Continuing on from last time…

Before you jump in head first, look into some things before you make a final decision on a web hosting provider. Ask questions, and see what kind of answers you’re getting.

1.  Does the co-location center have physical security such as locked servers and password protected access?
2.  How many lines are running to each server?
3.  What kind of cooling procedures do they have in place to help prevent overheating?
4.  Is the generator tested often, and what kind of back up power is in place?
5.  What about fire suppression methods?

All of these things are extremely important factors that a lot of newbies don’t think about when looking for a web hosting provider, but they can mean the difference between a working, smooth website and one that “crashes” often or has security issues.

Most of those questions are not going to be answered by simply looking at the hosting company’s website, you are going to have to pick up the phone and call them. Be sure you speak to someone who has been working with the hosting company for a while and knows what they are speaking of.

Make sure the web hosting company has experienced, helpful support staff that is easily accessible when you need to make contact. Be sure you can call someone and get a real, live person if you need help or have questions. Otherwise, you could get left in the dark without any help if something goes wrong. Check out some referrals and see if you can get customer reviews, so you have better insight as to how they treat their other webmasters. Check into extra hidden fees as well. Some providers may try to hit you with usage fees and other miscellaneous charges after you’ve already signed up.

When looking for disk space, try to get as much as possible for your money. Even if you think your site won’t use even close to that, it’s good to have it as a backup so you can expand your website in the future without worrying about running out of space. A typical graphic or picture usually takes up about 150-200KB, so multiply that times however many graphics you’ll have, and you can quickly see how much this adds up. A video clip uses around 1-4MB, so keep this in mind when determining what kind of space you’ll need.

Bandwidth is also essential to a successful website. In fact, this determines how many visitors, or hits, your website can support. Some web hosting providers charge people fees if they go over their allotted bandwidth, so look into this as well. Many newer companies are now offering unlimited bandwidth as part of a package deal, so try to find this feature to avoid problems later on down the road. The possibilities and available web hosting companies out there seem endless, so make a checklist with the features you need, price range you’re looking for, and feedback that others have given. This will help to serve as a guide in making a decision.

Speed is another very important issue when it comes to web hosting services. You want your visitors to be able to see the website almost immediately. A good server will provide this without any problems. Lost time is lost business, so speed is very important. You can ping your website to get a better idea of how fast it’s moving. When you ping a website, information hits the server and then refracts it back. The speed shows you how much time has gone by before the data comes back to you after going to and from the server.

So there you have it…some important considerations and questions to ask when looking into a webhosting company.

Check back soon as I will be going into the dynamics of cPanel.

What to Look for in a Web Host

When shopping for a web host, it’s important to know what your needs and goals are for the website(s) or domain(s) you’re going to be working on. For instance, if the website is simply informational and for entertainment purposes, a shared web hosting service might be best. This keeps your costs lower. If there is no intent on turning any sort of a profit with your site, again, shared hosting is a good option. A virtual private server is also good in this case, since it allows the website to grow over time, giving it a little bit of “wiggle room.”

Ecommerce websites that produce a lot of sales might need something larger such as a dedicated server. This can be costly, however, so again, it’s very important to know what the goals are for the website, and how they will be achieved through the website’s functions so that you will be able to support the higher costs of dedicated servers. High traffic websites usually need a dedicated server just to support the number of views or hits it receives, much less the amount of information being communicated to the server if there are monetary transactions being made or forms being completed by people.

Of course, the type of website is not the only factor in determining which type of web host you’ll want to use. There are other specifics that should be considered. First, think about the amount of space you will be allotted. For example, regular websites use about 5MB of space, and this is generally enough to support the basic format of a site online. However, if you need more bandwidth and web space, you may need much more. Photos and video clips tend to take up more space, as do interactive features. Remember to keep in mind that plenty of space is great, but stability should take precedence. If your provider is down often, you can lose business and hits to your website, so keep this in mind.

Another important factor when deciding on a web hosting plan or company is the number of domains that you will be allowed to have. For example, if you sell shoes but you want to do so at shoes.com and coolshoes.com, you’ll need to make sure the hosting provider allows multiple domain names. It’s very important to register these domains ahead of time before you pay for a “reserved spot”, otherwise you might end up paying for something you’re not allowed to use. The more domain names you can have, the more exposure you’ll get. Promoting multiple sites gets more visitors and increases the odds of traffic to your website. Many web hosting companies charge a per-domain name charge each month, while some may charge a flat fee for each, so do your homework.

When choosing domains, remember that web hosting plans usually offer the buyer a set amount of space, and then it’s up to the webmaster to decide how much space to allocate to each domain. For example, if you have 500MB of space and domains, you can opt to designate 100MB of space to each, or split them up in other ways. FTP, or file transfer protocol, is another factor to consider when looking for a web host. Essentially, the FTP transfers files and information via the Internet and allows the data to communicate to and from the server. There are many versions of FTP server software available, and each has different features such as variations in licensing and platforms (i.e. Windows vs. Mac). Make sure the web hosting plan you choose will work with the FTP software you end up using, or else there will be problems integrating.

As a Webmaster, it’s very important to be able to have as much control as possible over the operation of your site. Regardless of whom you choose for the web hosting, the ability to manipulate your site and make changes or adaptations when needed is essential. cPanel is an excellent choice when it comes to web hosting control panels. This program allows the web designers to log in and make changes quickly and easily, all while communicating effectively to the web hosting server you choose. cPanel runs on the Linux, CentOS, FreeBSD, and Windows Server 2008 platforms, giving users a fairly wide range of choices of server platforms to choose from.

If cPanel is something you want to use, it’s absolutely essential that the web hosting plan you choose is compatible. Otherwise, you will not have the ability to control your site through this interface. Server administration is very important, so it is definitely a feature that brings more options to the table when it comes to making any changes or upgrades to your website. There are some other very important factors to consider when shopping for a web hosting choice other than the price alone. Don’t bank on a cheap provider to give the best service; sometimes, a little extra cost can go a long way in making sure you get the most stable server available.

Stay tuned for part 2 of ‘What to look for in a web host’ coming soon.