Cheap Webhosting

Web hosting refers to the internet hosting service that provides individuals organizations and users with online systems for storing information, images, video or any content accessible via the Web. The companies that supply server space for storage of Web sites on the Internet and other additional services like Internet connectivity or Website creation.

A service provider who places our web site on a computer which is connected to the internet is called web host. Web hosting companies may use computers just like the one we have but they are set up to serve websites and are called server. A web host will have fast connection to internet and host thousands of web sites on many servers. The web host rents out the space to us so that we can get our website up on the World Wide Web.

While some large web hosts have their own datacenter (collection of servers) some rent a server from a bigger web hosting company and then resell the space under their own company name.

There are numerous web hosting companies today in the market with different types of plans at different prices. The key factors considered while developing a web host plan are server type, disk space, bandwidth and e-mail accounts.

Some common server types are Windows 2000 server, Linux and Unix. The type of sever used depends on the complexity of the website having database functions. Bandwidth requirements will depend on the traffic of the sites.

If the web site has more number of pages, music files, images, video files or other content it would require more disk space. A higher traffic would need more bandwidth.

It is generally believed that if we choose for cheap web hosting then the quality of the service will also be low. Today we have numerous companies that provide us the service at low costs but with good quality. If we require low bandwidth, our website has less number of pages, less number of email accounts then we could chose for cheap web hosting service.

These days there has been a considerable increase in the need for dynamic web content that is used by firms and individual customers to manage online business operations which has made the data exchange between web browser and the web server a complicated process than before. If the concern runs a small business then cheap web hosting is the best option. Shared web hosting has enabled to provide web hosting at cheaper prices. Share web hosting provides a share on a server for very low prices. Small websites choose cheap web hosting but if we can permit free ads on the top of our websites, and if the website will not be enlarged in terms of its pages and content then we can choose free web hosting.

How to choose the right web hosting company

First some considerations about the domain name(s)

Domain names do not really have anything to do with web hosting and can be registered independently from the web hosting package. There are advantages if you have domain name and web hosting separate. For example, if the web hosting company you selected fails to provide a good service, all you need to do is find a better web hosting company and change the domain name settings. If you have domain name and web hosting with the same company and the company ceases trading, the last thing they think about is your web hosting or domain name. By having them separate, you are lowering the risk.

Disadvantages of registering the domain name with your web hosting company

Many web hosting companies offer to register domain names on your behalf. You think that your domain name is with your web hosting company, when, in fact, they register it through some third party registrar for you. You then receive an invoice in 2 years time from a company you never heard of, ignore it, and in the worst case lose your domain name.

Furthermore, in many cases, you will not get access to your domain name details nor will you be given a domain name control panel. Why do you need a domain name control panel? You need to be able to update the contact information for your domain name(s). If you move house for example and don't update you domain name details and for some reason you need to change registrar etc. (or because your web hosting company ceased trading), you are in danger of losing your domain name because you cannot prove any longer that you are the owner of a certain domain name.

Also, a domain name control panel allows you to change email forwarding, web forwarding, and most importantly, the domain name servers, as well as some other settings. Check out www.123-reg.co.uk if you want to find out more about that.

Have a good look around online and check out different web hosting providers. There are many large web hosting companies out there such as 1and1. The advantage of registering with a large web hosting company is that they have hardly any downtime and their servers will be fast and up-to-date with the latest spam protection etc. Web hosting can be costly though if you reqister with a large web hosting company and if you want any additional services, you will have to pay for them. Support can be an issue too - you usually have to fight through hundreds of "Frequently Asked Questions" before you are allowed to send an email to their support team. You might also have to call a Premium Rate phone number if you need to speak to someone urgently. These rates can rate from £0.50 to £2 per minute (!) or even more. In most cases, you will receive good support, but in some cases you might be put through to an unexperienced person who has to speak to their supervisor to double-check things frequently - and all that at a premium rate!

The biggest problem with large web hosting providers is that if you miss the annual payment and do not react to their payment reminders - they will remove your website, your account, without further notice. In some cases, there will not be any chance to recover your website. With a large web hosting company, your website is just a number in a very large pool of websites. If they lose your custom, so what!

Web hosting with a smaller web hosting provider

If you find a reliable smaller web hosting provider, chances are that you will receive a personal service, and support questions are answered with a lot more detail and a lot quicker. Most likely, you can call a UK landline or an 0845 or 0870 number which is a lot cheaper than £2 per minute. In some cases, you might be able to receive a reply to your support question - which you sent on a Saturday evening - that same night.

If you miss your payment with a smaller web hosting company, they will most likely call you personally and remind you on your late payment. They are keen to keep you as a customer and will probably not remove your account and your website immediately.

Web Statistics

Ask the web hosting company if they provide extensive website statistics. You want to know how many visitors have accessed your website, what search terms they used to find your website in Google and other search engines, how many visitors you have per day, on a certain day of the week, and so on. Please also ask if you can have access to the website log files. You might think that adding a website hit counter will provide enough information, but that is actually the most inaccurate method of counting your website visitors - and apart from that they look tacky and unprofessional. Your web hosting company should provide statistics that are at least as comprehensive as Webalizer and if statistics are important for you, you need to have access to your log files which can then be analyzed with statistics analysing software (such as Surfstats).