Understanding Hosting Fundamentals
If you are serious about your business you will need to have your own
website. Having control over this site is important. You need access
to the site at any time and the ability to upload any form of content.
One way to achieve this is by opening up your own hosting account.
Remember with a free website you have no control over how long it
will be hosted for. You can easily wake up one morning and the site is
gone, along with all your hard work!
Hosting can be confusing so to help you understand why you need
hosting I will try to explain the concept of hosting fundamentals.
Every webpage or blog has pages full of content including text,
images and videos. For people to access these pages the entire site
has to be accessible. This is done by purchasing a domain name
and then hosting the name on the internet.
The hosting portion is done by a hosting company. For a fee they will
allow you to upload your content and make it viewable for visitors.
Hopefully you now understand why you need hosting. It allows you
to have secure web pages on line and gives you control over how
your site looks and what type of content you place on it.
Choosing Your Web Host
Of course, there are plenty of hosting companies to choose from. To
help you narrow your choices down take the following points into
consideration. You will then be able to make a wise hosting decision.
- Is this a personal or business site?
- Do you have a budget for hosting?
- How big do you plan or growing your website?
- Do they offer cPanel?
- Are you uploading lots of images?
- Will you require a shopping cart and payment method?
- Do you plan on installing a forum?
- If running a business will you need to set up an affiliate
program?
- What type of security does your site require?
- Does the hosting company offer website templates?
- Will your account allow for growth or upgrading if and when
you require more space?
- Is there a support desk and an online customer service system?
As well as thinking about what features you want for your site you
need to think about how much work you are prepared to do if things
go wrong! Does the hosting company offer free support or will they
charge you extra to go into your account and fix something?
Each web hosting company offers different packages and features.
Be sure to check each one at and make comparisons before
making your final decision.
