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- Free or Cheap web hosting for your website
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After you have spent some time and creativity on designing your personal web site now it’s time to publish it on the World Wide Web for all to see it.
When coming to web hosting, many face the dilemma of choosing between free or paid web hosting.
Although the costs associated with paid web hosting is rather small, it’s still money. Read more... - Benefits of professional web site design
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Probably you know someone who has created a web site all by himself or herself. So if they can do it why use a professional at all? Can't you create your own business or organization's web site in your spare time and without the services of a professional web site designer? The answer is probably, yes. But following are some reasons why it may not be a wise idea for you.
Many non-professionals use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) web page creating software. While this kind of software is nice in that it's similar to working with a word processing program, many of these programs don't write "valid" HTML code. The problem with invalid HTML code is that while the page may look fine on some browsers (Internet Explorer, Netscape, etc.), it may not look even acceptably good on some other browsers or even on different versions of the same browser. Read more... - Is Free Web Hosting Actually Free
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I want to yell at someone or give 'em a good poke in the nose for this! How could they do this to me? What gives them the right to blow off my best customers, to rob me of potential business and make my clients angry at me? How dare they do this!! I'm just fuming and ready to explode! Don't get too close to me right now!
Why I oughtta . . . what? Complain because a free service isn't available? Threaten to sue them for having troubles of their own? Why don't they have backup servers? Well, I guess it's possible that *I* could at least provide a secondary free service to cover my assets. Those clients that planned to spend an hour of their valuable time to chat with me in the first place. Maybe I should have prepared for the worst so I don't have to go apologize to everyone when the free chat services suddenly became unavailable. Read more... - Hidden Perils of Low Cost Web Hosting
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Some folks classify low cost web hosting on the same level as free web hosting and while this may seem a little harsh, there are certain factors one needs to be very careful about when going for low cost web hosts. One of these is downtime. There is really no point in spending so much time and money constructing a good site and then ending up in a situation where people cannot access your site. So when choosing your web host from the thousands of low cost web hosts out there, there are a few things you should do to ensure that downtime does not kill your business as you use a low cost web host. Read more...
| In Search Of A Web Hosting Company - Important Futures Checklist |
| Blog - Web Hosting | |||
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In the market for someone to host your site? Here are a few questions to ask regarding potential web hosting companies. What type of customer/technical support does the hosting company offer? I suggest you try to find a company that offers 24/7 tech support. You probably know by now (and if you don't, you'll soon discover), web site owners tend to keep odd hours. If you're working on your site at 2am and run into a problem, you don't want to wait until 9am the next day to get it fixed. Make sure the company has a detailed FAQ page or online manual so you can get answers to some common questions immediately. I prefer companies that offer a toll-free number as well in order to avoid long distance charges in the event I have a problem that can't be solved online or via email. How long has the company been in business? Who are some of the clients? Before I look for package specs, prices, etc., I like to check out the company and make sure they're reputable. Look into how long the company has been in business and, if possible, check out some of the sites hosted by that company. Many web hosting firms won't provide you with a list of clients, so if you're unable to get that information, find out how many clients they have. This should give you an idea of whether or not it's a "fly-by-night" operation or a legitimate company. What length of contract are you required to sign? Are there discounts for paying several months in advance? You'll find month-to-month contracts, quarterly contracts, and almost any other arrangement. Decide which is the best for you. I always "test the waters" before I sign any lengthy contract. Once you settle on a company you like and want to stay with, it's nice to have the option of paying several months in advance at a discounted rate should you decide to do so. How much will it cost? Web hosting fees vary greatly. For the most part, though, you get what you pay for - just like anything else in life. Companies that charge $2.95/month usually don't offer everything a company that charges $24.95/month does. I believe you can find a high-quality host and a decent plan between $15.00 - $35.00 per month. How much data transfer per month is allowed? How much extra is charged if you go over that amount? It's common to see 1-3 GB limits with additional amounts available for purchase at $x amount/GB. That amount should be suitable for sites just starting out; in fact, it's adequate for many established sites. A word of caution: you may think "unlimited data transfer" is the best option, but that's not always the case. In reality, it's usually not truly unlimited and if you share a server with a site with super-high traffic, it could overload the server and cause your site's performance to be affected. How much storage space is allocated for your site? 25-50 MB far exceeds the needs of many sites. In fact, I don't think I've ever used more than 15 MB; even on sites that had many image files and lots of pages. It's good if your host offers a resource meter or some other method to gauge how much storage space and data transfer you use. Are FrontPage extensions supported? If you plan on using FrontPage to design your site, make sure the host you choose supports FrontPage extensions. Is unlimited FTP access provided? FTP is a method of transferring files to your server. Shop for unlimited, 24 hour FTP access. How many email addresses are provided? Are autoresponders provided? Some plans offer numerous email addresses with their hosting packages, so you can set up This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , etc. Look for hosts that provide autoresponders as well. These are neat little programs that send a predetermined reply to any mail addressed to a specific email address. For example, let's say you want a price list sent to everyone who sends an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it - autoresponders allow you to do this. What CGI scripts are preinstalled? Can you use your own CGI scripts? Many hosts provide a few preinstalled CGI scripts such as formmail.pl. You don't have to mess with setting up file permissions, the path to Perl, etc. when the scripts are preinstalled - the hosting company has taken care of this for you. I definitely recommend finding a host that allows you to use your own CGI scripts even if you think you'll never use that feature. Installing your own CGI script can be a daunting task the first time out, but at some point in time, most web owners want or need to install a script. Is some sort of stats package included? Lots of hosts offer some type of statistics package. In my experience, it's much easier to use the package they provide rather than trying to install one yourself - not to mention it's usually less expensive as well. Whatever you do, don't fool yourself into thinking you don't really need a stats package, you do. Is a shopping cart provided? A shopping cart is another thing I much prefer my hosting company take care of for me versus doing it myself. If you plan on selling items from your site, it's worth checking into and perhaps worth paying a little extra for a plan that comes with a shopping cart. Of course there are various other questions to ask a potential web hosting company, but this list covers "the basics" for those of you taking the first steps to an online business.
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