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Why bother paying for hosting when there are plenty
of companies offering free hosting? Well, in web hosting,
when you pay nothing, you often end up with nothing.
Most free web hosts offer limited services. Even
though they are not charging you to host your website,
they still need to make money. The most common way
to do this to place advertising on your site. You
probably will have no control over what kind of ads
show up. You won't be consulted when those decisions
are made.
Sometimes free hosts will place restrictions on the
content you place on your site. For example, you may
not be allowed to sell things or have certain types
of content, such as videos or music. Worst of all,
your web site could disappear overnight. New companies
offering free hosting pop up almost everyday, but
they also vanish with astonishing regularity. When
your hosting company vanishes, your web site goes
with it.
Do You Need A High-Priced Web Host?
You'll need to use a reliable web host if you are
serious about having a web site. Prices range considerably
-- some companies offer rates as low as $2 a month,
while others charge over $100. The highest rates don't
always translate into the best service. Some of the
lower-priced hosts offer a reliable, stable environment
that allows your website to be accessed around the
clock for years.
Generally speaking, though, the more you pay the
more you get. Higher rates should bring you services
such as more storage space, more bandwidth to handle
Internet traffic, and extras such as databases, email
accounts, mass mailers, and the ability to add custom
scripts. Higher rates can also mean better technical
support, in the unlikely event you have problems with
your website.
What is a Web Server?
When you're ready to make your move, it helps to
understand some of the technical details about the
service you're buying. Every host has dedicated computers
known as servers, which connect to the internet and
"serve" pages any time they are requested.
So, whenever anyone wants to see a certain web page
by clicking on a link, the request is sent to the
particular server where that web page is stored. The
server responds by sending HTML data across the internet,
and eventually back to the person who requested it.
A web server must have fast connections to be able
to serve pages quickly. For the greatest speed and
reliability, try to find a host that has multiple
high-speed connections, as well as reliable back-up
power supplies in case of power outages.
Remember, you are trying to build a business, so
you'd better be prepared to pay to keep the other
business in business. Otherwise you may both soon
be out of business.
About the Author:
Visit Hosting Solutions to learn more. Ron King is
a full-time researcher, writer, and web developer
with a Website Here. Copyright 2005 Ron King. This
article may be reprinted if the resource box is left
intact.
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