You know first-hand that managing a business is not easy. Fortunately there are ways to help while still keeping your business up and running—one of the biggest being web hosting. The way web hosting works is this: A web host stores all the pages of your company website onto one machine so that you have the space to store all of the videos and pictures you have displayed on your website. In other words, virtual hosting allows companies to put all of their data on a server that isn’t in the office building. According to Gary Eisenstein, author of In-House vs. Outsourcing Web Hosting, those who choose web hosting services can expect a 25 to 85 percent cost savings over in-house solutions. The chart below explains why web hosting is more attractive than an in-house server to business owners:
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A web host is an important aspect of your company because it controls so much of your social media. There are free web hosting companies as well as commercial web hosts. Since web hosting is so important to your company, it is often worth the money to find a good, quality web host. Below lists a few things to look for when choosing a web host:
Top 5 Things to Look for When Choosing a Web Hosting Company
1. Disc Space/Domain Space – This will depend on whether you want to host one website or many, and whether your website will include things such as mp3 files or a collection of videos. If you have just a normal website, 50 MB should work, but if you have large files you should splurge for something with at least 100 MB of space.
2. Uptime – A web host should guarantee an uptime of at least 99%. There are many web hosts that offer refunds if the uptime falls below 99%, so do not settle for less.
3. Bandwidth – According to Christopher Heng, writer of “How to Choose a Web Host,” most new sites use less than 3 GB of bandwidth per month, so this is a good place to start. Once your site gets more popular and drives more traffic, you may need more GBs, so also check to see how much the web host charges you if you need to use more than your allotted bandwidth. It is a good idea to start small first since you never know when your site will become more popular or by how much.
4. Control Panel – This is the place where you add or delete accounts, view visitor statistics, and make any changes to your website. Many times there will be a demonstration you can try before purchasing a web host, so make sure you feel it is easy to use.
5. Phone Support – Most web hosting will offer support, but it is not always a service where you can call and ask a question. If you ever have a problem, it will most likely be with your computer, so having someone you can speak to directly on your mobile phone will be extremely helpful.
Web Hosting Terms to Know
One of the most confusing things about choosing a web host is understanding all of the jargon that goes along with it. Here are a few keywords to help make sure you have all the tools to pick the right web host:
- Uptime – This refers to the time when the web host is functional.
- Bandwidth – Simple put, bandwidth tells you how much information can be transferred over a connection. In other words, how much can be transmitted from your site to visitors.
- In-house hosting – This is the opposite of web hosting. With in-house hosting, the company manages a server to hold all company data in the office.
Web Hosting Quick Tips and Prices
- Many who have gone with web hosts that promoted unlimited bandwidth still end up getting charged. Often times these web hosts think they can offer unlimited bandwidth, but they are the ones paying for the bandwidth. If you happen to go over because your site is so popular, someone has to pay, and it isn’t going to be your web host!
- Most web hosts only cost $4.00 to $12.00 per month. The difference in price occurs because of the different features listed above, so evaluate your company’s website and pick the features that best fit your business.
Have you had a good experience when working with web hosting? Let us know your experiences in the comments!
Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from social media to web design. She writes for an online resource that gives advice to small businesses and entrepreneurs for the leading business directory, Business.com.
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Thanks for the comparison. I could learn about web hosting and would consider this information when it comes to choosing web hosting service.
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you just said all of it but i think checking to see if they have one click installation scripts for easy installation is a necessity.
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When choosing a web hosting company look for one that has a user-friendly control panel. You want a control panel that makes things simple when it comes to handling your files, configuring security, stat checking, observing web traffic amount, transferring domains, and an easy to use file editor. If the control panel is difficult to use or does not have any good features, then look for a different host company.
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bodHOST, established in 1999, was one of the pioneers in web hosting in the U.S., and today manages almost 2 million domains worldwide, and offers a wide range of hosting solutions, both Cloud based (eNlight, VMware, and Hyper-V platforms), as well as traditional solutions like Dedicated Servers, Virtual Private Servers, Shared Servers, Server Mirroring Solutions, Load Balancing Servers and shared hosting services to businesses, professionals, and individuals. bodHOST continuously innovates in technology, and its eNlight Cloud provides auto-scaling for true pay-per-consume model unique in the industry at this moment. The company’s latest foray is in the South American market with the establishment of a presence in Santiago, Chile. The company has state-of-the-art data centers in Chicago & Montreal.
W Why bodHOST???
The difference is eNlight! bodHOST is not the only company offering state-of-the-art Cloud Hosting. However, we are currently unique in offering hands-off auto-scaling of virtual machine resources that is simply automatic, and requires neither complicated APIs, nor costly human intervention.
The difference is our true utility billing model. The electricity company does not require you to intervene with them to make them supply less power to your facility when you switch off lights – it happens automatically. bodHOST provides the exact same “pay-per-consume” model charged by the minute. Our proprietary eNlight software automatically detects load and resource requirement of your applications, to optimize your consumption – so that you get billed for exactly what you really consume.
The difference is our software modernization services to assist you migrate your legacy software to the Cloud. We utilize the Model Driven Architecture (MDA) standard established by the Object Management Group (OMG) and use automated methodologies for reverse engineering your legacy code and forward engineering it to the Cloud.
The difference is the cross-continental disaster recovery security that we offer. Your North American assets can be replicated in distant Europe, far enough to be shielded from most foreseeable disasters occurring in the United States or Canada. As an additional layer of protection, the same assets could also be replicated in India. The choice is yours.
So why choose bodHOST?
Perhaps “why not?” is the more difficult question to answer!
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