Introduction
Web site hosting services offer the hardware, software, and telecommunications connections necessary to connect any Web site to the Internet.
Figuring out where to hang your virtual Internet shingle is one of the more challenging aspects of setting up a Web site. While you can certainly do it yourself, the technical know-how required can be more than daunting. Web site hosting offers an easier alternative. But, be warned: Web site hosting options are as plentiful as the technical jargon used to describe them.
Taking the time to choose carefully can mean the difference between a functional or dysfunctional Web site. There are three basic flavors of site hosting to choose from: shared service, co-located service, and dedicated service.
<< Back to top
Shared service
Shared Web site hosting is the easiest way to get your site up and running. With it, the hosting service provides all the equipment, software, and Internet connections. All you need to do is provide the HTML files and images that make up your site.
As the name suggests, you share this equipment with many other companies. Once you sign up, you're given private access to a folder that holds all your files. The number of files the folder can actually hold depends on the amount of storage space specified in your contract. Generally, site hosting service packages max out at 100 megabytes (MB) of hard drive space, with additional space available at a premium.
Other features that you'll find with shared Web sites include one to 15 plus e-mail accounts, daily backup, and Web site reports that give you the details on your site traffic. And if you have a domain name, the service will usually help you request the changes needed so your domain name points to pages at the new location.
While the shared hosting option is quite convenient, it can be quite limiting if you don't choose carefully. You're often left having to work with the applications that the service provides. Hosting customized interactive or e-commerce applications like a searchable database or shopping cart software can be difficult if not downright impossible.
Pricing, which can range from $10 to more than $100 per month, primarily varies according to the amount of storage space and file transfer bandwidth you need. The bandwidth counts both the amount of data transferred to the Web site by you and the data transferred to the browser by your site visitors. Free hosting services are available as well and can be appropriate for companies with very limited needs.
<< Back to top
Co-located & Dedicated service
With more advanced types of hosting, your Web site resides on equipment dedicated to your company. The equipment can be provided by either you or the hosting service.
"Dedicated" service refers to when the service provides the space, equipment, and Internet connection. All you need to do is provide the files and data for your site. "Co-located" service typically refers to when a service provides the space to house the equipment and the Internet connection only. Setting up and maintaining your equipment becomes your responsibility.
You may need to go with these advanced hosting options if you find the shared options don't offer the application support or flexibility you need. For example, while you'll find that you can interface with a Microsoft Access database in a shared hosting environment, Oracle is nowhere to be found. (At least we haven't found a service that offers it.)
In addition, if your site is increasingly becoming critical to your business operations, having the fixed bandwidth can ensure that your site does not appear slow to users. With a shared server, other sites residing on the server can drive a surge in usage that in turn negatively impacts your site performance. You also get rid of the risk of server shutdown due to other user error.
Finally, if you have much more than 150 MB of files, dedicated site hosting is your best bet. The costs of a shared server can be greater than it's worth at that point.
Any way you cut it, this type of hosting is considerably more costly than shared site hosting. Even without factoring in the cost of equipment, you should expect to spend at least a few hundred dollars a month for hosting. In contrast, you can have a shared Web site for as little as $10 per month.
The amount of space you need and the expected and maximum bandwidth usage can affect your monthly rate. You can also incur additional costs for exceeding your contracted bandwidth rate.
Other features like site monitoring, backup service, and redundant power supplies can add hundreds of dollars per month to the basic service fee.
<< Back to top
Choosing a provider
The two most important factors to consider when choosing a provider are the support and the facilities.
Great customer and technical support can make or break your site hosting experience. Beyond support hours, check into availability-how long will you have to wait on the phone to get through to a person? Expertise counts, too. Will the person answering the phone actually be able to help you resolve your issue, or will you be queued up elsewhere?
When it comes to facilities, focus on how well provisioned the service is to outlast disaster. This includes power outages, cut telecom cables, floods, and fire. Like a Timex watch, you still want your site to keep on ticking no matter the calamity.
You'll also want to look into the Internet connections. Find out how many and how large a connection they have to the Internet. Also, look into how closely connected the service is to the Internet. The farther, or the more "hops", the hosting service is from the Internet, the greater the risk you run of suffering from slow-ages due to factors outside your control. No matter the company, you'll want to make sure the service has redundant connection coverage so traffic can be channeled should something like this arise.
Looking for shared site hosting? If so, take a careful look at the applications they will support or offer. If you've got developers creating custom programs for you, you'll also want to see how open the service is to supporting them.
For e-mail addresses with your domain name, check what that includes. Most often, you are given POP (Post Office Protocol) e-mail addresses. This means you can receive e-mails that are addressed to yourname@yourdomainname.com. However, if you were to send an e-mail, the address would include your service provider's domain name. You need SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) e-mail support to get yourname@yourdomainname.com to appear in the "from" line.
If you're looking for co-located hosting, your primary focus should be on the support and facilities. If you will be co-locating servers, where is the data center? What are the hours of access? What security measures are in place to ensure no outsiders fiddle around with your equipment? What opportunities are there to easily expand your setup?
Since you will be turning over the setup and maintenance of your equipment and software with dedicated hosting, it's critical to dig in. Ideally, the provider should already have customers using the same applications you use. Understanding the troubleshooting process can also help.
<< Back to top
Quick tips
Monitor your bill
As your site grows, so will your traffic. If your agreement is not set for the appropriate traffic levels, you may find yourself paying a lot more for additional bandwidth. Adjust as necessary.
Price does not rule
Make sure not to let price wholly dictate your choice of services. The better services will have quality equipment and enough servers for their customer base. The cheaper they are, the less likely it is that you're getting what each dollar is worth - and your Web site may suffer for it.
Security
When dealing with credit card numbers or other sensitive data, make sure you download them to your location with an encrypted file transfer program. There is no worse way to lose a customer than to have to call them if your site gets hacked.
Future predictions
When choosing among services, remember to factor in features you plan to add in the near future. Switching services takes a reasonable amount of effort and is not something you want to do simply for the sake of saving a few hundred dollars.
Find out about uptime guarantees
Nothing's perfect, but if you can get your host to guarantee a percentage of uptime, which is the amount of time that the service is working and available, you'll have a leg to stand on if anything does go wrong. These uptime guarantees, which should be in the high 90s, are usually included in a Service Level Agreement (SLA).
Talk to references
References should be companies with the same type of site you are considering putting up and should have been with the hosting company for at least six months. Talk to at least three for a well-rounded sense of experiences.
<< Back to top
|
