Web Hosting Box

Multiple domain hosting has many benefits that make it one of the most popular choices available. While there are only a few negative aspects, they should still be considered when choosing a hosting type and provider. If planning to own and operate many websites, multiple domain hosting is the best option.

Most web hosting providers only allow the use of one website per domain. This is due to the number of customers they’re hosting. By allowing only a single website the provider is able to maximize their profits and thus increase bandwidth and storage space to accommodate new customers. Consequently the main method for hosting multiple sites is through the use of add-on domains.

Despite the many benefits available, it’s important to contemplate the two primary shortcomings of multiple domain hosting. These include:

• Accumulation of traffic
• Disastrous downtimes

One of the biggest issues with multiple domain hosting is the accumulation of traffic. If a website or group of websites becomes popular, traffic increases thus eating up bandwidth, server storage space and other aspects the client is paying for. To counterbalance this, the user could simply upgrade their accounts or open a new account to split the traffic.

Also, by checking the log files of each domain name, it’s easy to spot which domains have the most traffic. That way when the client splits accounts, they can identify which domains to place in the new account.

The second downfall is the disastrous results of a server going down. Since all aspects of all sites are on a single server, if that goes down, all sites go down. This showcases the importance of finding a trustworthy and reliable hosting provider.

On the other hand, most servers rarely go down. Also, any decent web hosting provider has backup servers in case of a natural disaster or malicious attack. If an issue does occur, the system switches from the primary server to the backup with little time lost. When searching for a provider, it’s imperative to ascertain the amount of time it takes to switch servers.

Overall, the many benefits of multiple-domain hosting greatly outweigh the costs. Most hosting providers have contingency plans in case of any major issues that arise. Multiple-domain hosting continues to be one of the most popular choices available. As the internet continues to grow and websites expand to networks of websites, the need for this type of technology will greatly increase.

Properly managing your online business can be a fairly difficult task, especially if you are in charge of all of the administrative task that go along with it. Different hosting accounts offer differing amounts of responsibility of your website, so while using a hosting account that comes with complete control over your web server, keep in mind that this control comes with plenty of responsibility. Your primary responsibility is to keep your customers satisfied, which means you are going to need to make sure your site is easy to use and appealing to the eye. However, customer satisfaction is also achieved by maintaining the reliability of your website.  One of the most common yet fixable problems in eCommerce is site downtime.

What is Site Down Time?

Site downtime is when your site goes down and is offline for a while due to server problems. Downtime can result from a variety of internal errors, and sometimes it is just caused by routine server administration such as server resets. Usually your web hosting company will do their best to reset the server in the middle of the night to make sure there is minimal loss of service, however sometimes the server may crash due to other reasons. If you are running on a private server then you can ensure a minimal amount of downtime by maintaining the server correctly. While some downtime can be explained by routine server problems, other cases cannot be dismissed so easily. In many cases downtime can be attributed to the malicious intent of another individual or a security breach such a virus. To prevent such an occurrence you need to adhere to the following information.

Server Firewalls

One of the best ways to protect your web server from security breaches is to setup a competent firewall for your protection. Most web hosting companies offer firewalls by default, however many of them are configured with certain security loopholes that can be exploited by a knowledgeable hacker. If you want your site to be completely secure, then you may want to use your own powerful firewall, or make a few adjustments to the current firewall. If you are not familiar with the process of securing a server properly using a firewall, then you may need to seek the assistance of a qualified internet security specialist. With a good firewall you should be able to block IP addresses and restrict certain kind of traffic to prevent spam attacks. You should also have adequate protection against site intrusion.

(DdoS) Distributed Denial of Service Attacks

One of the most common and detrimental attacks on a server is called a DDoS attack. This kind of attack is simple in nature, yet can be very difficult to prevent. The reason why we mention this attack is because it is responsible for a lot of downtime on many sites. Some times even professional competitors will attack your site using this method simply to bring your site down for a certain period of time. The DdoS attack works because the perpetrator floods a site with a ridiculous amount  of traffic in a short period of time, thus causing the server to shutdown due to internal server limits. When this happens many websites can god own at once, causing an even more difficult situation to resolve. Before you purchase a hosting company make sure you inquire about their abilities to deal with such attacks.