What You Need in a Dedicated Server?

When it comes to web hosting, there are many options that you can choose from. There is the type of hosting and also the operating system of the hosting. Different plans will suit the needs of different people therefore, to decide which type of hosting to go for, you must first know what you are aiming to do. If you want to run a database and want to have more control over the operation of your website, then dedicated server hosting should be your option to choose.

A dedicated server is a kind of server that only entertains one single website. There is no sharing with others. The entire server is dedicated to your website. Like this, you will have total control over the server administration, hardware and software application.

To get the best out of a dedicated server, you need to know what they offer. To achieve that, you need to know what to look for in a good dedicated server host.

To begin with, you will need a good operating system for your website. So, you need to choose a dedicated hosting that provides you with the operating system that you desire. The operating system that you choose will determine the application that you can use for your website. One of the best software out there is Windows NT. This option will give you a complete server platform. There is also other options like Linux which proves to be more complicated to operate and is usually preferred by expert webmasters.

The next thing to look for is the bandwidth. This is normally not a problem in a dedicated server because there are no other websites for you to share the bandwidth with. The same goes for the disk space that you need in your website. In a dedicated server, you have the entire server. So, there will be plenty of space for you.

Then, there is the question of back up. It is important to have a back up system for your website. If you are planning to do the back up manually, it will cost you a lot of time and trouble. Therefore, a hosting that provides this feature will keep you data safe. Even if something happens, you don't have to worry because all the details can be restored.

Another factor that makes a dedicated hosting valuable is their monitoring system. This means that the hosting company provides monitoring service on your website and serve so that you don't have to do it yourself. These companies provide scheduled monitoring to your system. So, in order to know how frequent they do it, you need to check with the provider company.

Lastly, you need help in maintaining your website. Preferably, you can find a company that does that automatically for you with their automated tools. So, find a host that gives you this advantage so that you can benefit the fullest from a dedicated server hosting. You are going to pay for it anyway, why not let them do the job for you instead of wasting you own time when you can use it to do other things.

Looking for the best web hosting review? Check out WebHostingSecretRevealed.com - a place where the webmaster (Jerry) examine various hosting services by hosting websites on the web hosts first hand.

Article written by Justin Knights, freelance writer.

Host Monster Web Hosting Review

Host Monster has been a leading hosting provider and offers hosting solutions to businesses and personal websites since the year 1996. They offer amazing affordability in terms of cost effective hosting solutions coupled with quality support and hosting equipment.

Their hosting packages start at just $5.95 per month and the package includes 300 Gigabytes of disk space, 3,000 Gigs of transfer, unlimited domains, free search engine submissions, 5000 POP/IMAP email accounts, SSL, FTP, SSH Access (Secure Shell), CGI, Ruby (RoR), Front Page Extensions, Perl, MYSQL, free domain for life and much more.

The company is very serious about its business and the customer can be assured of complete security and quality hosting services. With Host Monster customers get access to superior customer support, high-end equipment, maximum guaranteed uptime, highly utilizable administration tools, reliable and secure backups and solid business practices. The company has been synonymous with delivering high end performance, prompt and quality customer support and highly competitive pricing structures.

At Host Monster you can gain access to amazing technical support and their online forum can be very helpful for both novice and experienced web masters. Here users can interact, share ideas, opinions, experiences as well as offer tips and guidelines on various aspects related to web hosting.

The forte of the company lies in its impeccable customer support. So be it technical support, billing issues and queries, sales support, abuse issues or affiliate and business development; Host Monster has a separate telephone number and department to handle each issue or concern separately and promptly. The technical support is available 24/7 and the support for other queries like sales and billing are usually available from Monday to Friday.

It is a good idea to browse the company's website and read their Service Agreement and look for any gaps that you may exist. This way you would be assured that the hosting packages perfectly fit your online business model. The website has garnered some very positive reviews over the years and boasts of a highly satisfied customer base. Therefore, Host Monster can be a great option and you can be assured that your online business is in good hands, well protected as well as has ample room for future growth.

HostingCoupons.org lists web hosting coupons, deals, discounts, savings and exclusive promotions from the top web hosts. You will find the best of web hosting companies listed there including the most recommended web hosts bluehost and hostgator

Dedicated Hosting For Beginners

Dedicated hosting is different from shared hosting in that it resides on a server by itself. Shared hosting means that several websites are sharing the same server, but when there is a problem with that single server, all of the websites residing on that server will fall victim to that problem. That is why more and more people are turning to dedicated hosting.

A business can purchase their own dedicated server or they can lease it. There are other options available for those who choose a dedicated server and that is to have their hosting managed. That is why dedicated hosting is frequently referred to as managed hosting. Nevertheless, dedicated hosting is more flexible than shared hosting.

Return on investment

In many ways, dedicated hosting can result in a larger return on investment. This is due to the fact that there is very little overhead involved. If a company were to have their dedicated hosting in-house, they may be facing some pretty steep costs. However, employing the hosting company to take care of all of the administrative responsibilities can prove to be quite profitable.

For those who may not have the IT staff or be able to afford a staff to take care of the server, having the hosting company take care of technical issues and routine maintenance is going to be something you might find quite handy. Basically, that allows you to concentrate on those things that are important within your business. Not that your hosting isn't important, because it is. It's just that your hosting won't do you any good if you don't do the marketing activities that are needed to draw people to your business. It also won't do you any good if you get a reputation for not being able to handle consumer needs because you're too busy concentrating on your hosting.

A must for your business

So if you're not too sure about what to do as far as your Internet presence goes, dedicated hosting is a good place to start. You can get all of the assistance that you need to ensure that everything goes smoothly. This means that you don't have to have technical expertise and you don't have to have knowledge of a lot of the technical turns. Your hosting company will explain things to you in ways that you can understand so that you know what it is you're getting. They will also not do anything drastic unless they let you know what it is they are doing, so you don't have to worry about some sort of unauthorized action being carried out.

If you're not on the Internet yet because you are not sure what it is you need to do, this is a great place to start. Once you figure out your hosting options, you can then work on getting a website built for your business. Many businesses find that they profit more on the Internet because they can reach a global audience. Reaching a global audience means global sales, if it is possible for your business. You'll notice a considerable difference in the amount of revenue that you bring in. What's great is that dedicated hosting does that for you.

So don't worry if you're a beginner or you know nothing about the world of Internet because you'll definitely catch on. You'll be able to learn as you go as someone else does the work. All you have to do is find a reliable company. Look at Internet reviews, talk to other businesses, and check out what businesses similar to you are using. Compare price plans and options. By doing this, you'll find the best dedicated hosting plan for you.

Premiere provider of managed IT services with data centre locations across Canada, provides managed hosting and managed services solutions for enterprises that require the highest levels of security and availability. Our company is PCI Compliant certified. Visit us at: data centre Toronto

The Benefits of a Dedicated Server

There are many options when it comes to choosing a server for your hosting business. A quick search on the internet or perusal of your email inbox will show you the different packages and deals for website servers. All taken into consideration, there seems to be no better choice than to go with a dedicated server. If you are serious about your internet web hosting business, then a dedicated server will be the only viable option for you and your clients.

A dedicated server is completely different to a normal web hosting server. With a dedicated server you are not sharing your space with anyone else. You will own a server that no one else can have or interfere in, one that you have complete control over. In most cases you will be leasing the server from an upstream server provider, but nevertheless, you will be in charge of the server, and managing it on your own. You will be assigning hosting space to your clients and will be able to control what they are doing with their assigned space.

When you host with a shared hosting service provider, there are many problems that you can encounter. The problem is that you do not know which other sites are hosting with you. These sites that you are sharing with could be very large and may have large file downloads. They could also use up all the resources the hosting provider has available and this will cause problems for your sites. Your sites will be unable to load and could even be down sometimes. This will anger your hosting clients and will be very inconvenient!

The benefits of a dedicated server range widely, depending especially on what your needs are. For example, you will be able to choose the kind of operating system you want for your server, and any hardware that you wish. Dedicated servers are ideal for website hosting companies and will give you lots of space and freedom to work for and host plenty of other people without too many complications. With a dedicated server you will be able to keep track of the websites that are hosting with you. Therefore, if there is one that is using too much bandwidth or threatening the performance of your server, you can then attend to that problem quickly and promptly before it hinders the operation of your other sites.

Of course this can be a pitfall, as the maintenance can be overwhelming. There is a lot of responsibility put onto your shoulders, especially if something goes wrong with one of the websites that are hosting with you. Luckily, there are other options, such as taking on the services of a hosting company who will manage all the maintenance for you. In some cases, the service provider who you are hosting your dedicated server with will attend to a certain amount of the maintenance and problems that you may encounter.

Of course, a dedicated server will be more expensive than a shared hosting service provider. If you do your research correctly it is not difficult to attain that the dedicated server will land up being more cost-effective for you than any other option.

Christine Anderssen is the owner of Tailormade4you, a web design and web hosting company that specialises in building cost-effective websites and hosting for small business owners in South Africa.

Web Hosting Anew

As the requirement for web sites has increased in recent years, so has demand for web hosting services. A new type of web hosting, known as reseller web hosting, is now being presented to meet up the additional requirement. In order to comprehend the function of reseller web hosting, you must first realize the task and the utility of web hosting services.

Web hosting services provide space for files which include websites on networked computers and these are often called servers. Web hosting service also gives the link and tools for serving those files through internet. There are also some web hosting companies like Internet Service Providers, who also give their users internet connection.

Home Internet connections, designed to handle the browsing of a tiny number of sites at a certain point in time, can't handle the burden of serving a site to many thousands of people all at once. Moreover, most home computers can't deal with the task of running software to provide so many connected users at the same time. As a result, users who want to develop and publish websites must use web hosting services.

Reseller web hosting has stepped in to fill a void that has opened up in the web hosting market due to increased demand for web hosting services combined with a limited pool of providers. The account manager who is reselling web hosting pays for hard drive space and bandwidth that they then pass on to contracted parties.

Reseller web hosting has become a major avenue for many companies looking to expand business.It is an ideal place for internet related companies to showcase their products and is a good source making more money.The concept is real simple;the resellers purchase space and services at real low prices then offers this to consumers at a price that returns a profit.They then allow the site to generate income for the consumers.

The technological maintenance and support are still provided by the primary, focused web hosting company. Thus, a reseller does not have to buy special tools or have any special technical awareness or expertise. Resellers can just handle accounts with help from software given by the main web hosting outfit.

As demand for web sites has exploded in recent years, so has demand for web hosting services. A new form of web hosting, called reseller web hosting, is now being offered to meet the added demand. In order to resell web hosting, an account holder is afforded the ability to employ his or her allotment of hard drive space and connection bandwidth on behalf of contracted parties. Businesses which already provide an internet service of some kind are particularly good candidates for earning additional profit through reseller website hosting. The reseller can simply manage accounts through software provided by the primary web hosting company.

Two Web Hosts Are Better Than One

You probably think its crazy to use two different web hosting providers. I used to think so too. IAfter all, most shared hosting plans give you tons of disk space and bandwidth and they allow you to host as many domains as you could ever need. Why should you pay twice the price if one gives you all you'll ever need?

That's what I used to think. Then I suffered a painful lesson that taught me never to put all of my eggs in one basket again.

When I first started building web sites I didn't have a lot of money to spare so I was very careful with my expenses. I chose an inexpensive shared hosting plan with a provider that had a good reputation. For a long time things went smoothly and I never had any problems at all.

But then it happened. My web host's server crashed and all of my sites were down. And while they were down my revenue grinded to a halt. It took several calls to their customer support line to find out what was going on and all they could tell me was that the problem was not on my end. There were lots of sites down and they were working hard to get them back up as soon as possible.

It ended up taking them a week to get things back to normal. All of my sites were down that entire week. If anyone tried to visit them they got a "Page Not Found" error and probably thought the site was gone for good. Any advertising links that were providing me traffic were sending them to a lousy error page and there was nothing I could do about it. I didn't make a dime all week long.

But oh boy did I learn my lesson! As soon as my sites came back up and I had verified that all was back to normal I opened another hosting account with a different provider and moved half of my sites to their server. I'm no longer putting all of my eggs in one basket. If one of them crashes all I have to do is redirect my sites to the other host's server and I'll be back in business in no time.

Sure it costs me a little more each month, but hosting is so cheap these days that its foolish not to have a backup plan with a secondary host.

If you're not sure which host to use, check out http://webhosting.youcompareit.com where you can read actual customer reviews, complaints, and ratings of all the most popular hosting providers.

The 6 Easy Steps in Determining a Quality Hosting

A good web hosting means a good foundation to your websites no matter you are building an internet business or building a personal website. Only with a strong foundation your website will stand out strong and long lasting. Therefore choosing a quality web hosting is utmost importance. There are a few points that you should look into when make your pick which will be discussed here.

Reliability
First of all, reliability is the main concern of your web hosting. Reliability means how often your web hosting will be ready to serve whoever reaches your website. 99.9% of uptime is what most of the web hosting providers claim but have they achieved yet? This is something you need to find out with some internet tools available. Reliability also means how and what the providers do to keep their promises. Dual ring power supply is one of the common methods to avoid power failure of server.

Web Storage
Space is the storage size available from your web hosting company. The bigger the space is the more files and data you can keep there. If you are building a large website or hosting a number of website in the same hosting, beware of this issue. Because if you build half way and realize you have not enough of space to use, it will be messy to move hosting to other hosting.

Support
Support is another great concern in choosing the web hosting. As nobody can guarantee a 100% uptime, the next things you should think of is how soon can everything goes back to normal when the down happen. And that very much dependent on how strong the support is. In fact a 24/7 support should be expected from the providers as your users access your website 24/7 worldwide.

Extra Scripts & Features
Different websites have different needs but one web hosting plan only provides the same set of scripts and features to all subscribers. If the scripts and features provided somehow do not fit your needs, even 1000 of latest scripts in the hosting will not help you. Choose properly that you get what you need from the web hosting provider.

User Friendliness
For usual, web hosting provider will provide subscribers a font face or interface to access to all functions available in the service. In this scenario, user friendliness is greatly needed in navigating and controlling the web hosting. User friendliness not only provides conveniences but only flexibility to users.

Pricing
You should always compare price among the web hosting as you might get the same service with lesser money paid. As you might have already known, web hosting industry is a stiff market where everyday there are new promotions and you should take advantages on those promotions. But be sure you do not jeopardize the quality of the service in order to save a few bucks.

Apart of the above mentioned criteria, I am sure there are more things you should pay attentions to. But be sure the web hosting you are choosing does at least meet the above mentioned criteria as those are the very basic things they should complies to. Take your time to reach as there are always a better deal else where.

Daren is a writer and webmaster. His review Lunarpages website provides a better insight on the web hosting leader. For a good quality of web hosting, Daren recommends Lunarpages web hosting. Have a look at Daren's Lunarpages review here.

Tips For Choosing Cheap Web Hosting Solutions

Dedicated web hosting services refers to the allotment of the entire server to a single website. This service is used primarily by large companies with widespread websites as well as sister sites. Due to their complexity, it cannot be coined as a cheap web hosting service. However, shared web hosting solutions can be obtained at lower rates. Here, the same server is shared amongst many websites of different companies. But this form has its own drawbacks, like a slower speed and the fact that web information is more vulnerable to interference.

When physical space for a server is available, a collocation website service can be used. However, this hosting form is not used widely. The role of this kind of service provider is to give access to the Internet at the required bandwidth.

It is important to do extensive research in order to find the best high risk hosting solution at affordable prices that offer good quality for your money. Be sure to check out the kind and volume of website traffic they can provide you. Also compare the rates with your budget.

1) Be aware of your web hosting needs: Be clear on what your professional needs and expectations from the service provider. This would make the selection of a web service provider an easier task. Take note that many types of forms are available, and are compatible with different operating systems like Linux and Windows.

2) Price comparison: There are hundreds of web hosting service providers who provide similar types of services but charge differently for the same service. Take ample time to compare the rates and services of these companies so that you get the best services at cheap prices.

3) Go through other customers' reviews: A good and reliable website hosting service provider will also have a section dedicated in showcasing their customers' reviews. Until you make use of their services, it is hard to gauge what the results will be. But considering and reviewing the experiences of their other clients may help you in making the right decision.

When you've considered all these points, you can be confident that your choice of a web hosting service will be a good one.

Copyright © 2008

SPINX offers exclusive web services across the globe. Clients of Web Design Los Angeles, Web Design Bay Area have been served most comprehensively.

Understanding VPS hosting

The full form of VPS is virtual private server. A VPS is a single physical server that is divided into a few “virtual machines” with the help of the required software on the server. In a VPS hosting service, the server’s resources like RAM, disk space, etc are shared but at the same time each VPS gets its own allotment and operates completely independently from the others. Due to this facility, you can run or software or even install a different operating system, without creating any effect on the other virtual servers on the same machine. Through this virtual Private Server technology, the hosting service provider can partition and create multiple virtual servers from one physical server.

In the case of VPS hosting service, the customer shares the server which includes the hardware itself and the connection. However, the customer gets the benefits which almost similar to a dedicated hosting. For example : They can use their private operating system and file system too. This brings freedom of accessibility and security. You can consider VPS hosting to be like between a share and a dedicated hosting. In VPS hosting, the customer is able to access administrative task such as changing server configurations, installing software, hosting multiple sites and rebooting the server.

Those who are planning to move from a shared to a dedicated environment, without wanting to incur significant rising cost, should then opt for VPS hosting server, in the very first attempt. In VPS hosting server, the operating system and file system are separate from each customer. Hence, users can ensure a definite share of the server in terms of CPU, disk input/output and network. VPS hosting is suitable for web developers who are planning to set up a social networking website or function-rich blogs. It is also meant for those web masters who are well versed with a shared hosting and now want to upgrade their skills on server management without wanting to take the risk of being exposed towards a fully dedicated server. One should be aware that an excellent virtual private server hosting account is considered to be rich in RAM. This leads to quick server responses. Also, to allow users to have maximum drive performance, some hosting accounts combine the best raid cards and drives. This prevents any possibility of Disk I/O problems, which may be seen in cheap virtual private servers. VPS services offer various types of operating systems and it also comes with a good variety of extremely powerful control panels like cPanel, Plesk and Direct Admin. You can select the type of control panel based on your style of working. Through VPS hosting account, you can expect easy set up, instant activation and good customer support. You can have interactive tutorials and 24*7 online support. Also, most of the VPS servers are likely to offer you full privacy and security.

Web Hosting - Do You Need It?

When it comes to deciding to putting a website online, there are things that most don't seem to think about. Web Hosting is one of them. In order to have a website you must have it hosted. Now what does this really mean?

Think of it in these terms - getting web hosting is the small as renting a home or apartment. Your new website needs to live somewhere

You are basically paying for your hosting the same way you pay your rent or mortgage each month. It is a necessity.

Web hosting, just like any apartment or house, you can get it with all the bells and whistles or with nothing at all.

It doesn't matter at all how big or small your website will be or become, you Must have web hosting. This also gives you your own email address associated with your domain name.
In my other post/article I talked about the 6 features of hosting and what to look for, but the most important thing you must make sure your web hosting provider has is tech support. You are going to need it. Even if you know a lot about hosting and the programming end, there are times when things are just out of your control and you must speak with them.

The most important thing you need to do is research, not all web hosting companies are same and offer the same support or features. As most hosting companies do offer email addresses, and ftp access, some actually do not give you access to a cpanel or provide the greatest support.

On the web today more and more people are turning to Blogs, and for good reasons, if you wish to have a blog on your website you need to make sure that you have access to your cpanel where you can install your blog free.

I for one have been around for a long time now and have had many web hosting providers, I still find Hostgator to one of the best online. They have outstanding support, one time I had an issue with them at 10pm PST and I called them, (they are 3 hours ahead of me) you know what, a real live person answered the phone, and within minutes fixed my problem :)

I strongly recommend too that you avoid the free hosting companies out there, they just aren't reliable and there is usually no support available for you. Also, as you build your website and need more bandwidth or space, they don't provide it unless you upgrade and start paying for it. Why do this when you can just get good reliable web hosting to start out with.

In close, just remember that if you want your website to be live online where others can find you then consider getting web hosting that you can count on.

Laura has been doing web designing for over 3 years. Her site offers articles and products to help anyone with web designing. Check her website out today!

http://www.laurasbasicstowebdesign.com

Choosing the Best Web Host For Your Needs

When you decide to get your own website up and running, you'll want to find a good web host. Having a good host makes a vast difference in your ability to succeed online, regardless of what type of website you have.

Reading site website hosting reviews can help you learn many things about what's available and what might be the best choice for you. Let's look at a few things that you might want to take into account when you choose a webhost for the first time or decide to transition to a new webhost because you're unhappy with your current provider.

Hosting Fees

Different companies charge varying fees and fees are not the most important factor in choosing your web solution. You'll want to choose something that fits your needs both financially and from a service perspective. Be sure you have enough storage and consider whether or not you'll have technical support and determine what is included in various plans so you can pick something that fits your needs from a features perspective as well as pricing perspective.

Options

Some plans offer multiple level accounts. You'll want to look at all your options to find the best one for your needs. If you're hosting a simple blog you won't need much in terms of bandwidth and space but if your site will have lots of videos and/or downloads, you might consider a more robust hosting plan with extra benefits.

Tech Support

Does the hosting company offer you a good amount of tech support? What do the online product reviews say about the company's reputation for support? If you're a novice you'll really want to know you're not on your own and can get help if and when you need it.

You'll want to know whether or not the company you've chosen has a reputation as reliable and without a lot of down time. Lost time in having your website available can equate to lost revenue so you'll definitely want to make up time a factor in your web host choice.

Extras

What's included in the hosting fee you pay? How many email accounts are included? What is the bandwidth available for that fee? Can you have more domains added to your existing account or is there a fee for that? Does the webhost offer domain registration services as well? Can you do other things like domain parking for profit, get extras like site templates, e-commerce solutions or site builders and more?

Expandability is an important factor as well. When you first start out you'll probably have a plan for your website but as your business grows and changes you want to know your host can support your business needs.

Consider looking at several product reviews of webhosting products before making a decision. Companies like GoDaddy, ixWeb, TVC, Hostgator and others are well known in the industry and you can find plenty of information online about what people think about them which will help you determine which one is best for you.

When looking at your choices you might even find coupon codes for saving money with larger companies like GoDaddy and Hostgator that will allow you a significant discount for when you first set up your website but do keep in mind the regular pricing without that discount and look at all the factors to help you decide because sometimes spending a few extra dollars for an intermediate or advanced hosting plan over a basic one will equate to overall convenience for you.

For more information about hosting companies like GoDaddy and others, visit The WebReviewer where you'll find online product reviews, hosting reviews and more.

Finding the Web Hosting Service That's Right For You

With so many webhosting companies all vying for your business, how can you be sure the one you choose is the best one for you?

When looking into webhosting services for your website the first thing to do is to assess your own personal needs as they pertain to those hosting services you'll want to consider. Small homepages will have vastly different web hosting criteria from the website of a large company for instance. It is also important to take into consideration anything you are planning on hosting in the near future as well and to take any potential growth into account so that you are not caught off guard by unexpected costs.

The next step in finding web hosting services for your needs is to compare the rates of different hosting companies. While many companies will offer temptingly low rates it's crucial to know how much the prices will grow if your services and customer base expand.

Good technical support from your web hosting company is also critical to success. The ability to solve any problems quickly with the least disruption possible is key to the growth of your website. The best technical support you can hope for from a web hosting company is an in house 24 hours a day, seven days a week, phone & email, based in your home country service. It's also worth finding out if the technical support is free or comes with a charge. Also, make sure the hosting company clearly defines "consulting" versus "technical support" as technical support will most likely be free while consulting may have a price tag.

You also need to know how fast your internet hosting company can provide access to anyone visiting your website. This is easily researchable, with the most obvious way being to visit other websites hosted by your potential web host, perhaps varying the time of day you visit the website and focussing on the times when you think your target audience will visit your website. The best webhosting services will offer high levels of uptime which should be a guarantee to motivate the company to keep servers up all the time, while providing impetus to act quickly if anything goes wrong.

You should also ensure that any web hosting companies you are considering doing business with offers the services your website will need in order to run smoothly. You may require services such as visitor counting, e-mail forwarding options, real-time chat and shopping cart functions among others and it's a good idea to make a full list of your needs so as to not forget to ask important questions during your research of web hosts. You may also want to consider webhosts which offer unlimited bandwidth, in case you have a website with a lot of visitors daily. Also ensure that any potential web hosting company offers some sort of control panel to allow you to make changes to the way your website is hosted so you won't have to work through customer service every time you need to modify a password or change an e-mail address, which can be an inconvenient and time consuming pursuit.

In many cases, particularly in business, your website can be your only opportunity to make a first impression and, as such, your web hosting company should be reliable, both for you and your customers. Once you have a detailed list of web hosts that can take care of the basic needs of your website, contact each of them for a more detailed discussion.

After all, careful consideration can save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

Paul McIndoe writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.

Web Hosting - Finding the Perfect Fit

It's not a difficult concept to grasp that not all websites are the same. If you visit enough of them, you can clearly see that some websites appear to be superior to others. That could be because of the design of the website, the information on the site, or some other reason. The bottom line is, you know when a find a "decent" website and when you find a sub-par site. Unfortunately, it isn't as simple when it comes to spotting the "perfect" website hosting service.

Contrary to what you may believe, not all website hosting services are equal. There are actually website hosting services that are quantifiably better than others. Here's a look at some of the factors to compare when choosing a web host:

- Web Space (a.k.a. Disk Space)
This is the amount of room, usually measured in megabytes (MB), you're given to "hold" all of the content related to the inner workings of your website. Informational websites with few pictures typically require less than 1MB of disk space. Websites with video, music, databases and other dynamic elements will require much larger amounts of space.

- Data Transfer
As the name suggests, data transfer is how much information can be accessed from your website; it's a sort of "downloading allowance." Data transfer is measured in gigabytes (GB) but sometimes the amounts are provided in MB. (1 GB = 1,000 MB). Unlike web space, the amount of data transfer that you'll require is not dependent on how much content you have on your website but the number of people who are accessing the information on your site. As your website traffic increases, so will your data transfer requirements.

- Website Building Tools Compatibility
PHP. JavaScript. HTML. XHTML. MySQL. Dreamweaver. Frontpage. There are a variety of web scripting languages, database and web creation programs out there...and those are just some of them! It won't do you any good to purchase web hosting from a provider that does not support the type of files with which your website is built. Check for compatibility before buying!

- Customer Service & Technical Support
It's a fact: Customers freak out when they cannot access their website or the site is not functioning properly. Therefore, it's always calming to have a web host that can be reached when you need them; the amount of accessibility that you prefer is up to you. The key here is that the web host is accessible and responsive.

- Cost
Bargain shopping is not exclusive to clothes and cars. If you can find a web host that provides everything that another is offering for half the price -from web space and data transfer allotments to customer service and tool compatibility-then by all means, go ahead and save yourself a couple bucks!

Now that you know some things to look for when narrowing down your potential website hosting providers, here's the golden rule for determining whether a web host could ultimately be the choice for you. Are you ready? Okay. Here goes...

If the web hosting service provides enough capacity for your website to operate as you need it to, it's a right hosting choice; If it doesn't, it's not.

Mind-boggling, isn't it? Well, while that is the primary determination of whether a hosting service is "the right choice," here's the factor that determines whether a "right choice" is a "good choice"...Good web hosts, a.k.a. reputable hosting services, do not oversell.

Have you heard of overselling before? Probably so...just not in terms of website hosting. Well, for those of you who don't know, overselling is the website hosting equivalent of airlines that overbook flights. You know the scenario: When a plane is overbooked, people get booted off the flight until another comes along with more space. The same thing has the potential to happen when a hosting provider oversells web hosting accounts. Websites hosted on the provider's server may or may not be able to utilize the full capacity they're supposed to have. If not, select website functions may not function properly; Worse case scenario: Websites could go completely offline until the web traffic on the host's server decreases and there's enough "space" for all of the host's clients' websites.

In the end, you will find that there are a number of website hosting services to choose from. Some of them will quickly stand out as wrong choices for you-because of inadequate disk space or data transfer allowances-and others simply because of price or customer service accessibility. Just remember that, when you need a tiebreaker to determine which hosting service is going to win your business, the winner will be the one that guarantees that they do not oversell. Find that web host and you'll have found your perfect fit.

Mauricio Navarro is the President & CEO of Rationale Hosting (http://www.rationalehosting.com/). Rationale Hosting is a web hosting company delivering affordable web hosting solutions, domain name registration & FREE web hosting to consumers and business clients.