Is All Web Hosting the same ?
Topics Discussed:
Currently there are three main Web Hosting Platforms to choose from: Linux/Unix, Windows 2000 and Windows NT.
Linux and Unix Web Hosting is generally
more reliable and affordable and it is suitable for most sites. If you're
using the site for e-mail or as a personal site Linux is the most affordable.
Windows NT is more appropriate if you need ODBC for a database-driven site and Windows NT can work better with Microsoft Frontpage. However you can still build database-driven sites using PHP on Linux f the host supports it.
Within in these categories you have different types of hosting which generally fall into 3 main categories. They are:
- Free Services
- Budget Hosts (under $1.50- $ 25 per month)
- Full Service Hosting ($25+ per month)
Site
Resources
Web Hosting Cpanel Docs A-G
Web Hosting C Panel Docs H-R
Web hosting C Panel Docs S-Z
Plesk
Web Hosting Control Panel Documents Index1
Peask Web Hosting
Control Panel Documents Index 2
Let's take a look at each category.
1: Free Services
If you want to run a home page for personal interest or for family and
friends these Web Hosts are great! Or if you want to ease into the Internet
cautiously - also great. For more information and where to find them search
in the free web hosting section.
2: Budget Hosts:
You do have to sit down and analyze the direction of your business and
project what your future needs are likely to be. Generally you get what
you pay for. Why pay for a bundle of features you will never use? If you
are running a serious business, then probably this kind of package would
not give enough stability or adequate features.
Watch out for very "low cost" Hosting Packages (i.e. $5.50 per month). Generally Hosts that deal in low cost and great quantity don't have time to give you adequate support. If you run into situations that need urgent attention , they may not return your phone calls (or reply to e-mails) for days. Your site could experience slow response or "down times" because there are too many sites up on a single server, or because the host has inadequate bandwidth to cover the output that is needed (both attempts to get the price lower). The machines should not be overloaded with websites. It easy to understand that if you overload a machine, performance will be adversely affected.
Your website is a crucial element in business and if your web hosting company doesn't provide excellent support there is potential to lose important data - you can't risk this! The few dollars you are saving per month, by using a Budget Host, could actually end up costing you thousands of dollars in future business revenue. Frequent down times, slow response times, overloads on your server and slow support are just some of the problems that could occur at the most inopportune time. Be aware!
There are some very reliable budget hosts around. Make sure you read the
section on choosing a web host so you can make
a well informed decision.
3: Full Service Hosts:
Here you can expect Full Featured Hosting. If your business is taking
off and you need full support with all the "bells and whistles" then this
is the way to go. Every thing that you need, on a service like this, should
be top class.
You should have site management features that allow all functions at your finger tips. You must be able to set up your own e-mail addresses, manage auto-responders/ forwarders, set password protection directories, add your own custom error page and be able to monitor all of the vital functions on your website.
The server machines should not be overloaded with websites. You should have at least 99.5% up time and top performance. You can be confident that when you recommend your website to a customer, or are reliant on your e-mail service, evrything will be functioning perfectly.
