Choosing a Web Hosting Company - Part 2
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Having a quality, reliable web host working for you should be the first step in setting up a successful internet
business or establishing your presence online. This is because web hosts are in charge of displaying your site
whenever your web address is typed into a browser. In other words, although the content is all yours, issues of
the site's speed, size and maintenance will be largely determined by you in conjunction with a web host. As
such, it is worth assessing the sort of package you need, paying particular attention to the following three
areas:
Service Plans
The critical decision here is what kind of service plan you want. There are three types to choose from
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A Shared Hosting Plan, where several web sites are hosted on the same server, sharing the server's
resources and using the same IP address.
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A Virtual Private Server (VPS) Plan, which consists of a server split into multiple virtual servers, each
of which has its own IP address. This is also known as a Virtual Dedicated Server Plan.
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A Dedicated Server Plan, the most expensive plan, where each dedicated server customer gets their own
physical server. This plan is usually too expensive for personal web sites and smaller businesses.
Your choice of plan should be based on the size of your company and the volume of business you expect to
generate through the internet, because it is very much a case of you pay for what you get'. Shared hosting, for
instance, is never 100% reliable or stable. Neither is VSP, but at least with a VSP plan you get your own IP
address and your server will also function as a mail and database server. On a dedicated server you can install
only the software and applications you want to use, whereas on a shared hosting server you will find a host of
other software and applications installed for other users. The difference, effectively, is using a chauffeur
driven Rolls Royce as your means of transport compared to taking public transport, with a comparable difference
in cost.
Once you have established your needs, you are in a position to draw up a list of potential web hosting
candidates. As always, seek out references from other businesses who use the company and look into the company's
background. Elements you should look out for include any additional services (such as free access to a secure
server for order processing, or the provision of shopping cart software to process your orders) and whether the
server is located in a warehouse or a specialised data centre and what measures are taken to ensure your
privacy. Also, avoid drawing up a long-term contract until you are sure about the services and reliability
offered by your chosen host.
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