When you want to have a website put up on the internet, there are a number of things that you need to consider first. Besides the layout, and the content, you need to figure out where and how you are going to have your website hosted. If you have knowledge of servers and domain names then you can of course have your website hosted at home, and there are many people that choose to do this. For those that do not have the technical expertise, they will go to a web host and have their site hosted there either for free, or for a monthly fee. So the question on everyone’s mind, is How Does Web Hosting Work?
Web hosting can be though of as real estate. In real life you need a plot of land in order to build a store, house, or flea market. On the internet you have to get yourself a web host, and get your site hosted on one of the many servers that have been set aside just for this purpose.
A web server is essentially a computer that has been configured for hosting websites on the internet. By themselves they are just computers, but when combined with special server software they become capable of hosting a site that can be accessed by computers around the world, so long as their country of origin permits them to visit said website. It is very difficult to do this from home, especially on certain broadband connections because it involves port forwarding and setting up a domain. Of course you are welcome to tear down your firewall, but this is not usually a very good idea!
What you need to do in order to get your website hosted is first build it. You can do this using a text editor, or a high end website builder. Some web hosts even offer templates. Once you get that done, you need to get a domain name. You can purchase a domain name, or use of the many subdomains that are available. You then need to purchase some web hosting from one of the companies online, and register your domain name with them. Once you do that you’ll be able to upload your personal website and make it live on the internet! You do need to keep in mind however that every web host is very different.
There are some hosts that will let you create a website for free, and even have a subdomain on them, the only problem with that is you won’t have full control over the website and your space will be extremely limited. You have to consider your needs before going for something like this. Alternatively you can go for the free hosting and register an actual domain with another IP routing site in order to have a legitimate URL for your free website. This will help it to get to the top of the rankings on search engines while barely costing you a dime.
Once again though, you need to consider what exactly it is you want and need in a website and go from there. There are so many different possibilities when you ask the question “How Does Web Hosting Work”. It is a question with many answers, and you have to find the answer that is right for you.
For more great information on How Does Web Hosting Work visit our new website www.myecommercecenter.com. And for more great articles visit www.greatcontentpages.com today.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
How Does Web Hosting Work
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Web Hosting: Design Comes Standard
It seems there is a misconception about what web hosting means. Many website owners think web hosting is simply the server where your web site is stored for access by online consumers.
A web host DOES provide this service, but web hosting is essentially a provider who makes a variety of services available to move your site from dream to reality. Web hosting is about much more than just hosting your website.
A quality web host will keep up with new technology, monitor website uptime, improve existing hardware and provide the tools you need to launch your website.
Let’s see if this makes sense; a web host can provide design services, but a web designer can’t always provide quality web hosting.
If the impetus of web hosting is to provide a superior level of services then the common view of web designer as a separate function of web host may need to be challenged.
If a web hosting solution can provide the following perhaps a separate designer is an unnecessary step.
1) Updated software technology.
2) Website monitoring and uptime guarantees.
3) Regular upgraded hardware.
4) Comprehensive design templates with broad options for customization and growth.
These options make a full-service web hosting option a cost effective mechanism of managing multiple aspects of your site design and hosting function. This solution also allows you to operate as the ultimate decision maker in site design.
Web hosting has been denigrated to a separate function of web design, however this need not be the case - it should not be the case.
Web designers are typically thrilled to see ecommerce businesses view the two functions as separate and unique from each other. In most cases the web designer will indicate hosting is free with design services. This may sound like a good deal, but you could pay more in site design and maintenance in the first month than a year of a web hosting package that also provides web design functions in a template rich environment.
Understandably this may be a different way of looking at the role of a web hosting option, but it may also provide a welcome environment for site development and growth in an affordable package.
In many cases a web designer spends the majority of their time designing and maintaining sites and have little time left over for website monitoring, uptime guarantee and regular hardware upgrades. In their defense, this has a lot to do with the workload they are under. In a web-hosting scenario you become the primary site designer allowing the host to make sure your ‘cyber creation’ is available to a global audience.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
3 Types of Reseller Web Hosting
Web hosting is simply the name for the computers and network on which you run your own world wide web site. Reseller hosting and shared hosting are two main focuses when it comes to affordable web hosting plans with 24/7 online tech support. Each has it's place. Shared hosting is good for individuals and people who are only likely to have one or two websites. But if you are planning to be a web developer or an internet marketer who builds many sites and has an internet presence, you may find a reseller account better fits your needs.
A hosting company sells you the use of a computer, disk space on the computer on which to store your files, the use of their hook up to the network called the internet and "bandwidth" or a certain amount of traffic flow into and out of your site over that network. All you do is provide the domain name. The content on the website and a monthly fee.
Reseller hosting is a category of internet hosting where the site owner breaks up the allotted disk space and bandwidth to host multiple domains or resell web hosting. There are three main categories of internet small businesses for whom this kind of hosting account works well.
The Seller of Web Hosting Services
Reseller hosting accounts are perfect for someone who wants to start a web hosting business but who wants to try it first without making huge investments in computer and network hardware and even without establishing a company. This person can buy a hosting reseller account and set his own pricing and be in business within a single day. It does not require extensive knowledge of the technical aspects of web hosting, since all the real technical work is done behind the scenes by the company from with whom his account is set up. Some companies will even handle all customer service for the reseller's own customers.
The Web Designer / Developer
Web developer who develop websites for other people as a business are also good candidates for reseller web hosting services. They can charge their clients for hosting as well as web site design and in that way provide themselves with an ongoing stream of revenue and contact with the client for follow up work.
The Internet Marketer
Internet entrepreneurs who have many sites from which they provide content and offer products for sale are also good candidates for reseller accounts, because they can find a significant money savings by paying a single monthly fee and then putting many domain sites on the same account. If they had to purchase a sperate account for each domain, even at a lower cost, the end result would be much more expensive.
Reseller web hosting accounts typically come with cPanel and WHM (WebHost Manager) as control panels. These control panels are completely anonymous allowing you to work without your customers or web visitors knowing that you are a reseller. Choosing the right reseller hosting provider is serious business because there are a variety of offerings. Be sure you do your homework before you buy.
About the Author: Find everything you need to know about web hosting services at http://netbusinesshost.com/
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Five Great Reasons to Try Cheap Web Hosting
Are you in the market for web hosting services? Then shhhh… listen closely, because there’s an important secret you need to know… you don’t have to pay a proverbial “arm and a leg” to have a web presence. In fact, there are plenty of terrific cheap web hosting options available.
“But why would I want to go with a cheap web hosting site?” you may ask. “Will they have what I need?” Here, we’ve compiled five terrific reasons that cheap web hosting sites are a better value than you might have assumed!
Reason #5: The Customer Service
Don’t allow the term ‘cheap’ to fool you. A ‘cheap’ web hosting provider can be just as wonderful from a customer service standpoint as can its more expensive counterparts.
If you’re not certain what to expect from exceptional customer service, know that the best cheap web hosting organisations offer 24/7 help via telephone and email with a friendly, knowledgeable person. They won’t give up on you just because you’re paying a low monthly fee to be a part of their company… and they won’t skimp on service simply because they market themselves as ‘cheap’ web hosting providers.
Reason #4: The Assistance!
Many customers are pleasantly surprised when they find out that a cheap web hosting company can be just as effective in the assistance department as a web hosting company that charges twice as much.
You can rely on terrific cheap web hosting providers to help you design your website and to offer other advice when it comes to attracting traffic to your domain. They operate as partners, not simply as a means for you to have access to a business tool.
Reason #3: The Speed!
A cheap web hosting provider is likely to be just as speedy as a more expensive one. In fact, many times, web hosting providers with huge disparities in cost actually use the exact same software! The cheap web hosting providers are simply better at keeping their overhead low. Rather than spending money in the wrong places, they are wise investors and pass their abilities to save on to you, the valued client.
Reason #2: The Visibility!
When a potential customer or visitor stops by your website, he or she doesn’t know how much you paid for your web presence. All he or she cares about is how well you can respond to his or her needs. Keeping this in mind, a cheap web hosting provider makes a good amount of sense. Why spend a lot more to attract the same guests to your web pages?
Reason #1: The Price!
Sure, you could try hosting your website yourself. Or you could pay a bundle to a third-party web designer. But why would you do that when you could get the same end result using a cheap web hosting site?
Perhaps in the infancy of the Internet it made sense to hire an expensive web provider, but that’s no longer the case. With today’s competitively based market, a cheap web hosting company is just as likely to get you where you want to go as is a costlier one.
About the Author: Centrica hosting is UK based affordable web hosting services company. We believe in providing quick technical support for fast solution of your hosting problems. We have different web hosting plans to offer according your budget. Read out (our) testimonials to know more about what our clients says about us.
How to Choose Affordable Web Hosting
It’s all about what you need; not what those web hosting companies want you to have. In order to find out what you need, a self-assessment needs to be made. Is it imperative that you have an email address with a domain name or will a generic one do? Do you need database support, filters for spam and other junk? What about tools to build your website? You’ve got to have a list of “must-haves” in order to make a wise decision for your next affordable web hosting option.
If you have no idea what you are doing in regards to web design, directing cyber traffic to your website or anything else that is technical, you will want a web host that has accessible tech support. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week is optimal as servers are known to go down at any time. For “full service” users, you can still expect affordable web hosting; however, it still may be a bit more than what an experienced web user pays with another company where only support via email or IM is available.
It’s all a matter of perspective. You get what you think you are paying for. Determine how much money you think you can spend for your website hosting. Extrapolate that out to determine if you are getting a good bargain or getting stiffed on the service. There are some plans that are as low as two dollars a month. While that is an affordable web hosting price, what exactly are you getting for it? If you have to spend any excess time trying to get support, you are actually losing money. After all, your time is valuable too.
In addition, you have to be leery of those two dollar jobs. These prices are often an introductory rate to grab new customers because they are new. Who knows what will happen once you pay them. If you want to get warm, fuzzy feelings about your affordable web hosting company look them up on WHOIS and see how long they have been in business. Obviously, the longer the company has been providing affordable web hosting, the better off you will be.
If you are unsure about which affordable web hosting plan to choose from, try and visit some web master and web hosting forums. People love to talk about their experiences. Chances are that you just might find some informal information about that affordable web hosting company you are scoping out.
Of course, part of the whole affordable web hosting experience is choosing a company that is reliable and has a guarantee about uptime. What are not included in the reliability uptime factor are acts of God, hacker attacks and other circumstances out of their control. You can expect that mechanical failures, software issues and the like are covered as part of the plan. If a company touting affordable web hosting does not publish their uptime guarantee or does not want to impart that information, then they are not the right choice for you.
The bottom line is that you need to choose affordable web hosting that you feel comfortable dealing with. You do not want to hop from web host to web host, because not only do you lose time and money, but it can be a nuisance to transfer all your website files too.
About the Author: Centrica hosting provide affordable web hosting with quality services. We offer quick technical support for fast solution of your problems. We have different hosting plans to offer according your budget. Read out (our) testimonials to know more about what our clients says about us.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Web hosting providers – an important choice in the development of websites
Web hosting has become a necessity in the busy lives of modern individuals. They all have a statement to make, an audience to impress, and this is why the Internet is now an important means of becoming popular as a company. In terms of business handling, online popularity means that you are doing well and most likely functioning with a profit and that is something at which any business owner aims.
A web hosting company becomes profitable when it reaches two thousand clients. This number is very easy to achieve, as specialists state that web hosting is an industry as spearheading and bold as the real estate domain has been at the beginning of its existence, and still is. With such predictions, it becomes understandable why so many online business owners are keen on finding an adequate provider in order to host their site.
In choosing a provider, we must first have a good overview of the entire hosting market. This is a necessary step: the development of the Internet and of the possibilities widely provided by web hosting providers has known a significant boost in the past decade. In addition, in order to benefit from the progresses made outside one specific region (and this is particularly true for less developed countries), an international web hosting company is one of the most reliable resources your online promoted and managed business could have at hand, at any time and in affordable circumstances.
In order to make the selection easier for potential customers, various websites have developed tops that include ten or a hundred of the most appreciated web hosting providers worldwide. In this manner, each potential customer has the opportunity of a reliable insight into what various providers are offering and into what is best for his or her business development.
Choosing the appropriate hosting package may represent a major problem if you are worried for each option included in the package and posted on the website. Ninety percent of the options posted are hardly of any importance. When choosing a hosting package, users are interested in speed, cost and service.
One chooses a company that gives 99% uptime, as he or she wants their online business to be accessible all the time. Other options, such as hard disk space and bandwidth are also important for the user. Such options will rank among the ones included in the package, when applying to an international provider.
When deciding to apply for an internet hosting package, you should always purchase a domain first. Web hosting companies also provide web design options, in case you want your site to be more attractive. Different qualities demand different prices, but the overall impression is that web hosting has a great future ahead as a business.
A well designed and easy to reach website is a key factor in the development of one’s business. This is why such an enterprise should only use the best hosting providers. In the end, how else could you decide on the best possible alternative if you do not have at hand a comprehensive and reliable inventory of options?
About the Author: The Internet provides a varied range of options from which one can choose the most appropriate web hosting provider. Hosting is an important factor in the existence of a site. As a result, each online business owner should give it the appropriate attention.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Web Hosting Services Explained
What is hosting, and why do you need it, and what is the difference between Hosting, Internet Services and a Website?
Let us start at the beginning and look at all the concepts around the Internet, websites and web hosting.
We will look at Internet Access first, since this is the most basic service that you will need to access the Internet.
~ Internet Access ~
In real life, this can be compared to getting your licence to drive a car. You can drive through the neighbourhood and look at all the houses and shops. Every now and again you can stop and buy something. Then you get into your car again and drive to the next stop.
On the Internet when we are talking about Internet Access, we are talking about the fact that you have dial-up or leased line access to the internet through an Internet Service Provider (ISP). You can get onto the Internet and browse different web sites. You can even buy products on-line. You also have access to email, but your email address is normally linked to that of your service provider. In other words, your email address may be something like johnd@telecomscompany.com where 'telecomscompany' is the name of the ISP provider.
~ Domain Name Registration ~
In comparison with real life, Domain Name Registration can be compared to you deciding to get your own business. Let's say we are talking of the days before the Internet. The first thing you would have done was to create a company, with its own name and identity, not so? Your Domain Name that you register can be compared to having a business name, or identity, through which you want to conduct business.
~ Website Hosting ~
Compared to real life, Website Hosting can be compared to you wanting to set up your own shop or office building. In the real world you have to rent office space, or rent space in a shopping center or retail complex somewhere if you want to establish a shop or an office, not so? In the same way, in cyberspace you have to rent space. The only difference is that you will not be signing a shop-lease, you will sign a hosting contract to rent hard disk space. This is therefore an ongoing, monthly cost.
~ Website design ~
In real life once you have signed a lease for an office or shop, you will get interior decorators, shopfitters and marketers involved to design your shop front or decorate your offices. In the same way, on the Internet, a website designer will design your shop for you and interior decorators will make your office pretty!
~ Website maintenance ~
In the real world your office or shop must be maintained in different ways. First there is the basic maintenance, like cleaning and making sure the lifts still work. Then there is the stocking of new products, getting new products on the shop floor and positioning them so that they catch the eye of the client. In the same way, your website must be maintained. Information on your website must be kept current. There is nothing worse than a potential customer taking a look at your website and finding information that is dated. You need to display new products, or offer potential customers current and updated information about the company
~ Website Marketing ~
So..In real life you have set up your shop. It looks nice. Colour coordinated with a eye-catching shopfront display board. Your products are displayed to perfection. But nobody comes around to buy!
Why not? Because nobody knows about you!
You need to tell people about yourself, followed up by impeccable service and strategies to ensure customer satisfaction, so that they return, again and again.
In the same you, once your site is up and running, people are not automatically going to know about it. Just as in the real world, you need to market your site. This is normally called Internet Marketing and Search Engine Optimization. There are very specific strategies to do this and it also needs specialised skills and intensive effort.
~ Some more explanations: ~
An Internet Service Provider may, or may not, provide hosting services as well.
A web hosting service provider may, or may not, provide Internet Services (e.g. dial up, DSL) as well.
You do get companies that provide all services - Getting access to the Internet, providing hosting space, AND providing web designers to design your website.
The most common scenario however is that you get companies that specializes in Internet Service Provision, you get companies that specialize in Web Hosting services, and you get companies that specialize in Website Design services.
A last note about email. An email address can either be linked to your ISP (in which case you get an email address in the form "john@telecomcompany.com") or linked to your domain name, in the form "john@yourwebsite.com" once you have a domain name registered and a web hosting contract set up. You do not need to give up your email address that you have with your ISP provider since it can operate independently and in parallel with your email address linked to your website. In fact, it is always a good idea to have a backup email address in case your website is down - implying therefore that your email address linked to your domain name is also dependent on your website and your web hosting provider.
About the Author: Christine Anderssen is the owner of Tailormade4You Web Design and Web Development Services and Internet Web Hosting for South Africa. Read the original article on a href = "http://www.internet-web-hosting.co.za/webhosting-info/web-hosting-services-explained.html">
http://www.internet-web-hosting.co.za/webhosting-info/web-hosting-services-explained.html
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Web hosting for Idiots!
A website is basically a collection of web pages (files) that contain text and images. For people to be able to view your website on the internet, you need to store these files on a web server. Web servers are computers which store thousands of web sites. The web server is connected to the internet. The address of your website is the www.me.com. When someone puts the address into a browser the browser connects with the web server and downloads the page to your computer.
What’s a browser?
You’re looking through it now. It is the program you’re using to view this web page, Microsoft Internet Explorer properly, or you may be using Firefox or Netscape navigator.
With a fast internet connection you can turn any computer into a server free of charge, but the computer will have to be left on all day and night and you will have to maintain it. This is not practical and most people pay for a company to look after it. A company that owns web servers are called web hosting providers. These companies have much many servers hosting thousands of websites. Their job is to make sure they are all working
.
For your website to run properly you need a space on a web server to store your web pages and an Internet connection. The amount of space and is usually quantified in MB and the more you want the more it will cost. The Internet connection needed so that your web site can be accessed online is referred as the bandwidth and is also measured in MB or even GB. Different hosting companies offer different space and bandwidth, which for a novice is quite daunting. The best web hosting company are ones that have a good customer support help line. And I mean good old fashioned phone lines. Email is a bonus but sometimes you need to speak to someone to understand things or buy services. If you know you want a website with 10 pages of text and images a good web hosting company will tell you exactly what you need in plain and simple terms.
Some web hosting companies offer more than just hosting. Some offer domain name registration, email where you can turn your domain name into an email address.
Domain name registration is where you register your domain (www.me.com). You can buy these from domain registration companies.Some companies also offer web design which is where someone designs the whole look and feel of your website and uploads it to the server when your happy with it. This is great for the complete novice. You can buy the domain name, web design; hosting and email in one go from one company. This is the best way as it means every aspect of your website is being looked after by the same company.
About the Author: Discount Domains Ltd for the UK Domain Name and Web HostingMarket
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Affordable Web Hosting - Shared Web Hosting Explained
You have designed your web site, and have all your content ready to be hosted, now all you need to do is decide on the type of hosting required for your site, but with so many hosting companies offering various types of web hosting plans based on shared hosting, dedicated hosting, mangaged hosting, and virtual private server hosting, which type of hosting do you choose?
Shared Web Hosting - What is it?
Shared hosting is an economic way of hosting web sites where you do not require high performance (CPU workload) and high bandwidth. As the name "Shared Hosting" suggests, the server that is hosting the web pages is shared between many users, this is how web hosting providers can sell web hosting space at affordable prices down to as low as $3-$4 a month, many accounts on one server spreads the cost of the server among many users. Whereas a dedicated server can cost upwards of $100 per month.
With many web sites hosted on a web server you can be sure that web hosting providers will not make any compromises on performance issues, they will also not make any compromises on security, as one web site with a security issue could affect all other sites on the server, for this reason shared servers are monitored and maintained 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by IT professionals to ensure minimum downtimes.
The Advantages of Shared Web Hosting
As many web sites are hosted per server, hosting providers are able to offer very competitively priced shared hosting plans. For shared hosting you can expect to pay $3-$8 per month for shared hosting services, with some providers offering up to 20,000MB of space and 1TB of bandwidth within in this price range. This is amazing value, thanks to competition web hosting is now within the reach of the personal web designer or hobbyist, and not reserved for just businesses with large budgets.
Shared hosting web servers due to their nature need to be maintained round the clock by highly skilled IT professionals, this lets you concentrate on managing your web site, you can leave all the other things related to web hosting to the professionals.
Shared hosting web masters can manage their web site using what is commonly known as a control panel to manage their hosting, this allows you to add domains, monitor statistics, create databases, manage email addresses and all manner of other things. Each web hosting provider varies what facilities are made available to you in their control panel, but thanks to fierce competition between web hosting providers these days the differences between each providers feature set is decreasing.
Todays shared web hosting service comes with enough disk space and bandwidth to be more than sufficient for small businesses, and if you ever need resources than what your current plan offers you can always upgrade as your web site grows in size and popularity.
About the Author: David J. Smith writes about Dreamhost and other prominent hosts at Webhost-Advisor.com
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Web Design - Custom vs. Templated - What's the Difference?
By: Brad Stone
To discuss the difference between custom websites and template websites, let's first define the two.
Template Website - Is a website that is constructed from pre-designed banners, images and layouts. Limited to available designs.
Custom Website - Is a website that is constructed completely from scratch. Everything on the website is original and unique. Unlimited designs.
Here are some comparisons between the two to help you to make your decision.
Pros and Cons of Custom and Template Websites
Custom Websites
Pros:
* Unique Design for your Business
* Personalized Images
* Unlimited Color Selection
* Unlimited Font Selection
* Unlimited Content (Text)
* Online Lead Generating
* Forms, Flash movement, database storage
* Custom Layout
* Full update support
* Search Engine ranking
* Maintenance of Website
Cons:
* Takes longer to design
* Costs are usually higher
Templated Websites
Pros:
* Quick to have designed
* Usually lower in costs.
Cons:
* Not unique to your business
* Limited on Images, color selection and fonts.
* Limited on how much content (text) can be used.
* Very limited on the use of flash movement and forms.
* Most changes have to be done by yourself.
* Usually no maintenance.
To have a website that will draw customers, produce leads and phone calls, a custom website is the only way to go. Layout of images, your phone number and contact form are extremely important to the success of your site. It plays a key role in whether or not your website visitor will contact you. Research has revealed the importance of placing images next to text you want your readers to see, the strategic placement of your phone number and the ease and simplicity of filling out a form with contact information. A custom website allows the freedom to do this. A template website does not. Your are restricted in where you can place these important marketing items.
The fact that the Internet has made shopping so much easier and faster than jumping in your car and going down to the Mall to shop for a product or service, it becomes even more important that you have a dynamic, professional-looking website, with the right marketing layout, because you'll only have one chance to hook your customer.
Most template websites are boxy-looking and plain, lacking the professional touch that sets your business apart from others, and are usually sold by website companies that are reselling for another company, so they typically do not offer ongoing support if a problem comes up.
A good exercise to help you with your website decision, is to do a Google search on your industry. Review all the website listings on the first page, both the sponsored listings and the natural listings. Look at how they are laid out. Do they make it easy for you to pick up the phone and call or to fill out a form with your contact information. Which websites grab your attention and which ones turn you off. This will give you a pretty good idea of how your customers will view your website. Most websites that are attention-grabbing are Custom-Designed sites that have carefully placed images and text to provide the optimum marketing for the business.
"You should give as much attention to the professional design, layout and dynamics of your website, as you do your business, for without a good website, you have no business!"