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Webhost at its Best
& Low cost, perhaps even Free!
Please read-on for more information about how to possibly
get free online public storage of your files, photo's and
graphics, picture storage, large data or htm files, temporary
or permanent hard-disk file storage space, and free web-host
What to look for when choosing the right website hosting,
either free-web-hosting, or a paid host? A webhost is a company
that provides you with server space disk storage and makes
your online business and accessible to the world. They're
the ones that make it possible for someone to type "www.yourdomain.com"
into the Internet and find you quickly and easily.
The following tips are very crucial to consider when choosing
a hosting company. Typical cost for Webhosting is anywhere
between free and $10/month for basic webhosting packages,
to around $20-40/month for larger web-site hosting.
You may be aware that you can get free hosting. The reason
it's "4-free" is because the hosting provider typically
pays its bills by selling advertising on your website. In
other words, your website will probably display a big ugly
banner or two or even annoying pop-up window advertising someone
else's company or products.
A good web host will give you the following service and
reliability:
• Better customer service: Free hosts are not all that
inclined to help you if you run into problems; you're getting
the service for "free", after all!
• Credibility: Hosting on a free site makes a business
look amateurish and lacking in credibility. Would you trust
a company that apparently can't afford to pay a few bucks
a month to a web host?!
• Features and flexibility: You'll have a lot more
control over your website when you pay for web hosting service
- little extras and benefits the hosting provider adds to
your package to make you (or keep you) a satisfied customer.
The following are a number of factors when choosing a webhost
- do not make free or price your only hosting consideration!
Your business may suffer the consequences of lost profits
if you choose a company that offers cheap hosting, no service,
and poor reliability. Some things to look for are:
Fast & Reliable
Connection to Internet
Your site must load fast - one of the major reasons visitors
click-away from a website is slow loading time. Reliability
speaks for itself; if your visitor can't even reach your website,
there's no way you'll make a sale!
Excellent Uptime
If your web host's servers go down, then your website also
goes down! That translates to lost profits. On the web, you
usually only have one opportunity to make an impression; blow
that opportunity and your prospect typically won't come back.
Find a web host with an excellent uptime record (at least
99% uptime or better). Sign up for a trial if you can, and
then monitor your site for uptime or downtime.
Site Backups & Plenty of Storage Space
It would be pretty devastating to lose all your hard work.
A webhost that performs regular backups provides an extra
measure of protection "just in case."
You should be performing regular backups of your files as
well. There are a number of devices that will help you do
this. Check with your local computer store or DVD
Supply website and inquire about DVD's, tape backup drives,
CD's, CD-writers, or zip drives.
How much storage space you need to store graphics, photos,
pictures and files will depend on what you envision your site
to be. Make sure you leave room for growth; be sure to have
more than enough space for both your current and your future
needs. This includes your normal web-pages, images, scripts,
and anything else you may want to use for your website.
It's hard to say how much space an "average site"
uses. That depends on the length of the web-pages and the
number and size of images. One of our websites has nearly
200 pages and uses about 5 MB. It does not have any graphics
except for my logo. Another one of my sites uses 7 MB for
only 50 pages or so, but it has lots of pictures. It's a judgment
call as to how much space you'll need.
Keep in mind that there's no such thing as 'unlimited space'.
There is always a limit to the amount of storage space a web-host
can offer. This is not a bad thing - you just be sure that
it's enough to cover you and your future needs. Storage space
by itself is not a deciding factor. If you are concerned,
ask your host how much they charge for additional disk storage
space.
Remember, you will require a lot of file storage space for
extensive photos and picture storage. Graphics,
images and photographs use very large amounts of hard-disk
storage space, much more disc space than you would expect
vs text, documents and htm files for example.
Adequate Transfer Space
Every time someone views a web page, they're actually downloading
data. Read the fine print in the contract to see if you are
limited to a certain percentage of system resources. We have
seen estimates that an average user needs anywhere from 50
to 150 MB a month for their website traffic. Web hosts may
charge you extra if you go over the transfer limit. Look for
a hosting package that gives you more than you need.
CGI Bin
Many web-hosts will provide you with some standard CGI scripts
for things such as counters, forms, and passwords. Check with
your prospective host to see what types of "standard"
free scripts they offer for your use.
Also make sure you have the ability to create and upload
your own CGI scripts, what web hosts typically refer to as
your own "cgi-bin". You should not be restricted
to what the web host offers. Ask questions like, Can you install
these scripts on your own without requesting permission from
your host? Will your host charge you for each script you install?
You might be thinking, "I don't know how to program
my own CGI scripts, so who cares whether or not I have my
own cgi- bin?" One of the nice things about the Internet
is that there are countless CGI scripts available, some scripts
are available for free!. You can easily learn to install simple
scripts yourself, or hire a programmer to write the script
for you.
Secure Server Capability
Secure servers allow you to transmit pages in an encrypted
format. This is necessary if you plan on selling something
directly from your website and of course you will need it
for accepting credit cards, if you don't use what's known
as a third-party processing company. Look for a web host that
offers secure server capability for low or no additional costs.
Auto responders, Email Aliases, Forwarders
& Mailboxes
How many of each you'll need depends on your business. Don't
be influenced by offers of "unlimited email accounts"
- you probably won't need them.
As a home business owner you are most likely going to be
the sole employee for quite some time. So what use would you
have for 100 email accounts? You can use something called
an email alias instead. An alias is allows you to set up "fake"
addresses, such as sales@yourdomain.com or info@yourdomain.com
... but in reality, these aliases are simply your main email
account. That means that any email sent to these aliases will
automatically be sent to your main account.
An auto-responder is extremely important for online business
owners. It's simply an email address that you can set up to
respond automatically with a pre configured message. For example,
instead of manually emailing a report to everyone who requests
it, let your auto responder handle it for you instead. Many
hosts offer simple auto responders with no follow-up capability.
These are OK in some instances. In most cases, expect to purchase
an auto responder outside of your web hosting package.
Mailing Lists
Many hosting services offer a feature where you can create
your own mailing list, a handy feature for when you want to
start your own ezine or newsletter! Note that there are often
restrictions on how many lists you can create, and on how
many addresses can be on each list.
When you're first starting out on the web, this is a convenient
little feature if your host offers it to you for free. That
means you might not have to pay for mailing list software
of your own if money is tight. I still recommend a professional
list host or autoresponder to manage your list.
Analyzing Visitor Traffic
Analyzing your hits and traffic is an important part of doing
business online. A good stats program is Webalizer,
which is often included free by your hosting firm, it includes
extensive site visitor demographics, such as number of page
views, unique visitors numbers, referrals (where your visitors
are coming from), browsers used, and other valuable information.
Again, a host that offers good site demographics can save
you from purchasing another service.
Unlimited & Responsive Customer Service
Make sure you can get the help you need, when you need it.
It can be very frustrating if you run into a problem and can't
find anyone to help you! With a good web host you won't need
support services very often, but when you do you want to be
able to contact someone immediately. Contact a prospective
web host with questions before you sign up for their services.
That way you'll be able to get an idea of how promptly they
respond to your concerns, and how helpful they are. Prompt
service isn't enough, though. Support staff should be qualified,
trained, technical professionals who know how to talk to customers.
Money-back Guarantee
You should be able to try out your web host and get your
money back if you are unsatisfied with them for any reason.
Most web hosts offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.
No Minimum Contract Required
Are you required to 'lock-in' a contract for a year, two
years, or more? Look for a host that will let you pay month
by month if that's what you prefer.
Finding the Right Web hosting Company
Do your homework and compare a number of webhosts to see
who offers the best value and service for your money. We recommend
you check-out webfirms.com
for all your web-hosting, file-storage, graphics, image and
photo/picture disk storage needs!
Get Free Webhosting, Free File Storage &
Free Image Storage!
This is how you can get free web-hosting and disc storage
space! There are two ways: One way is to buy (or transfer)
a minimum of 10 new domain names from our suggested
domain registrar. The other option to get free-hosting
is to buy a developed website using our domain brokerage service
to qualify your own site for Free
ISP Webhosting for 6-months! If you wish to continue your
hosting we can maintain your hosting for guaranteed low-cost
(compared to other hosts).
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