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| Web Hosting- What Do I Need? |
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| If you
are going to put up a relatively simple site, with basic HTML
pages only, then just about any Web Host can provide you with the
features you need. More sophisticated Web sites will require more
advanced features. To make it easier for you, most reputable Web Hosts have a list of features available to you somewhere on their site. However, if you don't know what all that techie gobble-de-gook means, you won't be able to make informed decisions. So let's take a look at the most common features you will need to understand: Bandwidth Every time a visitor loads a web page in their browser, the server computer uses some of its resources to send the page (graphics, text, etc) to the viewer's computer so they can see it. That transmission is called the bandwidth. The more visitors you get, the more of that available bandwidth is used up. Every file that gets loaded into a visitor's browser adds to the total amount of "bytes transferred." For example, if you have a 50 KB Web page, and you get 1,000 visitors who view that page once, then you have transferred 50,000 kb (50 Megabytes). This adds up very quickly when you have a Web site with many pages and lots of file content. Every file that gets transferred adds to the final total ... graphics, html, java applets, the works. So, it is very important to get the highest amount of bandwidth you can for your money, especially if you plan for growth (and who doesn't?). When you are looking at a prospective Web Host try to find one with "unlimited traffic" or "unlimited bandwidth." NOTE: Be sure to read the fine print regarding bandwidth. Most Web Hosts who claim to offer unlimited bandwidth, unlimited traffic or unlimited hits, have restrictions that you should be aware of. Many Web Hosts will give you a set amount of available bandwidth your visitors can use in one month. For example, you might be allowed 8 Gigabytes of files transferred. Then you'll be charged extra for each Gigabyte of bandwidth over the pre-set maximum that you use. This can lead to some nasty surprises, since you have no control over how many visitors come to your site. Storage Space Web Hosting companies assign you a certain amount of space with your account. Most hosts will provide about 25MB of space, so if you have a basic Web site you should not be overly concerned about the amount of space allocated. Most Hosting companies provide statistics logs you can use to track your Web site's traffic. Unfortunately, these tend to grow at an alarming rate and can eat up available space very quickly. Try to find a host that does not include access logs in its available space calculations. Technical Support Another important element of choosing a Web Host is the level of support. How many hours a day are technical support staff available? How quickly do they respond? Find out in which formats the company offers tech support (eg. phone, fax, email, etc.). If you need a higher level of support you can expect to pay more. People are more expensive than computers; however, you may find the ability to get fast support well worth the additional fees. Scripting If you plan on running ASP or PHP scripts or CGI, then you need to find a host who will set up your account with the necessary infrastructure. ASP usually requires a Windows NT Server, while PHP requires a Linux or Unix Server. In order to process scripts, servers require special programs to interpret the script commands, and these must be installed on the server. CGI (Common Gateway Interface) programs require that a special 'CGI-Bin' folder be installed on the server and not all Web Hosts support the use of CGI scripts. You should pay attention to these considerations, especially if you want to support database-driven or heavily scripted sites. E-commerce If you are planning on taking online orders or credit card numbers over the Web, you do not necessarily need a Secure Server, depending on the shopping cart solution you choose. If you want to host the cart on your server, it MUST be secure. EZ-Powercart is hosted for you on our own secure server so you don't have to worry about it. Your buy buttons link the customer to our secure server to process the payment and credit card information. This solution is by far easier and less expensive than hosting the cart yourself.
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