What Does Your Site Require?

Touching on the point above, the first thing that needs to be determined is your individual needs and what you are looking to accomplish. For instance, do you want a personal website? An e-commerce site? Does it require a blog or other additional software? These answers play a major part in determining the company best suited for your needs.

Cost Factor

The second factor that needs to be considered is cost. You need to establish a workable budget as the price for service ranges widely from free to very expensive. Free hosting offers the obvious benefit of not having to pay for your site but there are several limitations. In this environment you generally have little to no support as well as a lack of features and security. Furthermore, a free host may litter your page with third-party advertisements which could certainly blemish your credibility. If you plan to start a business online, we strongly recommend staying away from free hosting.

Storage and Bandwidth

Disk space and bandwidth are two of the most essential features of any web hosting plan. You will undoubtedly require a certain amount of space for your files be it simple documents or images. Bandwidth is also critical as it has a tremendous impact on your site’s performance. The more people you have coming in, the more bandwidth your site will require. The most important thing to consider here is growth. Don’t go with a low capacity just because it is cheap, and never buy into a plan just because it offers an impressive amount of storage and bandwidth. Find out what is reasonable for your needs and pick something that will support your site on into the future.

Reliability and Support

Last but not least, you should look for signs of reliability in a web host. If the company can’t be relied on, all of those attractive features and incredibly low price will not mean a thing. A reliable host will ensure that your site is always available and that visitors will enjoy a smooth performance. Keep in mind that slow loading pages and downtime are a surefire way to lose your visitors. Quality customer support ties in closely with reliability and is something that should never be overlooked. Look to do business with a company that offers support in various means whether it’s a combination of phone and email or phone and live chat. As anything could go wrong, you need the reassurance that someone is available 24/7 to address your concerns.

After determining what it is you need and knowing what to look forward, finding a good host isn’t all that challenging. You can get off to a good start by reading a few web hosting comparison charts and reviews. This will give you an idea of what is being offered and what to expect from a particular company.

Best Web Hosting providers 2009 lists web hosting coupons, deals, discounts, savings and exclusive promotions from the top web hosts. You will find the best of web hosting companies listed there including the most recommended web hosts Hostgator Review

Free hosting
Free hosting, as a rule, makes possible to produce only the simplest sites containing a a number of of HTML-pages. Sometimes it is apt to use sunken forums or guest books, yet, very restricted on the scopes. For instance, without users registration, without a chance to administer a forum or a guest book. Any site control systems are out of question.
One more moment is that for CMS good working php and mysql are obligate, however, though no free hosting provides this. Then, more often a hosting provider that is providing free hosting, uses sites of clients for advertisements placement. And, locating a site on free hosting, you will have to endure to presence of banners and pop-up windows on it. In the end of all the domain name will be due to the hosting firm.
Free hosting is ok for personal pages (for example, I and my hobby), non-profit projects, as beta platforms. Serious projects, which aspire to get money, or in-house sites generally use paid hosting.

Bonuses of paid hosting
Paid hosting is opportunity to use all new technologies for a web-resource development and support. Reasonable hosting lets to create a site for a little or a middle-sized corporation, or a small project. Big portals use more expensive tariff schedules. But at all accounts each project is given high-quality services.
Even cheap hosting allows to use php and mysql (from one to several databases). This means, the project keeper can fix up a content management system (CMS) without which settings fixing and service of a modern web-resource is very hard. Then, you can create a high-quality forum, the guest book, to add wide-spread scripts (say, feedback, voting form etc). All that will make the project on uncostly hosting more visitable and more attractive in comparison with cut free hosting.
A key question is a domain name. Any paid hosting, including an inexpensive hosting, enables to use a domain name of the second degree (.Net, .Com, .Org etc.). As a result the domain name belongs to a customer of the hosting provider and is his/her ownership. Then, site promotion is realizable exclusively if the site is situated on a paid hosting. For advancement of sites on free hosting it is demanded more additional efforts as search engine bots regard them less reliable. By competitive interests it’s almost irreal for sites on free hosting to to lead the top of a SE result page.

As a result, even though low-cost hosting gives much more advantages, if compared free hosting. Paid hosting is a metric of a site trustworthiness and gravity of its owners’ aims. Also in case of paid hosting all legal issues attributed to the property right for a domain name and a web resource are specified. If you are limited in resources, reasonably-priced hosting will let you to open and to develop luckily your own project in a network. It is nice that the question concerning the price is trivial: only 5-6 dollars monthly.

Alesia Arefjeva is a web marketer, working with an affordable web hosting and domain name registration provider.

A user has three possible options for a web hosting service-virtual private servers, shared servers and dedicated servers-but the purpose of this article is to offer help in selecting among the two most popular kinds, dedicated and shared. These are differentiated by the amount of control a user needs or wants, as well as level of responsibility the user must share in the smooth, consistent and continuous running of the website and the server on which it is located.

Shared web hosting

As the name denotes, shared web hosting means a number of small to medium-sized users upload their websites and “serve” them up to the Internet from a single, shared server. This is a popular option for beginners, individuals, small and/or new business, or organizations such as non-profits with limited budgets. All shared web hosting packages offer very little in the way of bandwidth (traffic) and disk space (storage). The shared option is the best choice when the user does not expect much traffic and doesn’t need to store space-hogging media files (audio, video, animations, etc.).

With a shared web hosting deal, the maintenance of the server, its organization of files, software installations, security updates and so forth are the responsibility of the host provider. The host is accountable for keeping the server up and running, and they will use powerful “administration” software to run the entire server, while offering the individual users limited “control panels” for managing their own sites. Most of the shared web servers are running on the Linux Operating System (OS) as it has tremendous flexibility and is an open-source (essentially free) OS. However, other web host providers use the Microsoft Windows platform, and some use both Linux and Windows.

Dedicated web hosting

As the name once again suggests, dedicated web hosting means each website is on a single, dedicated server, shared with no other website under any conditions. This is the option to take when a user expects to get a large amount of traffic and/or needs much more bandwidth then available in a shared hosting package. Dedicated servers can handle volume traffic with greater ease, and will be required if you need complex web applications, secure information exchange and highly customized activities at your website.

The dedicated server hosting plans give the user 100% control over their sites and servers, but with that comes 100% of the responsibility to keep the website running smooth and performing consistently. This type of web hosting, therefore, requires the user to have the technical and managerial knowledge to monitor the systems and rectify any problems at once. This type of hosting is best for professionals who need full control, which obviously includes large corporations and organizations as well as most commercial operations.

A recap of comparative strengths

- Shared servers are servers that are shared with several other businesses or organizations, and you will have only limited control over server operations. You will have full control over your own site’s look and operation, however, but remember that someone else on the server can bring your site down.

- A dedicated server is one that is used only by you, and can’t be interfered with by a third party. If you have the requisite expertise and equipment, it can be maintained and hosted at your own place of business, although it is more frequently done at a hosting company’s location.

- The size of the budget you are working, and the specific details of your business needs and Internet goals, will determine which hosting service you choose.

- A dedicated server belongs to you and no other recipient. You have all control over the “box”, which means you will pay a higher price for a dedicated server. Shared servers can be less costly, by splitting the cost with several other users.

- Dedicated servers are perfect for those businesses that have crucial security concerns about the way they acquire, store and use customer or other confidential information. E-commerce sites are a good example of this. If your business is involved in E-commerce, then a dedicated server is the way to go.

- You might prefer a dedicated server, simply because your business image may be compromised without one. If you happen to find your shared server is hosting an adult website or other unsavory enterprise, such as spammers or hackers, this may end up reflecting on your own business.

- The actions of others on a shared server can bring your site down in many ways, not the least of which is by attracting the attention of authorities that may want to shut down the entire server. Concern for reputation is a definite reason to use a dedicated server vs. a shared one.

About The Author
Amy Armitage is the head of Business Development for Lunarpages. Lunarpages provides quality web hosting from their US-based hosting facility. They offer a wide-range of services from linux virtual private servers and managed solutions to shared and reseller hosting plans.

There are certain steps that a church should follow when they are deciding how to build a church website. These 10 important steps will help with that process.

1. Make sure to choose an attractive but professional design. Church is just like any other organization that requires certain degrees of formality when establishing its ideals and offering information. This is why it’s important to have a professional looking site. The site is going to reflect the church in many ways, so be sure that you are adding things that current and potential church members can relate to.

2. The site needs to be interactive as well as useful to visitors. There are so many millions of sites on the Internet that there is always going to be one that’s more popular than the other. It is important to keep your site just as interesting and useful as the best ones like it, and let the popularity find its own level. Keep your members coming back to the site by listing up-to-date information and upcoming events. You can even include pictures, blogs and information on classes or ministry activities.

3. Choose a web hosting provider that will offer you all the support necessary to run a successful site. This step is very important but often overlooked. Don’t allow the “do it yourself” approach to ruin anything for your site so be prepared if something goes wrong. Technical problems need to be put into the hands of the professionals, so get some help from staff or volunteers. When you hire a hosting provider, you need to be sure you trust them, as well.

4. Choose a provider that offers features that are especially designed for a church site. Having the right features can make all the difference. Providers that offer such things as site statistics can be a huge help. A hosting provider can offer a weekly backup to alleviate any headaches about potentially losing your data. The more features offered, the better.

5. Regardless of your site’s size, you want a provider to offer plans according to the needs of your church, no matter how small it is or how big it grows.

6. Providers should be upfront with all of the applicable fees associated with starting your site. Avoid the hidden charges by asking for an itemized estimate. This way, you won’t be paying for anything you don’t need.

7. Have a good set of management tools in place. You need to acquaint yourself with the term CMS (content management system). This is a system put in place to help you organize content that is on your site like blogs, media and calendars, as your church will want to deliver the right message, in a professional way, to site visitors.

8. Be sure to have an idea of how much bandwidth the church will require. Some providers allow you to choose the bandwidth space you need. If your church will be expanding and growing it\’s important to plan ahead and be prepared with extra space.

9. When you\’re considering a provider that can help you maintain, design and host your site, it’s necessary that you investigate what the “administrator interface” looks like. You don’t want to get stuck with a site control panel that is highly advanced if you are a beginner. This can be way out of your league. Start with a simple interface if you’re a beginner who has no expert help.

10. The more advanced your tools are the better. Beside the CMS, your church may need advanced tools such as a “ministries management” system, newsletter tools, volunteer management forms, membership records and a photo album. A “prayer center” and an advance calendar system are other things that could be handled by a good CMS (see #7 above) plus some low- or no-cost utilities.

The most important thing to consider when choosing the right hosting provider for you church’s website is the fact that, if your church grows and expands, you will need a provider that can grow and expand with you. Make sure to plan ahead and design your site around the members, so that they truly get a sense of the message your ministry is trying to send. Design a site that will allow for your members to feel interactive with it. Search for a provider that can offer the essential tools needed for a successful site, but realize up front that it takes a lot of work on your part. If you really put your heart into it, your congregation just might consider the church’s new website a true godsend.

About The Author
Community Spice offers the tools you need to help connect your community, through its online presence. Offering church web hosting and everything you need to build your church website. Visit online at www.communityspice.com/ and get started with a free trial today.

It used to be crucially important to pick the right web host, as there were fly-by-night firms actually ripping people off and running away to Belize or somewhere. Things have settled down quite a bit, and there are scores of hosting firms to choose from, all of which are reputable and honest. It may still be true that some hosts have better uptime statistics or offer better deals, but as long as you stay with an established host you should not have any problems with rip-offs.

After making a list of potential companies, you should get these 10 questions answered before choosing a web host:

#1. Will you get unlimited disk space?

You certainly can’t afford to run out of disk storage space when people are relying on your site to provide important information or services. Most of today’s plans, even low-cost ones, feature unlimited disk space, a testament to how much the price of hard drives has come down.

#2. Is there unlimited bandwidth?

This term refers to the amount of traffic that can be sent back and forth, to and from your site. When a lot of people want to connect to your site at the same time, limited bandwidth is a real problem and a business-killer, too. Again, even low-cost plans now offer unlimited (or extremely high amounts of) bandwidth.

#3. Is there a 99.9% uptime guarantee?

No web host can honestly guarantee 100% uptime, but many hosting services get very close. A standard in the industry is now 99.5%, but leading hosts will advertise a 99.9% uptime guarantee.

#4. Do you get free setup?

Setup fees were appropriate at one time when the tools were less powerful and the process less automated. There is currently no reason in the world to pay setup fees, and companies that advertise that they “waive” these fees are essentially imputing a value to something they wouldn’t charge for anyway.

#5. Do you get subdomains allowing for unlimited sites?

You may begin your Internet strategy with a single site, but when you want to launch others you will need a way to do that, and without setting up a new domain at new cost. This option is quite important, as subdomains (with the format, subdomainname.maindomainname.com) allow you to spread out and create other separate online entities that may not be strictly related to the main domain’s purpose.

#6. Is 24/7 support available, and how much of it is from real people?

Some hosting services don’t let customer call by phone, which should throw up a red flag. Support is absolutely critical, so make sure it’s available, and the best companies will provide it in several ways-via e-mail, online web forms, chat and phone calls to real human beings.

#7. Do you get installed software for databases, scripting, email, etc.?

Even if you don’t understand or make use of Perl, CGI, MySQL, PHP or other acronyms you’ve been told are important, you do need them. You can make use of them through graphical-interface applications that ease the process, or your IT consultant or employee can handle all of it. You do need these.

#8. Is the cPanel hosting tool used?

This is by far the most useful control panel for managing sites, and is made available by many of the leading hosts. If not cPanel, what tools are offered? If you can’t find much information in a web search about the toolkit being used by a potential host, considering choosing only a host company that has this one available. The cPanel took is the best example of its kind.

#9. Is the plan affordable?

Many hosting plans start at under $10 per month. That’s very affordable, but you can do even better by paying for a year’s hosting service in advance. When you start requiring e-commerce components and huge database access, your hosting cost will increase, of course.

#10. Are there contracts, excessive fine print and/or hidden fees?

Everything in the plan should be made crystal clear from the beginning. Read every word of the user terms and conditions, and don’t sign up for anything if you don’t understand them. If you start hearing about extra fees, scratch the company off your list of potential hosts.

Amy Armitage is the head of Business Development for Lunarpages. Lunarpages provides quality web hosting from their US-based hosting facility. They offer a wide-range of services from dedicated servers and managed solutions to shared and reseller hosting plans. Visit online for more information.