Changing To New Host? No More Worries!

Changing To New Host? No More Worries!

by: Priyanka Agarwal

Johnกs online business is expanding. His customers are increasing day by day. However, he feels very frustrated at the moment as he finds his website is กdownก about every 4th day. Whenever he calls up the support team of his web host, he gets the same old answer that his problem will be rectified soon. If the problems do persist it will surely hamper his business. He has been with his present hosting provider for the last year but now he feels he has to find a new web host as soon as possible because his present hosting package is also not able to meet up with his growing demands. This is not a oneoff occurrence that has happened only to John, it happens with many people like him. Changing the web host might become a cumbersome task if John and other people like him don’t know the correct procedure of doing it. So, letกs have a look at the following easy and simple steps:

First of all, itกs very important to have a backup of your website and everything related to it, like databases, scripts etc. It will be very helpful in case there is data loss because of any unforseen reason. Save at least 2 copies of everything and store them separately, so that you can work with one and the other one will function as a backup. You can take backup in various ways. One is by using software programs like a FTP program (e.g. Smart FTP http://www.smartftp.com/) for downloading data.

Now, the time is to look for a new web host that meets all your requirements and provides better technical services than your previous host. Since you have already been through the search procedure it won’t take you much time to come across a reliable hosting company.

Once you have taken a new webhosting plan and you are ready to upload your web pages, databases etc., check that you have received an IP number, FTP or FrontPage login, and password from your new hosting company. Now, upload all your files to the new server; you are just repeating the same procedure that youกve done in the past when you uploaded your files for the very first time.

Only a few more steps more and you will be completely done. Before transferring your DNS servers over from your previous host to your new one, debug and test the new site from an individual IP number. Check that all the web pages exist, the links point to the right pages and that all your scripts are running. One important point which people always forget is their domain name expiration date. If you plan to move near the expiration date, it could cause you lots of problems. To be on the safe side, make sure that you have at least 34 weeks in hand before the domain name expires, or just renew it for another year.

To transfer domain name service to a new host identify registrar using กWHOisก lookup http://domregm6.net/domains/WHois.asp, verify registration of your domain name, identify the name server information for the host your are transferring to, and make changes in the DNS information at the registrar. During this DNS transition period new DNS information has to be propagated throughout the worldกs DNS servers. This propagation might take 24 days as an International root name server will firstly have to check all the various Domain registrars for updates, and then every ISP provider will update their DNS setting to show the new changes. Not only this, even Internet, i.e. Internet routers and caching engines have to update/clear its DNS cache as well. During this propagation period, you keep your old site running so that the visitors whose ISP provider haven’t updated can still visit your website.

Itกs advisable that you don’t cancel your old hosting service during the transition period, as you will need to check your mail from both the hosting providers, as some will direct email to your old server whereas other Internet regions will send mail to your new server. After one or two weeks you can annul the account with your old host.

On the very first notion it sounds like a painful task to find a new web host and make all the necessary changes, but with the steps known, people like John will not find this procedure problematic. With so many automation software packages available, it has now become easier to switch over your web site from old host to new host. If both hosting providers have the same operation system platform, the procedure will become even simpler. But remember, the most important task in the whole hostchanging scenario is to find a host that meets your requirements so that you don’t have to go through this entire procedure again in the future.

About The Author

Priyanka Agarwal

Hosting evangelist

http://www.m6.net/

Priyanka is an M6.Net Hosting Evangelist, spreading to all the word about Web Hosting.

This article was posted on February 02

by Priyanka Agarwal

Unlimited Wealth Creation Through Reseller Hosting

Unlimited Wealth Creation Through Reseller Hosting

by: Ninad Gupte

Web hosting can be an exciting business start up for aspiring entrepreneurs. All you have to do to set up your business is become a hosting reseller, i.e., provide hosting facilities to website owners. Here as a business owner, you are buying space from a big hosting company, and redistributing the hosting space to other website owners.

Resellers are nothing but entrepreneurs acting as middlemen, offering you hosting services by leasing time and space from another Web hostกs server rather than owning their own. Most of the times, the quality of services offered by resellers are so good that consumers do not even have the idea that they are dealing with resellers who do not have servers of their own. Resellers, since they can pick and choose their servers, are basically in a position to provide the customers with the best of services.

Reseller hosting business can be quite a profit making venture once you understand the figures and profit margins involved. Let us go through them. One can buy around 1000 MB space from a major web host at a cost of $25 per month. This 1000 MB space that you now own can in turn be redistributed to site owners who need space for uploading their site. Here you can give about 25 MB space for around $5 per month. Which means your monthly income comes to around $200 when you sell 40 hosting packages. Want more. some hosts allow you to oversell the space and do not charge you extra unless the actual usage of your account exceeds 1000MB. It is seen that a typical user uses less than half of the allotted web space. which means you can double or even triple sell your quota and make unlimited wealth.

And mind well, this income is residual income. It will keep coming to you month after month, year after year. You do the work once. and get paid for it over and over. All you are doing is buying space from a major web hosting company and becoming a reseller host. Your efforts are focused towards selling hosting space and the rest is handled by your web host. Some of them even handle customer service to your customers for a nominal fee. which makes it even easier for you.

If this is not enough. you can earn additional residual incomes by adding recruiting more resellers through you. By doing this you will earn regular commissions on their monthly sales. isn’t this smart business. The profit margins in the business of reseller hosting is quite good and you can start on this exciting business venture even if you do not have the required expertise and access to funds for setting up the required infrastructure. Strange as it might sound, there are also times where a reseller can also be more scalable than a typical hosting firm. A true Web host is limited by its hardware; if a client suddenly requires an upgrade the host is not prepared for, the only way the host will be able to satisfy the customer is by upgrading its hardware expensive and time consuming for both sides. The reseller host, however, can simply choose to locate with a different Web host that will better suit the customerกs needs.

Happy Wealth Creation!!!

About The Author

Ninad Gupte is the Founder, CEO of www.linuxresellerhosting.com. He has trained as an Electronics Engineer from Mumbai University, and has a Diploma in Advanced Computing from CDAC. He has served as the Director ¬Technologies in Webmoney India Pvt. Ltd. He has executed several turnkey B2B Web application projects like House layouts, Maharashtra State Electricity Board and portals & sites like McDonalds India, Air France and RPG Raychem. To take his dreams forward of forming a technology oriented diversified company, Interpole Solutions was formed in March 2001. The company was setup with a strong base of skills and a deep understanding of technologies mastered by Ninad. He can be contacted at [email protected] or at 91222436 4111 and 91222436 4112.

This article was posted on September 03, 2004

by Ninad Gupte

Cheap Web Hosting – Choose The Right Company

Cheap Web Hosting – Choose The Right Company

by: Declan Tobin

You have carried out the hard part and that’s creating the web site. The next step is to get it hosted as to allow the public find your site. So why do so many first time web host seekers fall into the trap of a bad web host company? Well there are a number of factors to consider and none bigger than the price. We all want cheap web hosting but unfortunately price is not always what you should go for.

You have to be more aware of the web hosting company that you choose. If you have a budget stick to it, if you see hosting for little or nothing and find yourself thinking ขhow do they make moneyข stay well away, the chances are your web site will be hosted with very little bandwidth resulting in a very slow accessible and unprofessional web site. You may also find that the customer service is little or none.

You need to clearly outline your own requirements to the web hosting company, if you do not do so you are at fault and not in any position to point the finger at others. If you make a list of requirements such as particular files you need etc you can send your requirements to multiple hosting companies and see who comes back with the greater service.

If you have more than one web site to host such as affiliate marketers it is not a good idea to put all your sites with the one web host company server to start with, you need to be 100% confident with the service, so start with one web site first as a test. Remember if you do host all your websites with one host company, all it takes is one problem to bring all your sites down and could result in lose of revenue for you. At least if you have some web sites hosted by another company they will still be online.

Some web host companies offer testimonials on their own web site from valued customers recommending them. Seeing is not believing, call these customers and get a face value recommendation for yourself.

What if I have problems?

Lets be honest, problems can occur and they maybe your fault and sometimes the web host company is to blame. Problems with technology can occur any time but it’s how the hosting company react to the fault that will determine if you stay with them or not. If you find your web site dropping off line or downloading slowly at a regular basis simply change to another web host company. On going problems not fixed is a very bad sign and it shows arrogance towards their customers. Support is vital from a web host company and it should be 24 hour if it’s a large organisation.

Virus Problems and Hackers

It is up to the web host company to ensure that your files are protected from virus and hackers at all times. There has been plenty of companies who have had their web sites hacked only then to find out that the web host company had not got the latest patches and security software applied. First timers to web hosting should always ask how often updates and what software is used to protect web sites.

Tips:

In business your web site can be a large source of revenue or sometimes your only source. Always do your own backup of the web site. If the web host company experience problems and for whatever reason has no backups available your whole business could be on hold. Backups are vital so do it as regular as possible or face the consequences. Some companies have testimonials on their web site from customers, do not be afraid to call these guys for an up to date reference.

If you where taking on an employee you would check all references, this is similar. Always get the full contact details of the web hosting company, many people simple go online and have an email address only as the contact. If their email goes down and you need to contact them you should have their full details at hand. Always shop around for the different web hosting plans and compare, you will find large differences, after you settle with a budget ask the necessary questions before you sign up.

About The Author

Declan Tobin is a successful freelance writer providing advice to consumers on purchasing a variety of Affordable Web Hosting and Cheap web hosting, and more! His numerous articles provide a wonderfully researched resource of interesting and relevant information. http://www.no1inwebhosting.com.

This article was posted on March 30

by Declan Tobin

Choosing a Web Host Based On Price? Don’t!

Choosing a Web Host Based On Price? Don’t!

by: David Leonhardt

Itกs tempting. There are so many companies offering cutrate hosting – loaded with astounding postfuturistic technogizmo features ! – that it just makes sense to save a few dollars, right?

Think again. First, consider how much you would be saving. If you run a business site, saving $5, $10 or even $15 a month is not a big saving. No going concern will become a stopping concern on account of even $15 a month. But the wrong web host can stop a business cold.

Here are three reasons to look beyond price when choosing your web host.

1. Usability. Confession time: I chose my first website host based on price. The control panel was not easy to use, and I often found myself traveling in circles trying to enter it. I switched to my second web host based not just on price, but on usability, and I instantly became a pro. Well, not quite. But I was able to manage my email accounts and learn about CGI, and check my traffic stats and edit my html files right on the server. Not bad for a newbie who couldn’t even find his files on his previous hostกs server.

2. Service. I thought my second host had great service. They even answered my emails. Until the dreaded day that some guy with a chip on his shoulder filed a phony spam complaint. I was out in the cold. In fact, they would not answer my emails or even speak to me at all. Meanwhile, my ISP responded to the same phony complaint immediately, sharing with me a copy and giving me a chance to deal with it. That ISP is now my third web host. I pay a little more, but the personal service is worth it. I have no hesitation recommending http://www.phastnet.com to anybody who wants the assurance that they won’t be hung out to dry at the first whiff of somebody in a bad mood.

3. Reliability. When that phony spam complaint struck, my website was down for four days. Ouch! But there are many other things that can bring down a site. What is your web hostกs uptime? And how reliable is its reporting? Other things can happen, like a form not functioning – meaning lost sales. Worse still, what if Google comes crawling just when your site is down? Search engines don’t like sending people to unreliable sites. Companies like http://www.dotcommonitor.com monitor websites for a variety of measures, and the cost is nothing compared to the cost of lost sales.

Sure, save a few bucks on hosting, and pay a whole lot more in lost sales and increased stress. Your web host is your Internet landlord. Take as much time choosing your web host as you would the place you live in. Price alone just is not enough.

About The Author

David Leonhardt is an online and offline publicity specialist. To get your website optimized for the search engines, email him at [email protected]. For a copy of Don’t Get Banned By The Search Engines: http://thehappyguy.com/SEO.html. For a copy of Get In The News: http://thehappyguy.com/publicityselfpromotionreport.html.

This article was posted on January 04, 2004

by David Leonhardt

Web Hosting Help – What’s Bandwidth

Web Hosting Help – What’s Bandwidth

by: Declan Tobin

Bandwidth can make all the difference when choosing where to host your website

A common mistake made by so many people when looking to choose a web host company is not asking about bandwidth. After spending so long designing or with a developer designing your web site you do not want to see a good web site ruined and only viewed by a handful of people at a time. A web site is generally your shop window and you want as many people as possible to look in and hopefully click on your information or purchase online if you are offering products. All web host companies will offer you a limited amount of bandwidth, it’s then up to you to calculate whether or not you need to pay a little extra for bandwidth you may require.

Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from the web host company, it is there job to help you along the way and after all it’s you who is paying for there service. You will need to advice them as to how big each page is on your website and if possible a rough calculation as to how many people you think may view your site on a weekly or daily basis.

Is it possible to save bandwidth?

Yes it is and this comes into play at the time of designing your website. If you are looking to save the bandwidth you should put all photos in the JPEG format and all graphics in GIF format. By doing so you are compressing the files using only the very least bandwidth required.

Why do some companies offer only a very limited amount of bandwidth?

You have got to remember that web hosting is an extensive market and very profitably for the web hosting company. The more people they can attract to their services the more profit they make. They in turn have to pay out to the telecoms companies for the bandwidth provided to them and are only wanting to pay the bare amount to keep profits high. Web host companies that are not offering you the additional bandwidth are the ones to avoid. If they say it is not possible to purchase additional bandwidth, then the chances are this is a small company with poor technology behind them operating on a shoestring budget.

What will happen if I do not have enough bandwidth?

It’s very simply really, if your website has not got enough bandwidth to operate with, one of two things will happen. Your website will download onto peoples monitors very slowly and the chances are they will not wait around. The second problem is that your web site may only be viewed by a very limited audience at one time. You may have great link backs from other websites driving traffic your way only for that traffic to be diverted elsewhere to a properly functioning competitor.

How can I ensure that this will not happen to me?

Undoubtedly it is very frustrating to spend time and money developing a good informative website only to have it’s viewing reduced by lack of bandwidth. You need to be honest with your web host company and tell them the number of pages and how large your overall files are, by doing this the onus is on them to offer us the service your require. You can ask for a guarantee from the web host company that all will be fine with your site and there are many out there willing to give such guarantees. If you decide to go it cheap and risk the low bandwidth you are only fooling yourself. Look at the rates from the different web host companies for extra bandwidth and you will be pleasantly surprised that it will not cost an arm and a leg to have a little extra. Knowingly going over bandwidth with only cost you revenue in the long run and makes your website very unprofessional. If you are hosting with a reliable web host company they will not allow this happen anyway.

If you are unsure as to how large your website actually is act the person or company who developed the site for you to advise or simply ask the web host company, all will be happy to oblige you.

About The Author

Declan Tobin is a successful freelance writer providing advice to consumers on purchasing a variety of Affordable Web Hosting and Cheap web hosting, and more! His numerous articles provide a wonderfully researched resource of interesting and relevant information. http://www.no1inwebhosting.com.

This article was posted on April 08

by Declan Tobin

How to find good Web Hosting for your site!

How to find good Web Hosting for your site!

by: Jonathan White

When building your first site the main things that you will probably think about is what types of content you will be adding to your site, how you are going to get visitors to your site and how you are going to generate good revenue from your site.

Well, all of the things mentioned above are crucial things to consider, but then again, what’s the point in thinking about them if you can’t even get a good Web host to host your site with. If you choose a Web host that has a poor service then it can do more damage to your site than good. If your sites host goes down often then your site will also go down and your visitors will get annoyed and will go elsewhere. Your sites earnings will decline and many people online will ignore your site, as people will start to think that your site is down more than what it’s up.

So now you are probably thinking to yourself, ขwhere and how can I find a good Web host to host my site with, which is also reasonably priced?ข

If you need a Web host that is reasonably priced so that you can make more profit from the turnover of your site, then a good place to start looking is by using a few Web hosting directories. You could start by using http://www.1hostseeking.com.

Ok! Now your probably think ขwhy would I want to use a Web hosting directory as they contain many Web hosting providers and not all of them are likely to be good.ข

The main reasons why you should use a Web hosting directory to find a Web host is so that you can easily find and compare a large amount of Web hosting providers that offer the services that you need to run your site successfully. You can also compare each Web host’s prices against each other and then you will be able to find a reasonably priced Web host.

Once you have narrowed down your search to a few Web hosts from the Web hosting directory, you could then go to your chosen Web hosting providers sites and check them out to have a better understanding to what they offer. If they look good, then the best thing to do is not to purchase any hosting from them until you have checked them out more virally. Checking a Web host out to see if they are reliable can be done by searching through some of the major search engines for reviews on your chosen few Web hosts and also you can check through some of the larger forums that discuss Web hosting topics. If you can’t find any information about the few Web hosts that you have narrowed down and chosen within any of the forums that you use, then you could always bring up that topic yourself and ask others what they think about your chosen Web hosts and if they have had any experiences with the them.

Once you have received other people’s opinions about the Web hosts and you have also read a number of reviews about them, you will then have a better understanding of what Web host should be the best to use for you Website.

About The Author

Jonathan White has been involved in Web Hosting and other Webmaster activities on the Web for over two years now and is the Webmaster of http://www.1hostseeking.com a categorized Web hosting directory listing a large amount of Web hosting providers.

This article was posted on November 19, 2004

by Jonathan White

How To Build Your First Web Site

How To Build Your First Web Site

by: BB Lee

Getting Started!

Most Internet service providers offer their customers a space to place a basic site on the World Wide Web. With this basic site you will get your very own URL. (Universal Resource Locater) This will be your business address on the web. Now, anyone who knows your URL will know how to contact you on the World Wide Web. Even if they are on the other side of the world!

Many other places exist where you can easily set up a free website.

http://www.geocities.com

http://www.freewebspace.net

http://www.tripod.com

http://www.freeservers.com

Or surf to http://www.google.com…

Type Free Web Host into the search box. And then check out the top Free Web Host. Comparing their services.

Here are even more reasons to build a website!

To start a business.

To promote a business.

Advertise where guest can find a Wedding.

Information on an upcoming family reunion.

To put together a class reunion and find classmates.

Publish ideas about life to the world.

Publish works of art and literature to the world.

Build a site to help with a charity or personal project.

You will need to learn a little HTML. Web pages are written in HTML. This is a special language read by computers. Don’t panic! HTML(hyper text markup language) is easy to learn. Hereกs a few online resources:

DaveSite http://www.davesite.com

HTML Goodies http://www.htmlgoodies.com

Webmonkey http://www.webmonkey.com

Many special editors are available to guide you in composing HTML documents.

Microsoft Front Page http://www.microsoft.com

Dreamweaver http://www.macromedia.com

Or download one of the WYSIWYG editors. (What You See Is What You Get!)

With these editors you can easily compose web pages without knowing any HTML at all. Go to the site below and type in WYSIWYG Editors in the search box.

http://www.webattack.com

Or you might decide to use the editor at one of the free host to compose your first website.

In addition, the web host usually supply website templates. You plug in your important information and build a professional looking website quickly. All sounds to good to be true. But it is!

Many free web host also supply users with WYSIWYG Editors.

Thanks to technological advances and improved software, composing your first professional looking website is a breeze.

About The Author

BB Lee is Editor/Publisher of SmallBizBits FREE Home Based Business Newsletter. Subscribe Now and receive a free ebook bonus. Visit http://www.geocities.com/smallbizbits

[email protected]

This article was posted on September 24, 2003

by BB Lee

Effectiveness of Web Hosting Directories (WHDs)

Effectiveness of Web Hosting Directories (WHDs)

by: Priyanka Agarwal

John is very happy today, for the first time in his life he has created his very own website. Now he is looking for a web host so that he can put his identity on the net. Casually he asks his friend Mac about it. Mac tells him that webhosting directories are the best place to look for a web host. Getting curious John then asks Mac what exactly a Web Hosting Directory is. Mac responds that web hosting directories are a web hosting marketplace where prospective hosts list their products, plans, prices and other important information so that according to their requirements, customers can choose a suitable plan. Along with the details, it also contains web hosts’ rankings. John is now extremely happy as his dream is finally going to come to fruition. Like John, there are many beginners who are in search of a reliable web host and come across web hosting directories. Here a new question arises: Are these web hosting directories really trustworthy sources for novices like John? !

To find an answer it’s very important to understand the working of WHDs.

Basically webhosting directories are of two types: paid WHDs and free WHDs. For paid directories, either web hosts pay a set amount for placing their banners on the site, or they pay commission if they get customers via that medium. On the other hand, free WHDs like www.askwebhosting.com and www.hostbyte.com etc. web hosts list their services without paying any fees.

Some people believe that paid WHDs are very easy to manipulate as the ranking of web hosts can be changed in unfair ways. Others have the view that WHDs that are actually free reflect the true ranking of web hosts companies. Whatever the case may be, paid or free, people should believe the web hosts rankings only if they are based completely on votes of customers who have actually given their remarks and have left their website address as well.

It is not possible for any web hosting company to have 100% positive reviews. It is also observed that at times customers who are satisfied with their web host forget to express their opinion about that host. However, a biased customer who is not satisfied with their web host does not forget to mention their opinion of that web host. This implies that a negative review doesn’t always reflect the true picture of a web host company.

No doubt web hosting directories are very useful if the newbie like John wants to compare prices and features of different companies. But, when it comes to choosing a web host he/she should make an intelligent choice by referring to other resource sites (forums etc.) as well.

About The Author

Priyanka Agarwal

http://www.m6.net

[email protected]

This article was posted on November 30, 2004

by Priyanka Agarwal

Building Homepage – Where To Start

Building Homepage – Where To Start

by: Mizan Uddin

Now a days owning a website is not an exceptional happening. But many people think that having their website on the Internet is an expensive venture, fortunately though, this need not necessarily be true if you find the right web host, the benefits of having a web site will definitely outweigh the costs.

There are many different ways to benefit from having a personal homepage, whether it is for personal pleasure and fun, or to boost your business success. Those who got personal websites generally use them to further an interest or a hobby. Having a web site is a great way to share and exchange knowledge with others.

Businesses on the other hand use a website to promote and market their goods and services, while cutting back on such expenses as postage, couriers and advertising, etc.

Now the time has come when you feel that you want to have your own website on your own Web Host. You want to let the world know about you or your business and above all you want something of your won. But you’re just not sure the best way to go about making this major decision: How to find the right Web Host for your needs? To give you the comfort in cost, time and choice a new website builder has come, named www.imakesite.com.

Imakesite.com names reveal what it has for you. You can make your own site and also host it just sitting on your chair and clicking on mouse. You don’t need to be a design expert at all. Because it has highquality homepagetemplates and wonderful eyecatching openinganimations and good news is those are totally customizable. You can edit or add your own text or images, upload it to your homepage and imakesite.com will host it for you in the blink of an eye.

Cost for hosting? It’s just $5.00 per month. But you don’t need to start paying right now; you can try the fabulous services of imakesite.com FREE for three days.

Don’t waste time scratching your head wondering what the Internet can do to benefit your business, open your browser and visit www.imakesite.com.

About The Author

Web applications expert and internet security professional for ecommerce and online transactions

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 17

by Mizan Uddin

Your Affiliate Web Site Is Built – Now What?

Your Affiliate Web Site Is Built – Now What?

by: Vickie J. Scanlon

When I first got my web site built, I thought I finally I had a presence online. Wrong! I soon found out that I needed someone to host my site, and I needed a domain name.

This, I found, was my moment of utter confusion. And my first thought was – ขWhat have I gotten myself into!?ข I realized I needed the following questions answered before I could even begin my online journey. What do I need in a web host, what is a web host, what is a domain name and – you mean, I have to pay for a domain name as well?

What is a Domain?

A domain name is a unique name that identifies an Internet site. Thus, if you want to do any online marketing you need a unique name to identify your business – and definitely a name that identifies or relates to that of your online presence.

Do I really need a domain name? Yes. Why? There are several good reasons:

It projects a professional image

It’s mobile – you can change web hosts and your domain name goes with you.

It takes time and hard work to build your affiliate business – if you don’t have your own name and you want to move to a different web host – all is lost because the domain name is not mobile.

There are many sites that offer a domain name service at a reasonable price. You can go to my site at www.myaffiliateplace.biz and look under Affiliate Information – here you can get an idea how much a domain name costs.

What is A Web Host?

A web host is an ISP that offers space in which to store your own personal Web pages. They utilize a web server, which is a computer that is permanently connected to the Internet and can send out your web pages on request.

If you want a professional presence, I would suggest that you do not go with a free site. Why? With your free site, you are required to include advertisements of their choosing on your pages.

There are many web hosting sites and prices to choose from – and all can be very confusing and intimidating when you are first looking at putting up a site of your own. So, what should you consider when choosing a web host?

What to Consider When Choose a Web Host?

When choosing a Web Host you should consider the following:

Does it have customer support available 24/7?

How often are backups done? (You should also do your own backups as well.)

How much bandwidth do they give you? Bandwidth is the amount of activity on your site (traffic). The more visitors you have, the more bandwidth is used. I recommend at least 2 gigs, with an option to upgrade.

How many email accounts do they have? At least 3, preferably more.

Does it have traffic stats – to monitor your hits, page views, and actual visitors?

Does it have FrontPage extensions? (If you are planning to use FrontPage).

Does it offer autoresponders?

Does it offer FTP?

Does it allow for upgrades? As your business grows, so will your need for more bandwidth.

Does it offer SiteBuilder? (If you have no HTML experience/don’t have FrontPage, or no programming knowledge – SiteBuilder can get you up and running.

To conclude, remember your web site is your business, your domain is your name, and your web host is your home – all are important factors to your success. And to think, you only getting started!

To your success.

About The Author

Vickie J Scanlon has a BBA degree in Administrative Management and Marketing. She left the corporate world as a Reports Programmer, to begin her journey as an Internet marketer. Visit her site at: http://www.myaffiliateplace.biz for free tools, articles, ebooks, Webhosting opportunities and how to info. And if you want to be notified of updates to her web site you can sign her guest book.

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 15

by Vickie J. Scanlon

Web Hosting: To Switch or to Stay?

Web Hosting: To Switch or to Stay?

by: Joelene Wickens Orlando

That’s a question that can only be answered by you. Depending on your current status and relationship you have with your provider, along with your evolving business objectives and needs, can determine what course of action to pursue. What are your issues and concerns? Ask yourself some basic questions and see where you stand after you’ve answered them. Are you no longer satisfied with your current provider? Did they deliver on the level of services that you signed up for? Has technical support and customer service been to your satisfaction? Or has your business grown considerably, and the hosting company cannot provide you with the level of capability and technical support you require?

Technically speaking, if you’re looking for solutions out of frustration, or even a new web hosting provider, you’re either very unsatisfied with the service, or you find that they cannot provide you the service you are looking for to handle your business. Switching isn’t always a bad thing to do, especially if your business isn’t doing well with that one particular provider. It’s time to move on and get your online presence back on track. Unfortunately, for every good thing, there is a negative side. The flip side of finding a new provider is that you’re back at square one. Before you decide, whether to stay or switch, do some research and find some indicators to help you make a sound decision.

The last thing you want to do is be surprised, even though you may have seen the writing on the wall with your web host provider, but didn’t jump on the intuition that something was brewing. If your web host goes under, or doesn’t address your technical problems, you could lose sales, and what’s worse; you may not be accessible to users on the Internet. A good theory with anything is to have Plan B, to handle those setbacks that could otherwise be devastating to your business. To stay in the loop, and on top of your business, here are some things to be on the look out for in regards to your web host provider.

Support is nowhere to be found. This is one big indicator that the provider is having some difficulties within the business. You’re not getting prompt attention when you call or email with concerns or issues. If they fail to respond to your emails or calls, you have a reason to be concerned. The company may have laid off staff, or is disorganized in processing customer service requests, which could indicate financial difficulties. If you have tried numerous attempts in phoning, or emailing to reach a human person to respond, it’s time to find a new host provider before that hosting company goes under. Keep in mind, the better the support center and technical support; the more stable the web host provider. Free is not always good. Web hosting companies that offer free services or services of a minimal charge where they cannot make a profit are ones that are generally in trouble. Stay clear of those, and if you started out with one of these ‘freebies’, it would be a good idea to find a good reputable paying service. If you haven’t run into any problems, consider yourself very lucky. But do decide if you feel comfortable with the prospective performance of such a company in the long term, and ask yourself how the company can turn a profit with no rates or low rates. Always remember, ‘you get what you pay for.’ Reputation of the Web Host. With the nature of the thousands of web hosting providers online, they are relatively very low profile and you don’t really read or hear anything particular about them. But if you find coverage regarding a web host company, make sure it’s good stuff; otherwise you know what action to take if it’s negative. Stay on top of your web host provider newsletters and articles about changes in management, a buyout, a merger, or layoffs. Be aware of such changes, though certainly not always, result in decreased communication or support for the client. If it smells fishy, go with that gut feeling, and find a new host. You can start at http://www.webhostingrebates.com, where they gather all the reputable and most trusted hosting companies in the industry.

Visit the Web Site of the Web Host regularly. Participate in various discussion groups or forums to see what other businesses are saying about the web host provider. See a lot of negativity? You should have a backup plan ready to go if you are viewing mainly complaints and problems with poor customer support and the quality of service. That’s a sure sign that the provider isn’t doing well. Check out their website to see if their prices are grossly inflated compared to what you purchased the service for. Granted, businesses need to have price increases every now and then, but if they seen overly inflated, that’s a sure sign that something is seriously wrong. Make sure that the web host provider is still providing services and packages. If you find that it isn’t being offered or the site itself has changed with less to offer, which tells you that the company may be phasing out of operation. You want to be hosting with someone else before they shut down.

Limited service or capabilities. You may be having a great relationship with your current provider, but your business needs have grown and your web host cannot accommodate your upgrade capabilities and technical support for your growing company. You have no other option, than to leave this host on a good note, and find one that will offer you the approximate service and surpass the previous host provider.

Every website needs a home and any web host provider will gladly (beg) house your site. If you’ve made the decision to go with a new provider, it’s time to go on a new search. The best advice is to select a provider with many years of experience is a smart decision… Listen to your colleagues and go where they have had the best luck and let them show you what their web host provider is doing for them. Hopefully, with the experience you have learned with your previous web host provider, you will make the right long term choice.

About The Author

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This article was posted on November 11, 2003

by Joelene Wickens Orlando

7 Key Ingredients for Rock Solid Website Hosting

7 Key Ingredients for Rock Solid Website Hosting

by: Michael Turner

Every website needs a great web host, however when you are looking online for a host you may be overwhelmed with the wide variety available ranging from absolutely free to relatively expensive. How do you know what you need and what is the best choice? The answer to this depends on your business and whether you will have a lot of business or none at all, however you always want to have more space than you think you will need as well as the following options for a great web host.

Ingredient #1 24/7 Support

When choosing a web hosting company you definitely want to make sure that they have 24/7 support. The reason for this is if you have a problem with your website, you need to be able to talk to someone and have them fix it immediately. As long as the host offers this type of support it should not be a problem. If they don’t, you might wait several days with your website down and not be able to contact anyone. Think of the customers you will be missing and all of the lost sales youกll suffer.

Ingredient #2 Large Bandwidth

You want to make sure your web host offers a generous amount of bandwidth in order to support your website and ensure it loads as quickly as possible. The more bandwidth means the more information that is carried and the quicker your page opens. So, make sure you have a web host with plenty of bandwidth to support your site.

Ingredient #3 Excessive Storage Space

Regardless of whether you need it now or not you want a web host that offers plenty of storage space in case you do need it. Give yourself some growing room.

Ingredient #4 Email

When you have a web host as well as URL you will also want to have your own email that ties into your company name. Find a web host that offers this as well. Most do, but some might trick you with fine print so be careful.

Ingredient #5 Additional Domains

You may only have one domain name today, but the future holds all kinds of possibilities. Be sure you can add additional domain names if you need to.

Ingredient #6 Domain Parking

If you have a domain name, but do not have your own name server then you will certainly want a web host that will allow you to store or ขparkข your domain name on their server for your domain to remain valid for an extended period of time.

Ingredient #7 Tools to Manage your Site

While you have found a web host that meets all of your needs, be sure you also have a tool box that will help you manage your site easily and whenever you want. This is really important for you to be able to do, especially if you need to change something like prices, or other important information.

About The Author

Michael Turner shows you exactly how to increase web site traffic in his free 7 part miniseries. Grab it today at http://www.powertraffictactics.com/.

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This article was posted on August 05

by Michael Turner