Did you know that there is a way that you can improve your site security and improve your page speed and its FREE!
I am talking about the service provided by CloudFlare. This is a CDN (Content Delivery Network) and distributed DNS (Domain Name Server) service offering both free and paid services. The paid service is aimed more at the corporate user and the free service will be fine for most users.
So what does it do? Well basically it acts as a proxy server standing between your visitors and your hosting service. You change the DNS servers associated with your domain name to the CloudFlare name servers and all requests for your pages are routed to them. CloudFlare cache your static content so minimizing the need for calls to your host.
You might think that a domain names search is a simple thing to do and you will quickly select and register a domain name for your website or blog. But actually there is quite a lot to think about. Assuming that you want the site to rank in the search engines you will need to consider:
Registering a new domain name vs buying an existing one Generally, registering a new domain name will be cheaper and you have a lot more scope to get exactly what you want but an existing domain will be easier and quicker to get ranked. If buying an existing domain make sure it is indexed (i.e. already appearing on the search results).
GoDaddy are one of the top domain registrars where you can obtain both types of domain names.
The best suffix to use
If you are aiming at a worldwide audience you are still best using a .com domain. If this is not possible the normal advice has been to use .net or .org but people have reported good results with others such as .biz and .info. So if you can’t get a .com go for whatever allows you to register the best domain name. Read the rest of this entry »
If you want to set-up and control your own blog you will need a blog hosting service. Of course you will not find this specifically, so you need a web hosting service that is user friendly for the type of blog you want.
Before signing up with such a service you might just consider if a free blog on one of the big blogging sites like Google’s Blogger or WordPress.com would meet your needs. These allow you to quickly create a blog but you do not have the flexibility that comes with hosting your own. Read the rest of this entry »
To set-up, control and run your own website or blog you need webhosting so that you can load the site on to a web server with a good internet connection. It is technically possible to run your own web server but there are a number of difficulties which make this impractical for most people (for more information look at Home Hosting). The best way to go is to sign up with a company providing webhosting services.
So What is a Webhosting Service?
A Webhosting service means the provision of a web server with a high speed internet connection on to which you can load your site. To do this you connect to the web server via an FTP client and transfer files as necessary. The hosting provider deals with all maintenance of the server and its connectivity so you don’t have to worry about anything other than maintaining your site.
Most hosts offer tools to help you build a site easily but you need to aware that these often lock you in because you cannot easily transfer the site to another host. Most also offer easy installation and set-up of third party tools like WordPress (if you are setting up your first website you are recommended to use WordPress). Read the rest of this entry »
We hear a lot these days about “the cloud” so what is cloud hosting? You can use applications in the cloud, store data in the cloud and host your website in the cloud. In practical terms cloud computing is simply a set of pooled computing resources and services delivered over the internet. If you produce a diagram showing how this works it resembles a cloud.
If you use applications or store data in the cloud the big benefit is that you can assess them from anywhere, on any device, provided you have an internet connection. Hosting is rather different, here the key benefits are flexibility and resilience. Read the rest of this entry »
WordPress is a favorite tool for webmasters because it makes setting up a blog or website (or a combination) quick and easy. It is well optimized for the search engines and easy to update and maintain.
If you are going to use WordPress then you should make sure that your host makes the installation easy and provides support if you have any issues. Most of the major hosting companies do this, but not all. Read the rest of this entry »
If you are new to web hosting you may be confused by the types of website hosting services available and the numerous suppliers to choose from.
To keep it as simple as possible, for most people a basic shared hosting Linux package is what you need. Shared hosting means that many user’s web sites are hosted on a single server. There are disadvantages to this but it has the overwhelming advantage of providing website hosting services at a very low price.
Unless you confidently expect your site to become very busy very quickly shared hosting is the best way to start. You can always upgrade later if necessary. The exception might be if you are setting up an eCommerce site (i.e. selling things) when you might think the better security provided by VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting is worthwhile. Read the rest of this entry »
Admin comment – A description of SEO hosting which is a service for webmasters with multiple sites who, for search engine optimization purposes, want to disguise the fact that the sites are connected.
By Ambroses S
SEO hosting in general is a field which is not clearly understood by many people. Generally speaking, when someone looks into a hosting plan, the main factor that is looked for is price. Read the rest of this entry »
Google has said for sometime that loading speed is a factor in determining ranking on the search results. This video looks at why that is a very reasonable position for them to take and why it is now more important than ever that your page loads quickly.
One key factor is page speed is hosting so you should host your site with one of the major reputable providers. HostGator are our present favorite. See side bar for access to coupon codes to significantly reduce your first invoice.
If, for whatever reason, you decide that you need to change your Website Hosting Provider you need to plan the exercise carefully. There are three basic scenarios:
