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 »
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 »
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 you are starting an online business it is essential that you sign up with a top web hosting service.
By using a well established and reliable provider you should have few problems and will be able to offer a good service to your customers through your website always being available and loading quickly. Google are now taking loading speed into account when generating their search results so if you will be aiming for a good search engine ranking, top web hosting is even more important.
Forget about free hosting, you will have to pay for top web hosting to get the standard of service you will need. There are quite a few top web hosting providers which fit the bill (and many more that don’t) and by searching the web it is easy to find sites listing their 10 top web hosting providers (or similar). However, this can still be confusing because there is no consistency about which providers are considered best and reviews usually empathize certain features of each package, making a detailed comparison difficult.
To get through this and choose the best top web hosting provider for you it is necessary to be clear about what you want: Read the rest of this entry »
If you are setting up your own website or blog you will need to sign-up with one of the many web hosting services (if you are in a hurry, our recommendation at present is HostGator)
This will give you space on a web server, with a fast internet link, where you can host your site. There are number of types of web hosting services available and for more information on these see our post on web hosting.
Before signing up with one of the web hosting services you should do some research on domain names. Most web hosting services will register a domain name for you but you need to understand: Read the rest of this entry »
Whilst looking at customer feedback on web hosts, I have read many web hosting comments.
Given the number of customers hosting companies have I think it is safe to say that most people are happy with their web hosts. However that are still many negative web hosting comments and I think that many of these are caused by unrealistic expectations and failing to read the terms and conditions.
If you go for free hosting you have to take the service as delivered. If you buy from a reseller you may get a good deal but be aware that support may be an issue (a small reseller cannot practically provide 24/7 support).
I would recommend going for one of the top hosting companies but even here there is a limit to what you can expect for $5 per month. You should certainly expect your site to load quickly and to see little downtime whilst support is available 24/7 in case of problems. However web hosting comments indicate that the following are areas which generate complaints: Read the rest of this entry »
This video runs through the process of changing website hosting provider and is based on the scenario where the domain name is registered with a third party (i.e. not with the old website host). In this scenario it is surpringly easy to change website hosting provider without any user, or the search engines, noticing any difference.
Admin comment – This article looks at the signs that mean you should be thinking of changing hosts. This process should not be too difficult particularly if your domain name is not tied into your existing hosting plan.
By Jennifer Knox
Your site is down… again. Customer service is not helping the way you'd like. You're realizing you're spending more money than you should on hosting your web site. Are you experiencing any of these situations lately? If so, it may be time to switch to a different host. Read the rest of this entry »
Admin comment – This article provides a warning that it is easy to get ripped off when choosing a hosting service. Whilst no company is perfect you are safest going with one of the big well established hosting providers like HostGator.
By Monty Lee
We all probably had our ups and downs when choosing a hosting company. If you have ever been hunting for legitimate hosting company that satisfies your needs, you've probably got burnt. It's wild out there and scammers are just waiting to rip you off promoting the lowest quality hosting services and unreliable servers. How can you tell whether a host is legit or not? Read below: Read the rest of this entry »
