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Choosing the Right Web Hosting For Your Website
The first step in establishing a website is finding a place for it to reside in. A web hosting service maintains computers that are always connected to the internet to provide people with access to your html, graphics and multimedia files. For example, when you type in www.makemoneyonlinetips.com, the files I created are read by your browser off the hosting service that I use.
So, how do I pick the right web hosting provider for my sebsite you may ask. Well, below are factors to consider when you choose a web hosting provider:
How much server space do you need?
Before you can show your website to the world, you have to save your webpages on a computer or server provided by your web host. And server space is simply the amount of storage for you to store your webpages. For a start, 5-20MB of server disk space on a server should be enough for a simple web site.However, if you have lots of graphics and multimedia content on the webpages you create, you will have to need more space than that. Many hosts nowadays provide 1 - 10GB of webspace for a small fee every month. For an amateur, that is a lot of space! The web host I recommend below offers 5GB of of disk space at a low charge of $9.95 a month.
Do you have enough bandwidth?
Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be uploaded to your Web hosting account or downloaded by viewers of your Web site. Every time somebody views your web page or when you upload some file to your web hosting account, you are using part of your bandwidth.Many web hosting company usually place a limit on how much traffic bandwidth your site can use each month before they shut your website down for that month. You won't want that to happen, so look for a plan that offers high monthly traffic bandwidth.
Are you getting enough support from the web host?
Try to find a web host which provides 24hr telephone support. That way, if anything happens to your website in the middle of the night, you will be glad that there is always someone available to lend a helping hand.One trend that I noticed is that more and more web host nowadays provide a 24hr online chat which you can access on their homepage. This is also a good way to get in contact with them if you do not want to talk to them through the phone. One way or another, you need to make sure that the staff are knowledgeable and able to solve your problems on the spot.
Other features to consider?
Make sure you can get your own domain name (www.yourbusiness.com) rather than one incorporating the name of your host (www.hostname.com/yourbusiness). Most hosting sites will register a domain name for you at no extra charge (although you'll still have to pay the standard registration fee).Also check into how many email addresses you get and whether they support aliases, which allow you to set up addresses such as sales@yourbusiness.com. Ask about programs for managing mailing lists and generating automatic email responses.
Make sure that your web host provides a control panel where you can check the stats of your website traffic, i.e the number of visitors going to your site daily, from where they were referred to your site and the number of pages they click on your site. That way, you can see which pages are more popular which are not.
Well, that about wraps it for this section. If you are too busy to research for a good host, we have a recommendation for you:
SMALL STEP'S RECOMMENDATION
Hostgator
Hostgator is the web host which I choose to host this website on, and I liked it very much. Below are the reasons:
There are 2 reasons for this: one is that you will be able to host unlimited domains using the Baby Plan rather than the Hatchling Plan. This way, you would not have to purchase another package if you were to host another website under a different domain name.
The other reason is that with a Hatchling Plan, you would have to foot a full year's price, i.e. $6.95 X 12, whereas with a Baby Plan, you can choose to pay on a monthly basis, which would be a relief for those who do not want to pay a lump sum upfront.
To my surprise, I was greeted by an operator almost instantaneously. Upon chatting with her, I was able to solve my problems in 10 minutes. How's that for a support?
Well, I could go on and on singing praises on this web host. But you are the one applying for a web host. Just try it for yourself for a month and if you do not like it (which is impossible), just cancel your subscription anytime you want without penalty charges. Please note that if you want to register a domain under them, you would have to pay $15 for the registration fee.
Dear Small Steps Visitors,Host Gator has very kindly given us an exclusive coupon for Small Steps visitors. The coupon will entitle you to your first month's hosting with HostGator absolutely free.
To make use of the coupon follow these steps. Before following these steps make sure you know which HostGator plan you want whether this be a shared or reseller plan.
- Click Here to Go to the HostGator Order page.
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- If you choose to register a new domain, just type in your preferred domain name and click "Next".
- Choose the billing cycle you prefer (monthly, 3-month, or 6-month).- Where it says HostGator coupon enter "smallsteps" (without quotations") and you will receive one month hosting free.
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Yours Sincerely,
Benrick Soh
Creator of Small Steps
www.MakeMoneyOnlineTips.com