Web Hosting Box

Online business owners usually require various services to keep their endeavors operating smoothly and supply the tools and resources needed to continually create new websites and online business opportunities. Web hosting is such a service, as it is the first thing that is needed by every webmaster. In essence, you need access to the web server if you want to host a website on the World Wide Web. However, some people choose not to utilize a conventional web hosting plan, and instead purchase their own private web server. Once the server is purchased it must be stored in a safe area that has an ideal environment for server operation, which is low in dust, has a continually maintained temperature/humidity index, and maintains constant airflow to the server at all times. Web server owners also need to consider the safety of the server in terms of vandalism, theft, and other forms of hardware damage. Fortunately, colocation hosting is a web server storage service that keeps your web server safe all times.

What Is Included with a Colocation Web Hosting Plan?

In essence, a colocation hosting plan is simply a service that allows you to store your private Web server in a data center that is connected to the Internet via multiple high-speed connections. Thus, the colocation hosting plan you will receive access to state-of-the-art facilities, a fully customized private server rack for your Web server’s, multiple connections to the Internet, automatic server backups and redundancy, and (with some more comprehensive plans) technical support. All collocation web hosting plans include 24-hour security, and the facilities are protected by both digital surveillance and state-of-the-art fire extinguisher systems. Without a co-location hosting plan you be forced to store your private Web server in your home, office, or in a storage space (none of which are an ideal location for an operating Web server).

What Are the Advantages of Colocation Hosting?

The main advantages colocation hosting is the safety and stability it provides for your Web server, giving you access to facilities and stability that would otherwise be unobtainable without spending millions of dollars. For a nominal monthly fee you’ll receive full support from trained technical staff, and your Web server will be stored in environmentally controlled server rooms. Many colocation hosting providers also ensure the web hosting equipment, so that if your Web server is damaged in any way while it is being stored at the facility it will be replaced immediately. Colocation hosting providers also make automatic backups of your entire Web server on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, in order to provide complete redundancy that will ensure your websites are online at all times.

Freedom and Flexibility of a Colocation Hosting Plan

Perhaps the most appealing advantages of colocation hosting is the ability to do whatever you would like that your web server in terms of software and hardware configurations. Regardless of how many web servers you own, or what type of operating system you prefer to use, you’ll be able to do it all collocation hosting, as you are not forfeiting your ownership of the web server. By having complete control over what your web server you can eliminate many of the conventional limitations and restrictions placed on bandwidth, disk space, databases, and other aspects of server expansion.

ASP (Active Server Pages) is a revolutionary programming language and platform that facilitates the creation of dynamic webpages that can utilize interactive components and respond quickly to visitor input. Unlike other similar programming platforms that allow you to create interactive webpages, ASP is a complete server-side scripting solution, which means it is much more reliable and stable. An example of components that are commonly amended and programmed using ASP are forms, search engines, blogs, calendars, e-mail modules, newsletters, polls, surveys, hit counters, and any other component of a webpage that is related to or dependent upon a site visitor’s actions. ASP also provides the additional advantage of being fully compatible with all browsers, thereby making it a universal scripting solution.

How to Find ASP Web Hosting Plans

Unfortunately, in order to utilize this unique programming platform, is absolutely necessary to have access to a web server that is compatible with ASP (a specific type of Windows web hosting). However, it is important to note that ASP Web hosting plans are not simply services that lease Windows web servers, as these plans usually already have Active Server Pages technology installed on the server and ready to be utilized. It is also important to realize that, while the majority of web hosting providers claim that their hosting plans are compatible with nearly all programming platforms, this does not mean that support for ASP is provided. Since ASP is such a powerful programming platform, it would be preferable to choose a hosting provider that specializes in this technology.

What Is an ASP Server?

An ASP server is simply a web server with the Windows operating system and the ASP scripting platform installed. Although Windows Vista and Windows 7 carries integrated support for ASP servers, older versions of Windows such as windows XP and Windows and the do not support ASP scripting. However, by utilizing a third-party software known as “Chili” (distributed by Sun Microsystems), it is possible to enjoy the benefits of ASP programming outside of the Windows operating system. Chili is basically a virtualization software that allows you to run ASP on other operating systems such as Linux, Solaris, or AIX. Although it would be ideal to host ASP scripts on a powerful web server (such as a dedicated or VPS server) in order to optimize functionality and performance, this versatile programming language is capable of being run on even a modest web server (i.e. – those offered with a shared hosting plan).

The Simplicity of ASP

Despite its extensive capabilities, the ASP programming platform is very similar to HTML, so even the most novice to intermediate webmasters should be able to easily transition into using this type of scripting language. In fact, even individuals that have no experience with web development should be able to learn ASP as their first programming language. Fortunately, it won’t require years of hard work to become an efficient ASP programmer, as there are many user-friendly interactive applications that simplify the learning curve significantly.

Reseller hosting is a unique type of web hosting that provides access to all of the tools and server resources needed to quickly build, brand, market, and maintain a successful web hosting site. By becoming a hosting reseller you can quickly establish your own hosting company with minimal investment, experience, and expertise. In fact, many of the larger web hosting providers that are currently successful in today’s market began their endeavors by purchasing wholesale server resources as a reseller for another large hosting provider. The hosting industry is unique because it is structured in such a way that it is possible for the smallest hosting provider to gradually progress into a worldwide hosting empire. The following are three unique features that truly make reseller hosting plans desirable.

Simplified Site Creation and Business Branding

Perhaps the most desirable attribute of a reseller hosting plan is the simplified site creation, which is facilitated through the use of proprietary website building tools, catalog builders, photo gallery creators, content management systems, and forum building platforms, all of which can be controlled through user-friendly administrative interfaces. With the tools provided in a reseller hosting plan it is easy for you to create your own web hosting site using thousands of predesigned templates that can be quickly applied to every page without affecting the content. Not only is it simple to build the site, but is also easy to supervise, adjust, and brand the control panel interfaces that your clients will interact with on a daily basis in the web hosting environment. When your client logs in they’ll see your custom logo displayed in the top corner of the control panel, so they’ll never know that you are a hosting reseller, but will instead think that you are an established web hosting provider.

Flexible Plan Creation

When you purchase a reseller hosting plan you’ll be given a set amount of server resources, which you have the freedom to split up into personalized plans for your clients. You can allocate a specific amount of web hosting resources to each client, and carefully price your plans in order to maximize profit margins. In essence, you are the master of your own web hosting business with a reseller hosting plan. By having the ability to quickly change the size of your web hosting plans, you can offer to each client as much as they need on the spur of the moment, and you can ensure that some clients are not hogging dormant server resources unnecessarily. This flexible plan creation lets you maximize your profits and the overall efficiency of your web hosting business.

Streamlined Payment Collection

When it comes time to collect payment from your clients, your reseller web hosting control panel will give you the tools needed to set up automated billing via e-mail, and automatically collect payments through payment processing utilities that can be installed on your website with a single click of the mouse. From day one your web hosting site will be able to collect payments from virtually any credit card, as well as PayPal and other online payment processors. The automated billing application included with your reseller web hosting plan can instantly calculate how much a client owes based on how many server resources they’ve used, and then bill them accordingly, after which they are directed to a payment page where payment is collected and deposited to your account automatically.

Trying to choose a web hosting provider can be a confusing process. There are so many companies out there offering similar packages and promoting excellent service.  It’s important to know what to look for when trying to decide the provider that best meets your needs.  Each of the must-have essentials can easily be confirmed by researching the web hosting company thoroughly through their respected websites and through user reviews.

When examining different web hosting options, there are many things to consider.  Security, reliability, pricing, and customer service are among the most important things to take into consideration.  When deciding on a web hosting provider, it’s crucial to examine the security features offered in order to protect your site. The provider should offer at least basic data protection for your website.  It’s also imperative that the provider offers features that protect your site from hackers.

Security Measures

Some methods in which a web host provider can help protect your site are to make available firewalls as well as security patches.  The more protection the provider offers the potential for any stored data being stolen and breaches of security are significantly reduced.  Taking proactive security measures also reduces other risks that can lead to many problems including the loss of revenue and unnecessary expenses trying to resolve security breaches.

Reliability

Reliability is equally as important as security.  If the web hosting provider is unreliable, you as a client risk gaining access to your site.  Without being able to access your website and maintain it as you need, the web hosting provider you have chosen to support your site will be useless. Without a reliable web host provider, your site loses its effectiveness.  It’s also important to be aware of the providers’ server performance and compatibility with specific software applications. It’s also recommended to know the speed of the server and also allocated bandwidth.  Processor speed affects the ability of video and audio streaming, as well as many other animated web page elements.

Pricing

Another thing to consider when purchasing a web host provider is pricing.  While most users will be looking for the cheapest web hosting provider readily available, it’s important to remember that many web host plans are cheaper for a reason.  In many scenarios, the cheapest providers offer the least reliability as they often don’t primarily focus on the service that they are offer.  On the other end of the spectrum, there are web hosting providers that are specialists offering the best web hosting service available on the market today.  Unfortunately, however, these providers typically exceed most consumers’ spending capacity.  Therefore, consider it a wise marketing decision to shop around and compare prices; opt for the best affordable service and proven reliability at a reasonable price within your price range.

Customer Service

Customer service is also imperative to inquire about when opting for a web host provider.  This is especially important if you are going for a fully managed web hosting package, especially since such packages can be quite expensive and demand a high level of communication with the provider.  It’s important to know upfront what kind of customer service a web host provider offer:  Do they offer 24/7 customer service?  Do they offer support on chats, by phone, or via e-mail?  Is the number toll free if you must contact by phone?  One easy way to test a company’s customer service ability is by testing it; something that can generally be done for free by finding their contact information.  Simply give them a call or send them an e-mail inquiring about their customer service.  Doing so grants you insight to the web host provider’s efficiency and effectiveness.

One of the most difficult problems with choosing a hosting company is making the decision to either use a Windows based server or a Linux based server. While there are a number of choices out there, Windows and Linux make up the majority of all the servers on the internet. Most of the sources you’ll find on the topic are very opinion based, thus making them not very helpful. This article will seek to keep a direct, factual based approach to both platforms.

Open vs Closed

Microsoft owns and develops all of the windows operating systems. This means that this source is only updated by Microsoft. That is one of the primary differences between Windows and Linux. Linux, however, is completely open sourced and generally speaking free. This means for a hosting company it’s generally more expensive for the licenses to run Windows machines. This is why you typically see a bit of disparity between the prices of Windows and Linux machines.

All PCs Need Windows

A bad assumption by some new web developers is that if the target audience runs Windows then the server mush run windows as well. This is far from the truth. In fact, the client will never know which server you’re running. As a web developer however, there will be stark differences in the way each system runs and operates. Some may find that Linux is a little too complicated and stick with Windows instead. This is a valid argument.

Reliability is a Myth

One argument against Windows is its reliability over Linux. The main reason Windows gets a bad reputation is the sheer number of users on Windows makes the operating system a natural target for hackers.  However, Linux is the most common server platform and has just as many attacks made on it. The bottom line is the security of the server is solely based on the performance of its administrator.

Server Side Code

The primary thing to consider here is what do you want to do with your hosting? It really depends on what kind of site or platform you want to use. Microsoft has a ton of plug in style systems like ASP.Net, Access, Windows Streaming Media and MSSQL that can help with the development of a site. Linux has all of these functions as well, but they are usually expensive and a little less on the features that their Microsoft brothers.

Choosing your server platform really is just a matter of preference. Choose what you’re comfortable with operating as well as what you’re comfortable with building sites in. Everything else is just a mild foot note.