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Hosting Basics
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Questions
In order for websites to be seen
on the Internet, their files (images, data, content, etc.) must reside on a
computer that is permanently connected to the Internet. In addition, that
computer must have certain software installed on it so that other users can
view the files on that computer. At minimum this software includes a web
server, and often it includes server side programs and databases too.
Web Hosting companies provide
these computers, usually called servers, the software and the permanent
connection to the Internet. Once a web site is hosted, an Internet user
simply types in the site's address and the web server will make the web site
available to that user.
These web servers are usually
much more powerful and have much more disk space than your home computer. In
addition, the web hosting company takes responsibility for making sure that
the web server is running all the time and that there is a high bandwidth
Internet connection to the web server as well.
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The primary difference between
dedicated and shared hosting is how the web server is used. With shared web
hosting, the web server is shared between many different websites. With
dedicated web hosting, the web server is dedicated to your web site. Both
services have their advantages and disadvantages.
Shared
Web Hosting (and Virtual Web Hosting)
Shared web hosting and virtual
web hosting are the same thing. In many cases where a web hosting company
does not specify the type of hosting they are providing you, they are
offering shared web hosting. If their service is dedicated, they will tell
you.
The primary advantage of shared
web hosting is its price - it is usually much less expensive than dedicated
hosting because web hosting companies are able to spread the cost of the web
server and bandwidth over multiple customers.
Many smaller web sites do not
require significant amounts of diskspace or special software, so a shared
web hosting solution might be the perfect solution for their needs.
The primary downside with shared
web hosting is that you have limited flexibility in choosing the software
that you use to run your site. You are usually restricted to using the
software that the web hosting company provides. In addition, if your website
is really large or CPU intensive, your website may be slower than if you had
a dedicated server.
Even though you share the web
server with other users, your files are secure from those users (you can't
access theirs and they can't access yours).
Dedicated
Hosting
Dedicated hosting is more
expensive than shared web hosting. Since you have the web server to yourself,
the web hosting company usually gives you greater (and sometimes total)
control over the machine. This means that you can often install custom
programs or other software.
In many cases you are given root
access to the machine and can configure the machine in any way that you
choose.
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Web hosting companies set their
pricing along several metrics. The most commonly used metrics are diskspace
and bandwidth. You are probably familiar with those terms from your own
computer. A web server is no different.
Diskspace
You can determine how much diskspace you will need by looking at the amount
of space that your website is using on your own machine. Your web hosting
company will work with you to set up a contract that outlines how much
diskspace will be allotted for your site (and website logs if you have
logging enabled).
In many cases websites do not
need much diskspace -- particularly if a site is primarily made up of text
pages (such as this website). If however, your site shows lots of
photographs or other large image files, you will find that you need more
diskspace. You can usually purchase more diskspace from your web hosting
company if you find that you need more later.
Bandwidth
Bandwidth, sometimes called data transfer, refers to the amount of data that
has been transmitted by your web server to visitors of your website. For
example, if you have one page on your web site that is 10kb large, and that
page has one image on it that is 90kb large, you will transfer 100kb of data
for every user that views that website. So, if 10 users visit your site, you
need 1,000kb of total bandwidth.
Determine your diskspace and bandwidth needs
Bandwidth and diskspace needs vary tremendously based on the type of web
site that you are hosting and the volume of visitors to your web site.
Largely text web sites do just fine with several hundred megabytes of
diskspace and bandwidth. We suggest that you speak with your web hosting
company and have them help you select the right plan for you.
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Choosing a web hosting company
is difficult. There are thousands of large and small web hosting companies
that all claim to offer very similar services. In addition, many web hosting
companies resell hosting that they purchased from other companies.
So, how do you sort through the
noise?
First of all, determine what you
want from your web hosting company. Take a look at the websites of a few web
hosting companies and determine what features you want or need. You should
consider:
-
How much diskspace and
bandwidth will you need?
-
Do the configuration of the
web server and software installed on the web server matter?
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Do you need webmail access?
POP or SMTP access?
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Do you need dedicated or
shared hosting?
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Are there other special
considerations that you need?
-
Are you willing to allow
pop-up advertising from your web hosting company? (Many free hosting
companies make their money from advertising on your website.)
Once you know what you want from
a web hosting company, you need to research them and pick one in particular.
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If you haven't already, take
a look at the websites of a few web hosting companies and familiarize
yourself with the types of features and packages they offer. This should
also give you a sense for general pricing in the industry.
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Ask around. Speak to friends
of yours that have web sites and ask them about their web hosts. Look
for both good and bad experiences. (Often, the best way to learn about a
company's customer service is to see how it reacts when something goes
wrong.)
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Research online forums and
other places where people comment on web sites -- look for independent
reviews. (It can be tough to determine if the reviews are independent,
but advertising on the same web site may be a tipoff.)
-
Speak with a few web hosting
companies and ask them why you should give them your business. Let them
tell you in their words why they are the right match for you.
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A domain name is the address
that users will enter in their web browser (like Internet Explorer or
Netscape) to access your web site. For example this site's domain name
is Free-Web-Hosting-Help.com.
The last part of the domain (often
called the Top Level Domain, or TLD) is administered by a certain
organization. For example, the "com" TLD is administered by ICANN,
while the "uk" TLD is administered by Nominet UK, an organization
authorized by the UK government to administer that domain.
However, you will rarely
interface with these organizations, since the registering authority (the
ability to create new domain names) has been delegated to many other
organizations, called Registrars. Network
Solutions (now owned by Verisign) is perhaps the largest and most
well-known registrar, but also one of the most expensive.
Domain names are not case
sensitive, so this website could be reached by typing www.free-web-hosting-help.com
or www.Free-Web-Hosting-Help.com.
Many web hosting companies will
register a domain name for you if you choose this option when opening an
account. Most web hosting companies will also help you transfer your domain
name from your previous registrar to your current web hosting company.
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Yes, absolutely. You can move
your web site to any web hosting company at any time. The process may take
2-4 days at most (during that period, you should operate two copies of your
web site, or tell your visitors that you will have to take downtime). Once
you register a domain name, you will be able to modify its nameserver
addresses. The name server tells an Internet user where to go to find your
web site - usually you change the address of your name server to that of
your new web hosting company.
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Free
Web Hosting
A number of companies provide
free web hosting for simple web sites. Make sure that you spend some time
researching any company that provides free web hosting, as the services that
you get can vary widely.
Free web hosting companies
usually offer limited support and only the most basic functionality. In
addition, they have to make money and usually do so through advertising or
other hidden fees.
The best place to start your
search for a free web hosting company is at one of the forums dedicated to
the topic. Read some of the reviews that users have posted and ask questions
about providers that interest you. Some of the leading web sites include FreeWebSpace.net
and Hostsearch.com.
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As you might expect, there is no
such thing as a free web host. Free web hosting companies need to make money
too. They usually make money in one of two ways:
1)
Advertising
Most free web hosting companies
make their money through advertising. They do this by requiring you to put a
banner ad on your website, or by requiring that your site launches one or
more pop-up advertisements each time users visit the site. Your visitors may
find this advertising annoying. Pop-up and banner advertisements might make
your site appear unprofessional. Usually, users can distinguish between free
web sites and commercial grade websites simply due to this advertising.
2)
Selling you other services
The services that you get from
your web hosting company are likely to be very limited. To add additional
services will always cost money, and you will usually find that after you've
added a service or two, you will be paying as much as you would if you were
using an inexpensive web hosting provider (without those pop-ups).
Some companies require that you
register your domain through them, or pay a high domain transfer fee (sometimes
as high as $50). These rates are usually higher than what most companies
offer. In a sense, you are paying for your 'free' web hosting through higher
fees for other services.
Determine
if your web hosting company is really free
The best thing that you can do
is determine what services you will need (email, domain transfer, disk space,
etc.) Then determine how much it would cost for you to obtain those services
from both a free web hosting provider and an inexpensive
commercial company. Compare the prices and see which is cheaper.
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The services that free web
hosting providers offer vary greatly by company. The one constant between
companies is that the services are limited. Some common services offered
include:
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Shared web hosting
-
Limited diskspace and
bandwidth - diskspace is usually less than 25Mb, frequently less than 5
or 10 Mb
-
Some email support - you may
be able to receive messages, but often you will not be able to send them
from your account
-
Subdomain - Many free web
hosting companies will offer you a subdomain of the form: <yourdomain>.hostingcompany.com.
This is different from the more common <yourdomain>.com.
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Registration or transfer of
your domain name - for an additional fee
You will not usually find these
services provided by a free web hosting company:
-
Dedicated hosting (All free
web hosting is shared hosting)
-
Database support
-
Large diskspace or bandwidth
-
Support for server-side
technologies (.ASP, PHP, ColdFusion, etc.)
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Many web hosting companies
provide inexpensive shared web hosting for as little as $2-3 per month.
Often the services that they provide are far more complete than those
offered by free web hosting companies.
If you are considering a free
web hosting company, you should also investigate inexpensive web hosting
companies. These companies are often less expensive in the long run,
particularly if you would like to have a web site without advertising.
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Advanced Questions
Yes, you can certainly host your
web site at home, but it often sounds easier than it actually is. This
solution probably won't make the most sense for you.
There are several reasons why it
isn't a great idea to host your web site at home:
-
Most
ISPs won't allow it.
Many consumer broadband ISPs do not legally allow you to host a web site
unless you upgrade to their business ISP service. Some ISPs employ
technology to prevent you from hosting a web site on your computer (such
as port blocking). To upgrade to a business ISP may cost an additional
$20 to $50 a month.
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Dynamic
IP allocation creates a unique challenge for web hosting .
Many broadband ISPs now employ dynamic IP allocation, so your computer
gets a new IP address every time that it connects to the Internet. This
makes web hosting challenging (although not impossible).
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Slower
upstream speeds mean that your site could load slowly.
DSL (and sometimes cable modem service) provide different upstream and
downstream bandwidths (since most users usually receive information, not
send it).
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Your
site's uptime will be reduced.
Web hosting companies work to make sure that your web server is always
up and running, and that your web site is always connected to the
Internet. Nearly all web hosting companies have backup power supplies,
and backup Internet connections.
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Managed hosting is
similar to dedicated hosting, but you get more service and support.
Specifically, the web hosting company will watch over your server,
troubleshoot problems, perform regular backups, install patches, etc. The
specific services offered by managed hosting companies vary, so make sure
you account for this difference as you compare prices.
Colocation is a form of dedicated
hosting. If you collocate a server, you provide the hardware and the
colocation provider installs it for you in its data center. The provider
takes care of making sure that you have a consistent Internet connection and
ensures that you have a steady power source that is protected against
blackouts or other power failures. You handle everything else with the
server. You usually pay for the rack space (the space that your server takes
up) and the bandwidth that your server consumes. Colocation is a service
that is generally used by more experienced webmasters.
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The answer is that it depends.
If you are asking this question, then it probably doesn't matter. All three
operating systems are reliable and offer reliable web servers that support
common technologies such as Java. If you ask this question in a room full of
webmasters, you may just initiate a heated debate.
However, the optimal web server
and operating system for you depends on the technologies that you want to
use with your web site. If you're using Front Page Extensions, ASP, .NET or
other Microsoft technologies, you are probably better off with a Windows
server.
If you're more comfortable with
PhP and Apache, you are probably better off with a Unix-based operating
system. Many web hosting companies utilize a Linux/Apache combination
primarily due to cost and familiarity (and many will also argue stability).
You'll find that most web hosting companies run Linux/Apache systems.
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