A Beginners Guide to Web Hosting Providers

Web hosting is a service that you may or may not be familiar with, but every time you surf the internet you rely on this service to provide you the information you are looking for. Web hosting refers to the specific function of storing a web page in a computer, and allowing it to be seen by others on a network. A web hosting provider stores the web pages on computers very similar to the ones you have at your home and office. The main difference between the computers used by hosting companies and the computers you use for personal use is the software that is loaded onto them.

Computers that are used primarily for hosting web pages are typically loaded with operating systems specifically designed to host web pages or internet applications, and are called servers. Web hosting companies may have only one server, or they may have hundreds or even thousands of servers connected together through a common interface.

Generally a web hosting company will have a dedicated, fast and reliable connection to the internet, allowing for quick access to the pages they are hosting. If a company has many servers and not a lot of clients, many times they will lease out the space on their servers to third party companies. These third party companies can then remotely administer the servers from anywhere in the world, allowing them to sell web hosting services without having hardware on site at their location.

With thousands of web hosting companies on the internet offering services ranging from basic, simple hosting plans all the way up to thousand page interactive business sites, the process of choosing the right hosting provider for your needs can seem daunting. There are several aspects of hosting that are similar to every company out there though, and by knowing the differences between these choices your decision about which hosting provider to choose can be made much clearer.

• Software
Before choosing a provider it’s important to know exactly what type of software the provider uses for hosting. Many people who are new to internet web page building might be surprised to know that hosting providers utilize different types of software for their service, and not all applications will work with all different types of software. The two most common types of software you will find are Unix, which will generally also include the Linux family of software, and Windows, or Microsoft type software.

• Bandwidth
Bandwidth refers to the amount of data transmission that the web hosting provider will provide for your website. Generally, bandwidth is allotted in a per month format. I.E. – if you choose account A. you will be allowed 50 Gigabytes of transmission per month. If you choose account B. you will allowed 100 Gigabytes of transmission per month, and so on. This is important to consider if your website will be set up to allow downloads. If you plan on opening a website which sells software to be downloaded from your site, make sure that you calculate how much bandwidth will be used and make sure your hosting plan provides that amount of data transmission.

• Disk Space
Disk space refers to the amount of space that your hosting provider will allocate for the storage of your site on their computers. Most sites themselves are not that large, unless you are planning on running a site with a lot of fancy graphics and a lot of pages. If you plan on storing videos, audio files, or lots of pictures and graphics which will be a part of your actual website design, then you will need more disk space from your web provider. A simple, mostly text based website, even with a certain amount of fancy graphics and design, will generally not take up a large amount of disk space on your web hosting provider’s disk. An easy way to find out how much space you will need is to simply design your site, then put all the files into a folder on your computer. Just check the size of the folder with all your website’s files in it to get a pretty good idea of the disk space required to store your site.

• Email Accounts
Another thing to consider when choosing hosting providers is email accounts. Most hosting will come with email accounts, generally plenty of them for a typical site. Make sure if you will be requiring a lot of email accounts that they are included in your hosting plan. Also check with your provider to find out how those accounts are setup, and what type of control you will be able to have over them. Most hosting accounts come with several pre set email accounts and many non designated accounts which you can setup yourself. Check and make sure you have access to modify the settings of these accounts. Generally you will be able to change the names of the accounts, and have them forwarded to an existing account you already have setup.

Once you have a good idea of what type of resources your website will require in these four critical areas, your choice of web hosting providers can become a lot clearer. Remember that many companies will try and upsell you products and additional services that you probably don’t need. When getting started, it’s a good idea to just start with the basics. Get your site online and looking good, make sure it’s working correctly and all the links are pointing where they are supposed to, and then start tweaking, fine tuning, and adding extra services if you need them.

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