How To Select A Reliable Web Hosting Company

To conduct a successful marketing campaign on the Internet, your website must be hosted by a reliable web hosting company. Selecting the 'wrong' provider can prove very costly along the line.

Below I detail a few important aspects of the selection process based purely on my own experiences over the last six years.

Since there are thousands of hosting companies in the web hosting market, naturally during your research you will encounter hundreds of web hosting resource sites loaded with numerous and sometimes bogus reviews and recommendations, consequently your research process must be very thorough.

First and foremost do searches in the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN. Simply enter terms like "Complaints about 'Your Potential Host's Name'" 'Hosting Reviews', etc.....You will find a lot of stuff regarding your potential host. Search for 'web hosting forums'; there are numerous such forums on the web that contain all kinds of information.

If you consistently find too many complaints about your potential web hosting company.... beware!

A company that offers too many features for too little is also suspect. If they are offering huge amounts of bandwidth and disk space for a very low price, be careful. Here is why: The company will most likely be forced to host numerous websites per server, resulting in congestion and server overload. The result: Your site may be too slow and may experience lots of downtime.

Where is your web host's datacenter located?

A datacenter located in a natural disaster prone and/or a politically unstable region is undesirable. I wouldn't host my website in a Kabul, Afghanistan or Kinsasha, Congo based datacenter - these two and many others around the world are politically unstable regions. On the other hand a datacenter based in the state of California, a major earthquake zone may be undesirable, but the fact that California is more than well equipped to handle such disasters and is the world's nerve center for all that is computer, far outweighs any existing dis-advantages.

A foreign based hosting company may be too far away from your customers. It won't serve you well if your host is based in Australia and your targeted customers are based in The United States. On the contrary, if your are marketing to customers exclusively in Australia from The United States, a web hosting company in Australia would be OK. If you are marketing worldwide, your choice becomes a little bit more complicated....unless of course you are Google, Yahoo or MSN, big companies who host their websites almost everywhere worldwide. Generally, I prefer web hosting companies located in The United States.

How is your web host connected to the internet?

Your potential host's data infrastructure - regional and local is of utmost importance.

- How is your potential host connected to the Internet...Do they have multiple connections to the internet backbone, and enough bandwidth to accommodate surges in web traffic?
- What kind of computer equipment is deployed within the datacenter?
- Is the latest network security technologies incorporated?
- Are the hosting servers protected behind firewalls and intrusion monitoring software
- Is the datacenter monitored via CCTV and supervised 24/7

How fast is your web host?

Find a couple of sites that are hosted by your potential web hosting company and test how fast their pages load on your computer. You also may execute the PING and TRACEROUTE commands on these websites to determine their suitability. Executing the ping command is called pinging a website and it determines how quickly a server can receive and send back a piece of data through your connection. When you run ping it sends a small packet of data and calculates the time it takes to get a response from the server. It is executed four times by default and a small report of average, minimum, and maximum response times will be displayed. A ping output typically consists of the packet size used, the host queried, the ICMP sequence number, the time to live, and the latency. All times are given in milliseconds. A ping output indicating large values and/or lost packets consistently over a period of time ....is a red flag! Please note that if you have a bad or restrictive connection (Your ISP), the results may be skewed. Firewalls and proxy servers installed in your system or network can sometimes interfere with the ping operation. Also, some web hosting companies do not allow pinging of their servers, in which case you will get a 'Request Timed Out message'.

The Traceroute utility displays the connection [path] through the Internet between your computer and the potential web hosting company's server(s). The path between these two locations has many routers, computers and other devices along it which help move Internet information. Each movement from one device to the other is called a hop. Too many hops is cause for concern ....do several Traceroutes for comparison!

Based on my experiences with different hosting companies over the years, I regard the following Web Hosting companies as the most reliable. I am sure there are many other good hosting companies out there, but it would be unfair to comment about a company that I have never dealt with.

One my websites, TheCertificationHub.com has been hosted by Ipowerweb since 2000. There were problems at first, typical when a web hosting company is experiencing a spurt in growth. In the year 2000, they had a customer base of 15,000. Six years later this number has grown to almost 300,000 and their service level has improved tremendously over these six years. Ipowerweb is one of the best web hosting companies on the Internet. A first class hosting company which I highly recommend.

I moved my other website, ClubAfrika.com from Globat to iPowerWeb beginning April 25, 2005. With Ipowerweb I have experienced much less frequent downtimes, few email delays and failures. The customer service is superb and well coordinated as expected. The only problem we had at the beginning was their inability to transfer our database from Globat. Club Afrika is targeted at users in Africa, most of who are still on dial-up. It therefore makes no sense that these users have to wait for 5+ minutes for pages to load up. In this respect Ipowerweb has delivered. My site is no longer 'snail slow' and in spite of a few incompetent TIER 1 Techs here and there, overally I am satisfied with their service. Globat may improve in future....I suspect that they are having 'growth problems' just like Ipowerweb had when I first started hosting with them. If they do, then they might be worth considering for they offer the most 'humongous' features in the web-hosting business. But be cautious, 'Greed' almost always translates into poor website performance....some of their offerings are just too good to be true, for lack of appropriate words.

I have been hosting another website, ApondoSystems.com on Lunar Pages servers since 2000. Lunar Pages web hosting plans start at 5000MB of storage and 400GB of transfer for only $7.95. It is my opinion that Lunar Pages is a great web hosting company. Great website uptime and customer service! Very few websites require more than 1000MB of disk space (Apondo Systems has over 300 pages and I haven't even used one half of the allocated space), so if what you are looking for is quality first, Lunar pages is a good bet. If you are looking for extra databases, humongous disk space and bandwidth, then take a look at iPowerWeb which is a topnotch company too, or even Globat.

StartLogic is a relatively new web hosting company, a reseller of IPowerweb Web Hosting Services. Naturally, you will expect them to follow in the great footsteps of Ipowerweb. Being the #1 reseller of Ipowerweb, StartLogic's hosting infrastructure is most probably maintained by Ipowerweb, a large and reputable web hosting company. They offer both Windows and Unix Hosting. Due to the 'newness' of the company and the fact that I have not used their services, I cannot judge them authoritatively, but based on the comments I have seen so far, all over the Internet and by virtue of their relationship with Ipowerweb, I think this is a good low cost web hosting company.

GoDaddy currently offers one of the cheapest prices for Domain Names and Hosting Services. The pricing on packages is very competitive. With Godaddy website templates you can get a nice-looking Web site with ample storage. Reports indicate that their performance is above average. One thing you may not like is that they do not have an 800 number for Technical Support. They prefer local numbers. I think their pricing especially for Domain Names is very reasonable and is worth giving a shot. Also, if you are looking for just a handful of features, Godaddy offers very flexible packages....they even allow you to pay for your hosting services on a monthly basis! The control panel is kind of 'tight', scripting Gurus may not like some of the restrictions but I think Godaddy hosting is worth a try. We hosted AfroArticles.com briefly at GoDaddy but quickly moved it to Hostgator for one and only one reason: Godaddy does not support CRON JOBS, a server feature vital to AfroArticles.com.

Our website, AfroArticles.com is hosted at Hostgator. We were initially attracted by two things: Unlimited Databases and the option of paying monthly and not the usual year long contract. This means that if we are to disapprove of their services during our self imposed trial period, we will be able to opt out with ease. Well, we haven't because we love the friendly and professional customer service support offered by hostgator and our website has been running exceptionally well. We have yet to experience any unscheduled downtimes. If you are looking to re-sell hosting, then consider Hostgator. Although the pricing is slightly above the average in comparison to other top hosting companies, we feel that the reliability of their services, the bandwidth, storage, unlimited databases and numerous other features included with their packages are well worth it. Hostgator is a topnotch hosting company, at the same level as iPowerweb and Lunar Pages.

Read More

Cheap Web Hosting - Free Hosting Services

Finding cheap web hosting has never been easier.  Technology and bandwidth are getting less expensive every day and the cost of web hosting is going down just the same.

Many people and small business owners have hesitated going online with a website because they don’t think they can afford to do it.  They have taken a look at the large amount of money big companies are spending on their websites and hosting.  But the reality is, most companies can use a cheap web hosting provider and stay well within a budget.

One place to look to in regards to cheap web hosting is free hosting services.  You can not get any cheaper than that.  After the dot com boom free web hosting didn’t disappear they just became a bit harder to find.  There are only a few big names left in the free hosting circle such as GeoCities and Tripod.

Free hosting is good if you are just starting out and money is an issue.  The problem is it has a lot of limitations.  Most come with ads all over your site and you do not share in the revenue they may produce.  If your site was to become popular and have a lot of visitors they could suspend your site because of to much usage or force you to sign up for a paid account.  This may be the ultimate cheap web hosting but may not be what is best for you.

If you need cheap web hosting but are not sure if you want to the commitment of a yearly plan, but you don’t want the limitations that a free hosting company will impose on you, you have a few options available for your consideration.

Cheap web hosting is available on a pay as you go plan.  This is not real popular as of yet but is becoming more available all the time.  You do not pay a monthly fee.  What you do is, put money on your account then each time someone accesses your site a small amount is taken off the books.  This way you are only paying for what you are using.

Another cheap web hosting plan is finding a web host that does not make you commit to a long term agreement.  Many cheap web host providers will offer a monthly plan that is reasonable and affordable.  You have all the benefits, but do not have the long term commitment should you change your mind. 

You can find cheap web hosting with great customer service for as little as five dollars or less a month.  You will have all the disk space and bandwidth needed to make your online presence a success.  To find these do your homework.  Research and also find others who have used or are using a particular company you are interested in.

A word of caution in regards to some cheap web hosting companies.  Do not let them over sell you.  You do not need a huge amount of disk space or bandwidths so don’t pay for a excessive amount.  Try and find a cheap web host that will allow you to add to your disk space or bandwidth as you go.

Read More

Important Things to Consider when Choosing a Web Host

A Web host company will provide you with space to host your <a href="http://improvesite.blogspot.com/"title"Website Design">website</a> A domain name and a whole host of scripts from forum software to shopping cart integration.

If you want to be seen on the internet you will need a web host, but do not just go picking any host. You need a reliable web host who offers a quality service. So here comes a few of my own personal needs before i sign up with a web host.

Price, Ok this is not the most significant factor when choosing a web host, but we do not want to be paying stupid prices for a service we can get just as good from someone else at half the price.

Experience, This is one of the things i expect from a web host, Yes every company has to start somewhere but why should you be the one to suffer if someone does not have the experience to keep your site online at least 95% of the time.

Reputation, as anyone who has a buisness knows reputation goes a long way, make sure you choose someone with a good one.

Infastructure & Adaptability, A good webhost will already be planning for the future, they need to be able to upgrade to the latest and fastest equipment as and when it is needed. New things come out on the internet all the time and you want your provider to be able to offer advice and support if needed.

Support, Most websites now offer 24/7 support online and offline, make sure the one you choose also offers the same support, no point having customers if your site is down and your web host is unavailable.

So with all that in mind take your time and shop around, use google and make use of the review sites that are out there.

Read More

...How Much Do You Charge For "X"?

This is a question that comes up a lot on sales calls and one that you want to handle with care. As I've stated in other posts, questions are always driven by thoughts and never happen by accident. There is always a "context" from which the questions come and your ability to understand the context will improve your odds in developing the right answer. When I suggest that we work to create the "right" answer I don't mean that we are trying to fool anyone. Frequently, when we are addressing questions there are multiple answers and we just want to make sure that we have a higher likely hood of picking the right one.

In relation to price questions, it is always important to answer the question "in context". So usually, in order to understand the "context" in which the question was asked you'll need to ask more questions. Also, you'll often find that the question "how much do you charge" is really not the real question. Starting a dialog with the prospect about what they want will move them away form price and get you better information. Using a "reflector" or reverse will help you understand the real question.

Of all of the "reflectors" or reverses that we teach in relation to price one of the simplest has turned out to be one of the best. When asked about price try "...it depends". This simple phrase has an uncanny way of handling an awful lot of the price questions you'll get. Price often depends on a lot of things like:

When do you need it?

How many do you need?

What kind do you need? (good, better, best?)

Another great reflector, particularly effective on the telephone for inside sales people is "while I'm looking it up did you select that item for a reason?". Often times prospects calling in for a price on an item, hear it... and hang up. Engaging the prospect and getting better information will not only help you build rapport but eliminate a lot of those "get a price and hang up calls".

Talking about price before understanding what your prospect is trying to accomplish is sales suicide. Use some of these simple reflectors and you'll get better results!

Read More

History of cloud computing

Cloud computing is computing terminology has evolved in recent times or a metaphor based on the utility and information technology resources consumption. Include cloud computing deployment of remote groups of servers and systems software that allows centralized data storage and online access to computer resources or services. Clouds can be classified as public, private or mixed.

Cloud computing  on the basis of resource sharing to ensure consistency and economies of scale, similar to the tool (like the electricity grid) over a network. in the foundation of cloud computing is broader than the concept of converged infrastructure and shared services.
Cloud computing, or, in short, simply a "cloud", and also focuses on maximizing the effectiveness of shared resources. And generally only cloud computing resources are not involved by multiple users, but also re-allocated dynamically on demand. This may work for the allocation of resources to users. For example, a computer clouds that serve users in Europe through the hours of work in Europe with a facility specific application (eg e-mail) may be re-allocated the same resources to service users in America North by working in North America watches with different applications (for example, a Web server). This approach should be to achieve the maximum benefit of the computing power and thus reduce environmental damage and since less energy, and air conditioning, and an enclosure area, and therefore there is a need for a variety of functions. With cloud computing, it can be for multiple access to a single server to retrieve and update their own data without the need to purchase licenses for different user applications.
The term 'transition to the cloud "also refers to an abandonment of the traditional model of capitalism Organization (purchase special cutting equipment over a period of time) to model operating costs (use of infrastructure and cloud common pay it is used).
Proponents argue that cloud computing allows companies to avoid the infrastructure costs in advance, and focus on projects that differentiate their business rather than on infrastructure.  Proponents also argue that cloud computing allows companies to get their operational applications faster, with better management and less maintenance, and be able to adapt quickly more resources to respond to fluctuations in demand and the company can not predict. cloud providers usually use a model "pay as you go". This can lead to high costs unexpectedly if the directors do not adapt to cloud pricing model.
The current availability of high-capacity networks, and low-cost computers and storage devices has led and the widespread adoption of virtual machines, and service-oriented architecture, and autonomous and utility computing the growth in cloud computing.
Cloud providers have rates of 50% per year growth.

Read More