Web Hosting Box

Web hosting plans allocate a certain amount of server resources to each plan holder, and when the plan’s limitations are exceeded, all of the site’s hosted on the web server (or server partition) instantly experience poor performance and site down time. Thus, it is crucial to know when it is time for a hosting upgrade, particularly in the shared hosting environment, which has more limitations and restrictions than any other hosting type.

As a novice webmaster, you may have the urge to get started with your internet endeavors as quickly as possible, and as such you’ll undoubtedly go for the cheapest shared hosting plan available. While this can be advantageous in the beginning, eventually the capabilities of your minimal hosting plan will be exhausted, and knowing when to upgrade will be the only knowledge that will keep you from experiencing the negative effects of low bandwidth and disk space.

Multiple Domains

Although most shared hosting plans allow for unlimited domains, some of them charge multiple domain fees, and some plans only allow for a certain number of domains. If you foresee the need to create a multitude of web sites then you may want consider upgrading your shared hosting plan before the burden becomes too much for your current plan. Aside from the fees and limitations associated with adding new domains to your hosting account, the new domains will likely cause an increase in bandwidth and disk space usage, both of which warrant a hosting upgrade immediately.

Slow Page Loading

Some instances call for a hosting upgrade due to a symptom of low server performance, rather than a foreseen need for more server resources. One such symptom is slow page loading times, which can become an annoyance to site visitors, ultimately contributing to a decrease in web traffic. If any of your site’s pages are loading slowly, then you may need to enquirer with your web hosting company about the limitations of your hosting plan. Upgrading your plan as soon as your site starts to perform slowly is the best way to prevent any of the problems associated with poor site performances, some of which can greatly decrease your profits and counteract your efforts as a webmaster.

Traffic Surges

if your site is starting to experience high levels of traffic and you’re continually adding new content to it, then you may need to consider a comprehensive hosting plan immediately. Upgrading to a strong shared hosting plan is certainly an option, however most experts recommend a VPS or dedicated hosting plan for the serious webmaster. Although increased traffic levels are definitely a good thing, when your hosting plan cannot handle them they can become one of the biggest let downs in your  career, as the site visitors may leave your site immediately if it takes a long time for your pages to load. Traffic surges can cause the server to crash completely, or they can cause your web sites to be denied access to the server temporarily, so it is very important that you are prepared for massive levels of traffic by upgrading to a more robust hosting plan before the resources are actually needed.

Depending on your need, there are many different types of web hosting plans available for various business and personal requirements, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. The least expensive option is always the most popular; however, shared hosting may not be suitable for all businesses especially high traffic websites. Therefore, most large websites employ a dedicated server.

Between shared and dedicated hosting is virtual private server (VPS) which is significantly less expensive than a dedicated server and provides many more options for growing online businesses than shared hosting. Within a VPS, each web hosting account is assigned their own operating system so users can individually configure one account without disrupting the others. Over time, a VPS can significantly reduce costs of ownership.

There are five primary advantages to using a VPS account over a shared host including:

• Unlimited websites
• Customizability
• Security
• Performance
• Scalability

The first benefit is the ability to manage an unlimited number of websites. Common hardware sharing issues are eliminated since each is utilizing its own software. Access to different severs is assured through serve-side software such as Apache Virtual Hosts and other similar programs.

The second advantage is the high customizability of VPS as they are feature rich. They have the same functionality as a dedicated server including, custom firewall configurations, the opening and closing of ports, root access, customizable services and the freedom to reboot at any time.

The third pro of VPS accounts is the provided security. Shared hosting is difficult to completely secure. If one account is hacked, all accounts on that server are open to damage. Since VPS accounts are isolated from one another, if an individual hacks into one account, this will not affect the others.

The forth benefit is overall performance. Shared servers depend on the performance of other accounts. If one owner sends out mass-mails, this could overload the server negatively affecting all other accounts. On the other hand, since VPS accounts are independent they only use the resources from their account. A bad VPS neighbor only affects their own account.

The final advantage is scalability. Virtual private servers were created to support high-traffic websites, extensive database applications and resource hungry sites. At any time, users can upgrade or downgrade their service with minimal downtime. Overall, VPS accounts are becoming so popular due to the amount of money saved over time as opposed to the other options available on the market.

Choosing a web host can be a difficult decision, especially for novice entrepreneurs looking to venture into the e-commerce horizon.  With so many web hosting services to select from, and prices ranging from free to several hundred dollars a month, it’s best to understand the basic differences between each type of web host and what it has to offer.

Free Hosting

Yes, free! This type of hosting is the perfect solution if you’re just testing the waters in a particular niche or if you’re simply creating a site with anticipation of generating a low amount of traffic.  Free hosting is a cost-effective solution for personal websites, and a great place to get some basic experience. There are, of course, many limitations. Free hosting generally doesn’t offer support for PHP or MySQL.  Multiple e-mail addresses are usually also not supported.  Tracking web traffic is difficult due to poor statistics.  Perhaps the greatest drawback of free hosting is dealing with pop-up ads, spam, spyware and hackers.

Shared Hosting

As the name implies, this popular type of hosting gets its name due to the fact multiple websites share the same server. Shared hosting is ideal for small companies which are often limited in resources but want an online presence.  Usually, PHP and MySQL are supported in addition to multiple email addresses.  Greater bandwidth and storage space are available as well depending on provider and pricing plans. Security, however, is the greatest drawback because the web host requires all sites on the same server to also share the same IP address and digital certificate.

Dedicated Server (Managed)

Dedicated server hosting is the ultimate of web hosting options.  It allows virtually unlimited bandwidth and storage space.  Since a server is dedicated entirely to your site, you can choose what software you need to be supported.  A dedicated server is an effective solution for larger companies with a piqued interest in e-commerce or sites aiming to generate heavy traffic.  Options are unlimited and support for literally thousands of e-mail addresses. Plans allowing 500GB-1000GB and even more are readily available.  It’s important to note since the server isn’t in your direct control, you should first obtain references from the person or company managing the web host service. A website owner’s worst nightmare is being the owner of a site providing potentially thousands in revenue per day, on a server that crashes daily, managed by an unresponsive web hosting service.

Dedicated Server (Unmanaged)

A website designer’s total dream package!  The pinnacle of web hosting as this is your do- it-yourself section. As the manager with complete control of everything, unmanaged dedicated servers demand quite a bit of experience as you’re the one solely responsible for keeping your server online. Responsibilities include daily maintenance, and configuring the server to support any and all software and protocols needed. Unmanaged dedicated servers offers lots of freedom, but equal, if not more, responsibility

The options for web hosting vary greatly, but you’re sure to find a web host type to support your needs within almost any budget.

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Shared hosting is often the entrance point for inexperienced webmasters that need a cheap and simple solution to host their first web site. However, even though shared hosting is the cheapest form of web hosting, there are several types of shared hosting that need to be considered.

Most people don’t realize that they are using shared hosting because it operates under many names and is almost never referred to as shared hosting. Ecommerce and reseller hosting both operate under the shared hosting environment, however they are much more capable than a standard $10 per month shared hosting plan. The way the shared hosting environment behaves has a lot to do with what operating system is being used. If you are unsure whether to use Windows or Linux hosting then you may want to consider the following information.

Cost and Compatibility

When it comes to cost, Linux is the cheaper solution, primarily because Linux is an open source software that is inexpensive and easy to manage. However, with that being said, Linux is also much more compatible with third party applications than Windows because Microsoft’s software is not open source. Windows web hosting of all types usually costs more because of the service involved with repairing bugs in the operating system when they occur. With Linux bugs can be fixed quickly and easily by anyone with the development experience. Even though Linux is more easily compatible with new development, it is important to note that anyone planning on using a server side Microsoft application will need a Windows hosting plan.

Reliability and Resources

When it comes to server resources there is not a huge difference between Windows shared hosting and Linux shared hosting, as both of them seem to perform the same until a bug arises. However, once problems do occur, it seems as if Linux wins in terms of reliability because there is often a quicker fix available due to the open source nature of the operating system. As far as server resources are concerned, Windows shared hosting may be more limiting than Linux simply because Windows consumes more RAM to operate than Linux, which ultimately takes away from the amount of Ram you have allocated to your partition of the shared web server.

Popularity and Alternatives

In terms of popularity, Linux web hosting seems to have Windows beaten, even though there is a portion of webmasters that prefer a Windows web hosting account due to their need to operate Microsoft software. It should be noted however that Windows Cloud VPS hosting is currently becoming more popular than Linux VPS cloud hosting because it is a new addition to the hosting industry.

Some people like to use Linux dedicated hosting and then install a virtualization software in order to use Windows on a Linux hosting account. However, this option is not available for shared Linux hosting, which means you have to choose between the two. Overall, if you are looking for the most convenient form of shared web hosting then you should consider Linux shared hosting.