When it comes to setting up a new website, an online entrepreneur would have multiple options open to him with regard to each aspect of his website. One of the most important aspects that the online entrepreneur would have to consider would be web hosting. The choice of web hosting services depends directly on the platform that the website is going to be constructed on. For example, these days the majority of people looking to set up a website tend to do so over the cPanel platform, which means looking for a web hosting service provider that can provide cPanel web hosting. So, the big question is why people go for the cPanel platform over other options. Here are some reasons for this.

1. cPanel platform and cPanel hosting is based on Linux:

Most experienced designers, programmers and online entrepreneurs would tell you that Linux affords them greater freedom and flexibility when compared to other operating systems. If you are also a person who prefers Linux over other operating systems then cPanel hosting is ideal for you. With cPanel hosting, your Linux operating system would automatically configure your server.

2. The user friendly nature of the cPanel platform:

Another very important aspect of cPanel platform and cPanel web hosting is that they are very user friendly. In fact, even a person who has no previous experience in website hosting can operate various systems of a website through cPanel hosting. As is obvious, this is especially useful for online entrepreneurs who are new to the industry and, hence, are still learning the ropes. Moreover, if the technical aspect of website hosting can be handled easily then this would leave you with the freedom to focus on making your business grow through innovative techniques for marketing and operations.

3. Full range of features and support:

The cPanel platform and cPanel web hosting usually come with the full range of features and support software. This means that the system, once installed, can be extremely helpful in managing and modifying the website in question. You can handle everything from initial configuration for the website to creating website backup files and modifying the structure of the website to just changing the content on it.

The cPanel platform is usually considered in conjunction with cPanel hosting services because the latter has a major effect on the former’s effectiveness with regard to the success of the website. This is why it becomes especially important for an online entrepreneur to make sure that the cPanel hosting service provider that he chooses is up to the mark. Taking every precaution to ensure that your cPanel web hosting service provider is absolutely of high quality will go a long way in helping your business reach the heights that you expect from it. Try to look for recommendations from people around you or even check reviews of various cPanel web hosting service providers on the internet.

Today, cloud hosting has become predominant in the field of web hosting. Web masters have been desperately waiting for a cost effective method specially for dedicated hosting. Windows, the cloud has helped them in this regard to a great extent. The most outstanding aspect is that the server of cloud hosting is not limited to a single server unlike the regular server and as a result zero down is now a reality. You can add additional processors and memory instantaneous and then quickly reboot, you can clone a cloud server and save it to another form of storage or data center for redundancy. All this can be done with a right click of the mouse and a few menu options. Moreover, it assures reliable online presence. Hosting of better quality at with much more flexibility and easier management is the fundamental advantage of cloud hosting. Now there are many software companies that offer cost-effective private servers. The customers are assured of all advantages of a dedicated hosting with greater flexibility and a more total cost of ownership. Hence, now it is imperative for all users who want to enjoy the benefits of dedicated hosting with greater flexibility, better cost of ownership and more redundancy to switch over to windows, the cloud.

One should have the dedicated servers so as to ensure total control over the hosting. It can be either a Microsoft dedicated server or a Linux dedicated server. The choice depends on the specific requirements of the user. However, reliable dedicated servers are quite necessary to achieve a stable online presence. It can boost the performance also. In spite of paying heavy price, one can’t expect the best service from all providers of dedicated hosting. Hence making the correct choice of web hosting company is very significant. The best provider can offer a comprehensive solution for custom-configured dedicated hosting. They will meet all requirements of the customer such as firewalls, switches, all other hard wares in addition to the Linux dedicated server or Microsoft dedicated server.

The best dedicated server solutions will include dedicated servers that are tailored to meet the specific needs of the customer. The highly skilled technical staff of the service provider will be able to detect and repair the faults in advance so that the operation will be unaffected. Without a huge investment and heavy staff, the user can enjoy abundant processing power, bandwidth and storage thanks to cloud computing. This will enable him for proper utilization of his resources to improve his business and customer-base in the proper way. The best dedicated server plans ensure security, power and flexibility that are vital for success.

If I only had a nickel for every time someone asked me…

"What is Web Hosting and Why Am I Being Charged For It?"

I’ll try to stick to a basic explanation without getting too technical and getting into a discussion about domain names registration, ip addresses, and so on. I don’t like blurting out web development jargon if I don’t have to.

According to Wikipedia,

"A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their own website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own or lease for use by their clients as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center."

I read that definition and it’s clear as crystal to me, but it may be as clear as mud to you, so I’ll try to offer another explanation.

Let’s imagine a scenario.

You hire a web designer to create a website for your small business or organization. The designer might design the look and feel of the website in a graphic program on his personal computer. The images that were created are files that can range from several kilobytes to megabytes.

Then you give him a CD with photographs of your business partners, clients, samples of work for him to add to the website. Those pictures are also files that can range from several kilobytes to megabytes.

You also provide many documents with text and content that you would like to have on the website. You guessed it, these files also can range from several kilobytes to megabytes.

The web designer also has to code and program pages that internet browsers can read in languages such as HTML, PHP, RUBY, Flash, etc.

All of these images, content, and other files take up space on a computer and they have to be stored somewhere.

Now, you could store them on your personal computer. However, if you did that, nobody would be able to see them because they would not be accessible to the World Wide Web. And if you did make it accessible to the World Wide Web from your personal computer you would run the risk of hackers accessing your computer and your website would be inaccessible on the internet any time you turned off your computer.

This is where a Web Host comes in. As mentioned above, a Web Host provides space on their computers, or servers, where you can store your files and make them accessible to the World Wide Web.

So, paying for web hosting is similar to paying rent for your business address. A web host gives your website a specific address on their computer and your website is live as long as you pay for your space.

I hope you now have a better understanding of what web hosting is and why your web developer is charging you for it. It’s not scam…it’s not just a techies way of pinching a few bucks out of you.

If you’re setting up an online business choosing the right web hosting is an important decision. Your website is your business and having a site that looks nice and stays live 24 hours a day, 7 days a week is critical. You also want a host that provides good technical support and information for the kind of site you’re going to run. Here are three critical steps to choosing the right host:

Static or Blog?

There are two kinds of websites:

Static sites are sites that are coded using HTML and CSS, which are two languages that build the sites you see online. These sites stay the same all the time. They don’t change as you interact with them (except to send you along to links you click on).

Static sites tend to load quickly and serve as a stable website with set menus and strong performance. Beginners get a good feel for the basics of HTML, CSS, and websites when they start with a static site.

Blogs or other database-driven sites, on the other hand, load dynamically. This means that the server gets information from the visitor’s web browser and loads up the website depending on the information it gets. PHP is one of the most popular languages for creating dynamic websites. It essentially writes the HTML and CSS for the site as the site is loading in your browser. Popular blogging platforms like WordPress are dynamic, database driven platforms.

Editing tends to be very easy on these sites. They are sometimes harder to optimize for an online business, however, since they were originally designed for blogging.

Your Site Builder

How much help will you need building your site? Everyone considering an online business should eventually become familiar with the very basics of HTML and CSS, but at first all of that may seem overwhelming. What kind of help will you need?

Some hosts offer a site building tool with their packages. This can be a real help if you’re just getting started. Others offer a 1-click install for WordPress. If you’ve chosen to use a blog platform, this install will get you up and running quickly. Most hosts don’t offer support on changing your WordPress theme or configuring your site, but you can usually find support online.

If you’re just getting started and won’t be using a software like Dreamweaver or learning to hand code, choose a host that offers a site builder in their package.

Online Business Support

You’re serious about starting a business — is your host? Some hosts simply provide space for you to store your site. Others provide documentation on how to build your website as well as how to turn it into a business.

If you’re serious about getting started online, choosing a hosting package with business support can make the difference between success and failure. Consider a host that will help you discover how to organize, build, and promote a successful website.

If you decide to go with inexpensive hosting, expect that you’ll get technical support for problems and not much else. Be prepared to seek resources and information on how to structure your site and promote it on your own.

Many people are seeking cpanel web hosting sites. These are unix based control panels. They provide graphical interfacing. They also have automated tools that make the process much simpler. It is a three tier structure that also allows for third party software vendors. This is a desired ways to provide hosting and cpanel offers these coveted features. There are many sites that offer c panel web hosting and one of them can meet your needs.

Hub offers this kind of service. They are offered for less than four dollars. It is a top variety hosting site and has great customer service. If you are not satisfied then you can get your money back as long as you notify them within the first thirty days. If you need paypal they are also compatible with this service and can offer it as well. If you need unlimited bandwidth and disc space they also have this.

Hostgator has this kind of hosting service as well and is the most recognized name in hosting. It is a little more expensive than hub at less than six dollars a month. They also have a money back guarantee if you are not satisfied in the first thirty days. If you prefer to pay on a monthly basis they will let you pay monthly as well. Many of the hosting sites that have cpanel make you pay yearly but hostgator lets you pay monthly.

Inmotion is another web hosting site that specializes in cpanel hosting. If you have a business that you need to have hosting for this is the preferred site for your business needs. It is offered at under six dollars a month which is about average. It is certified by the Better Business Bureau and has a superior reputation.

Fat cow web hosting also offers cpanel hosting and is known for its green status. It is five dollars a month. It has all the quality features as the other sites but they are interested in the environment and going green. They offer the vdeck as one of their features and have unlimited bandwidth and disc space.

Justhost.com web hosting offers this kind of control panel which is a desired feature. It is very low priced at under four dollars a month. It is currently the fastest growing hosting site and has superb speeds. It comes with a free google credit which can be useful when promoting your site. The combination of low price, free credits, fast speeds makes this great value.

If you want this kind of hosting you can get it from these sites as well as many others. It is a necessity to properly promote your site and these control panels offer this service at its best. It is offered with many hosting sites. You just have to review the features and make sure it has cpanel and other features that you desire.

There are many affordable web hosting services around and every hosting service promises you the moon. Customers often get confused with the offers and pick up the first offer that looks attractive and then repent later. Here is a quick guide that will help you choose the best possible affordable hosting service:

Guaranteed uptime: Quality web hosting services guarantee 99%+ uptime and offer refunds if the uptime falls below the promised percentage. Though guarantees largely remain on paper and are not enforced, they however reassure the buyer that the web host is sure of his servers and capabilities.

Bandwidth: "Unlimited bandwidth" is a loaded term with a lot of strings attached to it. So, when you are buying an attractive package that offers you unlimited bandwidth, take a close look at the riders. Chances are that you will find "unlimited" defined somewhere in the agreement. Also check with your web hosting service how bandwidth will be treated when your traffic increases over time.

Drive space: How much space do you actually need? If you’re a small business you can do with even 10 MB. So, don’t get taken in by offers that promise you 500 MB space at 50% off – chances are that you don’t need all this drive space.

Support: Your web hosting company must provide 24/7 technical and customer support. The support should be provided online as well as over telephone. Call the hosting service on weekends and at irregular hours to figure out if they’re truly 24/7. Another thing to check for is whether the host’s technical employees knows what they are talking about or are they actually customer support executives who are hired to pass messages.

Languages: Your web host must allow installation of all major programming languages like PHP, ASP, Perl, MySQL, and more. You should be in a position to install these languages without obtaining prior approval.

E-commerce tools: All quality web hosting provide their customers with shopping carts and SSL (Secured Socket Layer) certificates and are affiliated with payment gateways.

Email and customer service tools: Your host should have in-built POP3 and mail forwarding capabilities. He must also provide autoresponders.

Easy Control Panel: All reputed and affordable web hosting services feature an intuitive C-Panel (Control Panel). If you are looking at a control panel that will take days to lean, move on to another host.

Pricing and payment plans: Reputed hosts price their packs reasonably. They also offer many payment options like quarterly, monthly, annual, etc.

This checklist will help you choose a great affordable web hosting company. Good luck.

People are always thrilled at the thought of running their own websites. Previously, this was seen as a tough and extremely painstaking process. Thanks to rapid strides of the technology monster, that it has become a child’s task now. Whenever somebody wants a website, there are two main things that need to be considered.

Type of Web hosting

Web hosting is the unique space that a customer buys from a service provider, who offers many types of web hosting. Based on the need, requirements and demands the customer has to choose the right kind of hosting

Domain name

This refers to the site name which is unique for every particular site. This name will point to the particular web hosting account.

Both these facilities come with a specific charge, but there are some that offer free domain names while opting for their web hosting service. However, not every company that offers this is reliable, so it is best to get sufficient details about them before going in for their service. The first step in starting website is to go for the best web hosting service.

VPS hosting

This is one of the most popular web hosting services. VPS refers to Virtual Private Server, which is actually a virtual machine. This indicates that VP server in a VPS hosting is equivalent to a separate physical computer that is dedicated to the customer’s needs. It has the total and complete privacy of that of dedicated server even though many other similar sites are sharing the space within the same server.

A Virtual machine can be configured to run as a server machine even when it is running on the same software as that of the other users in the same machine. One major aspect of this type of VPS hosting is that each individual server can enjoy its own independency, which also means that they can be rebooted without affecting the other servers on the machine. They can also have their own operating system, irrespective of what the others have.

In VPS hosting, there is a hypervisor that allocates a share of the available resources of the server to the guest operating systems on a particular server. It is assigned with the role of creating, releasing and managing the resources of these guest operating systems.

Why to go in for VPS hosting?

This type of hosting is proving to be a boon to many businesses due to the package of benefits that it presents. They are as follows,

- Closes the gap between the Shared and dedicated hosting services
- Independence from other customers on the same server
- Comparatively lower costs than the dedicated servers
- Ability of customers to install any kind of software on their own, individual OS( which is also not dependent)
- Suited to serve the needs of small websites
- Speed, access to and availability of the site are not a problem at all

One prominent disadvantage would be the restrictions in RAM space, disk space and processor time which are directly related to the many users sharing the same server. Also it is the entire responsibility of the customer to take care of their own server as the web hosting company that offers VPS hosting will not interfere with the maintenance. It is like ‘Your place is Your responsibility’.

It is not mandatory for all websites to go in for this VPS hosting as some may need specific facilities that are unavailable with this type of hosting. So it is all left to the discretion of the customers to decide on the right type of hosting after examining all the available options.

Competition exists in almost every field. The world of web hosting is no different. There are tons of service providers out there willing to provide their customers with an array of services at affordable costs and with interesting features. But do all these service providers cater to the needs of customers all the time? Not really. Small to medium enterprises are always after those web hosting plans that provide their websites with enough room to grow and yet affordable to purchase.

Companies that are new in the business have to make an attempt to choose a hosting plan that allows their brand new website to get a good entry into the world of internet. But before the businesses get down to choose a web host they will need to understand what web hosting is and how it can benefit their businesses. Web hosting are basically those services that are directed towards providing a platform for websites to stay "alive" on the World Wide Web. Having enough knowledge on subject matters like website building can also help these companies grow faster.

It is not entirely tough to build website these days as there are many tools available online to help you with your task. However, the challenge comes when you need your website to remain active and stay ahead in the competition. This is where the need of web hosting arises. It is really important for all businesses to look for affordable hosting plans because they need them to propel their online businesses forward, whilst keeping their budget low. The plans that are within the budget and that are reliable can make a lot of difference to your business and hence they need to chosen wisely after a long consideration.

There is absolutely no dearth of companies that offer affordable hosting plans. But before you set your sights on them you need to find out the difference between these plans and cheap plans. It has been seen time and again that cheap plans are unreliable and can often create a lot of problems to your websites. Also, their customer support are usually found wanting. To avoid the mistake of choosing these hosting companies, you’ll need to read best hosting reviews. Thankfully, there are many websites that are dedicated to providing information related to this. You need to seek information through them. You can even talk to their previous customers and get to know the inputs from them.

When it comes to getting your website files uploaded to your website hosting service or server, I’ve found that there are basically three ways to get the job done.

First, by doing a little research, most of the time you will be told to use an FTP program. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, and from my understanding, it’s pretty much the standard for uploading files. Personally, I’ve never had much success with it. But luckily, I’ve never had more than a dozen or two of files to upload, so searching out and using a more simple method wasn’t a problem.

I’m guessing that most small business owners and marketers will probably fall into this category as well and should be able to use the much easier methods I’m describing here without much of a learning curve.

OK, the second way to upload files, that is, if you’re using "C-Panel" as the main control module for your hosting service, is to use the built-in "file uploader." The Icon or link will usually be located at the top of the control panel page and is easy to find and use. Just look for and click the link that says "Upload." It will then take you to a page where you can choose "Browse" to search on your computer for the files you want to upload.

When you find your files, all you have to do is click on each one, then choose open. This will then automatically start the uploading process to the location that you started from in your hosting account.

This works pretty good as far as saving time and being simple to use, except for one small problem. If you have multiple folders with many files in each one that you plan to upload, you’ll first have to create an exact copy of each folder on your hosting service. Then, open each folder one at a time, and upload the corresponding files from your computer to that particular folder.

This really isn’t too bad. I’ve done it many times, but it does get time consuming if you have lots of files in these folders to upload. For example, say you purchase the resale rights to a particular video series or ebook, and you’re setting up the website for it. You’ll most likely have a folder for images, another for the sales page, and maybe another for the squeeze page. So, in this situation, you’ll need to create an exact copy of each one. So, it can turn into a lot of extra work.

The third way to upload your files without using an FTP program is by using "Compressed Folders." This really has got to be the quickest and easiest way of all time. Here’s what you do: Go to the folder where all your website files are located. Next, press the "ctrl key" and left click on all the files you want to upload.

Once you’ve highlighted the files you want to upload, right click on your mouse and choose "send to," then select "Compressed (zipped) Folder." This will save all the files you highlighted to a compressed folder in any other folder you choose. Just give it a name you’ll remember, and click enter.

Now, go back to the C-Plane control in your hosting service to the directory to you want the files uploaded to, and click on "Upload." When the uploader page opens, choose "Browse," search your computer for the compressed folder you just created, click on it and choose "open" and wait for the uploading process to start.

When the uploading is complete, highlight the zip file and click "unzip" at the top of the control panel in your hosting service. The unzip software program will start, and all you need to do is follow the directions given. When finished, all your files and folders will be neatly uploaded and in place. As long as you have the Home page of your site named as "Index.htm" or "home.htm," your site should now be visible for the world to see.

So, there you have it. By uploading all your website files to your hosting service using compressed zip files, then extracting them, you can save yourself much time and aggravation and get your website online quickly and easily.

After the Amazon EC2 crisis last year many were left with mixed feelings about the reliability of cloud hosting. Amazon has since learned what exactly happened and has and will continue to work on preventative measures to ensure there is not a second occurrence. The truth of it all is that many, while perfectly comfortable with cloud storage, still have mixed feelings about cloud hosting. The main reason for that is it is often not explained well in articles that tend to skip around from one thing to the next. So let’s focus on the basics of cloud hosting, the role it has already played, and will continue to play into the future.

Cloud hosting has some things in common with shared hosting but there are also some significant differences. Many authors are still in the dark ages when shared web hosting services used only one server for all their clients. When something happened to that server or when their traffic spiked, everyone’s sites went down. That has not been the case for some time. The advanced technology of web hosts includes load balancing technology, much like cloud hosting, where your website is available on multi-servers so if one should go down your site will still be live on another server. This allows most reliable web hosts to boast a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Also, both shared and cloud hosting are cost effective; however, you get much more for your money and have more control with cloud hosting as you only pay for what you use.

What exactly is cloud hosting? It is a type of internet hosting where the client leases virtualized, dynamically scalable infrastructure on a pay as you go basis accessed from web browsers, mobile phones and apps. Users usually have the choice of what operating system (OS) they use as well as being a "virtual server" environment in which resources can be quickly and easily added. Cloud hosting uses a large pooled network of servers that are off-site in remote data centers. When looking for a cloud service provider it is important to ensure they have a service level agreement (SLA), some type of back up available and disaster recovery protection.

What does cloud hosting offer?

• Can scale up as you need it, almost instantly and if your traffic slows down you can scale down
• You only pay for what you use (just like the way an electric meter works)
• You can remotely access a cloud server whenever you need it and if you decide you no longer need it, you can disconnect
• So, to re-focus we have: scalability, instant access and metered billing to save you money
• Each website is mirrored to ensure consistent performance regardless of the number of visitors you have on your site
• With cloud hosting the uptime goes up to 100% due to its automatic scalability
• Cloud hosting gives you many of the advantages of dedicated hosting (owning your own server) without the cost involved
• When you need additional services you simply increase your bandwidth allotment on your own

You will find your options for cloud hosting at this point a tad limited; however, as more and more people turn to the cloud for their online solutions, more competitors will appear which will drive the price down. Cloud computing technology has been around awhile, but recently it’s the latest buzz. Everywhere you look there’s an article on cloud computing and it can be overwhelming. The main points to remember about cloud hosting are: scalability, instant access, you can increase or decrease services from your plan at any time, and metered billing where you pay as you go.

Cloud computing will only accelerate in 2012. It is not just a trend, it is here to stay and evolve towards maximum performance. Companies will be focused on cost-effective considerations during cloud implementations. CSP’s will tailor their skills to get the most performance, scalability and security in place so consumers can be assured their getting the most practical and efficient hosting solution available with the cloud. Cloud hosting is the future. It would be in your best interest to further examine it as a potential online solution for your online business.