Web Host Tips
By Guest Writer Richard Lowe, Jr.
Looking for a place to host your web site? Here are some common sense and
not-so-common sense tips to help you walk through the mine field.
You get what you pay for - In other words, don't expect a free hosting
service to do anything special for you. I strongly recommend that any
serious webmaster purchase his web space as that is the only way to get
reliable, fast hosting and good customer service. Remember, free hosts
usually make their money from advertising, which means that you, the
webmaster are not the customer.
By the way, just because you pay for web hosting does not mean you have to
give away the farm. Companies such as Addr.com and Bizland.com offer
inexpensive solutions for under $10 (UK£7) to $25 (UK£17) a month.
Always keep a backup of your site - No matter what a hosting company claims,
never ever depend upon them for backups. Keep your own backups of your site
on your own hard drive. This way you are prepared for any kind of disaster
that befalls your hosting company. In addition, it is impossible for your
site to be held hostage by a suddenly hostile hosting company.
Get quality, not inexpensive - Look, you can purchase quality web space for
very low prices. Just make sure that you get what you need for the money
that you spend. Look at reliability, performance and customer service, as
well as features that you might need such as CGI and htaccess. Price is
important, but in my opinion the amounts are low enough (less than a good
dinner in most cases) that it's simply not that critical. How hard do you
have to think about spending $14.95 (UK£10) from addr.com for their gold package?
What I have done in the past is purchase a single month of hosting, which I
then monitor (before it is live) constantly (using a special service [Ed. note: I use Internetseer.com]). This
allows me to determine, before I buy a longer term contract, if the host is
stable and performs well.
Don't put up with poor service - There are many hosting companies all over
the internet. If service deteriorates, then by all means find a new host.
Don't waste a lot of time trying to fix the old host's problems. Chances are
they are not going to get any better.
Always use your own domain name - Make sure you own your own domain and
don't use the host's web site addresses. This way if you need to move to
another host later on all you have to do is move the domain name to the new
location.
Make sure you control your domain - Some hosts will set themselves as the
domain administrator, which effectively ties you down to their services. My
recommendation is to either purchase the domains yourself directly from one
of the domain registrar's, or make sure the host registers it in your name.
Do your research - Spend a little time checking out a web host before you
lay down your dollars or spend a lot of time. You can use the search engines
and you can also search newsgroups at dejanews.com.
Save your documentation - Keep all emails and hard copy letters in a safe
place. You may need these later if things go bad. This can be critical if
your new host incorrectly bills your account, deletes your files or has
other problems.
Don't get involved in unethical activities such as spamming - Hosts do not
look favorably upon spam because they may face legal challenges. Do not
spam. Also, be sure all of your mailing lists are double opt-in (when a
visitor signs up for your mailing list you send an email back to him which
he must respond to before he will be added) and keep detailed records of
additions and subtractions.
Read and understand the terms and conditions - Read the Terms of Service and do not
violate the requirements.
Always pay your host by credit card (do not use checks, money orders or
debit cards) - You have far more options in case of disputes with credit
cards than any other payment methods.
Don't believe claims that sound "too good to be true" - A common claim is
unlimited bandwidth [traffic]. Do not believe this, as it is not true. I have heard
many horror stories about webmasters who suddenly found their sites deleted
because their bandwidth was too high for the host to handle. [Ed. note - This has happened to ed-u.com's sister site Highstreetcentral.com twice, even though the second host reassured me that the traffic was no problem. Ask your host what the ACTUAL bandwidth limit is, and, if they cannot give you an answer, then you are probably better off looking elsewhere. - Robert Brady.]
Article by Richard Lowe Jr. Richard is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This web-site includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge. Subscribe to his Daily Tips Newsletter by sending a blank email to internet-tips@GetResponse.com or by going to Internet-tips.net
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