Web Hosting Top 10 -
FAQ's
These are some of the
more commonly asked questions that often arise when it comes to web
hosting. We hope that you will find these FAQ's helpful.
I don’t have a lot of money, can I get
someone to host my website cheap?
What is really considered a budget
host?
Who should be looking for a budget
host?
How cheap can I get a website hosted
for?
Do budget hosts offer quality service and
uptime?
What features can I expect to
get?
What if I start with a budget
hosting plan and then later require more?
What platforms
can I get budget hosting on?
What should I watch out for when
selecting a budget host?
What shouldn’t I sacrifice in the name of
price?
What features should I sacrifice to save
money?
What is Ecommerce?
How do I know if I need an Ecommerce
Host?
Do I have to accept credit
cards?
What is shopping cart software and do I need
it?
How do I accept credit
cards?
What is a virtual Terminal?
Is PayPal a good way to accept credit
cards?
What is real-time credit card
processing?
Should I look into accepting checks
online?
Do I need SSL?
What is Co-location?
Who needs Co-location
hosting?
Who actually supplies the
server?
Will a co-location provider make sure my
machine stays online?
If something goes wrong with my server
hardware, who fixes it?
Is there a limit to the size of my
server?
What things do I need to take into
consideration when selecting a provider?
I don’t have a
lot of money, can I get someone to host my website
cheap?
Yes. Depending on your web
site’s requirements, you may be the perfect candidate for a budget
web hosting account. Back
to Top
What is really
considered a budget host?
A budget host, for the
purposes of our comparisons, is defined as a web host provider that
offers web site hosting services for $3/month or less. All the
hosting companies listed on this website offer budget hosting
options. Back to
Top
Who should be
looking for a budget host?
Budget hosting is used
primarily for personal use and by small businesses. The best
candidate for a budget web host is a site that contains mostly
static HTML pages, with a small amount of traffic. Size matters as
well, since web hosts offer limited amounts of disc space for the
different services they offer. So, someone who has a large website,
or a very heavily trafficked site would not benefit from a budget
web host account. Back
to Top
How cheap can I
get a website hosted for?
It is not unheard of to see
websites available for as low as $3.00/month, or lower.
Back to Top
Do budget hosts
offer quality service and uptime?
In general budget hosting
is simply a cheaper hosting plan offered by hosting companies for
people or business that don't require high amounts of disk space,
bandwidth or programming. The plans usually contain many of the
commonly required features and are a viable hosting option. Our
budget hosts offer quality service and many have 99.9% or higher
uptime guarantees. Back
to Top
What features
can I expect to get?
To be honest, there are a
number of budget hosts who offer quite an impressive package at a
budget price. Features like database support, scripting, shopping
carts, and email processing are available through most budget
hosts. More advanced features are available at some hosts, but
usually at an additional cost. Back
to Top
What if I start
with a budget hosting plan and then later require
more?
Most of the companies
offering budget hosting can, upon request, upgrade your account to
one that better suits your requirements. Back to Top
What platforms
can I get budget hosting on?
You can find budget hosting
on both the Unix/Linux platforms, and the Windows platform.
Services among the two are very competitive, since most offerings
and features are available for both operating systems. Web server
software is commonly Apache for Unix/Linux, and IIS for
Windows. Back to
Top
What should I
watch out for when selecting a budget host?
The key thing to look for
in any hosting provider is reliability. When selecting a host,
check to see how long they have been around. If the host has been
around for a short time, it may not yet be an established company.
If a web host goes out of business while hosting your site, chances
are you are out of luck, especially if you paid a year in advance.
Also, make sure your budget account includes technical support.
Some hosts offer budget accounts for a good price, but charge extra
for support. Back to Top
What shouldn’t I
sacrifice in the name of price?
There are a couple of
things to consider carefully when selecting a host. First, you want
to make sure the hosting package you choose offers enough disk
space to hold your web site. Secondly, depending on the size of
your website, and how many visitors you expect to have, you want to
make sure your host offers enough bandwidth for your site to
operate. When you exceed your allotted bandwidth in a month, your
host will charge you extra. Back
to Top
What features
should I sacrifice to save money?
The simple answer to this
is ‘everything you don’t need’. Things like database support,
shopping carts, scripting languages, and even web control panels
are useful things, but not worth the extra money if you do not need
them. A majority of the websites on the Internet today are nothing
but HTML pages, and a few graphics. A website like this requires
none of the bells and whistles offered by most hosts. It's a good
idea to check exactly what features your site requires with your
webmaster. Back to Top
What is
Ecommerce?
Ecommerce stands for
electronic commerce; we will use the term Ecommerce to refer to
Internet sales of services and products. In particular we will use
it to refer to doing the whole process online: from selecting what
is being ordered to accepting payment. Back to Top
How do I know if
I need an Ecommerce Host?
If you want to sell
products or services online then you are going to need an Ecommerce
host. Unless you want to take a chance that people will send you a
check to order a product from a site. Just think about how many
times have you sent a check though the mail to order something
online from a web site; that number is probably zero.
Back to Top
Do I have to
accept credit cards?
Yes is the short and simple
answer.
Ask yourself how many
items a week you buy that which you really do not need. Then figure
out how many of those items you bought using a credit card. In
retail stores it is pretty well known that accepting credit cards
increase impulse purchases between 50% to 80% and that is why any
retail store you walk into accepts credit cards.
When a customer walks
into a retail store the customer can pay with cash, check, or
credit card. In the online world cash is not possible and no one
ever sends in a check to buy an item from an online merchant.
Accepting credit cards online is the only way to have a viable
business. Back to
Top
What is shopping
cart software and do I need it?
Shopping cart software is
software that runs on the web server that keeps track of the items
or services the customer wants to purchase. Once the customer is
done browsing and has selected all the items and/or services they
want to purchase then they go to the checkout area. In the checkout
area is where the customer will put in all their personal
information and their payment form. Using shopping cart software
allows the developer or owner of the web site to get the site up
and running a lot faster than if they were to create the entire
shopping experience from scratch.
You can get away without
using shopping cart software if you only have 1 or 2 items and/or
services to sell. However, if you have more than that, then you
should seriously consider using shopping cart software. The great
thing about shopping cart software is that most hosts will let you
test the shopping cart software even before you setup your account
with them. So make sure you test out all the versions you can find
to figure out which one you like best. Back to Top
How do I accept
credit cards?
There are two different
ways to accept credit cards. One is to sign up for a service like
PayPal where they actually accept the credit card and then they
send you the money. This might be okay for a smaller site but if
you are serious about doing Ecommerce then you should get a
merchant account.
A merchant account is
very similar to a bank account but it is only used to accept
payments from credit cards and online checks. The money is then
transferred into your normal business account. The time it takes to
go from the merchant account to your business account depends on a
few variables, which will need to be discussed with the company you
setup your merchant account with. Back to Top
What is a
virtual Terminal?
When a customer is in a
store then the merchant has access to the credit card and can
process it though a “terminal” right next to the cash register. In
the online world that is not possible though. In the online world
we have “virtual terminals” which is where users give all their
personal information and credit card information. This information
is used to verify that this is really the owner of the card. If the
information the customer gave matches what the credit card company
has on record then the sale will go though. Back to Top
Is PayPal a good
way to accept credit cards?
Customers want to pay the
way they want to pay so being able to accept PayPal payments is a
good idea but it should not be the only way you accept payments.
Having a number of different ways a customer can make a payment
will increase impulse sales and that will significantly increase
your bottom line. Back
to Top
What is
real-time credit card processing?
Real-time credit card
processing is when a user enters their personal information along
with their credit card information into the order form and they get
a response as to if their credit card was accepted or rejected
right away. Most merchant account and software combinations allow
for this but some do not so make sure if you want to do this that
yours has the ability.
The other option instead
of real-time credit card processing is manual credit card
processing. What this means is if a user enters an order at
midnight then it would go into a queue, which you would then have
to check in the morning. If the order looked legitimate you would
then process the credit card. Doing the credit card processing
manually just adds another step in the process and the more steps
there are the more chances there are that a mistake will be
made. Back to
Top
Should I look
into accepting checks online?
Yes you should; you want to
increase the number of ways a person can pay because it will
increase your sales. A good number of merchant accounts do check
verification online so ask your merchant account provider.
Back to Top
Do I need
SSL?
Yes you need SSL because it
secures the information being sent between the users computer and
your web server. If this transaction is not secured then personal
information along with credit card information could fall into the
wrong hands. Back to Top
What is
Co-location?
In general, collocation is
moving or placing things together, sometimes implying a proper
order. On the Internet, this term (often spelled "colocation" or
"co-location") is used to mean the provision of space for a
customer's telecommunications equipment on the service provider's
premises. For example, a Web site owner could place the site's own
computer servers on the premises of the Internet service provider
(ISP) who provides co-location hosting services.
Back to Top
Who needs
Co-location hosting?
Customers who have full
control over all aspects of their website and the way it operates
are best suited for dedicated hosting. Those customers who want to
supply the hardware, or want the ability at any time to remove
their server, or move it to another location are suited for
internal hosting, meaning they host the websites themselves and pay
for the internet connectivity and networking needs. Those customers
who meet the above requirements, but aren’t able to host their
website themselves are suited for co-location hosting.
Back to Top
Who actually
supplies the server?
When using co-location
providers, the server actually belongs to you, the customer.
Normally, this entails a server being completely configured and
loaded with information, being delivered to the co-location
provider ready to go. That being said, some co-location providers
offer programs where you can purchase a server, or even have one
custom made through them. Back
to Top
Will a
co-location provider make sure my machine stays
online?
That depends on your
provider. Co-location providers typically offer Server Monitoring
contracts, which make them responsible for watching your system and
making sure it is running properly, within their power, of course.
If you have a custom written application on your server and it is
causing problems with the operation of your server, it will be your
responsibility to fix it. Back
to Top
If something
goes wrong with my server hardware, who fixes it?
That again depends on the
agreement you have with your co-location provider. Most providers
offer Hardware Support contracts, which make them responsible for
keeping your machines operating mechanically. If you supply your
own computer, and would like to have spare parts on site, you will
typically need to purchase the parts in advance and supply them to
your provider. For a computer purchased through the provider, they
will normally have spare parts on hand, and/or a relationship with
the hardware provider that supplied the hardware itself. Even
though your provider fixes your machines, you will still be
responsible for the cost of the associated parts. Now, if you do
not have a hardware agreement with your provider, you can either
pay them to diagnose and repair the problem, or send your own
technician to their hosting facilities for the same purpose.
Back to Top
Is there a limit
to the size of my server?
There are limitations and
pricing differences in relation to the size of your server(s). For
example, rack mount servers come in several sizes depending on the
manufacturer and the hardware contained within. A 1U server is half
the size of a 2U server; hence it takes up less physical space in a
rack, leaving room for more servers. As such, 1U servers are less
expensive to co-locate than 2U servers. Mid tower and Full tower
cases have similar limitations as well. Some providers only have
facilities for rack mount servers, while others provide areas for
tower boxes as well. Back
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What things do I
need to take into consideration when selecting a
provider?
Selecting a co-location
provider can be a somewhat complicated process. When selecting a
provider, there are several key areas that you will need to take
into consideration to make the best choice possible.
• Bandwidth – What are
the tiers of bandwidth available, and what does it cost if you
exceed your limit for the month.
• Rack Space – What are the price differences, based on the size of
server you want to place at the provider? There are several types
and sizes available, and most providers charge different amounts
for each.
• Hardware Support – Does the provider offer Hardware Support
contracts? If so, how quickly is the turn around for a hardware
repair, and are parts available on-hand or do they need to be
shipped? If the provider does not offer Hardware Support contracts,
or you do not wish to utilize them, then what methods are available
to repair a down server? Do they offer services to diagnose and
repair issues for a fee, or allow a technician of your choosing
access to the servers?
• Internet Connectivity – What size connection does the provider
have to the Internet? How many connections do they have, in the
case of a failure?
• Uptime – What kind of Uptime does the provider guarantee for your
presence on the Internet?
• Server Monitoring – Does the provider offer Server Monitoring
services, to ensure that your system is running and operational at
all times?
• Static IP Addresses – How many IP Addresses will the provider
allocate to your servers, and what is the cost of obtaining more,
when needed?
• Backup Services – What level of data backups are included, if
any? What additional levels of data backups are available, at what
intervals, and at what cost? Back
to Top
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