Domain Name Transfers

Transferring a domain name can be as easy as signing up for a forum or as difficult as recreating the Mona Lisa. Here are some ways to make a transfer go smoother and some key points to remember on the domain name transfer process.

Before you go to your registrar's home page or call any support number, take a step back and make sure you know what you want to do! I can't stress this enough: if you are confused as to what you want to do, then you will probably confuse the customer service representative and that's not good! We are going to assume that you want to take a domain name that's registered with a certain registrar and move the domain name to another registrar. Please take note that the ONLY thing this accomplishes is that the domain name is now "leased" by a different company, that's it! This has nothing to do with your website, your email, your DNS, or anything like that! The most common mistake is when someone's webhost tells them to "transfer" the domain name to different servers. What they are talking about is something called DNS and that's another article on its own. So if you're still with me and want to change the registrar of record for the domain name, then please continue.

If you have gotten this far then you probably have another registrar in mind where you want to move the domain name to. That's great! Many people ask which companies I recommend and from personal experience I would say use GoDaddy or Network Solutions. While the price difference is considerable, they both have different things to offer so it comes down to what you want and what you need.

The first thing that needs to be done for a domain name transfer is the transfer needs to be initiated. The only company that can initiate a domain name transfer is the gaining registrar (the company you want to move the domain to). No one else is able to do this, so either call up the new registrar, or go to their website to initiate the transfer. You will most likely need to set up an account if you don't already have one which only takes a few minutes. Initiating the transfer is quite easy as most registrars have a very simple online process. While each registrar is different, the process is usually as simple as logging into your account, clicking on something that says "transfer domains", typing in the domain name, and clicking "ok".

Now the transfer is in motion! Here's what happens behind the scenes to your domain name - it's important to understand this so you know what's going on at all times! The gaining registrar sends an email to the admin contact in the WHOIS database for this domain name. In that email, there is a link the admin needs to click on and actively accept the transfer of the domain name. If the admin contact fails to accept the transfer via this hyperlink, the gaining registrar will acknowledge this as rejecting the transfer. The time limit to accept this transfer request is usually around 7 days.

If the admin contact's email address in the WHOIS record is not correct, then it needs to be updated before anything else. This process can sometimes take a while depending on the account information the registrar of record has in its database. This is a very good reason for initiating a transfer well before it's due to expire.

Now, if the admin contact approves the transfer request, then the gaining registrar sends a notification to the registry for the domain TLD. The registry checks the status of the domain and tells the gaining registrar if it's ok to continue or not. In order for a domain name to transfer, it has to be in an ACTIVE status. If the domain is locked, pending delete, in redemption, inactive - anything other than ACTIVE, it will not transfer. This is important to know because most people transfer a domain name when it's about to expire or just after it expired. This isn't good because most registrars will deactivate a domain name shortly after expiration which will automatically block transfer requests. And before you ask, yes, they have every right to do this and they do not have to reactivate your domain name for you until you pay them a renewal fee. So make sure you initiate a transfer early - I recommend at least 14 days in advance, but more if possible. The domain name also needs to be registered with a given registrar for at least 60 days. This means you cannot purchase a domain name and then transfer it to another registrar of record in less than 60 days. You also can't transfer a domain name, and then transfer it again within 60 days.

If the domain name is in an ACTIVE state and has been registered for more than 60 days, the registry informs the gaining registrar that the transfer process will continue. The registry then informs the losing registrar that a transfer request has been made for the domain name.

This part can be tricky depending how your current registrar handles outbound transfer requests. ICANN states that the gaining registrar is the one who carries the burden of proof of authentication. This basically means the gaining registrar is responsible for contacting the correct person (admin contact) and getting their explicit approval for the domain name transfer. The losing registrar does not have this burden, and therefore is not bound to the same specific rules as the gaining registrar. The losing registrar may contact the admin contact, the registrant, an account contact - whoever they deem fit for a domain transfer approval.

The losing registrar has 5 days to respond to the registry. If the losing registrar does not respond to the registry in 5 days, then the registry automatically assume the transfer was approved by the losing registrar. This means that if the contact who received the losing registrar's email took no action, deleted their email, or chose to ignore it, the transfer request would be considered approved from the losing registrar.

I'd like to point out the potential danger that can be caused here. There is potential for someone trying to take control or ownership of the domain name by initiating a transfer request. If they can somehow get the transfer request to this step, and the contact on record for the losing registrar does not receive the email or takes no action, the transfer will be automatically approved! For this reason, it is always recommend to be with a registrar who has some kind of "domain locking" or "domain protect" feature.

If the transfer is approved, then the losing registrar notifies the registry. The registry then moves the domain name from the losing registrar to the gaining registrar's account. The registry then notifies the gaining registrar that the transfer has completed and the gaining registrar notifies the person on the account where the domain transfer was initiated.

Is this complicated? Well it certainly can be. However, it's best to understand this because you'll be surprised at how many customer service representatives don't even know the details of this process. And the worst thing you can do is "take someones word for it" when it comes to your domain names! I hope this helped out a few people and remember: lock your domains, always make sure the contact information in both the WHOIS record and your registrar's account is up to date!

Web Sites, Domain Names, And Name Servers (What's DNS All About?)...

I explain Domain Name Servers and Name Servers to a friend of mine all the time. He builds web sites part time. I know he's not alone; DNS confuses a lot of people.

The internet works by assigning an address to each device attached to it. This address is called an Internet Protocol Address or IP Address for short. It's a 32 bit number that's commonly written as 4 segments or octets (called an octet because each 4th is 8 bits) such as 10.10.1.1 or 216.54.217.22. Each octet can range between 0 and 255. This address works just like your street address: a packet (a chunk of communication between two devices) leaving your computer and heading for Google moves through devices call routers that route traffic on the internet. The router looks at the destination IP Address and knows which way to send the packet. Just like a letter moves through various post offices and delivery vehicles (mail man, mail trucks, airplanes, etc.) your little packet of internet traffic moves across various communication channels (phone lines, cable lines, fiber, etc.) and providers (UUNet, Cogent, Level3, Time-Warner, AT&T, Sprint, AboveNet, etc.). It finally arrives at its destination and is processed and a return packet is sent back... in just the same way, it finds its way back based on your IP Address.

The Internet would be pretty hard to use if you had to remember all those IP Addresses when you wanted to visit a web page, so a naming scheme is used that allows you to enter a name that is easy to remember instead of a sequence of numbers. So, how does your computer get the IP Address of a web site when you type in the name? That's where Domain Name Servers do their job.

Name Servers. A Name Server holds the information that relates the IP Addresses for a web site to the names used to access that web site. If you want to have a web site with a domain name, you have to register or purchase (more like rent) the domain name from a service call a registrar. When I registered the domain name for my web site, I told the registrar what Name Server I was using, Most people will use the Name Servers provided by their hosting facility (where they rent the server space for their web site). That Name Server is configured to have a "zone" for my domain and that zone contains records that relate a name to an IP address, this is called an "A Record". An "MX Record" is used to identify the mail server for that zone, for example, I have an "A Record" for my domain that points to the IP address of the web server, and the "MX Record" points to the mail server for my domain. These may or may not be on the same server. When someone sends me email, their mail server will request the Name Server for my domain and will get it's IP Address, then it can request the MX Record and get it's IP Address, and then it can send packets of mail to the mail server for my domain.

Domain Name Servers. A Domain Name Server stores the domain names and associated IP Addresses for a period of time.

This is stored or cached on a server called a Domain Name Server, or DNS server for short. If the time specified for caching a domain name / IP Address relationship has passed the DNS server will remove it from its cache. When a request for an IP Address is made, and the DNS server does not have that address in its cache, the DNS Server will make a request to a set of special servers on the internet that hold the addresses for all the Name Servers and which domain names each one controls. It can then send a request to the name server for that domain to get the IP Address for the domain name and return it to the computer or device making the original request. All Internet Providers have several DNS servers and as you browse the internet your computer is constantly sending requests to these DNS servers to get (or resolve) IP Addresses for the domain names you type in or links you click on.

A web site's name to address relationships are stored on Name Servers, as you browse the Internet, DNS servers either provide the address back to your computer from cache, or, look up the Name Server for your domain and then gets the correct Name Server to get the IP Address.

Now you too understand DNS and Name Servers!

What To Do When All The Good Domain Names Are Taken

Decent available domain names are becoming harder to find these days. Nearly 25 million ".com" names have been registered, and over 23 thousand are purchased every day. It also means that you're more likely to win the grand prize lottery then find a great domain name.
Owning a domain name that helps to successfully "magnetize" a flood of incoming traffic is like gold to any online business. But the increasing scarcity of domain names that are simple to remember, short and suggestive have turned them into red hot commodities.

Just take a look at some of the recent domain name acquisitions:

· business.com sold for $7.5 million
· asseenontv.com sold for $5 million
· altavista.com sold for $3.3 million
· loans.com sold for $3 million
· autos.com sold for $2.2 million
· wallstreet.com sold for $1.03 million
· forsalebyowner.com sold for $835,000
· drugs.com sold for $825,000
· cinema.com sold for $700,000
· art.com sold for $450,000
· engineering.org sold for $199,000
· fruits.com sold for $160,000
· perfect.com sold for $94,000

However, while some of these domain names may have been sold for millions, corporate buyers backed by large bank accounts are not alone in the domain name game. Even entrepreneurs are making a great living in purchasing and selling their own domains.

Not a day goes by, that a domain name sells for as less as $100 or as much as $1 million on public auction sites. For example, eBay.com recently featured actual bids for as little as $500 for "golegs.com" to as much as $20,000 for "arlington.com" -- and thousands more drifting anywhere in between.

Some people seem to know where to get these "nuggets of gold." In fact, a small handful know about an untapped goldmine that lies discreetly tucked away in the dark corners of the vast Internet. And the awareness of this source has helped these "lucky" individuals earn either outrageous fortunes or monstrous levels of traffic for their website.

The goldmine to which I'm referring is the pool of recently expired domain names. While only a few knows it exists, regardless it is expanding with every passing day. There are literally tens of thousands of unclaimed, non-renewed and expired domain names that become available on a daily basis.

An expired domain name is one that was registered previously but was not paid for in time for the renewal date, thus returning it to the listing of available domains. There are many probable reasons for non-renewal (e.g., forgetful owner, no more interest in site, no longer in business, no longer active or didn't pay for whatever reason).

However, you may be asking, "Sure, but I'm never going to find good domain names before some other person snatches them up." For a long time, being "lucky" also meant being alert for the numerous domains that become available, and being quick in registering them before anyone else does.

New tools are becoming available, making the process of searching, finding and registering great domain names much easier. In fact, some of them assist you to become aware of the near expiring domains, giving you an advantage over your competitors that permits you to grab names seconds after they've been dropped.

Nevertheless, a compelling domain name can help an online business become more visible, credible and accessible. And it will help someone earn a rather large fortune. While in the past, finding one was very prohibitive, with the help of tools that are now at your disposal, you now can be a part of the gold rush, too.


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Naming a domain can be a difficult task when your goal is to run a successful business online. For an idea on how to choose a domain name click here!

Choosing Small Business Website Names

I disagree with the comment made by some web developers that all the good domain names are taken. Search engine optimization, or seo, does not depend heavily on the www name you select. For my clients just starting out the decision choosing small business website names has never been an issue. It is a fact that all the 3 character and 4 character domain names with the key extensions are taken. Furthermore, I agree that a vast number of choice domain names are no longer available; however, the selection of a suitable www domain for your small business is possible if you remain flexible.

The real value in the name you choose from a search perspective is how easy it is to spell and remember. Of the two types of visitors to your site, the human visitors and search engines, the ability of a person to remember your domain name and spell it correctly to pass it on to others outweighs any SEO value. Search engines are robots and don't care.

Using words like "greatest", "best", or other exaggerated terms in your domain name is thought by some to be a disadvantage and penalized by search engines. Search algorithms change often and likewise that theory, and although you may not be penalized for using such words, consider the reaction of your human visitors. They may not stick around if they feel you boast without the content to back it up. For a serious small business commercial enterprise, my advice is avoiding adjectives in the domain name entirely.

In some cases new clients approach me to redesign an existing website, and it surprises me that some of the basics are overlooked. For example, a commercial enterprise in business for profit should not select a dot ORG domain simply because the dot COM was taken. This was the case from a conversation with a client interested in a site makeover. Their ORG version was online for two years with little or no backlinks or serious indexing from search engines. The mindset of getting one particular name should be reconsidered especially if it's your first online venture.

Here's a breakdown of the most desirable domain extensions and the usual purpose of each:

COM - Commercial for profit enterprise
INFO - Information only related website
NET - Companies providing internet services
ORG - Non-profit organizations

Certainly there are many more like BIZ, US, WS, and others which are all reasonable choices, but for your commercial small business my recommendation is always acquire a dot COM www domain name. The client mentioned earlier did not realize a dot ORG was intended for a non-commercial enterprise, and they decided the poor website SEO performance was something that justified getting a new dot COM. We easily found an available www domain using their company initials and one key word about their target market which is medical. Despite my advice that they keep the existing site and simply change the theme, they decided to just let it go when it expired.

My commercial site choice was my first and last name, and very unique at that. Using your name is okay, and expected if you're famous. There is, however, little or no value as far as keywords in my www domain to attract visitors, so is that a mistake for search engine optimization? Certainly not. The fact that I have collected more than 100 screenshots of generic phrases relative to my business that made Google page one is evidence the content, not the domain, is key.

Here's some advice to help you when choosing a new dot COM small business website domain name.

Start out with a list of about 10 domain names that you would like to have. Next, make a list of market related single word terms about what you do and the customer base you service. If your market is localized, consider geographical terms that relate to where you sell or provide services. Spend 30 minutes brainstorming to come up with the initial names and additional lists of single word terms. You may want another list of significant initials.

Next, search for "WhoIs" in Google to find free online services that keep a database of available domain names, and follow the link in the search results. Each database has a search box which allows you to input the domain name and extension. Begin with your first choice and work down the list and keep track of available names for review later. It may not be easy, so try combinations of the key terms as you continue to search, and keep in mind you want a domain name that is easy to spell and remember. By the time you're done you should have a half dozen or more available names, so take your time and select the best one, and then register the name immediately.

Tip: The domain name may not be significant for search engine optimization, but the length of your registration can be. My advice is registering domains for 2 years minimum, and 5 to 10 years if that's in your budget. Search engines consider that the length of your registration reflects your commitment to be online long term, so at today's prices 5 years is practical and should cost less than $50 USD.

There's nothing wrong with getting the dot COM domain name you want, and then registering the other major extensions that are available for the same name. If you are highly successful in your online venture, having the other extensions registered in your name prevents others from attempting to take advantage of your reputation by association. In conclusion, the concept that all the good domain names are taken is a myth. You may not get exactly what you want, but practical options are available with a little research and due diligence.

All about Linux/Unix-based hosting

What is Linux/Unix-based hosting?

It means hosting that is provided on Linux/Unix operating systems platforms. There isn't much difference between these two types of operating systems because Linux/Unix is an improved version of Linux/Unix operating system. When just applying for web hosting companies for web hosting that is based on Linux operating system it doesn't matter which one you are using on your computer as it is commensurable with any operating system.

Usability

Some years ago Linux operating system used to be available only for professionals and if you were not an experienced user you had no future with this OS. In the last couple of years the situation has changed. Providers have done their best to make users' web sites administrating more comfortable and easier. In case you're just a beginner you'll find friendly control panels that include Web- interface. And if you are an experienced user you can control your site by means of shell.

Reliability

Experts claim that Unix-based platform is one of the most reliable ones but it will mainly depend on maintenance stuff professionalism. Thus quality and stability of Linux-based web hosting won't depend on some sudden system bugs and the operating system consistency itself secures your web site operating dependability.

Functionality

In this area Linux differs the most from other popular platforms. It can handle a lot of processes that happen at the same time. This gives you a possibility to get more from the server.

What Scripting Languages Are Available For Unix?

Unix supports a wide variety of application languages, more than any other operating system. The most common applications of such kind include C, C++, Shell, Perl, Tcl, Python, Java and PHP.

What Databases Does Unix Support?

Databases available for Unix are mSQL and mySQL. The one you choose would depend on your own needs and your Host Provider's offers. This is important for you to review when choosing a hosting company.

Cost

Linux operating system was developed by Linus Torvalds as an alternative to other operating systems and is being improved by many specialists all around the world. Most of its versions are free of charge. This circumstance makes Linux-based hosting much cheaper than any other. As for Linux versions they are sometimes called Linux Distributions. The most popular Distributions are RedHat and Mandrake. Which are easy to install have a lot of different utilities and suitable for any web hosting type.

Why choose Linux/Unix-based hosting?

So, as it was mentioned before using this platform is cheaper and more convenient than others. All existent scripts, like PHP, function best when using the Linux-based web hosting. Linux/Unix based web hosting upgrading possibilities increase when using Shell and Telnet access. The Linux/Unix-based platform is probably the most stable and reliable.

More hosting information you can also find here http://www.webhost18.com/blog

Dedicated Web Hosting : The Executive Summary

What is Dedicated Web Hosting?
Dedicated web hosting can alleviate the need to share hardware or software with any other sites or web pages. Webmasters are given the autonomy to decide on applications that are installed on the server to create specific configurations for their web needs, and have the ability to provide a secure environment for their site. As compared to a shared-server environment, dedicated web hosting offers a peace of mind that a site will be delivered in a reliable and secure manner.

There are major benefits of dedicated web hosting, as discussed below. However, the major disadvantage, cost, is quickly being overcome. Because of continual growth in the dedicated web hosting industry, the rates for dedicated server plans are rapidly declining. A competitive environment drives up the level of service and decreases cost. This reduction is powered by an increase in small and medium-sized businesses gaining an online presence and the rapid proliferation of web hosting providers.

Advantages: Dedicated server hosting is favorable because of 2 major assets: control and reliability.

Since a dedicated web administrator has more control over a dedicated server, it tends to be more secure, compared to a shared web server. By knowing what exactly is installed on a dedicated server through full root access, a system administrator is able to confidently make decisions on the software and application updates necessary to maintain the dedicated web server and keep it running in its most optimal configuration.

Increased reliability is another major asset of dedicated server web hosting, as a server administrator has the self-sufficiency to optimize page loads by tweaking variables such as page load speed and general server resource allocation. This server reliability translates to customer satisfaction and an increase in the bottom line goals of a web site’s presence.

Disadvantages: While the benefits of dedicated web server hosting is apparent, the bottom line consideration, especially for business purposes is cost. Dedicated web hosting is significantly more expensive compared to shared or virtual web hosting, and until recently, could most commonly be quoted at several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars per month. Although cost may still be exorbitant, most businesses are able to justify the use of dedicated servers through a true web analysis to weigh the resources necessary to run applications and code.
Another drawback is the need to be able to monitor, install, upgrade and configure programs, add sites, deal with potential hacks, and troubleshoot systems. Therefore, the necessary system administration skills, if one does not possess them, may definitely inhibit the successful implementation of a web site hosted on a dedicated web server.

Benefits: The direct benefits of a dedicated web hosting plan surround the ability to totally administer a web server. The advantage to be able to effectively maintain a dedicated server lies in one’s ability to control the variables associated with reliability and stability. In a dedicated environment, server overload, malicious scripts from other users, and too many installed applications are variables which can be controlled, as compared to this loss of management in shared server hosting.

Furthermore, a dedicated server allows one to only install applications or software that applies to the major hosting goal at hand. Conversely, shared web hosting has installed software that may or may not be related to the web hosting goals.

Reliance on the web host repair services and time delays of platform repairs can be minimized, as one may intervene and provide solutions to existing problems with dedicated web hosting. Having the option to add patches, upgrade software, or tweak performance is invaluable and allows the dedicated server administrator to work with 24 hour access to perform adjustments, corrections, or updates.

Lastly, speed of downloads can be determined through the amount of bandwidth that is dedicated to just your website. Statistically, visitors will quickly leave a site if the load time was long. Dedicated servers allow quick delivery of web pages, which increases the probability of keeping web site visitors on a site that may convert them to paying customers. Furthermore, quick loading pages enhance the company’s image and may encourage existing customers to refer your web-based services to others.

What is the best application of a dedicated web hosting service provider?

Utility of a dedicated server environment is best suited to those with a working knowledge of server operating systems and those who don’t mind troubleshooting problems which may arise.

Server administrators must be able to apply kernel upgrades, service packs, and software patches, as well as provide ample security, monitor traffic, update server applications, balance server loads, and configure email, FTP, and DNS services.

In exchange for competency in the above functions, the best uses for a dedicated web server environment would be:

· mission-critical sites requiring custom server management and software implementation.
· dedicated hosting resellers, web developers and designers who need greater flexibility, reliability and security for their clients
· backbones of corporate intranets
· robust and dependable servers for streaming media, online gaming, and e-mail or chat applications
· complex application sites with high traffic and secure information such as ecommerce, database, and multimedia sites.
· enterprise-level web sites
· Web sites which may have content restrictions if hosted elsewhere (e.g. adult targeted sites.)

How to decide:
Overall, the cost, security of data and equipment, bandwidth availability, the knowledge and integrity of the web-hosting provider, uptime, hardware maintenance, and any technical support offered by the dedicated web host are important deciding factors. Although your specific dedicated web hosting needs may be unique in a few ways, generally, one can make a decision on a dedicated web server provider by considering the following things:

Data Transfer Rates: Data transfer will need to be determined based on the amount of information that will be downloaded, as well as the type of content a site will be sharing (general text vs. high resolution graphics and multimedia). A dedicated web host will generally have various packages that will allow one to choose the data transfer level, normally measured in “gigabytes per month”. Higher levels of data transfer rates normally mean more cost, so utilization of the first few months to correlate data transfer rates and traffic patterns is key.

Platforms: The two most common systems available are Windows based servers versus some flavor of UNIX (Linux and Solaris). Windows is historically more expensive, but is generally regarded as more user-friendly, especially with the ubiquitous presence of Windows-based pc’s and administrators. Linux, on the other hand, is less expensive to install, but harder to maintain, as a steeper learning curve exists for those unfamiliar with it. Therefore, the operating system installed on a dedicated web server should depend on a couple of factors.

First, the platform should be conducive to the coding in which the website and necessary applications are developed. Next, since administration of the dedicated server will be done by the subscriber, the necessary skill base to support the platform must be in place. Commands and administration techniques are definitely platform-specific.

Monitoring: Dedicated server monitoring works to prevent service interruptions. The web host will provide a service that can, at a pre-set frequency, check a website to see downtime.

Automation: Although dedicated web servers may require a greater degree of skill, certain dedicated web hosting companies may offer software that will automate common procedures, thus lessening the high level knowledge necessary to maintain servers and implement new services.

Data Backup: Some dedicated web hosting providers assist the web hosting subscriber with data backups. Finding a dedicated server provider who will assist in this process could alleviate the hassle of doing it yourself and can allow one to devote time to other things.

Scalability: Dedicated web hosting providers should be able to account for major growth. Progressive expansion can be accounted for by asking a web host if modules of extra space, bandwidth, or better yet, larger packages can be purchased to allow easy transition to better hardware and software.

Service Level Agreements: More dedicated web hosts are publishing their SLA’s, which thoroughly documents what they will do in exchange for what the customer is responsible for. For instance, some dedicated server hosts are offering features such as: 100% uptime guarantees, unlimited live answer technical phone-based support, free upgrades of patches, hot-fixes, personal Dedicated Sales account managers, maintenance staff with spare parts for all server configurations, and more. A full understanding of the commitment that a dedicated web host is offering will help in a decision to utilize that service.

Free Web Hosting - Why Might It Be A Bad Idea

When talking about free anything the legitimate question that first pops into your mind is why pay when you can get it free?

And as for free web hosting there are plenty of places to get it from. As spread as they are, if you are not a stranger to the whole Internet experience, you might even have a web site hosted for free.

Are you satisfied with your provider? Is it everything you wanted? Probably not. Anyway it is true that is comes with no cost and no other aggravations… or are there any?

Free web hosting cost no money but what can you expect from one?

Your web site will be turned into an advertising machine that works for the free web host. Expect, banners, pop up windows, frames. They will all mess the look of your web site in terms of design and accessibility for your visitors that might be literally flooded with popups almost after every click-through

You can't make advertising revenue of your web site, as most free web hosts don't allow it. This is not such a big issue when you are maintaining a personal web site, but the cutting-off advertising revenues can mean significant losses for a business. For this last case, only a paid web hosting solution might be the right answer.

Very little space for your web pages. With free web hosting provider offering 5 to 15 MB of disk space, your site's expansion will severely restricted. Growing your web site above the offered quota would result in transferring to a paid plan offered by the same hosting provider or finding a different paid web-hosting provider. In both cases you end paying for your hosting and you might loose traffic to your web site due to changing hosts.

No online store can go without secure server to enable secure online credit card processing. The great majority of free hosts don't support secure web servers. Customers fearing fraud and concerned about their personal information will make it impossible, at least very hard for an online store to survive on a free host. And anyway, have you ever heard of a successful online store hosted by a free web host? None will hear from yours either.

The uptime of your web site will be like the weather forecast. Hope for good, but prepare for the worse. Downtime through free web hosts is unfortunately very common. As web hosts generate their revenues from advertising, they don't feel very much compelled to care for the web site of a subscriber who doesn't pay them anyway.

To whom will you turn when experiencing the above mentioned downtime or other technical problem with your web site? Free web hosts usually have a limited budget and don't afford to hire large customer support teams, if any. You will find yourself alone, staring at the FAQ page.

Your domain name will be measured in feet and will tell nothing or very little of your business. This obviously results in low traffic scores, as your visitors won't be able to remember your URL. Can you rely only on search engines, linked sites and people bookmarking your web site? If yes, at least consider the fact that in the age when companies try to create a personalized image, your web site will be condemned to be just another subdomain of your free host.

Will your customers trust a business hosted by a free web host? What credibility will your web site inspire? Not a very high one.

The above list is really rather long, but as surprisingly as it might be, it is far from being complete. Other additions to it could be that free web hosts not always offer FTP access to your web site file, or you only have one e-mail address to work with and probably looks like mysite@anotherfreeserver.com.

Yes, paid web hosting requires money, but the prices are lower than they used
to be, and the advantages are rather impressive.

Just turn all the above you can't… or you have to do without… list around. You are searching for a solution to host your business or even a professional personal web site, don't look for it at a free web host.

Linux vs. Windows web Hosting, does it make a difference?

One of the most confusing decisions someone new to web hosting will have to make is which platform their server should be on. There are a number of different choices out there but the main two are Linux and Windows web servers. There are also a lot of sources of information about hosting, but the majority of them are tainted by the author's biased personal opinion unfortunately confusing the issue. Having just put in some solid hours researching the topic I have come to the conclusion that in general it quite probably does not matter which server you use. For the majority of people it will be far more important to choose a really good web host than to worry about the server-type that they implement.

Microsoft developed and owns the Windows operating system. Linux is open source and generally free. This means it can often be more expensive to set up and run a Windows server. However, this fact doesn't really affect you unless you are actually setting up a server for yourself and if you're reading this article then I'm guessing that it's safe to assume you're not. This article is going to offer information for those trying to decide which hosting company to go with. The cost involved in running a server does not affect the cost of a web-hosting package as much as you may think. Despite the general opinion that Windows servers are more expensive to run, buying a Windows hosting package can often turn out to be just as cheap or even cheaper than an equivalent Linux hosting package.

Some people naturally assume that because their PC runs Windows they need to buy a Windows hosting package. This isn't true. Access to your web account will most likely be through FTP or a control panel and both servers support these methods. The main difference is that some of the FTP commands are slightly different between Linux and Windows and some FTP programs will be designed with one or the other in mind. This means you may occasionally find that when you try and get your FTP program to do something it returns an error message, but it won't happen very often.

Your choice of server platforms should be dictated by the use to which you intend to put it. The majority of web features run fine on both platforms including PHP, mySQL, POP3 etc. If you intend to create your site using ASP, FrontPage, the .NET environment, Windows Streaming Media, Access, MSSQL, or any of the other Microsoft proprietary technologies then you probably need to use a Windows host. There is limited support for a number of these technologies in Linux, but they can be expensive and are usually lacking in features. It is probably worth considering the fact that if you use server specific technologies and then change hosts you'll have a much harder time of it than if you use technologies that can be run on any system. Having it run generic technologies removes the need to focus on specifics and allows you to focus on the quality of service itself.

The reliability and stability of the different platforms have been the topic of many long arguments. The main reason that Windows is seen as being insecure is that it is the most widely used operating system for home PC's. People spend more time looking for flaws in the most common system. With Linux being the most common server type, it has a surprising number of successful hack attempts made on it. In the end the security of both platforms comes down to the competency of the system administrators. If you are security minded then you'll do better to make sure that the hosting company is reputable and highly skilled than to worry about the server they use.

In terms of performance there's not a huge difference between the two servers. Linux reportedly performs faster because Windows (as usual) attempts to offer an 'all in one' package instead of the extendable Linux implementation. You'll generally not notice a difference but if performance is of utmost importance to you then maybe this will influence your decision.

I've come to the conclusion that unless you are specifically using features that are unique to one platform or another your time will be much better spent looking for a really good quality host than a really good quality server. Developers are constantly improving both Linux and Windows so they should be fairly close in terms of features, security, and reliability for a long time. It's the people implementing them that you should be basing your decision on.

What Type of Web Hosting is Best for You?

How to Choose the Right Type of Web Hosting

Are you confused with all of the different types of web hosting? Do you know which type is best for you? This guide will try and help you to find out which type of web hosting best suits your needs and budget.

First of all, here are the different terms that will be discussed:

Shared hosting
Reseller hosting
VPS (virtual private server)
Dedicated server
Colocation

What is shared hosting?
Shared hosting is the most common type of budget web hosting. You are hosted on a server with different websites, that you share the server with. One abusive site can slow down the whole server, and on an unsecured server, a malicious user can gain access to your files. The number of sites hosted on a server depends on the web host, and the size of the plans. Users on shared servers often experience slow speeds, due to overselling. Many shared server web hosts oversell their servers. Overselling is assuming that most users will not use up all of their resources, so they put more users on a server than it could hold if every user used up all of their alloted resources. This isn't too big of an issue if web hosts know what they're doing, and oversell responsibly. Shared hosting can start very cheap, as low as a couple dollars per month, but I suggest going with something a little more costly.

What is reseller hosting? Reseller hosting is very similar to shared hosting. Reseller hosting takes place on a shared server. The difference between shared and reseller hosting is that with a reseller account, you can create shared hosting accounts. Depending on the host, you can create an unlimited number of shared users, but of course you cannot use more space and bandwidth than you are alloted. With reseller hosting, you can start your own web hosting business, give hosting away to friends, or make many accounts for yourself. Overselling can still be an issue with reseller hosting, because you still share the server with other resellers and shared hosting users. Reseller hosting usually costs a little more than shared hosting, starting at around $15-20.

What is a VPS?
A VPS is a virtual private server. Also known sometimes as a VDS, or virtual dedicated server. A VPS is very similar to a dedicated server, except that you are still sharing the server with other users. However, with a VPS, you are in an isolated environment. Each VPS user has its own partition of the server, and therefore an abusive user does not effect other users on the VPS. You get root access to the server, and can install your own software. You also have the ability to create reseller accounts. With a VPS, you can do everything that shared and reseller hosting users can, as well as complete control over your slice of the server. VPS costs more than shared and reseller hosting, with usually starting around $40 a month. I can recommend PowerVPS.com with firsthand experience, I am very happy with them. Their lowest price for a cPanel VPS is $44.50 a month with 10GB storage and 150GB bandwidth. I also recommend (without firsthand experience) LiquidWeb.com, which starts at $60/month with 20GB storage and 200GB bandwidth.

What is a dedicated server?
A dedicated server is very similar to a VPS, except that you get the full server. You get full root access and complete control over it. With a dedicated server, however, comes a lot of responsibility. You need to make sure that the server is fully secure. A managed server means that the company you are getting the dedicated server from will manage it for you, but the amount of management that you receive depends on the company. If you are interested in a managed server, you should ask the host ahead of time about the amount of management that they will provide. You can also outsource the management. There are numerous companies out there that you can outsource the management to. The one I've seen with the lowest price that has good reviews is FastServerManagement.com, which is priced at $29.99 a month for full management. I've also read some good things about Rack911.com, but they cost more. You can always manage it yourself, but if using a Linux server you will need a lot of Linux experience, or with a Windows server there are a lot of security flaws that need to be fixed. If managing it yourself, I recommend getting a security scan on your server done to ensure that it is fully secured. For the hosting provider, I recommend ThePlanet.com, a very large hosting company which owns 2 datacenters in Texas. They offer servers with a minimum amount of management starting at $199.99 a month (or sometimes more, when they're not on sale). They also have a cheaper line of servers, starting at $99/month, at ServerMatrix.com. You may also want to look at Ev1Servers.Net, which starts at $99 a month, or LayeredTech.com, which starts at $60/month. You could always also do a Google search for "dedicated servers" and get lots of results.

What is colocation?
I won't go to much into depth here, because I have no experience with colocation. With colocation, you own a server and you pay a datacenter to hold it for you. They will provide the space in the datacenter, bandwidth, IP addresses, etc. Some hosting companies that offer colocation provide on-site staff, but others will require you to have your own staff.

This wraps up my summary of the different types of web hosting. I didn't recommend any shared or reseller providers because there are so many out there. I recommend going to WebHostingTalk.com to read reviews about different web hosting companies. I didn't recommend any colocation providers because I have no experience with any. I hope that I did a good job explaining all of this.

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Business Web Hosting: Which is Right for You?

Business web hosting is what you need. You have a website you need to put online. When you look around on the internet, there are thousands of choices. How do you choose the right web hosting package for your business?

Reliable web hosting

Business web hosting must be reliable. The last thing you need to worry about is that the provider's service becomes unavailable for long stretches of time. What kind of uptime guarantee do they provide you with? How long have they been in business?

Hosting support when you need it

What level of support does the company offer you? You may not need 24x7 service but is their support desk open reasonable hours? Beware of companies that only offer email web hosting support. Some of these companies will tell you that they only offer email hosting support in order to keep costs down. What they often don't say is that they are doing the business part time and can't possibly be available to answer the phone. When you need help, you may have to wait days to get service.

Ecommerce web hosting

Do you plan to sell online? If so, does the web host have shopping carts available? Are they included for free or are they extra? Get the names of the ecommerce shopping carts they provide, and research their capabilities to be able to determine which one is best for you.

Website response times

Be sure to ask the hosting provider for a list of websites that are hosted on their servers. Enter a few of them into your browser and pay attention to how fast they come up. If all of them take a long time to load, this may indicate that the hosting provider's servers are overloaded. Doing a ping on the website addresses is another way to measure the time it takes for the server to respond. Keep in mind though, that a ping test will be more of a measure of a bandwidth bottleneck than a server problem.

Web Hosting bandwidth: How much do you get?

How much bandwidth does the web hosting service provide you with every month? If it is only 500mb per month and your website is 50 kilobytes in size, this will only allow 10,000 visitors per month to hit your website. If you expect to need more, make sure you can live with the extra charges the hosting provider will levy. If you website traffic explodes, you may be on the hook for large bandwidth overage charges.

Small business web hosting that is reliable is a vital part of any success your company will experience online. Doing your homework ahead of time will save you lots of grief later on.

Choosing a right hosting solution

You have done all the hard works for developing your website but when it comes selecting your host you may face trouble that it does not have all the features which is required by your site. It is important to do some research before choosing a right hosting solution.

A website is an important identity of yours and it is the responsibilities of the host make it visible at World Wide Web. Selecting the right solution for your business will provide greater impact on your business. before hiring any service i suggest you to do a research on web, discuss with hosting providers, take suggestions from other users after all there are quality service providers also exists. Just spending a portion of your time you can find the "Most Suitable Solution" that will match exactly as per your requirements.

Knowledge makes the difference: There are lots of myth spreads about choosing a solution from Dedicated hosting provider or a Hosting Reseller. Some advocates A Dedicated service provider for uninterrupted services and some advocates A reseller hosting who will be able to provide a better support and you can have one to one discussions. It is always better to choose a company who sells straight forward plans with dedicated support and have enough domain knowledge.

Instead it is more important to choose the right hosting package that your site requires. Rather than harvesting the net for gathering database of hosting companies select few good companies and ask them if they have the required features your site needs. Since there are so many hosting companies are around, its hard to find the right solution for your business. Some companies offers unlimited stuffs, but when you go to install a sql database or an htaccess file or require hosting a script which runs server side, you will find those are disabled on your package. Always check the specs before you buy any of the hosting services. Here are brief of following categories of sites which will help you to choose a right solution for your business.

>> If you are a beginner, just calculate your present requirement keeping in mind of any future up gradations. It is essential if in future you go for an interactive site or a dynamic site, your present host must have ability to upgrade the services without any hassles. You should choose a basic package and check the required features available for use. You can always upgrade to higher package in future. This way you can save much of your money and focus on enhancing your site.

>> If your site is a database driven and require custom or readymade script installations, You should check if the components required by site are preinstalled on the server. You can make a checklist and ask your hosting provider if they will be complying with all the requirements. Some companies also provide hosting with preinstalled scripts/software’s which you can install and start using in minutes without spending much time on developing and installing it. It is always advisable to check the complete features of the software’s, which meets your present requirements as well as have the latest version installed. You may choose an advance hosting plan and check the required features.

>> If your site is a high traffic one and required concurrent up gradations and installations of the scripts, you should go for a dedicated hosting service. It is always advisable to have a managed dedicated server with all the latest components installed with it. This will give you freedom to upgrade your site or application at any point of time, done by you only. Find out the reliable datacenters and checkout the server specs along with facilities provided by them. There are few datacenters which I can recommend are Rackspace, ThePlannet, Infinology and also you can check with EV1Servers too for some interesting offers.

Does my Business Need a Website?

Does my business need a website? That’s a question many people ask. Well, you see all the time when businesses tell you go to some URL (web address) to find more information, to order products, or to purchase services. That is a question that business owners everywhere should ask themselves. The next question is “How do I do this?” Well, it may not be as hard or expensive as you may think.

When someone learns about your business they look at contact information a lot more than you may think. You own a professional business and your customers expect you to be professional. Even if you don’t generate revenue from going online, it’s still a very good idea. Also, it’s very easy to distribute information such as common questions, contact information, and product information. You don’t have to continuously handle potential customers while they still find out the information they desire. It only costs Rs.500 to 5000 a year to own and run a website, this may even save you money on having to talk to customers and save you a lot of time.

Some web hosts (services that hold your website for the public to see) offer special tools to easily make a website. While also, most word processing software comes with tools to easily design and build your website. So you don’t even need to know how to build a website. For a list of web hosting services you can look at many web host directories, one place I suggest looking at www.webhost18.com to find your web host because they offer more options to help you with your searches, such as being able to list web hosts that offer website builders.

People may ask, why not use a free web hosting service? Well the answer is very simple. Free web hosts don’t offer enough, and many people don’t trust websites hosted on free services as much as websites that have domain names (a .com .net .org URL) and are on a paid service because it shows that the business isn't serious enough about their products or services to spend money distributing them. Websites that try to look professional won’t if they are put on a free service. Put it on a paid service and people will trust your business a lot more. Not only that, but businesses with websites generally do look more advanced and much more professional.

Changing Web Hosting Providers

If you would like to cut costs or are no longer satisfied with their current web host provider maybe it is time to think about changing web host providers. Take time to plan your transfer so that you won't lose any files and data.

Web Hosting Change Checklist:

- Domain name:where is your domain registered?
- How do you login and change nameservers?
- Your current IP address________ and your new IP address____________
- Your login username and password for old web host__________ and new control panel or shell access via SSH username and password __________________
- Make a list of email addresses including usernames and passwords
- Make a list of databases, usernames and passwords
- make a list of installed software

Checkout your new web host control panel, get familiar with how things work at your new host and to try everything out, including sending test emails and uploading files.

Change Your Domain Record

Login to your domain registrar and change your name servers. This usually occurs within 72 hours, often much sooner. Dome domain registrars can transfer a domain within 2 hours, so check the new IP address often and upload files as soon as possible to avoid website "downtime".

Transferring the Site to the New Web Hosting Provider:

Download files: Open your FTP program and enter the FTP address at your old web host (e.g. ftp.yoursite.com). Once logged onto the server, right click on your main folder (normally public_html or www) and choose download.

Choose a local folder on your own computer to store the files, Click OK, and watch all your files being downloaded onto your computer. You will still have all your files on the server too. Please downloads can take a quite a bit of time depending on the number and size of files.

Download databases: Login to your old web hosts Control Panel Go to databases ( usually My SQl), and use either phpmyadmin (usually located towards bottom of page) or a similar program . Choose the databases you want to download and click on "export". You will then come to a screen information about the database. towards the bottom of the page look for; "Normal or None", "GZip", or "Zip". chose one and press download or submit. Save this file to a folder on your computer. Repeat for each databases.

Upload files to the new host: Using your FTP program connect to your new web host. Right click on the folder (e.g. public_html or www -- or if not present no folder maybe required- ask your web hosting provider if you are unsure) and choose upload. When asked where to upload these files from, choose the folders and files to upload.

Upload databases: login to the control panel at your new web hosting provider, go to Mysql, and use phpmyadmin or a similar program. Choose the insert or upload option and select the location of the database file you downloaded before that is stored on your computer. Click "ok or submit". During the import you will see some database commands, but towards the bottom it will tell you if it failed or was successful. Be patient, don't interrupt this process, wait for the final statement telling you if the import was successful. Repeat this process for all of your Mysql databases.

Final Steps

Set up email address using your new control panel. Use the "help" if needed to learn how to do this at the new web host.

- check that all your software on your new web host site is working properly.

- you might have to change config files if Mysql databases, username or password are different from your old web host.

- If something doesn't work check the permission rights of your scripts.

- Make sure that all links work.

Recommended Web Hosting: http://www.webhost18.com . Excellent Customer Service Plans for all size websites Rs.500/5000 year

Ecommerce Hosting

Ecommerce-hosting is a large choice in any business that you decide to run. Whatever you have to offer, you can do it online. But, in order to be effective in the online markets, you need to choose your marketing strategies wisely. You also need to have effective and in budget hosting solutions as well. Ecommerce-hosting is one important set in getting your business online.

In the various types of ecommerce-hosting you will find large differences but the bottom line is that you need to find the right choice for you based on two things. The hosting company needs to provide you with good quality service that services your needs effectively and they need to also provide for you hosting services that are within your specific budget. Seems like a lot to ask, but when you do your homework, it can become much easier.

Some things that you should look for when choosing the overall right ecommerce-hosting solution for your business include the following. You will want to look at what comes with the package. Many times you will be purchasing a package of services that should get you up and running. You will find that most will come with a site builder to help you build your website and to do so based on what you want and need. You will also want it to include email addresses so that you can connect with your business affiliates. You will find that some offer support as well. Finding the option that fits your needs should incorporate any of these as well as many other features as well.

Ecommerce-hosting offers many advantages to the business owner. But, in order for you to take advantage of these you need to properly get your website up and running. You need to have quality service to serve your customers but you need it all to come in under budget. The good news is that you will find a wealth of information available to you on the web that will help you to do all of these things.

Web Hosting Strategy for Managing Multiple Websites

If you are making a comfortable living from the Internet and the Web or have a plan to achieve that goal, it's likely that you are running more than ten websites. The websites are your virtual offices. You want to your sites to be up and running 365 days, 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. Managing multiple websites is a daunting task if running one website is a hobby.

Proposed Hosting Strategy for Managing Multiple Websites

The hosting strategy we propose is to host your multiple major websites with 3-4 different hosting companies, and open a reseller account with another hosting company for 1) small and new websites, 2) web development and 3) backup. Hosting with too many hosting companies will significantly increase the time and the difficulty of managing sites, and using a single hosting company isn't a smart choice either.

Justification of the Hosting Strategy

Cost - Cost of the Web hosting isn't an issue for running a single web site whether it costs $5 or $25 a month. The difference is only a few hundred dollars or less a year. It's always nice and smart to get the most out of every single dollar in doing business. At least, a few hundred dollars difference wouldn't make or break a business. If you run 10 or even 50 websites, the cost of Web hosting alone will define the success or failure of your online adventure. To cut the hosting cost, the option is to use a reseller hosting account to host as many small or new sites as you want for about $15 a month. You host one or 2 major websites with one hosting company. Shared hosting account costs under $10 a month, and dedicated server will cost $50 or more a month.

Uptime - If your bread-and-butter maker website is down for a few hours, you'll lose hundreds of dollars and more. Even though most hosting companies promise 99.9% uptime, it's not common to see a website down for a few hours. A site could be down for a half day or even more if a hosting company is doing a major update. The hosting company may do the update in a weekend or a major holiday, but that's when many family-oriented and travel sites generate their revenues. If you could afford the loss of revenues, many websites owners can't bear the psychological loss and pressure. Hosting your sites with a few hosting companies will reduce the risk of downtime.

Application Development - For simple web application, webmasters will do development on the same production hosting site. If your e-commerce applications are complex, doing development on the production site may bring down the live site especially if you're in the process of changing configuration files or install customized applications. The option is setup a website on your reseller account for development and testing, and move the applications to production account on another server after the completion.

Backup - If you're not happy with a hosting company, a hosting company is out of business, or the servers will be down for a day or two, you can easily temporarily or permanently switch from one hosting company to other since you're familiar with the site managing tools already. If you have a backup or secondary copy running on another server, all you need for the switch is the transfer of the domain, which will take no more than a minute.

Shop Before You Buy

There're too many hosting plans to choose from a large number of hosting companies - ASP Web Hosting, Budget Hosting, Dedicated Servers, e-Commerce Hosting, FrontPage Web Hosting, Hosting With Templates, Managed Web Hosting, PHP Web Hosting, Reseller Hosting, Shared Hosting, Unix / Linux Hosting, Virtual Private Servers, Windows Hosting or Co-location Hosting. Compare the cost, hosting features, tracking records of hosting companies before making your commitment. Good luck with your online adventures.

Webhost18.com has over 7 years of experience in web development, database design and managing web servers. Webhost18 currently manages thousands of websites using ASP Web Hosting, Budget Hosting, Dedicated Servers, eCommerce Hosting, FrontPage Web Hosting, Hosting With Templates, Managed Web Hosting, PHP Web Hosting, Reseller Hosting, Shared Hosting, Unix / Linux Hosting for web hosting needs.

A Beginner Guide to Web Hosting

What is web hosting? Whenever you visit a website, what you see on your web browser is essentially just a web page that is downloaded from the web server onto your web browser. In general, a web site is made up of many web pages. And a web page is basically composed of texts and graphic images. All these web pages need to be stored on the web servers so that online users can visit your website.

Therefore, if you plan to own a new website, you will need to host your website on a web server. When your website goes live on the web server, online users can then browse your website on the Internet. Company that provides the web servers to host your website is called web hosting providers.

A well-established web hosting provider sometimes hosts up to thousands of websites. For example, the ‘Best Web Host of the Year 2007’ award winner, Webhost18.com, is a web hosting company that hosts more than 2000 websites. For that reason, a web hosting company need many web servers (essentially, these are computers) to ‘store’ the website. And all these web servers are connected to the Internet through high speed Internet connection and housed in a physical building called ‘data center’. In order to guarantee all the web servers are safe, secure and fully operational all time, a data center is a physically secure 24/7 environment with fire protection, HVAC temperature control, virus detections, computer data backup, redundant power backup and complete disaster recovery capabilities.

What are the different types of web hosting? There are different kinds of web hosting companies out there with different characteristics. The main types of web hosts can be organized into the following categories:

a. Shared Hosting

In shared hosting (also known as virtual web hosting), many websites are sharing the space on the same physical web servers. Depending on the web host, a physical web server can hosts a few hundred to even thousand of different websites at one time. You may wonder if a physical web server is shared by so many websites, will the performance of the web server deteriorate? In fact, web servers are usually equipped with high-end powerful computer, therefore it can support up to a certain number of websites without any problem. But when the web server is overloaded and exceeded the reasonable number of websites that it can support, then you will begin to experience a slower response from the web server.

However, a reputable and experience web hosting provider will constantly monitor the performance of the web server and will add new web servers when deem necessary without sacrificing the benefits of the website owners. Since a physical web server is shared (diskspace, computer processing power, bandwidth, memory) by many websites, the web hosting provider can therefore afford to offer a lower hosting price. For the same reason, websites on the shared hosting would have to accept slower server response time. Typically, shared hosting plans start at Rs.500 - Rs.5000 per month.

b. Dedicated Hosting

In contrast to shared hosting, dedicated hosting assigned a specific web server to be used only by one customer. Since a dedicated web server is allocated to only a single customer, the customer has the option to host single/multiple web sites, modify the software configuration, handle greater site traffic and scale the bandwidth as necessary. Therefore, dedicated hosting commands a higher premium and typically starts at Rs.6000 per month and can range up to Rs.40,000 per month. As a result, dedicated hosting is regularly used by high traffic and extremely important website.

c. Co-location hosting

In dedicated hosting, the web server belongs to the web hosting providers and customers only rent the web server during the hosting period. While in co-location hosting, the customer owns the web server hardware and only housed their web server within the web hosting provider’s secure data center. In this way, the customer has full control over their web server and simultaneously benefit from the 24/7 server monitoring and maintenance provided by the secure data center. Depending on the monthly bandwidth and rack space required, typically co-location hosting range from Rs.6000 per month.

d. Reseller hosting

In reseller hosting, a web hosting provider offers web server storage to third-party (i.e. reseller) at a discount price, who then resell the web server storage to their customers. Typically, resellers are web consultants including web designers, web developers, or system integration company who resell the web hosting as a add-on service to complement their other range of services. Commonly, resellers can receive up to 50 percent discount on the price of a hosting account from the web hosting provider. And resellers are allowed to decide its own pricing structure and even establish its own branding (in other words, reseller setup its web hosting company on the Internet and start selling web hosting plans under its brand).

To the reseller’s customers, the reseller is the web host provider. In cases when technical problems such as server down and access problem arise, the resellers will have to correspond directly with the actual web host provider. Due to the communication process taken place between customer to reseller and from reseller to actual web host provider and back and forth, undoubtedly problems will take longer time to resolve. Unless you are running your own personal website or non-profit website and willing to take the risks of poor support from the reseller, reseller hosting is generally not a good option.

However, the web hosting market today is filled with resellers that sell lowest price web hosting plans. So, how do you tell between a genuine web hosting provider from a reseller? You don’t judge by the availability of toll-free number alone because some web hosting providers even offer their resellers with their own toll-free number for co-branded technical support. When the reseller’s customer calls the number for technical support, the web host uses the reseller’s name so the customer thinks that the support is coming from the reseller directly. Likewise, don’t be fooled by the professional designed website alone because it is extremely easy to create a professional looked business website nowadays.

In general, resellers can be distinguished from their hosting price and company information. In most cases, a genuine web hosting provider has solid company information such as Webhost18.com where they publish its financial background, offices and data centers. In contrast, resellers usually do not have solid company background (here is just an example out of thousands out there). Moreover, the hosting price by resellers is generally below Rs.100 per month. So, why settle for resellers when you can find genuine web hosting providers offering superb quality web hosting at the hosting price ranging between $Rs.500 to Rs.1000

Therefore, you should not strive to find the lowest price web hosting companies without first considering the quality of the service and support provided. Don’t expect to find any top-level support if you choose to pay only Rs.100 or Rs.250 per months for your web hosting plan. On the other hand, by paying just slightly more for your hosting plan, you can now discover a list of low cost yet high quality web hosting plans to host your important website. Look at our high quality and cheap web hosting services review and recommendation here.

WEBHOST18.com offers cheap hosting in India

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