If you are new to web hosting, you might be encountering words or technical terms whose definitions are strange to you. Among them could be the words ?domain,? ?domain name,? ?web host,? ?virtual host,? ?web hosting? and ?server.? First and foremost, you should understand that creating a website does not end with producing a well-made site design and coming up with a name for it. You have to register its ?domain name,? and find a reliable ?web host,? that could provide a secure ?server? for your website.

In order for your website to be accessible by others via the Internet, you need to use a server. This is a huge computer or hardware that stores all the information contained in your website. The server has an IP address (a series of decimals) that is represented by an easy to recognize name, called a domain name. This is part of the website URL you place in the address bar and is used to identify your website?s location on the Internet.

A virtual domain is a domain hosted by a server that concurrently hosts other virtual domains. In contrast to a domain on a dedicated server, virtual domain shares with other web sites its access to the features of the single server that hosts all of them; thus, virtual domain hosting is also called as shared domain hosting.

The ways that a domain on a dedicated server and a domain on a virtual server are hosted are almost the same. The biggest difference between the two is that the first exclusively makes use of all the resources in its server, while the second has to share them.

If you own a medium-sized website, virtual hosting is the most affordable and most efficient web hosting solution you can avail of, since you own only a small part of the web server, while your site is given its own identity as if it had an exclusive server. A 5GB server space can cost you about $15 per month, while you can enjoy a 3GB disk space for only $3 to $4.

As internet professionals it becomes a necessary thing to know what to expect from web hosting providers. Internet service providers are a dime a dozen and so are web hosting providers but, while you can sit in a coffee shop and check your email through wireless internet if your DSL goes down, many times your business can come to a screeching halt when your web host has issues.

I’ve been in that situation a few times and with a few different hosting providers. When you run an online business that generates daily revenue a hosting outage or problem can make you lose alot of hair. This is why it is absolutely imperative that you do the research ahead of time to ensure that you get the right hosting provider for your business. For those of you that are too late on this, you can get it right the second or third time around. Do your math and give your business stability and security.

Whatever you do, never go cheap if your making money or expect to be. This is the most common mistake people make as internet business owners. You’ll pay $54 a month for cable internet and yet you nab the $4 per month hosting plan for your business because it is the cheapest. Hosting really doesn’t cost all that much anymore these days but if you really want your website up time at maximum and a feature rich hosting plan with quality support then don’t be skittish about paying a decent monthly price.

Most people pay four times more for dial-up then they are willing to pay for a decent hosting plan. A small business should really never be on one of these plans anyway as the cheap hosting plans typically share one server with up to 1,100 other web sites. This is called shared hosting and works just fine provided that your one thousand other server neighbors don’t crash things with resource hungry scripts or host illegal content that gets you in trouble with the search engines. The latter is possible because search engines do a kind of guilt by association for websites sharing a server or an IP address.

These shared web hosting plans usually do use the term “small business hosting” and other terms that target the business owner but in my experience small businesses should look something like a virtual dedicated or fully dedicated server to make sure their needs are provided for. A dedicated server can usually be had for around $100 for an economy box. When you compare this to the overhead of a physical storefront is this really too much to pay for your business?

Another thing for business sites to consider is something like “the slashdot effect” killing your server. This is a term that is usually applied to instances where a piece of content on a site is listed on a major portal that is usually community based. The website then gets hammered with ongoing traffic from the portal. Many times this is almost enough to bring a dedicated server to it’s knees. A shared hosting plan and even a virtual dedicated hosting plan could not survive in most cases.

If you’re going to put your business online then do the research. If you need to go cheap then skip five espressos a month and at least pout your business on a server that will give you the performance you need.

The web space you rent might be shared by a number of other clients of the company you choose. This is a very common trend. This should be your proffered choice if the number of hits is less and the website you own does not have a huge traffic but if you are moderately popular and the graphics and images take time to download, then dedicated servers are the best bet. If you go in for shared hosting then check if the same server does not host any adult or red flag site because some search engines weed all the websites hosted on this kind of server and you don’t want to be weeded out.

Support

A simple and quick tool to determine the online and offline support that you may require once your site is hosted is to mail your pre sales questions to the company. The response time will tell you a lot about the dependency of the company. So before signing the contract be sure that you will get response even at 3.00 am in the morning if needed.

Lastly always think ahead of time so your intention might be to grow bigger as compared to what you predicted. So to save time and money always have enough bandwidth and space so that you can grow into it without a second thought.

Dedicated Servers for Ecommerce

If you are currently engaged in any facet of ecommerce, even service sectors, a website makes up a great deal of your business. Therefore, it is a safe assumption that you pay for hosting your website in some fashion. If you do not already have a dedicated server, perhaps you should revisit the decision for the best hosting options for your business.

What is a Dedicated Server?

Most web hosting companies set up accounts or on a shared server. You essentially share the total hard drive and bandwidth allowance with many others. This may not be the best hosting option and can present many problems such as security and traffic bottlenecks. On a dedicated server, the server is completely yours, and there are not other websites utilizing the same machine. The server is dedicated completely to you and your business.

Advantages of a Dedicated Server

Several advantages can make a dedicated server the best hosting choice for you. These include:

Server Security –Dedicated servers increase the security of your website tremendously. There are no other webmasters using the same workspace, and simple mistakes or user error that might occur due to shared machines simply no longer existent.

Storage Space – As the entire server is dedicated to a single customer, there is tremendously more storage space available for website pages, images, and features.

Data Transfer – As with storage space, there is a great deal more bandwidth available for data transfer. Traffic to your site no longer competes with traffic for other websites reducing bottlenecks and slow server response time.

Control Panel – Having your own server offers additional opportunities for control. Sharing a server indicates that you have only limited control of server features and functions, but with a dedicated server, webmasters have greater control and access to the day-to-day functions of the host.

Software Options – Dedicated servers also allow more software and script options. The server has greater storage capacity for this information, and there is no need to align coding or features with other users of the same machine.

Disadvantages of a Dedicated Server

The sole disadvantage of a dedicated server is the cost. It is only logical that obtaining an entire server versus a piece of a shared server would be more expensive, but the rate often makes webmasters baulk. It is important to consider the fee as related to the total cost of shared server space when determining if a dedicated server is the best hosting option for you business, despite cost. A single credit card safety incident or an exorbitant bill for bandwidth overage should level the playing field almost immediately.

Am I ready for a Dedicated Server?

Websites grow at different rates, but as the success of a business grows, so does the need for additional hosting capacity. If you are approaching the limits of your current hosting company or have concerns about safety, such as storing credit card information on the same server as others or simply if your current company is the best hosting company for your needs, it is definitely time for a dedicated server.

Your designers have given you a promising website. Now your next job is to get it hosted. First timers usually fall into the trap of bad web hosting companies. You come across scores of them in every nook and corner who sound capable and promise to do their job well but the resultant is a website that does not have much of bandwidth resulting in a slow and unprofessional website, and to make it worse the customer service is poor as well. So, finding a dependable web host is really tricky. You can find them through search engines and forums but before you zero down on one, you need to check a few things about the web hosting company. Get to know about the company that are you are hiring.

Credibility of the Company

Make sure that hard-core network engineers run the company and they are on the block for at least 2 years. Avoid the companies that are run by amateurs even if they give you a cheap bargain because your ultimate aim is to put your best step forward and that is your website. You need to check their credentials thoroughly, Read the ‘About us’ page ‘Terms of service’. Also read the web host forum and reviews. Please check for the credibility of the posters as well. Check the technology used by the company and go in for the one, which has at least 95% of the uptime for most of its servers. You need to know if the company publishes its address because after all you need to be sure if the company is legitimate since you are putting your company’s future in the hands of another.

Bandwidth

There is nothing called unlimited bandwidth. If you buy the unlimited service, your host might shut you down claiming that your website has been using unfair amount of system resources. And beware bandwidth usage and system resources are two different aspects when dealing your host. Always go in for the bandwidth one or two sizes bigger because finally your aim is to grow. Initially you might need less as the traffic is poor but eventually when the traffic builds up and your site is popular you would have to grab for the entire available amount.

Space

The web host gives you a certain amount of space on its servers. The need and the usage really depend on you. If you buy 5 MB of space it is plenty for the web pages and images of most of the business websites. But you need to confirm if this includes the mail, log files etc as well. A web host that includes everything usually gives at least 15 MB space minimum. And make sure that you don’t get sold into buying space than you really need.