July 19th, 2010 → 9:08 am @ Hosting Expert // No Comments
Choosing a new web host can be hard work for an expert or beginner, so you should take care not to rush your choice otherwise you may regret it later on. There is a number of steps to be thought about, and then written down.
What is your webhost for?
To start off we are asking what you want a web host for, to start a new company or to represent 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. Also what platform you want it hosted on either Linux or Windows. We know now what your primary use is for our basic requirements. If your going to run an online shop then PHP and mySQL will need to be supported. If your going to use your own payment gateway then you will need to use an SSL certificate. this is to ensure the card details are secure. For blogging you will again need support for PHP and MySQL but may not need much disk space and 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. Providers such as KDA provide cpanel hosting.
What is mySQL and PHP?
I hear you asking what am I talking about when referring to PHP and MySQL? During everyday internet use these are all things you use without even realising your using them. PHP stands for Hypertext Pre-processor and is used for scripting to create dynamic web pages. MySQL a common relational database engine, and is used to allow data to be stored and accessed dynamically. Secure Socket Layer or SSL is a type of cryptogrpahic protocol used to encrypet data before send over networks. But SSL has been replaced by TLS or Transport Layer Security but ultimately does the same job as SSL. 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 providers will come with X allowance of data transfer. We now know and understand the technical terms and usage. Now we go onto talk some even more important stuff. Your data allowance or bandwidth also needs considering. Shown typically in gigabytes, it can be hard to work out how much bandwidth you need. When you find a potential host ask them about it and say what your using the server for and how much bandwidth you need. Your site might be suspended or you get charged for more bandwidth if you happen to run out in a particular month.
Getting your new web hosting company
We know what your server is going to be for, and the spec and bandwidth to along side it, You now must to find ecommerce hosting now. The best thing I have been told was to get a computer magazine, take out all the nice big glossy web host ads, see what you have been left with, big companies might have low prices but can lack in the customer service department. Personally I would go around the internet and post on some web hosting forums and request recommendations for a package for your hosting. Then you would then get information and reviews back from users about the companies, you would not go too far wrong then.
Tags: Business class hosting, managed dedicated servers, Managed servers, UK business hosting