Choosing a Small Business Web Hosting Provider

If you are looking to have a web presence for your small business you will need a web hosting provider to host your website. It does not make any difference whether you are an individual who wants to share their hobby with the world, or a large company requiring e-commerce applications to sell your goods online, either way you will need a web hosting provider to make your site available on the Internet.Currently there are many thousands of web hosting providers out there all fighting for your business, this alone can make choosing a web hosting provider a confusing task. Below are a few aspects to consider that will hopefully relieve some of the confusion involved with choosing a web hosting provider.The first aspect that you must determine is the type of website or websites you are planning to make available on the Internet. This will greatly influence your choice in web hosts, if you are going to have a website of less hundred pages and will not be hosting any multimedia content such as streaming videos, a standard entry level hosting plan will more than likely provide more than you will ever need. Entry level plans can be found for less than $5 per month, there are many companies covering this segment of the web hosting market.A good option to consider for small business is shared web hosting, this type of web hosting is very affordable and can be found for less than $10 per month, most if not all shared web hosting providers these days offer good feature sets, as well as a generous amount of disk space and bandwidth. Features such as PHP and MySQL databases are the standard features offered by shared hosting providers running on Linux powered servers. The main thing to remember is not to sacrifice quality just to save a few dollars per month. Be sure to read reviews, check the hosting providers message boards if they have one for user feedback about a prospective host and arm yourself with as much information about a hosting provider before making your final decision.Other considerations that need to be taken into account are bandwidth and disk space. Bandwidth is the amount of data transferred from your site, although it is almost impossible to calculate the amount of bandwidth your site will require you can make an educated guess by working out the average size of your websites pages, and then multiplying this size by the amount of page views you expect to see in a month.It is crucial that you allow for more bandwidth than what your site will require, if at any point your site requires more bandwidth than your plan allows you run the risk of having your site shutdown by your web hosting provider to conserve bandwidth. Working out disk space usage is easier, this involves adding up the size of each page you will be uploading to your hosting space, if you will be using databases be sure to allow for this usage in your calculations.In summary, find out as much information about a web hosting provider you are considering as possible, find out their good aspects, as well as their bad aspects, be sure to allow more bandwidth than your site will require, and more disk space than your site will require, also allow for any growth in the future, either by allowing for growth when choosing your plan initially, or choosing a provider that allows you to upgrade your web hosting plan easily.David J. Smith is the owner and operator of Webhost Advisor has recently written a Bluehost review and they have been found to be a reliable web hosting provider which you should put on your short list when choosing your web host.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_J._Smith

Small Business Web Site Hosting Information - Bringing Your Offline Business Online

For the small business owner, one of the most cost effective ways to increase the exposure of their business is to take it online. The modern business environment requires even small businesses to expand their reach into markets around the world in order to remain competitive. By using the Internet, this task is made much easier. Small business web site hosting is your key to getting your small business "on the map" in today's online marketplace.There are several web site hosting providers that cater to small business customers. They typically offer several packages to choose from in order to accommodate any budget. This includes low-cost, entry-level packages with basic features that allow you to get your feet wet as well as more expensive, high-end custom packages that are geared towards the serious business owner looking to truly stake their virtual claim online.Regardless of the type of package you choose, the amount you are charged will be determined based on the amount of service offered by the hosting company as well as the disk space and bandwidth you have available for your account. It will also depend on the type of hosting you choose so it's a good idea to know the difference between the various options.You will also have several types of hosting to choose from to power your small business web site. The cheapest web hosting will be a shared hosting environment where you and several other customers all share resources on the same server. Since multiple customers are placed on the same server, the hosting company can offer services at a reduced cost (in essence, allowing several customers to share the total cost). However, those customers all share the server's system resources too, including memory, disk space and other resources. This can become problematic if one customer is doing something that causes the system to get "bogged down" since doing so will have an impact on your site as well.Shared hosting can be okay just starting out, but if your online presence becomes more critical for your business, a dedicated hosting account might be a better option. With dedicated hosting, you are the only customer on a particular server and are in full control. Dedicated hosting may or may not be managed by the hosting provider. If it is, then they take care of all the day-to-day maintenance of the server, security updates, software updates, and other routine tasks. If it's not managed, then you either have to take care of those tasks yourself or hire someone to do it for you. If you're unfamiliar with server administration, it's best to find someone that is or choose a hosting provider that includes management with the overall hosting plan. This can be one of the drawbacks to dedicated hosting and might keep some customers from choosing this option, at least in the beginning.Another drawback of dedicated hosting is that it's much more expensive than a shared hosting account. Therefore, a middle-of-the-road solution might be choosing a Virtual Private Server (VPS). This type of setup offers most of the benefits found in a dedicated server but at a reduced cost (though still more expensive than shared hosting). On a VPS, each server still hosts multiple customers but because of the way they're setup, it's less likely that one customer's actions will have ill effects on other people sharing the same server. VPS hosting can also be managed or unmanaged so the same recommendations made regarding dedicated hosting apply here too...if you're unfamiliar with server management, either hire it out or choose your hosting provider that can do this for you.If you're ready to get started getting your business a foothold online, the best thing you can do is start researching your options. A simple search online can put you a few clicks away from some of the top hosting providers available. The good news is that there are several high-quality companies to choose from which should allow you to make a smooth transition as you bring your offline business onto the global marketplace of the Internet.Get the most out of your webhost while keeping more cash in your pocket. Research top solutions for small business web site hosting, ecommerce web hosting and more in the resources section at OnlineWebHostGuide.com.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Nelson

Small Business Web Hosting Advice

For small businesses, a web host that ensures 99% uptime, offers at least 5GB bandwidth each month and one that offers various reports and statistics about the site is essential for the survival of the business. As the Internet continues to grow, increased competition, new marketing methods and ensuring excellent quality service to customers are all obstacles that business owners must face in order to turn a profit.When looking for a web host for your small business, keep in mind the following as these features can make running your business a little easier.Web Hosting and Web Design in One:If you have little web design experience, but can't afford to hire a professional web designer, you may have to invest in web design software or subscribe to a web host that offers design templates and more so you can create a website yourself. Many web hosts offer easy to use web site templates, decorative accents and the ability to upload CSS style sheets if you want to create an original look to your site.For those who are on a strict budget or those who don't have the time to learn HTML code or web design software, the convenience of using the tools provided by a web host are difficult to pass up. Once you design your site, you can easily upload files and make your site go live.Easy to Use Control Panels:Control panels and other administrative tools make it easy for you to update your site, upload files, manage email accounts and help you analyze where the majority of your web traffic is coming from. Choosing a web host that includes a control panel that's easy to use will save you time and allow you to have more control over your website.Encryption and Internet Security:Having the ability to encrypt certain areas of your site such as customer purchasing histories and order pages is one way to increase the security of your web page. Internet security options such as email and virus protection can help protect information you don't want to be seen by those other than yourself, business partners or employees. Investing in a web host that provides these security measures and more will make using your site safer for customers and allow you to protect email addresses, credit card numbers and other sensitive information from those who may want to steal it.File Backup:Some web hosts offer free daily file backup while others charge a separate fee. Depending on the number of new pages you add, download or want to save each day, this may be a good option for your business. Even though most people backup their personal files kept on their computer, file backup for your email accounts and other areas should be a priority as well.When choosing a web host, determine your needs first so you can find a host that will provide enough storage, disk space and bandwidth so your business will be adequately supported.David O Connell: Looking for the perfect web host? http://www.top5submitters.com - Links - Hostgator.How to get free targeted traffic to any website http://www.traffic-supersurge.comArticle Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_O_Connell

Low Cost Business Web Site Hosting Services - How Can You Identify The Right One For You?

There are many low cost business web site hosting services that are not worthy of being called web hosts online. These low cost business web site hosting services simply get you to pay for their services only to leave you to your fate as their service begin to loose quality. Why waste your time building and marketing a website that won’t be available to potential visitors 24/7. This brings us to the reason why you need to carefully select the right low cost business web site hosting services for you.There are still low cost business web site hosting services that are reliable. All you need to do is to identify them. Choosing the right low cost business web site hosting services is the most important decision that a web business owner can make. If you make the wrong choice, your web business will fall flat.Most of the low cost business web site hosting services around claim to be the best. So how can you identify the very few low cost business web site hosting services that will offer you quality service? There are numerous factors that you have to consider. When these factors are present in any low cost business web site hosting service package, you can be rest assured that you will get quality service. There are two main features that determine that quality of low cost business web site hosting services. These two main features are so important that they can either make you or break you. You’ll definitely want to find out more about these two main features – won’t you?Sam Ayodeji has helped countless individuals to choose the right web hosting services. If what you search for is a reliable web hosting provider, then be rest assured to find the best one for you by visiting Sam Ayodeji's web hosting blog at http://1affordablewebhosting.wordpress.comArticle Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sam_Ayodeji

How to Choose a Right Web Hosting Service?

Indeed, choosing a right web hosting service for your website is not an easy task especially when there are thousands of web hosting providers all offering almost identical web hosting packages. Therefore, it is important to know few major considerations even before you start your web hosting search. Below are three major criteria for web host seeker:Web hosting features requirementThis is probably the most important consideration to start finding a host for your site. You need to decide the technical requirements for your website, this including:a) Server platform and hardware requirementsIf you plan to set up a website that uses programming environments such as Active Server Pages (ASP), Visual Basic scripts, Cold Fusion or Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL database, in this case, you will need to find a web hosting service that supports Windows platform such as Windows NT or Windows 2000 servers.Likewise, if you plan to use programming languages such as Perl, CGI, SSI, PHP or mySQL database, then any web hosting plans that support Unix/Linux platform should be sufficient to meet your hosting requirements. Once you have these server platform and hardware requirements in mind, you can decide the best web hosting plans for your need. For more information, you can read "How to select a web server and server platform?"b) Disk space & Bandwidth requirementHere is another technical requirement that you need to consider before selecting a web hosting plan, i.e. disk space and bandwidth. If you intend to publish a website that does not have a lot of contents (meaning, web pages), then the disk space requirement may not be a big concern to you. In general, a disk space with 200MB to 500MB should be enough to meet your hosting requirement. In contrast, if you plan to host a website with enormous amount of graphic pictures, mp3 or video files, then you should consider a web hosting plan that provide huge disk space, for example, 500 MB to 1,000 MB.Similarly, the bandwidth requirement will depend on your site traffic estimation. Obviously, a website that expect to attract high traffic will consume the monthly bandwidth allowance very fast. If so, you will need to find one web hosting service that offer huge bandwidth with 40 GB to 100 GB per month. Depending upon your website requirement, choosing a web hosting service that provide sufficient amount of disk space and bandwidth is crucial consideration to prevent paying extra costs in the future should you overuse the monthly disk space and bandwidth allowance.c) Other hosting featuresWhile the above requirements are utmost important, there are other hosting features that you have to consider too. Can web hosting provider support video clips on your website, if you have? Is the web hosting service compatible with Dreamweaver or FrontPage web authoring tool? Do you plan to set up a virtual store online? Can the host support the e-commerce features without adding extra cost to your monthly payments? On top of that, you may also want to find out the number of email accounts provided, number of FTP accounts, web statistic software (analyze your web traffic), type of control panel supported (manage your web hosting account), database and scripting languages supported and etc.Reliability and scalabilityA first-class web hosting provider offers reliable server uptime and fast Internet connection. You should only choose a web hosting service that guarantee at least 99% server uptime with high-speed Internet backbones using at least OC3 (Optical Carrier) lines (155 Megabits per second) or above instead of T1 or T3 lines. A reliable web hosting provider usually invests heavily on their data center infrastructure with high performance servers, high speed multiple backbones providers with fail-over redundancy, backup power generators and firewall software protection in place to ensure they meet the uptime guarantee specified in the terms of service.Similarly, you should choose a web hosting service with hardware facilities that designed for scalability, so that they can grow with your business. For example, if you need to increase more disk space, bandwidth or number of mySQL databases, you should be able to upgrade as needed without any problems.Customer service and supportThe last major consideration in choosing a web hosting service is to find a web hosting providers that offers excellent customer service and support. You should always search for a web hosting provider that offers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week technical support that fielded with highly experience technicians, so that any web hosting problems will be resolved within a reasonable amount of time. You may also want to consider to test how responsive is their customer support by sending few inquiry emails to the web hosting provider. In general, any response in less than 24 hours is considered acceptable. It is a sign of poor customer support if they take more than one day to response.In addition, a web hosting provider with excellent support should also provide multiple support channels, such as toll-free phone support, 24/7 email support, live chat, online knowledgebase, Interactive flash tutorials and FAQ.Above are few major considerations before you choose your web hosting service. In addition, how long has the web hosting provider in business and the number of customers that they currently have are also a good indication of the quality of their hosting products as well as the stability of the company. Even though cost of the web hosting service is also important but it should not be your major consideration. Because the price of a web hosting service has been declining over the years due to competition, as a result, the price of most of the web hosting services offering quality hosting features has been converging to less than US$10 per month. If you can't afford less than $10 per month, you probably isn't in the online business for the long haul. Therefore, price should not be a major deciding factor.On the other hand, it is more important to ensure the web hosting service that you choose is able to meet your website hosting requirements, guarantee your website is always accessible with satisfying speed, provide scalability to grow and expand your website as well as offer excellent customer supports. Depending on your web hosting requirement, you can take advantage of our site, Cheap Web Hosting Review to find the recommended web hosting services that can match the three major criteria above. Good luck to your search.Andrew is the owner of Web Hosting Services, a website that provides complete and detail reviews on web hosting services. You can visit his website at:http://www.lowest-price-web-hosting.com/Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Webb

Yahoo Small Business - The Perfect Web Host for Your Small Business Site

Web hosting is not a luxury for your small business. If you do business online, exclusively or as part of an overall business strategy, you need a reliable, affordable, unlimited hosting plan. Yahoo Small Business web hosting is designed specifically to meet the needs of small businesses who rely on their web sites for their income.Unlimited web site hosting is a must for your business site. The unlimited hosting plan from Yahoo Small Business allows you to store as many files as you like on your server, including video and audio files and PDFs full of information for your customers. When you experience a surge in traffic, you'll know that your unlimited bandwidth Yahoo web site is continuing to serve properly to these additional visitors. And you can rest assured knowing you have unlimited email storage to keep all of your communications with customers, in up to 1000 email accounts. Unlimited hosting from Yahoo Web Hosting lets you run your business without worrying about "using up" your hosting storage.Yahoo Small Business Makes Web Site Hosting EasyWebsite hosting should be easy. You should not have to study web design or learn a programming language or devote hours to learning how to upload and manage your files. And with your Yahoo hosting account, it is easy. You can build your Yahoo web site in no time with simple design tools and professionally designed templates. If you design your own site or have a designer build it in Front Page, Dreamweaver or another editor, you can easily upload those files to your Yahoo website hosting account. And if you use server side code such as PHP to make your site interactive, Yahoo Web Hosting supports that as well.The web design tools included with your Yahoo web site hosting account are extraordinary in their power and simplicity. If you've never designed a web site and wouldn't know where to start, you can use the checklist in your YSB account to plan and design your site. You'll find professional templates ready for you to customize. You may even find a template already designed for your industry and ready to go once you plug in your information.Yahoo Small Business Hosting offers top-notch customer supportAll hosting platforms run into problems from time to time. You may have a question, or an issue may arise with your Yahoo web site. Yahoo understands that web site hosting customers need excellent support, and Yahoo web hosting provides that excellence in technical support. Representatives are available twenty-four hours a day to assist with any questions or problems you may have and resolve them quickly in a professional manner.One of the most important aspects of Yahoo Small Business hosting is that it's priced for small businesses. With no setup fee and monthly rates starting under $9 for the first three months, Yahoo Small Business is designed to make your hosting affordable. Yahoo understands that small businesses rely on their web sites, and Yahoo web hosting is dedicated to helping small business owners set up, host and maintain their own web sites, with unlimited hosting, excellent tech support, and great pricing for the best features available.Russell Blanc is an expert in the web hosting industry and Yahoo Small Business and manages an information-rich web site about Yahoo Small Business and Yahoo Web Hosting exposing the features and benefits of Yahoo Small Business products.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Russell_Blanc

Small Business Web Hosting - What To Look For

Small business web hosting is important to how successful your company will be online. Small business web hosting is one of the largest market sectors in the web hosting arena. With the revolution of the internet, smaller companies are able to reach a more global audience with their website.Website hosting is not expensive and finding the right company is easy on the internet. Companies build their products with every user in mind, including the most novice webmaster. This article is going to cover a couple issues when searching for the right host for your small company.Hosting AccountsHosting plans support particular operating systems such as Windows Hosting, Unix Hosting or Linux hosting. The difference between the three comes down to what you are comfortable working with. You can look at getting a dedicated server or shared hosting. You are for the most part renting a place to put your site on the internet whether you do shared hosting or a dedicated server.A dedicated server will give you more bandwidth than a shared account. A shared hosting account is good for small business owners that are just starting out. There are services that will host it for free but the catch is that you lose out on features and the service is not as good as if you were to pony up the extra dollars for at least a shared hosting account.Domain NamesA majority of web hosting companies include domain name registration with your account. Domain names are very important today more than ever. Finding the right domain name will separate you from your competition and brand your name. Some companies will give you a free domain name.The down side to a free domain name that it will be attached to the web hosting companies name. It is worth it to pay the extra $9 for your own domain name. By purchasing the domain name you own it and can always transfer the name to a new company if you don't like your current one. Try to set up your website with domain names that match what your product is about. It will help in the search engines and people will understand it more.Best Small Business Hosting CompaniesIf you are new to the the online business world,Yahoo is a great place to start. The Yahoo brand name is known worldwide and you can feel confident working with them. Yahoo small business web hosting claims they can provide business owners with the most efficient and inexpensive web hosting. They have a dedicated server with easy upgrades along the way. Yahoo has tech support available 24/7.Yahoo hosting offers great features such as a streamlined interface and a free domain name. Yahoo does all the work for you and can even collect the sales you make through your website. They also give you website building tools to help you design and make the site your own. They currently hosts over 30 million websites on their servers along with their free accounts. The company is by far the most popular small business web hosting service. They make it easy to get your website up and running. A majority of companies such as GoDaddy and IPowerWeb offer similar services and can be other resources to compare prices and features for your organization.If your starting out small for your website, a shared hosting is a good place to start. Its affordable and will let you concentrate on building your business. Try to stay away from the free hosting accounts. Some companies offer free domain names. Search for a domain name that ties into what your website will be about. Hosting your website with companies such as Yahoo, GoDaddy and IPowerWeb will be a safe bet. They provide similar hosting features and will help your company grow.Brad helps individuals with their small businesses Get more info about small business web hosting at SmallBusinessStartupIdea.comArticle Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brad_Gibala