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Although the Linux operating system is still a favorite amongst webmasters and web hosting providers, Windows is trailing closely behind and has been gaining popularity during the past couple of years. In the home PC market, Windows is well known as the most popular operating system in the world, with the Mac OS X being a close second. Meanwhile, many regular computer users have never even heard of Linux, despite its popularity in the hosting industry. Windows web hosting is more expensive than Linux hosting, and has a significant number of limitations in relation to software compatibility and licenses. Nonetheless, there is a high demand for Windows web hosting plans, and the majority of major hosting providers offer a selection of Windows hosting packages. The following paragraphs explain the recent rise in popularity of Windows web hosting.

Novice Webmasters and Initial Online Endeavors

As mentioned, Windows has established a reputable brand in the home computer market, and is perhaps the most familiar name when it comes to operating systems. Thus, many novice Webmasters choose Windows web hosting over Linux because of its familiarity and renowned reputation, rather than its features or cost. There are two types of aspiring online business owners  – those on a budget that attempt to save as much as possible while building their first websites to mitigate risk, and those that would like to maximize their chances of success and will spare no cost to do so. Individuals within the latter group are usually the ones that will opt for Windows web hosting for their initial online endeavors.

The Need for Windows-Based Applications

Other than novice webmasters, some business owners have a legitimate reason to use Windows web hosting – Windows-based applications. Online businesses that utilize Windows applications like SharePoint and Microsoft Server need a web server with the Windows operating system installed in order to function. Alternatively, it is possible to purchase a Linux web hosting plan and install virtualization software in order to host a third-party operating system like Windows within the Linux operating system. However, most people are not aware of this solution and instead opt to purchase a Windows web hosting plan for their Windows-based business applications.

Windows Performance and Familiarity

The Windows operating system user interface also contributes greatly towards the rising popularity of Windows web hosting during the past few of years. Windows is known for reliable performance, and Microsoft provides continual automatic updates to web hosting providers and computer users. Thus, while it may take longer to repair certain bugs within the operating system, fixes are guaranteed to arrive, and Windows is considered to be much safer than other open-source operating systems like Linux. Even so, Linux is also reliable and safe operating system, and is a cheap alternative to Windows that is suitable for individuals on a budget, or that do not have a need for Windows-based web applications. Although Windows hosting is more expensive than Linux, the margin is not that large, with Windows hosting plans usually only costing $20-$50 more than their Linux counterpart.

The majority of novice webmasters allocate a very limited budget to their beginning endeavors online, as they are not yet confident in their ability to generate web traffic and bring in a residual income with their websites. In fact, many novice webmasters don’t even know how to build a website, have never owned a web hosting plan before, and are therefore understandably cautious about the amount of money they want to invest in web hosting. While more experienced webmasters may opt for hosting types such as dedicated hosting (which provides access to a server which is solely dedicated to the websites of a single webmaster), inexperienced webmasters usually opt for cheaper hosting types such as shared hosting. When trying to find the hosting type with the cheapest startup cost it is important to consider two types of hosting – shared hosting and VPS hosting.

The Startup Costs of Shared Hosting

Although shared web hosting provides the cheapest monthly costs, with prices starting at as low as two dollars per month, the start up cost of a shared hosting plan is usually much more. It is important to note that, the longer you pay in advance, the lower the monthly cost will be, and many shared web hosting providers will require you to pay at least one year up front. If you choose to only pay a year, it is very unlikely you’ll receive a price as low as two dollars per month, as the average price (when paid on a yearly basis) is about $5-$10 per month. Thus, the minimum startup costs associated with shared hosting are usually about $60-$120, plus any additional setup fees that may be charged by the hosting company.

The Startup Costs of VPS Hosting

Although the monthly cost of a VPS hosting plan varies widely at about $10-$200 per month, depending on the plan capabilities and hosting provider. However, the majority of VPS hosting providers do not require you to pay a year in advance, and instead will allow you to pay on a monthly basis. Thus, the startup cost for VPS hosting plan is no more than the cost of the first months hosting (which can be as cheap as $5-$7 in some cases). It is important to realize that you can also pay in advance of VPS hosting in order to receive a lower monthly cost, just as you can but shared hosting. It should also be noted that some VPS hosting providers do require payment for a year in advance, so it is important to shop around to find a VPS hosting plan with a low start up cost.

Conclusion

While shared hosting is ultimately cheaper than VPS hosting the long run, it is cheaper to purchase a monthly VPS hosting plan for $5-$10 per month if you are on a strict startup budget for your first web hosting endeavor. If you find that you would like to continue with your online endeavors, VPS hosting gives you the advantage of being able to cancel your plan without losing any of the money that you would have paid in advance.

As the World Wide Web continually expands on a daily basis, the web hosting industry becomes even more competitive. In fact, it appears that nearly every web hosting provider now claims to offer the best hosting services, with no hidden fees applied. Unfortunately, most web hosting providers do have some faults that are often overlooked by the general public, until the fault becomes evident due to a mistake or event that occurs after the hosting plan has been purchased. Hidden fees are not really “hidden” per se, they are actually fees that are not readily apparent, which may be found in the fine print, but which the web hosting provider does not necessarily notify the customer of. Although many of these fees are seemingly mandatory charges that must be applied during checkout, more attention should be paid to what these fees are and how expensive they can be. The following are three hidden fees to look for when choosing a web hosting plan.

Account Setup Fees

Many web hosting providers choose to charge account setup fees, which can boost the initial overall cost of the hosting plan. Setup fees can range anywhere from $10-$50, depending on the hosting provider and the size of the hosting plan. Unfortunately, these fees are usually charged at the checkout process, and are only mentioned in fine print on the advertisement page or check out page. Even though there are web hosting providers that do not charge account setup fees, most novice webmasters fall victim to a hosting service that does.

Customer Service Fees

Hidden service fees are perhaps the most noticeable type of hidden fee charged by web hosting providers, because most customers become upset when they realize they have been charged a fee for using what has been advertised as “free 24 hour customer service”. Although these fees are more warranted than arbitrary fees like account setup fees,  it is a common practice for web hosting providers to charge such fees without first notifying the account holder. Thus, it is best to inquire whether or not your hosting provider charges customer service fees for requesting e-mail or hotline assistance.

Domain Transferring and Ownership Fees

Some hosting providers will charge a fee when a webmaster attempts to transfer their domain from another host. Before switching hosting providers in choosing another hosting company, it is important to inquire whether or not they charge domain transferring fees. Other web hosting providers will offer you free domain registration for life or for a specific period of time, only to register your domain in their name so that it actually belongs to them. After this, the company will then charge domain ownership fees, which must be paid on a regular basis or the hosting provider will regain ownership of the domain. Therefore, when selecting a hosting plan that offers free domain registration it is important to find out whether or not domain ownership fees will be charged in order to maintain full ownership of your website.

Colocation web hosting is perhaps the most expensive type of hosting available, so most people don’t consider it when shopping for a potential hosting plan. In fact, most people don’t even know what a colocation hosting plan is, or what the term “colocation” means. A colocation hosting plan is a service that allows you to store your privately owned web server in a state-of-the-art data center that is secured and stabilized at all times. In essence, it is a way to save money from having to pay for an office or regular storage unit (which is really not the best environment for a web server). A colocation facility provides an ideal climate, constant airflow, and specialized server racks that are specifically configured to accommodate the hardware needs of a web server. The following are three reasons why colocation hosting is more expensive than conventional web hosting.

Futuristic Data Centers

A “colocation facility” is actually a data center, which is a large building that houses hundreds (or even thousands) of web servers in futuristic environmentally controlled rooms. Overall, a datacenter contains millions of dollars of equipment, and many of them maintain multiple high-speed Internet connections with various Internet service providers simultaneously. By providing multiple connections, colocation hosting providers can offer redundancy, so that your web server will be online at all times. Data centers are also equipped with highly effective fire extinguishing systems, professionally trained in-house Internet technology specialists, and air filtration systems that cost as much as $10,000 in each room. In order to provide this server care and service stability to customers, colocation hosting providers must charge a more expensive monthly fee.

State-Of-The-Art Surveillance

The second reason why colocation hosting is generally more expensive than conventional web hosting is the amount of effort and the monetary investments that the hosting provider devotes to keeping your web server secure. Not only are the facilities monitored by state-of-the-art surveillance technology, but all of the equipment (including your web server) is insured, so there is no risk of having the hardware damaged or stolen without it being restored or replaced. Colocation datacenter facilities are usually guarded by several tall watch posts, and barbed wire fencing exceeding the height of 8 feet around the entire perimeter the facility. Since the colocation hosting provider has a lot of expenses in terms of employee payroll and equipment overhead, these additional expenses have to be passed on to the customer to make the business profitable.

The Additional Value of Optimizing Web Server Performance

By dealing with a colocation facility you are gaining access to multiple high-speed Internet connections from various Internet service providers. Thus, you have the advantage of maintaining an optimal connection to the Internet for your web server at all times, regardless of the local or regional circumstances affecting the Internet and other hosting providers. This type of assurance is not possible if you choose to store your privately owned Web server within your home or office, because if the single Internet connection is lost, so are all of your current server tasks (such as keeping your websites online).

The latest release of budget web hosting providers shows Netspaceindia offering monthly hosting for the low, low price of $1 on the Linux operating system. This monthly package is equipped with 500 MB of disk space. For most businesses this is not nearly enough, however, for any startup company or personal website, this is one of the best deals available besides free hosting.

Based out of Nasik, India, Netspaceindia is widely regarded as India’s fastest growing web hosting provider and domain Registration Company. Established in 2004, Netspaceindia has been providing users in India and other countries across the world with a variety of web hosting types including:

• Windows hosting
• Linux hosting
• Reseller hosting
• VPS server hosting
• Dedicated hosting
• Tomcat hosting

In 2011, Netspaceindia has found a way to offer the most basic services at $1 per month. With this package, webmasters can host a single domain, have 10 email accounts, are granted 500 MB’s of disk space, can utilize 2 MySQL databases, are able to utilize cPanel control panel software and can access around the clock customer support with instant activation. There is a small fee for the customer service.

The executives at Netspaceindia boast that their main priority is to deliver a reliable web hosting product and offer support to their customers to ensure they will succeed in the internet game. The Linux web hosting deal for $1 provides enough disk space to initially create and run a website. However, this will not last long and users must upgrade. Luckily, Netspaceindia has a plethora of upgrade packages that are affordable and provide a variety of features.

Every month you read about a web hosting provider that is lowering their price to beat the competition. Well, Netspaceindia is doing exactly that. At $1 per month with basic features, the price almost cannot get lower than that. Of course this is a marketing ploy to draw customers in and have them upgraded as their website grows. However this is simple capitalism and a great way to increase the number of clients.

Although their $1 Linux hosting plan does not offer much, do not judge the company solely on this. That plan is their most basic and the company provides a variety of other service and monthly plans chalk full of features. If you are looking for a web hosting company to start a site, try Netspaceindia and work through their many hosting plans.