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The Host with the Most |
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Now that you've gotten your land, you're ready to begin construction! A hosting company is your contractor. It is a place where your files (or your home) will be stored on a “server,” or the host's computer, that the world can access. Some people opt to purchase their own servers and forgo the hosting company; however, this should only be for extremely advanced users. Not to mention, a server must be online constantly to reach web traffic and can be quite a financial investment. Hosting companies are all across the internet. The first rule of thumb for anyone seeking a hosting company: you should never pay over 10.00 per month! This is your mortgage for your virtual home. Hosting companies offer many payment plans. You will generally pay once a month unless you sign up for a semi-annual or yearly payment plan. You should only use these long-term plans once you have evaluated the service at the site. This means paying per month for two to three months to make sure you are getting what you pay for. If the service isn't what you like, move on. You have many, many options for a better home through another company. More details on what to expect once you have published with a hosting company will be available in later articles. An apparently new trend amid some hosting companies is to exclude all types of payment aside from credit card. This should be approached cautiously. A good hosting company should be eager to work with webmasters and this certainly includes accepting a variety of payment forms. The companies that are “credit-card-only,” place customers in a financial corner. If there is a computer glitch and you are billed the wrong amount, you will have to go through the process of having it removed from both the hosting company and, if it isn't a good hosting company, you will need to do most of the legwork with your credit card company. These companies remove the control you have with your account and mask it in the guise of “convenience.” This is not to say it isn't convenient for some users, however, it is your money. You should know not only when you are paying for something, you should have options. Not to mention, if you change banks or financial institutions, what will you do while you wait on your new cards? Will the hosting company allow you to submit a different form of payment in such emergency circumstances? Be certain you find this out before signing up with them. It's a minor precaution that can save you a major headache down the road. You don't want to polish and publish your web site and find the hosting company deleting your home because of a payment mix-up. Once you have established that you are financially where you want to be and can submit different forms of payment if you choose, you can start looking at other details. The hosting company should provide you with a clear control panel. “Cpanel,” is a popular service that many hosting companies provide for users. You should have detailed statistics, such as AWstats or Webalizer. You should have services such as message boards and other incentives along with your hosting. You should have enough email accounts and bandwidth to suit your needs. Important Notes To Remember! *When starting a domain ALWAYS go for the “personal,” account bundles. Even if you intend on creating a commercial web site, these packages offer excellent benefits to new sites at reasonable prices. Your hosting company should allow you to upgrade to larger packages as the need arises. You may find that you simply don't need a massive “corporate” skyscraper online and a more efficient structure can save you money. There's no reason to shell out fifty dollars a month just to receive the same traffic and utilize the services that a ten dollar per month package would produce. *Never pay more than 10.00 per month for your hosting! *Your hosting company should offer convenient upgrades in case your web site grows faster than you expect.
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