pays for an year will stay an year. Also if you pay for 3 month you must pay a setup free, so if you cancel the account you lose that setup fee also. Because of that is good to choose carefuly a hosting company.So, you will be lucky to find a 5$ host plan and also a free setup of the account, and... a lot of traffic. What does this means? Most of the times it means the web hosting is poor quality, many people are hosted there, your customers will load slow your website and sometimes they could have problems loading your website.This are things you must consider when choosing a web hosting company. Also please do not forget, as I've told you earlier, do a google search for that hosting company name and words like forum, to see what other people say about choosen hosting company, is easy to learn from other's problems.
How to choose hosting company
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of hosting companies out there. They come in all price ranges, and with all kinds of bells and whistles. Here are some things you may want to look for in a hosting company, especially if your website is part of your overall marketing plan to sell products or services.
Money Back Guarantee - I put this first, because if you are unhappy with your hosting site, you'll want assurances that you'll get your money back.
24/7 Customer Technical Support – This is critical. Find out if they mean "there’s voicemail or email 24-hours-a-day" or if they mean, "we will answer the phone and help you 24-hours-a-day."
Control Panel - The Control Panel where you control all aspects of your account, such as managing email accounts, reading statistics, and configuring autoresponders. Make sure your hosting company has a centralized control panel for your management needs and make sure it's easy to use. (Some of them are so poorly designed, its a wonder that a hosting company would have the nerve to even show it to their customers.)
Website Statistics – From a marketing perspective, it’s important to know who is visiting your site and what pages they read. Your hosting company should keep track of all of this information for you, and present it in an easy to read format. Make sure your statistics are updated on a daily basis, and that you can configure the display to show you by day, by week, by month or by year.
Money Back Guarantee - I put this first, because if you are unhappy with your hosting site, you'll want assurances that you'll get your money back.
24/7 Customer Technical Support – This is critical. Find out if they mean "there’s voicemail or email 24-hours-a-day" or if they mean, "we will answer the phone and help you 24-hours-a-day."
Control Panel - The Control Panel where you control all aspects of your account, such as managing email accounts, reading statistics, and configuring autoresponders. Make sure your hosting company has a centralized control panel for your management needs and make sure it's easy to use. (Some of them are so poorly designed, its a wonder that a hosting company would have the nerve to even show it to their customers.)
Website Statistics – From a marketing perspective, it’s important to know who is visiting your site and what pages they read. Your hosting company should keep track of all of this information for you, and present it in an easy to read format. Make sure your statistics are updated on a daily basis, and that you can configure the display to show you by day, by week, by month or by year.
CGI - CGI stands for the "Common Gateway Interface" and is a protocol through which web pages interact with scripts on a server. Your hosting company should allow you to install and run CGI scripts your account. They may also offer you some pre-installed CGI scripts for free as part of your hosting package, such as a message board or email forms.
POP Email Accounts - A POP (Post Office Protocol) Email Account is an email account hosted on your site. Your hosting company should allow you to have more than one POP account, so that you can set up email addresses for all your needs. For example, clients requesting information about a workshop can send email to workshop@mydomain.com, while clients can send their homework to homework@mydomain.com. Also make sure your hosting company support email forwarding.
Autoresponders - Autoresponders allow a visitor to send an email to a specific email address and automatically receive a reply. For example, if you have a FAQ, people can send an email to faq@mydomain.com and automatically receive the FAQ list in their email inbox.
SSL Secure Server - SSL stands for "Secure Socket Layer". This is a protocol that allows for encrypted transmissions on the web, and is especially useful if you are collecting private information from visitors, such as credit card information, or running a shopping cart from your ecommerce site.
Shopping Cart - If you plan on having a catalog on the web, like selling your ebooks or audio tapes, a shopping cart is a must. It lets people browse through your “store” and pick the items that they plan to purchase. When they are done, they proceed to the checkout where they can review their order and pay by credit card. If your hosting company does not offer a shopping cart system, there are plenty of stand-alone shopping cart systems you can use with your website.
Password Protected Areas – If you want to create a "members only" or "students only" section of your site, you will need to make sure that your hosting company supports password protected areas (folders or sub-webs).
Mailing List Software - Keep your users informed by offering to put them on the mailing list. Make sure your hosting company supports double-opt-in mailing lists, where the person signs up and receives a confirmation email that instructs them how to officially sign up for your mailing list.
Multiple Data Center Locations - Does the hosting company have backup sites around the country? If not, and the power goes down or a hurricane floods their data center, what happens to your site?
Hard Disk Space - if your site is extensive and have lots of audio and video files, you need to be sure that you can store all them on the hosting server. In addition, bandwidth may be an issue if you're streaming audio or video, so check that out as well.
As you can see, there are a lot of things to consider. While some of these may not be important to you now, you’ll also want a hosting company that can grow and support you as your business grows.
POP Email Accounts - A POP (Post Office Protocol) Email Account is an email account hosted on your site. Your hosting company should allow you to have more than one POP account, so that you can set up email addresses for all your needs. For example, clients requesting information about a workshop can send email to workshop@mydomain.com, while clients can send their homework to homework@mydomain.com. Also make sure your hosting company support email forwarding.
Autoresponders - Autoresponders allow a visitor to send an email to a specific email address and automatically receive a reply. For example, if you have a FAQ, people can send an email to faq@mydomain.com and automatically receive the FAQ list in their email inbox.
SSL Secure Server - SSL stands for "Secure Socket Layer". This is a protocol that allows for encrypted transmissions on the web, and is especially useful if you are collecting private information from visitors, such as credit card information, or running a shopping cart from your ecommerce site.
Shopping Cart - If you plan on having a catalog on the web, like selling your ebooks or audio tapes, a shopping cart is a must. It lets people browse through your “store” and pick the items that they plan to purchase. When they are done, they proceed to the checkout where they can review their order and pay by credit card. If your hosting company does not offer a shopping cart system, there are plenty of stand-alone shopping cart systems you can use with your website.
Password Protected Areas – If you want to create a "members only" or "students only" section of your site, you will need to make sure that your hosting company supports password protected areas (folders or sub-webs).
Mailing List Software - Keep your users informed by offering to put them on the mailing list. Make sure your hosting company supports double-opt-in mailing lists, where the person signs up and receives a confirmation email that instructs them how to officially sign up for your mailing list.
Multiple Data Center Locations - Does the hosting company have backup sites around the country? If not, and the power goes down or a hurricane floods their data center, what happens to your site?
Hard Disk Space - if your site is extensive and have lots of audio and video files, you need to be sure that you can store all them on the hosting server. In addition, bandwidth may be an issue if you're streaming audio or video, so check that out as well.
As you can see, there are a lot of things to consider. While some of these may not be important to you now, you’ll also want a hosting company that can grow and support you as your business grows.
The artichle was taken from http://www.passionforbusiness.com/articles/choosing-hosting
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