Switching Web Hosts?

This is intended to be a hold-your-hand guide, to assist even the least intrepid website owner to get over their needless fear of switching to another web host or web hosting package. It is important to realize that by sticking to your old web host you may be losing out on better deals, more up time and superior back-up and support. All that translates into more income and after all that is why you have a website. Surveys conducted among website owners show that website owners are paying up to ten times more for their current web host than they would for a cheaper and better web host, just because they fear the switching over process. They believe that changing web hosts will be complicated, have direct cost implications and could even lead to the loss or at least the corruption of their website or group of sites. This article intends to help you get over your baseless worries. If you, as a website owner, started out on the internet by going to a famous branded name for web hosting and you have stuck with it because you think that if they are big and well-known they must give you value for money, then you should reconsider. The odds are that you are paying a premium for the name without necessarily getting the reciprocal service. Do not choose your host because the name makes you feel comfortable, or for that matter because you think it’s a good deal. Rather look at what you are getting and compare the offerings from other web hosting companies. Here is a rule of thumb. You can easily find adequate space for your site requirements, with all the bells and whistles, for under $10 per month, not taking into account handsome discounts for paying quarterly or annually. Another point to watch is the free domain name carrot that web hosts love to dangle. This is not so important, as you will learn later in this article. Now that we have established that you should look at the benefits rather than the brand name or the bottom line cost, the rule-of-thumb notwithstanding, let us run through the points that you need to check out when investigating alternative hosting companies and their packages. First, let’s look at capacity. You don’t really need more than 100 megs of space even if you are planning to build a large community or make uploaded albums part of the mix. It is really not necessary to opt for anything above that for the average or even an above-average website. By resisting the temptation to go for more space you could find yourself switching to a superior host for the same or less money. Second, I mentioned support earlier and that is something you should look at carefully. You should be able to get answers to your queries in 24 hours or less by email. The very best hosts have live chat facilities available during business hours. It is well worth it, for your peace of mind, especially during the switchover process, to opt for a host that has a reputation for good support. Also check before signing up that the web hosting firm has a contactable physical address and phone numbers. Go ahead and test the support system by phoning them, live chatting to them and emailing them. Thirdly, look at the number of email Pop3 emails your web host can offer. You should be able to get at least 10 and rest assured you will need these in time, as your business grows. Remember, if staff and family use email addresses related to your site, this is a form of advertising for your website. Also your host should offer web-based emails so you can check your email anywhere. Finally, have a good look at the control panel which the new host is providing. See if there is a demo so you can try it out and get the feel of how user-friendly it is. A plus factor here is FTP access. Ideally you should have 24-hour FTP access so you can make modifications whenever you like. Also look out for a site builder, bulletin boards or chat rooms so you can interact with your visitors using the host’s services. Also check to see if the new host will be able to handle such popular features as PHP, ASP, CGI, Java scripts, Perl scripting or whatever else you have. Once you have decided to move to a new host, timing becomes paramount. Make sure you cancel your subscription to your existing host before the end of the billing cycle. If you cancel too late you will end up paying for a month’s hosting you will not be using. Forget about refunds from your old host. You will not get one for periods of less than a month. I also recommend at least a week’s overlap when you will effectively have two hosts, the old and the new. You will use this time to ensure that everything works correctly on the new host and that all the files and email accounts are present. Right, so you have signed up with the new host. Now you must save the files created for the site on your computer so they can be stored and backed-up. If you created the site yourself with a website builder like FrontPage or Dreamweaver you will probably have those files already. If, however, you used a web-based builder then you should download every page of the site along with their dependent files to a folder on the computer. This is easier than it sounds. You can either use an FTP tool to accomplish this or you can use the File>Save As method, which works as follows. Open your web browser (it can be Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer or Mozilla) then find the file button on the tool bar. Now go to the first page of the website. Once it has loaded, click on “File” then “Save As” and save this and all dependent files to a folder. Do this with each page until everything is saved. Now back this up to a disk. The next step is to see that any other files on the outgoing web host are backed up. For example, if you have been using web-based mail then forward the emails to an “off-network” email address, or even archive emails to the computer’s hard drive. Remember that once you switch to your new host, all emails at the outgoing host will be deleted. Now that you have control over the contents of your website, you need to upload all of the files to the new host’s servers. They will provide you with the FTP details required and this is where online and live support is invaluable. Once this is done you should create an email accounts to match each email account from the outgoing web host. This is essential so that there are no bouncing emails later when the switch goes through. This is the point at which you can change the domain name’s main servers, and for this the new host should supply all the information. There will also probably be subsidiary servers. If you have registered your own domain name then the registrar should have a management area. If your domain name is registered through the outgoing host then you should ensure you have access to change this. It will take a day or two for the name server change to propagate so the domain name points to the new servers. Use the week when you have access to the old host and the new one to make any modifications.

This is intended to be a hold-your-hand guide, to assist even the least intrepid website owner to get over their needless fear of switching to another web host or web hosting package.

It is important to realize that by sticking to your old web host you may be losing out on better deals, more up time and superior back-up and support. All that translates into more income and after all that is why you have a website. Surveys conducted among website owners show that website owners are paying up to ten times more for their current web host than they would for a cheaper and better web host, just because they fear the switching over process. They believe that changing web hosts will be complicated, have direct cost implications and could even lead to the loss or at least the corruption of their website or group of sites. This article intends to help you get over your baseless worries.

If you, as a website owner, started out on the internet by going to a famous branded name for web hosting and you have stuck with it because you think that if they are big and well-known they must give you value for money, then you should reconsider. The odds are that you are paying a premium for the name without necessarily getting the reciprocal service. Do not choose your host because the name makes you feel comfortable, or for that matter because you think it’s a good deal. Rather look at what you are getting and compare the offerings from other web hosting companies. Here is a rule of thumb. You can easily find adequate space for your site requirements, with all the bells and whistles, for under $10 per month, not taking into account handsome discounts for paying quarterly or annually. Another point to watch is the free domain name carrot that web hosts love to dangle. This is not so important, as you will learn later in this article.

Now that we have established that you should look at the benefits rather than the brand name or the bottom line cost, the rule-of-thumb notwithstanding, let us run through the points that you need to check out when investigating alternative hosting companies and their packages.

First, let’s look at capacity. You don’t really need more than 100 megs of space even if you are planning to build a large community or make uploaded albums part of the mix. It is really not necessary to opt for anything above that for the average or even an above-average website. By resisting the temptation to go for more space you could find yourself switching to a superior host for the same or less money.

Second, I mentioned support earlier and that is something you should look at carefully. You should be able to get answers to your queries in 24 hours or less by email. The very best hosts have live chat facilities available during business hours. It is well worth it, for your peace of mind, especially during the switchover process, to opt for a host that has a reputation for good support. Also check before signing up that the web hosting firm has a contactable physical address and phone numbers. Go ahead and test the support system by phoning them, live chatting to them and emailing them.

Thirdly, look at the number of email Pop3 emails your web host can offer. You should be able to get at least 10 and rest assured you will need these in time, as your business grows. Remember, if staff and family use email addresses related to your site, this is a form of advertising for your website. Also your host should offer web-based emails so you can check your email anywhere.

Finally, have a good look at the control panel which the new host is providing. See if there is a demo so you can try it out and get the feel of how user-friendly it is. A plus factor here is FTP access. Ideally you should have 24-hour FTP access so you can make modifications whenever you like. Also look out for a site builder, bulletin boards or chat rooms so you can interact with your visitors using the host’s services. Also check to see if the new host will be able to handle such popular features as PHP, ASP, CGI, Java scripts, Perl scripting or whatever else you have.

Once you have decided to move to a new host, timing becomes paramount. Make sure you cancel your subscription to your existing host before the end of the billing cycle. If you cancel too late you will end up paying for a month’s hosting you will not be using. Forget about refunds from your old host. You will not get one for periods of less than a month. I also recommend at least a week’s overlap when you will effectively have two hosts, the old and the new. You will use this time to ensure that everything works correctly on the new host and that all the files and email accounts are present.

Right, so you have signed up with the new host. Now you must save the files created for the site on your computer so they can be stored and backed-up. If you created the site yourself with a website builder like FrontPage or Dreamweaver you will probably have those files already. If, however, you used a web-based builder then you should download every page of the site along with their dependent files to a folder on the computer. This is easier than it sounds. You can either use an FTP tool to accomplish this or you can use the File>Save As method, which works as follows. Open your web browser (it can be Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer or Mozilla) then find the file button on the tool bar. Now go to the first page of the website. Once it has loaded, click on “File” then “Save As” and save this and all dependent files to a folder. Do this with each page until everything is saved. Now back this up to a disk.

The next step is to see that any other files on the outgoing web host are backed up. For example, if you have been using web-based mail then forward the emails to an “off-network” email address, or even archive emails to the computer’s hard drive. Remember that once you switch to your new host, all emails at the outgoing host will be deleted.

Now that you have control over the contents of your website, you need to upload all of the files to the new host’s servers. They will provide you with the FTP details required and this is where online and live support is invaluable. Once this is done you should create an email accounts to match each email account from the outgoing web host. This is essential so that there are no bouncing emails later when the switch goes through. This is the point at which you can change the domain name’s main servers, and for this the new host should supply all the information. There will also probably be subsidiary servers.

If you have registered your own domain name then the registrar should have a management area. If your domain name is registered through the outgoing host then you should ensure you have access to change this. It will take a day or two for the name server change to propagate so the domain name points to the new servers. Use the week when you have access to the old host and the new one to make any modifications.

No Bad Hosts ?..please!!

One cannot deny the fact that, from the time man has evolved on earth Internet has proved to be the most powerful weapon of communication. Still now, No means has reached parallel to it.

It is quite surprising that even after knowing the importance of this source several businesses personnel and entrepreneurs put their business in a hazardous situation just to save little money.

It happens occasionally that people take chances in order to save money but finally loose more than that.

Choosing a web host is not a child’s play. If a right decision can benefit a lot then a wrong decision can also have a negative impact.

So, user should take decision after knowing and measuring his/her requirements.

When it is a matter of a little family site with few personal snaps or a non-commercial blogs, then a cheap hosting provider can also fulfill user’s requirements.

If user’s requirement is a basic, but reliable website to sell few of the products then a package of $9 to 20 per month can be appropriate, it may vary according to technical assistance required by the user.

If the user is planning to host a multiple sites for the purpose of producing search engine traffic, to promote and sale products online, then he/she remain ready to spend in the range of $15 to $50 per month.

If user’s choice is to operate a sophisticated e-commerce site with dynamic features, then a dedicated server for around $100 to $200 a month can match the requirement.

One should measure the hosting provider on the following criteria.

Does the website involve scripts?

If the answer is YES! then user should ensure that there is a cgi-bin and MySQL database in the package.

Does user possess his/her own “dedicated IP address?”

One should understand that each domain has its own series of numbers.

It is quite identical to phone number, all having accurate destination anywhere in the world.

Still, depending on the way how one’s host sets up their server, one’s domain can actually share an IP address with dozens, even hundreds, of other websites.

Now the problem is, if one of those websites misbehaves, it can adversely affect everyone on that same IP address.

One should have his/her known dedicated IP address, paying extra amount for that hardly matters.

What amount of space required by the user?

Possessing 100 MB of space is the least criteria not less then that.

In addition to it, user should also confirm that monthly package includes at least 10 email forwarding accounts and 10 GB of data transfer.

Confusion cannot be a solution. In the case of doubt one should shop around, compare and consult someone on whom he/she can trust upon.

Hence, what can be the lesson concluded from the above passage?

The user should know that his/her concerned web hosting account is the base of online business. So, if user hesitates it will harm him/her only, no one else.

Current Inimitable Features for Client From the Hands of Top Web Hosts

In the current event of time, some web hosts are offering additional features compare to others to the clients for the same price or even for a lower price. One cannot deny the fact that as due to cut – throat competition in the market several hosting providers are trying desperately to stay outstanding by adopting various methods. As a consequence, the web hosting service standards improved a lot and constantly is on verge of rising and evidently the clients are constantly enjoying the taste of amazing new features that were previously not there. Given below are the few things, which some web hosts frequently offer to their clients.

1.) Due to competitive market scenario website hosts are coming forward to assist the clients in the purpose of publishing and managing their own email newsletters or eZines. It is one of the most effective marketing weapons that promote sales. But some hosts go two-step forward by offering an infinite amount of auto responders. This assists a site owner automatically to pursue with prospects and therefore probability of making sale become significantly higher.

2.) In the contemporary era of time one can easily get the facility of hosting services that assists him/her to set up one’s own affiliate program which is verified to be the most successful route to grab traffic and profits for webmasters. There are several good sites like Amazon.com, which enables other website owners to promote their site and products on their site and in return can earn commissions from the sales that result from traffic that they have referred to one’s site as well.

3.) If one talks about the third most popular feature then it will probably be the service provided by the host to the users to protect their download page where the user is selling digital products for e.g. e-books, software etc. from his/her site. As in the current time period increasing number of hackers is a contentious issue and such sort of services definitely going to act as a pain killer for many webmasters.

4.) A few hosting services are also taking into account the hastily increasing threat of junk mail and offer quality filters to protect one’s email accounts. A few hosting providers even provide built-in anti-virus software in order that email that come to the inbox of the user along with the company of viruses, is automatically deleted.

Thus, above mentioned are the extra services, which hosts provide to the client. Thus, one can rightly say that,” The war between two, benefit the third party”.

How To Switch Web Hosts?

Moving a website is not something that most webmasters undertake unless they have absolutely no choice. There are many details involved with relocating a website, and all of the steps have to be completed for the move to be successful… Of course, the precise details involved with moving a particular website are to some extent specific to how that particular site is structured. However, there are some aspects of website relocation that are generally true for all sites, no matter how large or small.

Keeping the basic principles of pulling of a successful website relocation can help make the process of moving your website much less tedious, and increase the likelihood of success the first time.

Make sure you are aware of how much space your website is taking up on your current web host, so that you can be certain that your new hosting arrangement includes plenty of space to comfortably house your site as it is now, as well as sufficient room for future expansion, if such is expected.

You might even want to find out what types of expansion options will be available to you down the road if you have the wonderful problem of experiencing larger than expected growth of your business. You certainly don’t want to have to move again if you can help it!

When comparing the storage space you had to the storage space you are looking at moving to, verify how both the old hosting company and the new hosting company count storage space. Apples to apples comparisons between storage space on different hosting companies can be difficult, because they don’t all count space in the same manner.

Some hosting providers count only the files of your actual website toward your storage allocation, while others also count the space occupied be emails or log files. Different methods of accounting for space can result in significant differences from one hosting provider to another.

It is also important to find out information regarding relevant technical differences between the old hosting provider and the new one. While your website might be able to run on both a Linux server and a Microsoft server, you need to know if you are transitioning from one type to another before you begin the process of transferring the site.

For example, if you are relocating your website from a Windows server to a Unix server, and the scripts your site uses were written with a language that is Windows based, you might to have very good luck getting them to function properly when you move your site to a Unix server. You need to be prepared for the types of issues that might arise when you move your website from one platform to another.

Before a final decision is made on where your websites new home will be, you should check to be sure that the new hosting provider will effectively support the scripts that run on your website. You are much better off if you verify this before you sign a contract, and certainly before you start moving the site.

Failing to check this out in advance is like buying a condominium, showing up with all of your stuff and your three dogs and your pet parakeet, and then finding out that pets aren’t allowed in the building. You have to check out all of the relevant information out ahead of time to make the transition as soon as possible.

You also need to be aware of the different types of software that are supported by the new hosting company. If your website was created with Dreamweaver, and you are looking at a hosting site that only supports FrontPage sites, you need to keep looking.

Don’t build an igloo on a Caribbean Island. Some homes just aren’t right for certain climates. All hosting providers are not right for all websites. There are so many choices in web hosting providers. Ask the right questions ahead of time, and be sure that you are finding a new home that will support your website.

Not only do you have to be certain that the particular type of software your site uses is supported, you also have to check the fine print too. Make sure that the particular version of software that your site uses is supported by the new provider. Sometimes there are significant changes from one version to the next, and not all versions are downwardly or upwardly compatible.

E-mail is an important consideration for many site owners, particularly businesses. Be certain that your new hosting company can provide you with a sufficient quantity of email addresses, and that the email features that you currently use will be available with the new company. For example, if you use the autoresponder feature with your current hosting company, make sure that the new one has the same capability. Don’t make assumptions that the new company will have all of the same features as the old one.

Make sure to set up your existing email accounts on the new server before actually move the domain itself. This little detail can help ensure a relatively smooth transition for your site and for all of the people at your company who are dependent on email in order to perform the functions of their jobs.

Now that the pre-move details have been ironed out, it is time to start uploading files to your new server. If you expect the new hosting provider to handle this task for you, hopefully you asked ahead of time. Some hosting companies provide this service, others do not. Some companies that do provide this service charge a fee. Again, when its time to move, it’s too late to ask. Do your homework ahead of time.

Don’t cancel your old hosting account immediately. It may take a little while to make sure the transition went smoothly. Once the files have been uploaded to the new server, you are going to have to verify that everything transferred properly, and that it looks and works the way it should. When any tweaks have been made, then it is time to change your nameserver information with your domain name registrar.

Once you do this, your site will go live online within a couple of days. When you are sure everything is running smoothly in real time, then you can cancel your old contract and consider yourself moved in to your new home!

Best Affordable Unix Hosting: Top 3 Unix Web Hosts

Looking for best affordable Unix web hosting plans? First take a look at some important features which must be considered when choosing your web hosting company:

Reliability and uptime: Hosting uptime refers to the percentage of time the host is accessible via the internet. It is very important your service be uptime (functioning and available for use). It means you can access your account whenever you want to update your web pages, and users can enter your website whenever they refer to your site address. If your hosting service is not uptime it can be catastrophic!

Disk space: Web hosting space is the amount of room that the web host provides to store your HTML, graphic, video/audio and other files. This figure is most commonly stated in gigabytes. If you don’t know how much space you need for your website, you can choose a web host with unlimited disk space, which allows you to build as many web pages as you want.

Bandwidth: Bandwidth (or data transfer) refers to the amount of data that is accessed by your visitors. Web hosts define bandwidth as the total amount of data access from your server over a month’s time. This figure is most commonly expressed in gigabytes. If you don’t know how much bandwidth you need for your website, you can pick a web host with unlimited data transfer, which allows you to support as many visitors as you want.

Ease of Control Panel: It is important that the control panel is easy to use and all information can be accessed easily.

If you are a beginner it is generally hard to you to pick the right web hosting service. There are many websites which display a couple of web hosting companies as the best and leave people confused without being helpful. To make things even more confusing, some hosting companies are cheating and lying to their customers!

*********************************************************************

All Web Hosts Presented On ThreeHosts.com Are Linux-Unix based:

Threehosts.com is a reliable website to help you make the best choice. Their experts have been evaluating web hosting service providers for years, and now they provide you with the most reliable results. They present the information in an easy to understand format that helps the consumer make the best choice within just a few minutes. This is their purpose, to help you make the right choice the first time.

There you can reach the three reputable companies that are leaders in the web hosting industry. They are all easy-to-use and affordable.

http://www.threehosts.com/reviews

Best Cheap Unix Hosting: Top 3 Unix Web Hosts

Looking for best cheap Unix web hosting plans? First take a look at some important features which must be considered when choosing your web hosting company:

Reliability and uptime: Hosting uptime refers to the percentage of time the host is accessible via the internet. It is very important your service be uptime (functioning and available for use). It means you can access your account whenever you want to update your web pages, and users can enter your website whenever they refer to your site address. If your hosting service is not uptime it can be catastrophic!

Disk space: Web hosting space is the amount of room that the web host provides to store your HTML, graphic, video/audio and other files. This figure is most commonly stated in gigabytes. If you don’t know how much space you need for your website, you can choose a web host with unlimited disk space, which allows you to build as many web pages as you want.

Bandwidth: Bandwidth (or data transfer) refers to the amount of data that is accessed by your visitors. Web hosts define bandwidth as the total amount of data access from your server over a month’s time. This figure is most commonly expressed in gigabytes. If you don’t know how much bandwidth you need for your website, you can pick a web host with unlimited data transfer, which allows you to support as many visitors as you want.

Ease of Control Panel: It is important that the control panel is easy to use and all information can be accessed easily.

If you are a beginner it is generally hard to you to pick the right web hosting service. There are many websites which display a couple of web hosting companies as the best and leave people confused without being helpful. To make things even more confusing, some hosting companies are cheating and lying to their customers!

*********************************************************************

All Web Hosts Presented On ThreeHosts.com Are Linux-Unix based:

Threehosts.com is a reliable website to help you make the best choice. Their experts have been evaluating web hosting service providers for years, and now they provide you with the most reliable results. They present the information in an easy to understand format that helps the consumer make the best choice within just a few minutes. This is their purpose, to help you make the right choice the first time.

There you can reach the three reputable companies that are leaders in the web hosting industry. They are all easy-to-use and affordable.

http://www.threehosts.com/reviews

Free Web Hosts Are Not Good for Business

Small business owners who want a web site but don’t want to pay for a domain name or for hosting many times will go to a free web hosting service for their web site. They may be doing themselves a disservice in the long run.

These free web hosts may be good for personal sites and photos of your children with their dog, but don’t use them for business. There are several reasons why.

First, most free web hosting companies make their revenues with banner ads. They place these on your web site. Do you really want your customers going to your web site and seeing an ad to another business that you didn’t approve of? Thought not.

Another reason free web hosting doesn’t cut it is the service. Many times the service is poor, if there is any service at all. If you have customer or technical support issues, you’ll want them to be handled promptly or you run the risk of losing customers. Bill and Ted, who work full time as stock boys at the local supermarket, aren’t going to cut it.

Thirdly, most free web hosting services offer limited packages. They may support just one e-mail address or offer a low bandwidth transfer and may not support certain scripts such as Flash or CSS. You’ll want a host that is flexible and able to support the latest web design tools.

Free web hosting isn’t free. You’ll pay for it somewhere along the line. Either it will destroy your company image, sacrifice your customer service, or you’ll have to eventually upgrade to a paid service because the free hosting won’t support your needs.

Because search engines now look for certain characteristics of web sites that many free web hosts do not possess, your customers may not find you when they perform a Google or Yahoo search. Web designers are now incorporating search engine optimization strategies in their design elements and free web hosts simply do not have the resources to support these new tools.

Search engine optimization strategies require savvy coding. You can’t, like in the old days, just write up an HTML page with your trusty HTML editor and FTP it to your host, then wait for the visitors to come. People go online to look for information and they expect to find the best information available. The search engines make that search possible and have figured out how to make searches easier and more trustworthy for searchers. The job of a web designer is to figure out how to design their pages well enough to give search engines the information they need to help searchers find their pages. Free web hosts are more of an obstacle to that end than a help.

If you want a web site that you can be proud of and that visitors will find, do yourself a favor. Don’t use free web hosts.

Web Hosts ? No Match!

One usually thinks that he/she will receive same services with the certain range of price, which type of host it doesn’t matter. This is not a fact. Basically, one will not find differences in the web hosting but if one will carefully analyze there will be a vast difference between each one of them. Some of which are not adequate to user’s business. There are several hosts charging $10 a month for a particular package which one can get at the rate of $5a month with other hosting provider.

Mentioned below are 3 of the steps following which one can end up on an ideal hosting selection.

1. Deciding one’s Price range:

Price is the top most concern. One can spend anything to meet his/her requirements ranging from a few dollars a month to a few hundred. There is no one but the user who knows about his/her requirement and about his/her budget. One should consider it. Here one should find providers offering shared and dedicated hosting solutions. It is quite crucial to know the actual disparity among the two. Normally, it is shared web hosting is more inexpensive as compare to dedicated hosting. In the case of shared hosting their will be several web sites on the same server making it quite affordable for each individual.

Due to this reason only a large amount of individuals and businesses began with shared hosting and its reliability and consistency is increasing day by day due to which several businesses have raised on the basis of price and reliability. One can get web hosting prices generally in the range of $5 to $30 a month. If one will talks about Dedicated hosting then the user will have all the right to exploit entire resources. User will command the web server according to the available resources. When it comes to this type of hosting it will differ in both the price and services. It can be from $99 a month to a huge amount of $300-$400 a month. Certainly, here one will enjoy a reliable service and command over content and customization area.

2. Deciding one’s Needs:

What is the requirement of the user? However, one cannot deny the fact that web hosting has become quite affordable and competitive over the last few years but one should first search out the answers of few of the basic questions. Is user’s requirement is the 100% uptime i.e. 24/7/365 or just the modest uptime i.e. 99.9% which one can find at a cheap price as per the standardization of industry in comparison to a SLA (Service Level Agreement). What is user are Criteria regarding support? Does the requirement is 24/7/365 email support or in addition to it phone support? Loss of potential data is a topic which is quite crucial but generally overlooked by the user. Does user should ensure that his/her web host offers back up / restore services or rather an option to ad it or which one can buy on additional cost. Several user’s take it easy as it is automatic but one should mind it that without proper inquiry and involvement in the package it is not going to be accomplish. Requirement of quantity of email accounts and databases can be the other criteria. If the user possesses employees then the probability is that they would like individual email accounts for the use in interoffice and external communication. While user is opting for a strategy to run an e-commerce shopping cart or rather a community forum of any sort then requirement of one or more databases is must.

Normally, email accounts are standard but several hosts demands additional amount for databases and/or limit as per their business structure. Next, important aspect is the amount of disk space and data transfer required by the user? Now a day’s disk space and data transfer are available quite cheap. It is the Performance, features, reliability, and customer service for which the user is paying. For instance, if in the future user feels requirement of graphics resulting in large data base then it is not bad to have much disk space in advance because user may not feel its importance in beginning but it can be fruitful with respect to future strategy.

3. Accomplishing one’s Homework:

After considering above steps one should go for the research mode. The step deals with the outlook of providers. User should start his/her research from host’s own web site. The web site of several companies has a section called “about us” through which one can inquire about their background/history and a synopsis regarding their products, services, infrastructure etc. one should also go through their terms and policies regarding privacy and service. No doubt, one should be aware of the depth of the lake in which he/she is diving into. This is because several problems may arise later on if the user do not have the in depth knowledge of his/her concern host. By going through these policies one may have insight knowledge on restrictions between providers and which direction one should proceed by avoiding any trouble as per changing scenario. There are several companies delivering a customer testimonial and FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page in addition to it. User can consider Testimonials as a source of providing useful information about kinds of web sites being hosted and the way the company is delivering services to its present customers. If FAQ page delivered by the company is accurate then one can solve majority of problems in a very simple manner, whether the problem is related to sales or technical doesn’t matter. Certainly, one of the crucial ways to conclude research on the concern host is to charge them with questions/need which may not be apparently answered.

Thus at the end we can say that there are literally hundreds of specific needs that any one company or individual requires while searching for web hosting services. The problems and solutions are so much that even a book can be written on it. Thus the above given is a fundamental foundation of steps that will help user in beginning with good success.

Changing your Web Hosts

One of the biggest pains about having a web site is changing web hosts. I ought to know, I’ve changed over half a dozen times in the last three years. Each time has been a step up and with each move it becomes easier and easier to change.

Why change web hosts?

In many cases, your web site is the first and only thing that your customer sees (besides, hopefully, your product after they make a purchase). This is especially true if your company does not have a real-world presence such as a store or office. Thus it is important that your web site be available to your visitors (and customers if your site is commercial) twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Not only must it be available, but your web site must load quickly. If your host computer is too slow, it doesn’t matter how much you optimize your graphics and HTML, cut down page sizes and perform other actions.

Other features must work properly. These include CGI routines, autoresponders, PHP, ASP and SSI scripts, and, very importantly, shopping carts and credit card services.

All of this is so important that you must keep an eye on your site. I use two services: alertsite and internetseer. Both of these ping my site occasionally to determine if it is up. Any errors are reported to my email inbox. Why do I do this? Two reasons: (a) it’s critical that my site be online all of the time, and (b) these services provide a third-party record of any downtime, which is useful when attempting to get fees refunded.

These two services also measure response time, which is very useful to determine how well your site responds to your users browsing requests. These two factors, uptime and response time, are the most critical measures of web site performance. A consistently bad number in either measure is more than enough reason to find another host.

Of course, if your CGI routines stop working mysteriously or your autoresponders stop responding, then by all means shoot off a trouble ticket to your host. You have a right to expect these types of issues to be quickly and politely fixed. If they are not and the errors continue, then consider moving to another host.

Getting Ready to Move

There are a number of tasks that you should be performing on a regular basis. You see, you cannot predict when you might have to change web hosts. It could be that they are suddenly sold and their level of service drops, or they upgrade their computers which causes a series of new problems. You can be sure that you will only find out about these things when your web site stops working or becomes unstable.

Another reason to be performing regular maintenance tasks is the possibility of disasters. A hacker could deface or even destroy your web site. Your credit card could be closed, which might cause your host to close down your site until you pay. Any number of other disasters could occur, which make it very imperative that you have a continual set of procedures in place to be prepared for anything.

What do you need to do regularly?

Monitor your site – As I stated earlier, be sure you use a site monitoring service to keep an eye on your web site. That way you will know immediately if something happens.

Backup your site – You should perform all edits to your pages on your own computer and upload them to your site. Never edit your site pages directly. This, by it’s very nature, ensures that a copy of your site always exists on your own computer system.

However, you may also have databases stored on your web site which do not originate from your computer. These might include mailing lists, demographic data, links and other similar things. These items must all be copied to your own hard drive on a regular basis.

You can set up your favorite FTP program to do scheduled downloads of selected databases, or you can just manually copy them on a regular basis.

In addition, your web host should be backing your site up daily. In many instances, these backups are available to your as downloadable zip files. Be sure and copy these down to your system once in a while – perhaps once a week.

Don’t forget about such things as autoresponders, CGI routines and anything else which you may enter at your site control panel. You must ensure that you have a backup of everything.

Keep a log – Be sure you know everything that you’ve done to your site. You should list all of your autoresponders and their names, track any subdomains which you have set up, and anything else which you may do. This way if you have to change you can recreate your site quickly and efficiently.

Only use a domain name – Always reference your site via a domain name which you have purchased and control. Never, ever use the URL provided by your web host, as tempting as this can be at times. I ran into a situation where my web host URL was somehow entered into a number of search engines, and I discovered I was getting tens of thousands of hits from these URLs. This forced me to keep paying for the old site after I switched hosts, just to be able to redirect the traffic to my new site.

Make sure you register your domain elsewhere – The first time I registered a domain name, it seemed so convenient to just use my web hosts domain registration service. What I didn’t know is they became the registrar, and it was a nightmare getting the domain transferred to a different one. By registering the domain at a different company, you will most likely get a better price, and you will gain independence from your web host.

Scope out a few hosts in advance – Even if you are completely happy with your current web host, at least take a few minutes and have a few names ready just in case. This way if you are forced to move, you have a pretty good idea of where.

Moving To A Different Host

If you are lucky, you get to make the choice about moving. In that case, you can simply upload your new site, get it all working, then transfer the domain and cancel the old site. This gives you a large amount of control, because you don’t have to transfer the domain and cancel until you are happy with the new host.

If for some reason your web host has cut off access to your site, then you have to move fast. This is where the monitoring services come in handy – you know immediately when your site fails.

These are the steps that I follow when I change hosts.

1) Determine that a change is necessary. Ideally you are the one making this determination. Of course, if your web host decides for you, then you have to perform the rest of these steps very quickly because you are down.

2) Find a new hosting company. Read all of the information on the internet that I can find. I also learned something the hard way – check the hosting companies own forums for customer complaints. There were several times that I would have avoided trouble had I followed this advice.

3) Review the features of the hosting company to be sure they offer what you need. If you have any questions, be sure and send an email off to their sales department.

4) If you need a storefront, shopping cart and/or merchant status, be sure you resolve any issues you may have before laying out any money.

5) Sign up for the hosting company with the right size package, but the minimum amount of time (one to three months). This gives you some time to check them out without laying out too much money up front.

6) Once the site is active, start uploading files.

7) Modify any scripts as necessary. Test all of them to be sure they work.

Upload any autoresponders and set up your email forwarding as desired.

9) Create any subdomains, if you use this feature.

10) Of course, set up any databases. If your other site is still active, then just load the databases on the new site with data from the most recent backup – you just want the data for testing purposes. If it’s not active, then load the databases with the most recent values you have.

11) Set up your storefront, merchant services and credit card processing, if necessary. Test as thoroughly as you can.

12) Once everything works and is tested, transfer the domain to the new host.

13) If you have the option, freeze your databases on the old site about 12 hours after transferring the domain. Disable all activity to the old databases, then copy to the new site.

14) Once the domain transfers (usually a day or two) test thoroughly again. Unfreeze the databases as soon as you can.

15) Once everything works, cancel the old account.

16) Depending upon the circumstances of the move, demand a partial or full refund. It does not matter what the hosting companies policies are – presumably you moved because they were not fulfilling their contract. This means they are in breach of contract, so demand your money back.

17) If they will not give it back (and they probably won’t), check with your credit card company to see what your options are – if you’ve paid within 60 days via credit card, you may be able to get the credit card company to get your money back for you. This is where your monitoring logs come in very handy (assuming downtime or response time was the reason you left) – you can prove your case using third party data.

18) Why the focus on getting a refund? Because the hosting company did not provide contracted services – and no one should be rewarded for failure to fulfill their contract. The only real weapon you have is your money. Demand a refund.

19) Once you’ve moved, be sure and practice the maintenance steps mentioned earlier in this article. You may have to move your site again, and you want to be prepared.

So basically, moving to a new host is always a traumatic, time consuming event. You should take pains to be prepared so that the trauma is reduced in duration and loss.

Lowest Domain and Hosting Services from http://www.yoursdomain.com

Online Videos From http://www.ispcheck.com.pk

Lowest UK hosting http://www.theexalter.co.uk

Affordable hosting http://www.exaltersolutions.com

Free Web Hosts – Do They Really Live Up To The Hype?

For anyone who’s new to the world of websites, or indeed those on a tight budget, the concept of free web hosting always sounds appetizing. As you’re probably aware however, very little in this world is truly free. Often those offering something for free are seeking something else in return, even if it’s not your money. Consequently, is free hosting really all it’s cracked up to be?

Hosting (like most other services) costs money to provide. Although the services offered by free web hosts are often very basic compared to those that which you might buy, that web host would still soon be out of pocket if they couldn’t recuperate their costs via some means. This is precisely why most free web hosts display some kind of advertisements on any websites you have with them.

Although these advertisements can often (though not always) be “closed” or hidden after they’ve been displayed, they always look quite unsightly and as such can vastly degrade the browsing experience of your visitors, and even the credibility of the person running the website – you!

For that reason alone, anyone who is making a website for more than sheer enjoyment – especially those seeking to conduct business via their website – should dismiss any free web hosts who leave you with no choice but to display advertisements on their behalf. It’s probably a better idea to dismiss all free web hosts completely, in such instances. What you’d save by not paying for hosting would not be worth the amount of business or visitors you’d lose as a result.

The second big disadvantage of most free web hosting services is that they’re normally not rigged up to provide up-to-date technologies that most modern websites now utilize and require. Most websites are no longer merely static HTML pages built in point and click web design software – even those made by amateurs. Many are blog-based, or include community forums or the ability for visitors to leave feedback to be displayed on that website, amongst other things. All these things require that your web hosting service be capable of processing different scripting languages (such as PHP) in addition to having back-end database support, such as MySQL. This is all functionality that a great many of free web hosts simply cannot or will not offer to non-paying customers.

Customers of free web hosts are often not required to provide their full personal details. Couple that with the fact that no payment is required andit’s clear that the web host has no way to verify the validity of that customers information. As such they have no reassurance whatsoever that their customer doesn’t have unsavoury intentions – such as the intention to spam or host illegal material. This is precisely the reason most free web hosts deny customers the ability (or lack the support) to host any files beyond static HTML pages and a limited number of images.

Overall, there is little alternative but for anyone who is seeking to run a serious, functional website to shell out for some paid web hosting. Nowadays it’s so cheap as to be little to no burden on ones wallet.

Next Page »