Good Web Hosting – What Is It?

Posted on Thursday 8 December 2005

Good Web Hosting – What Is It?
By Ryan Fyfe

With hundreds of web hosting companies to choose from today it can be hard to know which ones are actually worth using. Below is a guide of things to look for in a web host:

Services - A lot of times we are sold on the idea that bigger is better. I like to look at web hosting companies with a quality over quantity perspective. If lets say you need a site to just simply host your little guy’s minor league soccer team, do you really need a terabyte of bandwidth? Are you ever going to make use of all of those gigabytes of storage space. A lot of webhosting companies will oversell their servers in this way, and rely on the little sites that won’t reach their limits to keep things running. These companies are spreading themselves thin, and I wouldn’t recommend getting on board with one of them. Find a host that is going to meet your sites current needs, and that also allows room for growth.
Prices - I’ve seen small packages go for expensive sums, and large packages go for very cheap. This goes back to the point above, and also the point below. Make sure that you are actually getting what you pay for! Getting more than you pay for isn’t normally a good thing, as chances are you aren’t with a top quality host as they recognize that to keep things running they need to charge more. Another way in which Web Hosting companies will often cut costs is in their Customer Service. Most hosting companies online are simply reseller services, and can have terrible response times and customer support, as they are over extended or simply don’t care.
Customer Service - This I feel is the most important aspect to keep in mind when looking for a good web host. Don’t over look this! Chances are at one point in the life of your website you are going to have a problem with your host, or a question, inquiry,etc. What good is it if they don’t answer? Look for hosts that provide 24/7 email support. Email is the most common although a lot of hosts will also offer live chat, and some even phone support. Support I feel is what makes or breaks a host. Datacenters are all pretty similar, and often times a lot of resellers are at the same datacenter. Test out a company’s response time. And over a couple days. One my first hosting experiences I found a site with live chat, got online, asked my questions, and then joined. A few days later I had some support problems, and there was no one there, same thing a month later,etc. Even just to cancel my account took a month. Quality hosts will be consistent and timely with their support.

Web hosting can be a pleasant experience or it can be a nightmare. Take your time and test out a company before you join. A little time now, will save you a lot of time/energy/money down the road!

Feel free to reprint this article as long as you keep the following caption and author biography in tact with all hyperlinks.

Ryan Fyfe is the owner and operator of Web Hosting Which is a great web directory and information center on Web hosting and related topics like Unlimited Domains web

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ryan_Fyfe

DarkAdmin @ 6:44 am
Filed under: Web Hosting Topics
Web Hosting: Price Vs. Quality

Posted on Thursday 8 December 2005

Web Hosting: Price Vs. Quality
By Paul Herbert

As the Internet expands, demand for different web-hosting services increases proportionally. Additional numbers of people are joining the web world every day with personal sites for their business or organization. Many people choose low-cost solutions to host their web site, but it if your web site is important to you, you should consider quality as much as price.

For instance, putting your site on a low costs web host can affect the speed at which customers access it. Many surfers on broadband connections get annoyed when site’s server does not keep up with their connection. If it does not offer fast access and downloads, people will be reluctant to revisit the site. They would leave the place with a negative impression about you result in long term economic loss.

A well-established web host may charge more for the facilities but in the long run they may offer better and latest services complying with the trends in the market. Some high quality hosts even offers free add-ones and promotions. The features like free web site builder or support for MySQL databases ensure that the ultimate cost involved in building a productive website are a lesser amount. These facilities may not be available when one goes for a cheaper web host – or you may have to pay extra for them!

The cheapest web hosts may not always have a good reputation, either. Reputable companies in the web hosting business have a well-established infrastructure that ensures better services. Their servers tend to be down less frequently and they are less likely to go out of business (and take your data with them!).

Thus it is advisable to check out a host’s reputation and quality as well as its price. The good news is, there are some web hosts that offer both outstanding service as well as competitive prices. Don’t sell yourself short with anything else!

Paul Herbert recommends Net Explorers ( http://www.hosting-netexplorers.co.uk/ ) for high quality UK web hosting.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Herbert

DarkAdmin @ 6:44 am
Filed under: Web Hosting Topics
Front Page Web Hosting

Posted on Thursday 8 December 2005

Front Page Web Hosting
By Andy Eaton

Front page web hosting is a server plat form that has the ability to support this popular scripting software from Microsoft.

If you are keen to know about the platform that supports a FrontPage, let us make you aware of the fact that any web hosting provider that is reputable, should Be able to support Microsoft front page well.

However it is always better to check out within the provider to make sure whether Microsoft front page is supported by a particular web hosting service, most of the providers often list the scripting software that are supported by their hosting plans.

The list is often listed on their web sites. If you cannot find the list, there is nothing to be worried about. Your queries will be answered over a phone or email enquiry. Front page web hosting will often also support other support other software and tools such as ASP, ASP, NET, PHS and MYSQL data base programming.

The important thing to observe is that the hosting plat form is for Microsoft and not UNIX technologies. Plat forms will either support one or the other, but most of today’s popular competitively priced hosting packages are Microsoft oriented. But we would like to worn you again that you should always check to make sure you know what exactly you are getting the front page software is quite popular with the web site builders and designers as it is quite reasonable and user friendly.

It is equipped with pre made templates for quick and easy website launching.

There are also some more complicated e-commerce templates for heavier dusty shopping.

Their dynamic software also features ASP add-ins, which provides visitors with an exciting interactive experience through new groups.

Surveys, audio/video and interactive chats, a Web creator can utilize these technologies to enhance his/ creativity and build web sites that are more user friendly and good to view.

If you are vying for the best in front page web hosting, you should settle for nothing less than a Microsoft certification. This certificate authenticates the fact that the host company is a Microsoft – registered provider of front page hosting platforms.

The company is also support to offer FrontPage server extensions in its hosting plans. You are also guaranteed a 30 days money back guarantee if they don’t meet or offer you the standard.

Andy Eaton is the owner of http://www.credit-cards-4us.com a site dedicated to helping consumers find the right credit cards, helping them get out of debt.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andy_Eaton

DarkAdmin @ 6:44 am
Filed under: News
Choosing a Web Host: Research Before You Decide

Posted on Thursday 8 December 2005

Choosing a Web Host: Research Before You Decide
By Abbas Alafoo

Hundreds of hosting providers are competing these days to attract customers in different ways. In most cases, their offers look very similar, especially to those who are new to web hosting, making the selection of a good hosting provider a very difficult and confusing task.

If you are new to web hosting, you first need to know the basics of web hosting. You should know the answers to the following questions:

1. What is a web host?

2. What are the available host server platforms? What are the differences between server types?

3. What is the bandwidth?

4. What is a domain name? How Can I get one?

5. How can I create web pages?

6. What are scripting languages? What can I do with them?

7. What is FTP?

8. What features do I need for my website?

If you don’t know the answers to the above questions, you can find answers and hints here.

If you are only intending to build a small and simple personal website to publish your pet’s (or family) pictures, then you don’t need to worry, almost any hosting plan will meet your needs. You can go for the cheapest provider, even free ones.

However, If you are about to build a business site to sell goods or services, then you have to be careful about all the details of your new web host. You must read, research, compare and then decide. You don’t want to spend your time, effort and money to attract customers to a website that is not up to your business requirements; this will really hit your image.

It is certainly important to study the features required in the hosting plan. You must know what does storage capacity, bandwidth, platform and scripting languages mean, and how important each one is for your new website, but this is not enough, not at all.

After you shortlist the candidate hosts to only include the ones that meet your requirements, do some research on providers’ history, read some unbiased reviews about their services and explore some customer experience. These are the factors that should make your final decision.

Be careful when researching such information about a provider. Performing a quick search on google about “best web hosting” or “top 10 hosting companies” will not directly return the right and honest information. Most of hosting reviews sites are not actually providing honest reviews. Instead of giving it based on the quality of service, the highest ranks and best reviews are actually given to the companies paying higher commissions to their affiliates. I’ve seen this on quite a lot of review sites.

So, after you have narrowed your web host choices to several providers, you’ll need to take a more in-depth look at them before deciding which one you should go with. You have to perform a thorough evaluation process which might take hours, or even days, for each choice. Sources of information that can support your evaluation process can be in:

1. At least three honest and unbiased review sites.

2. Several reviews in more than one web hosting forum.
3. Direct feedback from real customers of the candidate providers.

Web Hosting Review Sites

Hosting directories and review sites are useful in the process of narrowing your search, especially those who provide an automatic search utility based on price, space, bandwidth, OS, etc. which can save your time and effort in this aspect.

Avoid review sites with “top 10” sort of recommendations. Go for those which provide user reviews, and read the reviews carefully. Compare reviews and user opinions from as much review sites as you can, at least three. As stated above, be careful when reading customer reviews as some hosts might encourage their new customers to write favorable reviews by offering some advantages.

Web Hosting Forums

Open forums are important source of reviews and customer experience. They are open places where customers can write their reviews and opinions about their hosts. However, they can have the same problem as review sites: a provider can write very positive reviews about his own company. The opposite might also happen: competitors can write very negative reviews about their competitors. In some forums, this activity is not permitted. Moderators are strictly monitoring the forums for such activities and deal with them in away that preserve their honesty and credibility, but this cannot guarantee that all the reviews are 100% accurate and honest. Keep in mind: what fits with other users’ needs might not fit with your needs.

Search for “web hosting forum” in any search engine and you will get hundreds of them. My favorite one is www.webhostingtalk.com. Almost all forums have a search services from which you can search for your candidate hosting provider’s name or URL. If you get results for your search, read as much related threads as possible. If you don’t get results you can post a thread asking for customer reviews about the intended provider(s). Again, don’t base your final decision on one opinion. Read reviews in different threads on more than one forum.

Feedback from Customers

Some web hosts list samples of their customers. Others have forums on their websites for support, where you will see examples of issues raised by real customers and how did the company dealt with. On those forums you might get addresses of some customers. Try to contact those customers to find out what they think about the service and support.

At this point, you can make a decision based on a combination of the gathered information. You will most probably be satisfied with the host you choose.

Abbas Alafoo is the creator of http://www.website-hostings.net, a collection of articles and tutorials about web hosting, design, development, promotion, and administration.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Abbas_Alafoo

DarkAdmin @ 6:43 am
Filed under: Web Hosting Topics
Web Hosting, Where to Start?

Posted on Thursday 8 December 2005

Web Hosting, Where to Start?
By James Piper

Web hosting is a necessity when starting your web presence, with out it you don’t have a site, but finding high quality web hosting can be a daunting challenge, after all, do you need one gigabyte of bandwidth, web hosting with one IP, unlimited databases or a free domain name. What does this really mean and what should you be looking for when you try to find a suitable web hosting company.

Web hosting companies are extremely profitable if they are popular, they have high start-up costs, but over time their general overheads dramatically reduce (proportionally). This is evident if you think that they have to pay to get directly connected to the backbone in order to establish the fastest possible connection, they need secure fire resistance premises, equipment, support staff and much more.

Once established their costs per web hosting account reduce, if you go to a major web hosting company and order a web hosting server, all they are really doing is adding a computer to their existing network, therefore splitting the overall costs. Then you pay approximately $150-$200 per month to keep that dedicated web hosting server.

Your web hosting requirements

You need to realistically establish what web hosting requirements you have for your site, do you really need 400 gigabytes of bandwidth (transfer) per month? Most sites are lucky to use 2 gigabytes per month from their web hosting account. Databases are another big issue, many web hosting companies change extra for databases, when in actual fact they don’t cost anything to maintain as they reside on the same server. So before you proceed, you need to analyse what web hosting requirements you really have, look at the script requirements you have of any potential software products you plan to use on your web hosting account.

Another limitation a lot of web hosting companies impose is the amount of mailboxes you can have, many people start on the internet with the intention of offering their friends, family and staff email boxes as well as numerous emails for their site, for example webmaster@domain.com , support@domain.com , jobs@domain.com and contact@domain.com . The chances are you really don’t need that many mail boxes and administering them can be a gruelling task.

You know your web hosting requirements, what next?

Your primary goal should be to visit web hosting information sites in order to obtain a list of potential web hosting companies. A great web hosting information resource is Web Hosting Village, they provide web hosting articles, news and information, and in fact the best place to start your search for quality web hosting.

Creating a list of potential web hosting companies

Given that web hosting companies are profitable, they tend to advertise immensely across the internet. The more successful a web hosting company is the more they are willing to spend on web hosting related advertising. Therefore finding hosting companies via paid advertising, such as Googles Adsense, is generally a good idea as this a good step to take to establish how successful they have been.

Short listing

In order to short list your potential web hosting companies you need to visit each site and just quickly look around, if the design is poor or they don’t offer adequate support, then the chances are this web hosting company is not for you. Whether you are new to the whole web hosting experience or an expert, there will eventually be a time when you need to contact your web hosting support. If they are non existent then you will really have a problem, so establishing their channels of communication and support should be one of your top priorities when selecting a web hosting company.

Inside information

Once you have a shortlist of several web hosting companies, you need to research them via forums and webmaster communities. Chances are if someone has had a bad experience or extremely good they will want to write about it somewhere on the internet.

Selection

You should now have a list of two to three potential web hosting companies who you are really impressed with, now you need to make the selection. The best way is to weigh up the features and price and be really realistic as to your requirements, we have all been in the situation where we have been over ambitious and bought something that is too advanced for us.

If you have a winning concept that will make you bigger than Yahoo or eBay, the chances are you still don’t need a mega server when you start off, you just need something small and stable that will allow you to develop and promote your business. Once you have a good source of income you can upgrade your web hosting account with your current supplier and not experience any downtime whatsoever, so why pay for a mega web hosting account when you can get by with a $19.99 a month web hosting account and use the additional amount on marketing or development.

James Piper, the owner of http://www.webhostingvillage.com, and avid web hosting enthusiast invites you to visit the internets best web hosting resource, Web Hosting Village. We have information and articles on everything from web hosting to dedicated servers.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Piper

DarkAdmin @ 6:43 am
Filed under: Web Hosting Topics
Choosing a High-Quality Web Host

Posted on Thursday 8 December 2005

Choosing a High-Quality Web Host
By Tony Smith

There are a lot of web hosting companies around the web that offer many hosting plans. Before you choose one you should consider a few things before purchasing. A few things that you should consider are how reliable the company is, how much space are they giving, and do they have the features that I need.

Reliability should be the main focus when looking for a web host. The host that you’re considering should have a guarantee uptime of ninety-nine percent. If your host is not reliable then you’re losing traffic to your web site that you have worked so hard on obtaining. One way of finding out if the host is reliable is by going to a search engine and searching for reviews for that host. If people are giving positive reviews about this hosts uptime then is probably a reliable host, but the only true way will be to test for yourself after you find these reviews.

Another thing that points out when talking about web hosting is disk space. How do I know how much disk space I will need? For the basic user a web site is less than 7mb. If your not a heavy user or not going to have a lot of files stored on your host you will not need a lot of space. For people that are doing big sites and incorporating video, audio and large graphics in their site would need a lot more space than other webmasters. There is no need to pay more for space that you’re not going to use. If you need more space check and see if the host offers a upgrade plan for if your site was to grow larger than expected.

How much bandwidth should I look for? If your just starting out, not getting a lot of traffic the basic bandwidth should work for you, however if your using video, audio, and larger graphics you may require more bandwidth. I would recommend that you start with the basic bandwidth and upgrade as need.

Also when looking for your web host check to see if they offer the features that you need. Some features that you may want to consider is do I need to use sever side scripting such as PHP, JSP, ASP or any other scripting language that you program in or would like to use with your web site. Cpanel is a feature that I find very useful when working with web hosting servers. Cpanel offers a user interface to applications on the server, such as setting up FTP, email, etc.

Tony Smith provides useful information on web hosting. Check out our site for your web hosting needs.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tony_Smith

DarkAdmin @ 6:42 am
Filed under: Web Hosting Topics
A Basic Web Hosting Walkthrough

Posted on Thursday 8 December 2005

A Basic Web Hosting Walkthrough
By Adam Sullivan

There are two main categories of web hosting that I am going to cover in this article. The first is dedicated hosting and the second is shared hosting. The second type ,shared hosting, I usually break down into paid and free. Normally, unless you are a very special person, you can’t get dedicated hosting for free.

Before I break down the hosting types, however, let’s clear up some terminology…

Bandwidth is the amount of data your site can transer in a given period of time. This is sometimes referred to as transfer. When people view your site on the internet they are downloading it from the server and this uses up your bandwidth.

Storage is basically the measure of hard drive space your web site is allowed to take up on a server.

OK, now on to the rest of it…

Dedicated hosting , or more like dedicated server, is where your web site gets one entire server to itself. You are pretty much entitled to all of the resources this server has to offer. The entire bandwith and hard drive capacity is yours including memory for processing and whatever else. With larger, traffic intensive web sites dedicated hosting is pretty much a must but shared hosting is usually more than sufficient for individuals and small to smallish medium businesses.

Shared hosting is basically when a hosting company puts your web site on a server with web sites from other customers. Your hosting provider will usually give you monthly limits for bandwidth, storage, email accounts and such. Depending on what server you were put on and how good your hosting provider is sometimes things can get a little crowded on a server and cause your site to be slow and unresponsive.

Free hosting is shared hosting you get from a free service like geocities or another. It is usually incredibly limited. Sometimes you can “earn” a decent free hosting account by posting in forums and such but in my opinion paid hosting and a real domain name are much better.

Paid hosting is actually inexpensive these days. You can get good solid hosting that will support a small business for under $100 per year. Usually hosting providers include a free domain name and free setup as well as a money back garantee.

I hope you found this article helpful. If you decide to buy hosting make sure to be incredibly picky. The last thing you want is to end up with the wrong web host. Read some articles on picking the right domain name and hunt down reviews of web hosting companies.

I wouldn’t go with companies that aren’t huge and well established. I’ve known many people who have lost web sites when unstable hosting companies went under.

Be vigilant and have fun. Getting a web site is the cheapest way to start a business.

Web Hosting Reviews and Information and
DVDs, gifts, collectibles and bath and body products

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adam_Sullivan

DarkAdmin @ 6:40 am
Filed under: Web Hosting Topics
Web Host Review - To Prevent Web Host Shut Down

Posted on Thursday 8 December 2005

Web Host Review - To Prevent Web Host Shut Down
By Alexander Marlin

This article is based on a true experience that took place with my web host. I am not here to blame or try to give my web host a bad name, I am here to give an honest web host review, that makes sense to you before choosing a web host provider that is right for your business.

All web host are created equal in my eyes, that is, or that used to be, until I got shut down without warning. It was very hard for me to understand how I could start a new website from scratch and eat up 40 Gigs of bandwidth in that short span of time (3 months, and I was shut down).

You should do a web host review, before you make a choice. The problem online today is, how can you make a sound web host review with all the thousands out there.

It is impossible to review the thousands of web host out there, but it is in your best interest if you base your web host review on high in demand providers. Many of the top marketers have their own server, and you can’t afford to pay $200 or more monthly for your own server.

For you to prevent web host shut down, you will have to learn how to use the forums to find recommendation for choosing your web hosting provider. I didn’t do my own research and that is why my web host shut me down without notice.

After being shut down, I went to two of my favorite forums and read a couple of post regarding my hosting company, and realized that no one had any great experiences with that company. They gave poor web host review grades for that host, well life is a learning process, and I know what not to do when choosing a web hosting provider.

Here are four tips you should follow to get a web host review:

1) Don’t ever go for unlimited domain names.

One other point worth mentioning, don’t ever go for unlimited domain names, whenever you create a new account they automatically divide up your hosting bandwidth. That means that if you have just 40 Gigs of bandwidth and you divide it up by four domain names, you have used up all your bandwidth.

So, any other new domain name you add will make you exceed your bandwidth, please understand I am just showing you the rip offs that takes place with some low cost web hosting providers. They say that they will warn you when your exceeding your bandwidth, but they just never do. They make you pay extra for unlimited domain names, but you being new to the Internet, you won’t ever need more than three to six domain names to get you started.

2) Don’t go with any web hosting provider that requires the full amount up front.

They offer low cost web hosting if you pay the yearly price up front. Well, once you have paid for the year, you are tied to this company, should their service be not worthy, you will loose your initial yearly payment. Go with a company that has a 3 month or monthly payment plan, with a money back guarantee.

3) Test by sending a simple email to your web host first.

Just send off a simple email telling your web host that your interested in their hosting, this is a must for you to review web host that are unknown. The response time to your email will let you know what type of service they offer.

4) Ask for a charge back.

As you know, the client is supposed to be king, keep all your receipts in place, and should you ever be shut down by your web host after paying a yearly plan, just go to your credit card provider and file a complaint for a refund. Don’t let anyone scam you out of your money.

The final conclusion, your the one to blame if you get scammed, so make sure you follow my web host review tips before handing out your credit card.

Alexander Marlin, Ebenezer St. Maarten A.N.

Alexander has been actively marketing on the Internet for over 3 years; he discovered how to build a website that the search engines love.
Read his honest web host review. One of his many websites can be found at: http://how-to-build-website.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alexander_Marlin

DarkAdmin @ 6:40 am
Filed under: Web Hosting Topics
3 Tips for a Better Hosting Experience: Web Hosting Fine Print Exposed: Part 3

Posted on Thursday 8 December 2005

3 Tips for a Better Hosting Experience: Web Hosting Fine Print Exposed: Part 3
By Jim Elton

Welcome back to Part 3 of Web Hosting Fine Print Exposed.

This series of articles reveals 14 points about web hosting fine print–things you should know and be aware of when looking for a web host.

We continue with another 3 points:

Web Host Refund Guarantee

Refund guarantee is another basic feature to find out about. Some web hosts offer no refunds, some offer X amount of days, and some offer ongoing refunds.

You should deal with those web hosting companies that offer some sort of refund.

This comes handy in testing out the web host. In your ‘trial’ period build a test site, ask questions from support and see how you feel.

IMPORTANT! Some hosts might offer refunds on the monthly fees but NOT on the set-up fee.

The Set-Up Fee Scam

Set-up fees are charges to set you up.

Watch out for these if they’re coupled with a 30-day money back guarantee because the setup fees are usually not refundable. Web hosts that charge super low fees may go for the setup fee.

You’re more likely to incur a setup fee if you’re going for a high-end hosting solution. Dedicated servers, etc. do require a set-up by an expert, so it’s reasonable to ask to pay for this.

However, most virtual or shared hosts have a pretty much an automated setup process, so there should be no reason to charge a set-up fee.

Double check that the plans and web hosts you’re evaluating have a valid reason for a setup fee.

Will your new host help you to move your site?

It’s simple: sometimes you need to move a large site from your existing web host. This may not be so easy as the server setups can differ a lot which causes your scripts to fail.

Another scenario is if you’re an inexperienced webmaster. Say, you want to move your own simple homepage. You’ll appreciate if someone is there to hold your hand.

If any of these applies to you, check with the web host you’re evaluating. Add a + for the new host that’s willing to help, and add + + if they’re willing to help for free.

I hope these points will be useful!

In Part 4, we will cover these topics:

Resource Allocation
Shared vs. Reseller
Crowded Servers

Thanks for reading and stay tuned!

To leave comments, and to read web host reviews based on this article, please go to the Best Web Hosting Provider web site.

Jim has put this article into action at the Best Web Hosting Provider site. Here each web host is evaluated under the ever-evolving criteria that were discussed in this article.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Elton

DarkAdmin @ 6:39 am
Filed under: Web Hosting Topics
Choosing a Web Host: Beware Marketing Tricks

Posted on Thursday 8 December 2005

Choosing a Web Host: Beware Marketing Tricks
By Abbas Alafoo

Web hosting market is very competitive. The competition is becoming more and more aggressive every day. Web hosts are offering wide range of attractive plans. Some web hosts use marketing tricks to attract (or sometimes deceive) customers. How to avoid this situation?

Read Terms and Conditions

A lot of customers ignore reading the details of host’s terms and conditions. They depend on the brief and attractive write up of the hosting plan. Most web hosts are able to deceive customers because of this. To avoid being tricked or deceived by these marketing tricks, take your time reading the terms and conditions carefully.

Unlimited Space and Bandwidth

A lot of hosts offer “unlimited” space and/or bandwidth in their plans. This is the most widely used marketing trick. In reality, there is no such “unlimited” space or bandwidth. Any person with a little background about web hosting must know that a web host is actually a computer, similar to the PC you are using now. No matter how powerful the web host is, its hard drive space is limited, and it can only transfer limited amount of data during a given period of time.

Whenever you see a hosting plan offering “unlimited” features you must remember it’s not real. This, however, does not always mean that those hosts are bad. First thing you should do is to read their terms and condition. If they claim they are providing “unlimited” features without any conditions then avoid registering with them, they are lying to you.

Most hosts that offer “unlimited” space and bandwidth will put restrictions on some file types and sizes. For example, they will disallow you to put video, audio or executable files on your site. In other cases they will allow any file type given it’s not exceeding certain size (e.g. 500KB). Sometimes they use a generic condition to prevent consuming their resources. An example condition will be: “we may find a customer to be using server resources to such an extent that he or she may jeopardize server performance and resources for other customers. In such instances, we reserve the right to suspend that site immediately”.

Unmetered Space and Bandwidth

The term “unmetered” is closer to reality. They imply to you that the offered space/bandwidth is limited but not watched. This is, however, not 100% true. It’s just another way to attract you to their plans. In most cases terms and conditions will be more or less similar to those of “unlimited” space and bandwidth.

Unlimited Websites

Or sometimes it’s called “unlimited domains”. This probably is the most honest marketing phrase, although it’s sometimes confuses naïve customers. It simply means that you can point as many domain names as you want as long as you are within the space and bandwidth limits. This is good if you plan to have more than one website, but if you are intending to build only a single website then you do not need this feature.

$1 hosting plan

Sometimes you might see a hosting plan that offer plenty of space and bandwidth (usually cost $10 or more) for very low prices such as $2 or less. This is not a marketing trick, because you will get the space and bandwidth stated in the plan, but you should not expect the same level of support and reliability. Cheaper web host usually means more customers sharing the same server, which means less performance and reliability.

Uptime

A lot of hosting companies claim their servers’ uptimes are 99.99%, while in reality they are not. You can test this by using an uptime monitoring service for a week or two. Some websites (such as netcraft) provide free monitoring for a list of hosts.

These are some of the tricks used to attract customers, of course there are more. Reading terms and conditions carefully, reading customer reviews and consulting experts will help you avoid being deceived by these tricks.

Abbas Alafoo is the creator of http://www.website-hostings.net, a collection of articles and tutorials about web hosting, design, development, promotion and administration.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Abbas_Alafoo

DarkAdmin @ 6:39 am
Filed under: Web Hosting Topics