Web site hosting
This page is part of Ron Mertens' web page guides.
Your web site host is the company that 'rents' you the web-site server. You usually pay them a monthly fee (although there
are also free hosting services) and you'll get some disc space, and traffic allowance. You'll connect your domain name, upload
some web pages, and you're ready to go.
Hosting types (free,managed,dedicated)
There are three main types of Hosting services - free, managed and dedicated.
Free hosting means that your web host is a free service. Usually they'll give you a limited set of tools and services (small
hard disc space, low traffic allowance, etc.), and might place ads on your web site. They try to earn money from the ads, and maybe
from those happy users who later upgrade to their 'premium' web hosting that costs money. Yahoo's Geocities service
was probably the first free web hosting service, and they are still available. If you are looking to just write a blog or a simple
home page, there are some services that will do it for free, and are quite good. Blogger is one example - a blogging service (owned by Google).
Managed (or shared) web hosting means that you'll get a 'virtual' server of your own. You get a certain amount of disc space and traffic and features, and you have a lot
of control over your hosting environment. The cost is very low (A very good service can be around 10$ monthly). The downside is that it's not your
own server. You can't install software, or access it like a normal computer - you do it all via a web 'control-panel' which has a limited set of available options.
Managed hosting is a great way to have your web site ready, and I recommend this. I'm using managed hosting, with over 7 web sites on the same account. I've done some
research, and can heartily recommend HostGator. They
have great support, good service and good pricing. I personally use their service for my hosting.
Dedicated hosting means that you'll get your own server to play with... You get a large hard-disc, lot's of traffic allowance, and the ability
to install software and do whatever you wish on your server. There are many players in this field. For TripTouch we're using
LiquidWeb. So far the
experience with them is good - they have good support and rather good prices.
What to look for in your managed host
There are lot's of things you should look for, the important ones are -
- Reliability - extremely important... All servers will have some down time, but some hosting are more reliable then others
- OS - Some servers have Microsoft software, some come with Linux. Linux usually means cheaper hosting, and more tools and
packages available open source. Most managed hosting will have Linux.
- Hard disc space - This is easy. How many MBytes/GBytes of space will you get? Your needs depends on your application. If you just
want a personal page, and maybe a blog, then probably 100-200Mbytes is enough. If you want to host pictures (or even videos!) then this
can quickly climb to a few GBytes.
- Traffic - How much traffic will you get? The more the better.
- Support - How good is your hosting support? This is something you want to check before you sign up. You can try e-mailing or calling
your host, and see how fast they response.
- Tools - what kind of tools are offered? Most managed hosting will use the same 'Control-Panel' application. You're bound to get some statistics package.
Some hosting will also enable you to easily install some scripts (blogs, mailing lists, forums, etc.)
- Subdomains - Some hosting allow you to have a number of sub domains on the same account. Basically it means that you can have
several domain names, each with a control panel. All is linked to same account, and you'll pay once. I have over 7 running web pages (domains) on my
single HostGator account (Which allow unlimited sub domains!).
So how do I know which host to use?
It's not easy, I'll tell you. It took me a lot of time to decide on my hosting. There are web sites that give
ratings and reviews. FindMyHost is one such site. There is also the
excellent Web Hosting Talk which is
a forum about hosting.
If you want to save time, and you trust me, then I suggest you give HostGator a try. This is the hosting
I personally use. And yes, I'm an affiliate, so if you click on the link and order I get some money, but I do it because I believe they are good.
Summary
Hosting is a difficult decision... But technically, you need to -
- Decide whether you want free, managed or dedicated.
- If you want a managed service (which is most likely), then I suggest HostGator for good price, service and support.
- Purchase the hosting. Usually you pay for half a year in advance.
- Get the NameServer address, and give it to your domain registrar.
- Wait a few hours, and your server is ready!
What's next?
Writing your own web page - Server side vs Client side.