Web Hosting Facts You Should Know!

Did you know that there are more than 5,000 companies offering web hosting services? This good AND bad. Low prices often mean less benefits and reduced customer service. Many small business owners move from ISP to ISP - looking for the "best deal" to host their website. Having a reliable Web Host is imperative to the smooth and successful operation of your business.

So who are the top ten web hosts?

Web Hosting Defined.

To have a Website on the Internet you first need to have a Web Server. A Web Server is a powerful computer stored in a secure, climate-controlled environment and permanently linked to the Internet (via high-speed data lines). These computers store the web pages that make up websites. As soon as your pages are installed on the server they become available to visitors and customers on the Internet - providing they have the correct address (www.yourbusiness.com).

Unfortunately, owning a Web Server can be very costly and requires technical expertise that most businesses don't have. This is where Web Hosts come in. Web Hosting companies provide the equipment and other technical resources that you need without the potential headaches.

A Web Host provides the place on the Internet where your website "lives". It's a lot cheaper than buying your own server, and you don't have to hire the technical staff to take care of it. Shared servers offer the ability to host a Website on a powerful, professionally managed server, at a low monthly cost. No technical skills are required to use a shared server. Shared Server Hosting provides a cost-effective way for entry-level Webmasters to maintain a reliable Web presence without extensive technical knowledge or resources.

Is All Web Hosting the same ?

Typically there are three main Web Hosting Platforms to choose from: Linux/Unix, Windows 2000 and Windows NT.

Linux and Unix Web Hosting is generally more reliable and affordable and it is suitable for most sites. If you're using the site for e-mail or as a personal site this is most affordable.

Windows NT is more appropriate if you need ODBC for a database-driven site and Windows NT can work better with Microsoft Frontpage. However you can still build database-driven sites using PHP on Linux if the host supports it.

Within these categories you have different types of hosting which generally fall into three main categories. They are:

• Free Hosting Services
• Budget Hosts (under $1.50- $ 25 per month)
• Full Service Hosting ($25+ per month)

Virtual Host

On the Internet, the term "host" means any computer that has full two-way access to other computers on the Internet. A host has a specific "local or host number" that, together with the network number, forms its unique Internet Protocol address. You have a unique IP address for the duration of any connection you make to the Internet and your computer is a host for that period. In this context, a "host" is a node in a network.

Virtual Hosting

On the Internet, virtual hosting is the provision of a virtual server and other services so that a company or individual doesn't have to purchase and maintain their own virtual server host with a line to the Internet. A virtual hosting provider is sometimes called a web or Internet "space provider." Some companies providing this service simply call it "hosting." Typically, virtual hosting provides a customer who wants a web site with: domain name registration assistance, multiple domain names that map to the registered domain name, an allocation of file storage and directory setup for the web site files (HTML and graphic image files), e-mail addresses, and, optionally, Web site creation services. The virtual hosting user (the web site owner) needs only to have a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) program for exchanging files with the virtual host.

The web hosting options make it possible for their customers to have more control of their web site file system, e-mail names, passwords, shopping cart, domain name registration / hosting and other ecommerce solutions.

Virtual Server

Specific to the web, a server is the computer program (housed in a computer) that serves requested HTML pages or files. A web client is the requesting program associated with the user. The web browser (like Netscape or MS Internet Explorer) in your computer is a client that requests HTML files from web servers.

The virtual server is a server (computer and various server programs) at someone else's location that is shared by multiple web site owners so that each owner can use and administer it as though they had complete control of the server. Some Internet service providers (ISPs) offer a virtual server service instead of or in addition to virtual hosting. Using a virtual server, a company or individual with a Web site can not only have their own domain name and IP address, but can administer their own file directories, add e-mail accounts and address assignments, assign multiple domain names that resolve to a basic domain name without involvement from the ISP, manage their own logs and statistics analysis, and maintain passwords. Users of a virtual server, however, do not have to manage the hardware aspects of running a server and effectively share the cost of expensive line connections to the Internet.

Some ISPs offering virtual server service let their customers in turn offer virtual hosting to other users.