The first step that you require to take after creating a website is to get it on the internet, and here you are faced with three alternatives. You could either host the site on your computer, or host it on a server. The third option is getting someone else to host it for you. The first two preferences are practical and suit those with fast connections or other business-oriented sites. Maintaining such a web server requires constant monitoring and attention and you need a very fast connection to keep running it.
So, if you forget about these two options, the other option that remains is that of having a web-hosting company for this job. When we talk about such companies, it must be said that they are planned to accommodate your site with the aid of their server. The interesting thing is that you have the chance to get into it in order to upload your files on the site. If the aspect of web-hosting is categorized into different sections, we get three types of web-hosting. They are free web-hosting, paid web-hosting and dedicated web-hosting. The most expensive option is that of the dedicated web-hosting and this is perfect if your site is in need of a great attention. Here, the company lives up to the task of hosting your website on their server with their connection.
So the other alternatives are of course, free or paid. And the most common question asked is that why should I pay for something that I can obtain for free?
The actual scenario is that paid web-hosting has certain advantages.
Paid web hosting provides you with more number of features, like faster internet connection, good customer support, absence of irritating advertisements from the webpage, and also, as you are paying for the services, your needs will be taken care of.
There are some free web hosting companies which refrain from putting banners on your site, but they offer substandard services. In fact, many free web hosts have attractive features, but the low level of technical support is what pulls them down. A free web hosting package is good for entry-level webmasters. Web hosting companies offer certain features as mentioned below, but keep in mind that the list is inclusive and not exhaustive. But prior to that, you need to get friendly with a few terms:
URL/Address: If you don’t have a domain name, then you might need a URL address.
Space- as a web page most sites require very little space, and 5MB is adequate for a small site, which will take over a hundred pages. Most of the times graphics take up about 35KB of space, but if it is a graphics intensive site, or one featuring downloads, then you will need around 15-20MB. Unlimited space though offered by many web-hosts is not required as such.
Bandwidth/Transfer: This is calculated monthly, and is based on the total number of files which are transferred from your site in the month. This is where unlimited bandwidth kind of helps, since you need at least 1GB space per month for a normal website.
CGI-BIN: If you run interactive scripts on your website, such as counters, guest books, etc., then you will need this. You can remotely host the site while the banners are carried from a third-party website.
SSI: This is a special function which channelizes the server for inclusion of a given thing on your webpage. It could be text, or any other thing.
My SQL/PHP/ASP Support- if you desire to maintain a database on your site you need database formats like these. ASP generates key sites often.
Technical Support: Free hosts do not provide such a good technical support as paid hosts do. As you might know, monitoring the websites is constantly required, and upon encountering any problem, you might need technical support from the host, so this bit is an important aspect of a web host.
E- mail- It is always wise to have a POP3 mail service as it lets you receive any message from your web-host before they send it to you. Actually, it is very common to have such mails provided you have a domain name.
FrontPage Extensions: These extensions are required only if you use the facility of Microsoft FrontPage for construction of your website. Also, the FrontPage components can be added to your website as well.
SSL/Secure Server: This is needed for ensuring safe facilities for ordering from your website.
Statistics/ Log Files- this section provides you with information about your users, like what files have been downloaded and which of the pages have been accessed.
FTP Accounts- The users are able to download files from an area of your site with the aid of an anonymous FTP. As far as the FTP accounts are concerned, they let you upload files on your website.
Some Information About Paid Hosting: If you agree to spend some money in order to have an ad-free hosting and satisfactory technical support, it is possible to upgrade a free hosting. So, find out a better web-hosting and it cuts down the charge making it $5 to $75 per month (it is $150 per month with dedicated servers).
However, if you are opting for paid web host services, then you must ask them about a list of all the websites which they host. By doing this, you can contact webmasters of those sites and get first-hand information about the web host. Also, enquire about the technical support, since this is a very important factor as far as paid web hosts go.
Always bear in mind to go through all their terms and conditions. It is often seen that some free hosts do ask you for the ownership of the copyright of your page. This is an obstruction to advertise on your own website. So, be aware of all the restrictions to advance properly.
