Introduction to the web: how to select a web hosting company

Since the internet is such an important part of life these days, understanding how websites work seems like something we should all get involved with. Creating a website is a great way to learn about the inner workings of the web, and it also creates a “fingerprint” for you. You can learn about different web technologies such as HTML, XML, PHP, and Javascript, just to name a few. Imagine, when you go to a job interview and they ask you about your web skills, tell them “go to [http://www…]. and see for yourself. “Very powerful persuasion.

There are many different ways to establish your web presence, and there are many tools to help you with this, including website building systems, content management systems, blogging engines, forum systems, and the like. Writing direct HTML code is a thing of the past! Most of these tools are what is known as open source, that is, they are free for the community. Many hosting companies will offer you these applications for free, and installing them is simply a matter of requesting them.

So how do you choose a hosting company and how much does it cost? Some hosting companies will host your website for free, although they will want to post advertisements on your website in return. If you go the more professional paid route, you should be able to get up and running for less than $ 100 a year.

Some of the key features to look for in a web server are as follows

  • Company reputation – Some hosting companies have been around for a long time and have hundreds of thousands of domains under management. These companies are more preferable than others, but will cost more than less established companies. That being said, I have personally hosted sites of both types and have never experienced any difficulties.
  • Speed ​​- Look for web servers that have at least a T3 backbone, but an OC-x is preferable.
  • Disk space: Anything over 100GB should be sufficient for the individual or small business user.
  • Transfer Bandwidth – The amount of data that can be transferred per month. This is typically 100 gigabytes and should be adequate in most cases.
  • Cost: Look for plans that are under $ 10 / mo. Typically, the longer you sign up, the lower the monthly fee.
  • Free domain name – Many hosting companies will allow you to sign up for a free domain name when you sign up for hosting.
  • Free setup – Try to find a host that doesn’t have one-time setup fees. Hosting companies generally charge a fee if you sign up for short plans (1-6 months), but some don’t.
  • Large number of domains hosted on one plan – This is really good for people who want to host different websites under the same hosting plan.
  • Number of MySQL databases: the bigger the better. Most applications such as content management systems (Joomla / Mambo) or blog engines (WordPress / Typepad) use MySQL databases. If you plan to host multiple domains in one account, you must have a good number of MySQL databases available or you will not be able to install all the applications you want. I would say 25 MySQL databases is a minimum you should be looking for.
  • Application Support – Look for hosts that support applications like website builders, blog engines like WordPress, CMS systems like Joomla and Mambo, forums like phpBB, and e-commerce applications. Using these systems will help you get off the ground quickly and they are very useful and powerful.

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