Pick a new web host can be hard for both the beginner and expert, so care should be taken not to rush otherwise you might regret the choice. A number of steps should be thought about and then written down to begin with.
What do you need a web host for?
First off we are asking why you want a web host, starting a new company or advertising an existing one, for blogging or other personal use or to just use it for email. The above reasons will all need to be taken into account on going about choosing the web host. The operating system you wish to use, either Windows or Linux. We know now what your primary use is for our basic requirements. If your doing e-commerce then mySQL and PHP are a must. If you’re planning on using a merchant banking process will also need to be able to use an SSL certificate, this is to ensure the card details are secure. As for a blog, most blog software needs PHP and mySQL or similar, but you would not use very much disk space and a relative low amount of bandwidth or if your just using it for personal things then you would need to find out if you wanted anything at all. For email use its the number of email accounts that is the biggest question on your agenda but also consider bandwidth if you plan on sending and receiving large files regularly. Web host providers for example as KDA provide domain web hosting.
What is mySQL and PHP?
What are these magically things called mySQL and PHP? During everyday internet use these are all things you use without even realising your using them. PHP is Hypertext preprocessor used for scripts in dynamic pages. MySQL a common relational database engine, and is used to allow data to be stored and accessed dynamically. SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer is a cryptographic protocol that provides a secure communication over networks. SSL has been replaced by Transport Layer Security or TLS but does the exact same job that SSL did. Most people still use the term SSL as that is what people still know it as.
Bandwidth or how long is a piece of string?
Most managed hosting services will come with X amount of bandwidth. We now know and understand the technical terms and usage. Now we go onto talk some even more important stuff. Bandwidth or data allowance needs to be considered. Normally this is shown in gigabytes, bandwidth can is sometimes hard to work out what your going to need. So when you find your host ask them what your using the server and how much bandwidth you may need. If you do run out, you normally will be charged for some more, or you site will just be suspended until the end of the month.
Finding your web host
Now you know what your server is for, what the spec is and the bandwidth to go with it, You now must to find the best web host now. One of the best things I have been told is to get a computer magazine, take out all the nice big glossy web host ads, then see whats left as normally the big companies have low prices but there customer services can be questioned greatly. You would be better off looking around the internet, for web hosting forums and posting up a request for what your web hosting is for. You should find you get feedback and reviews from users about the companies and so should be able to make a well informed decision.
This entry was posted on Friday, July 23rd, 2010 at 4:04 pm and is filed under Web Hosting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
