Basic Information About Web Hosting

 Web Host :

If you’re going to use/run personal or commercial website, you need to choose web host diligently . It is necessary for a website to be visited by large number of users. Factors to considered while choosing a web host
Users should go through each of following factors:

1- Server Uptime/Availability:

The most important factor is server’s uptime , i .e  server in which files are saved is available to serve . Many servers claim that their uptime is 24/7 or 99.99% which means they’re available all the time .

2- Customer’s Support:

The highly attracting feature of a good web host is its customer’s support. The better it provides support/help to its users , the better it will be considered . Kind and quick response to queries compels the users to be engaged with its host.

3- Cost:

Web hosting has some cost according to features we select or it provides. The range of cost and features chosen is very broad . Users want best services in low prices . Cheap web host may or may not be good service provider. Some web-hosts charge less cost and provide truly good service in order to catch more users .
Prices for different servers/ web-host :-
Shared Web-hosting:        2 – 10$ per month
Virtual private hosting:   8 – 50$ per month
Dedicated hosting:             60 – 500$ per month
Cloud hosting:                     50 – 300$ per month

4- Data storage Space:

If you’re a newbie, you will probably have a little idea about how much space your website is going to consume . You will consult with your web-host about it . It will guide & provide you optimum storage space for your website. Normal websites consume beyond 40-50 MB . High and large storage space charges higher and vice versa.

5- Bandwidth Limit:

It is the amount of data , your website allows you per month. It depends on how many visitors visit your site and nature of files you store / serve. Most websites provide you ” Unlimited bandwidth” on their shared Web hosting packages. If you’re intending to host high resolution pictures or videos , go for VPS or dedicated servers instead of shared Web hosting.

6- Types of Web Hosting:

Shared hosting :

More than 50%of websites are hosted by this .it is good for personal and small sites it is the most economical .In this hosting ,a single physical server hosts the 10-100 accounts at the same time , providing same storage and broadband connection .The attracting feature of this hosting is it’s higher availability i .e ,if one server is down ,other will be up. there is weekly backup in this hosting.

Virtual private server :

This type of hosting is used by medium websites with medium storage space and Band width. VPS  is hosted on unique IP address (e. g 190.160.12)and it seems like a dedicated server .A single physical server hosts 3-10 accounts. The allocated storage space and bandwidth is served by the server .For newbies ,host also provides managing service and charges Up to 50 per month separately .

Dedicated server:

They are usually used by medium to big websites according to their requirements. In this type , user is considered to be the owner of server and can have all control over this . The server has its unique IP address, RAM ,Hard Disk and bandwidth. In this , server is rented out to user . For newbies, host also provides managing service and charges up to 50$ per month separately.

Cloud hosting:

In this hosting, equal bandwidth is served by same network.it is more reliable and premium hosting. Cloud hosting uses several servers located at different locations having connection with each other. The main advantage is scalability and cost efficiency.

7- Domain:

It is simply an internet name :

Addon domains can be defined as multiple domains under same package. It is useful if you’re interested to use more than one website .
Sub-domains are the parts of a domain that comes before the main domain name which are appointed on sub-directories of main domain directory
For example:
Main domain : icap.org.pk Or /public-html/
Sub-domain: student.login.icap.org.pk OR /public-html/subdirectory/

8- E-Mail And FTP:

Email:   A unique account for your website e . g , name@yoursite.com.
You will receive official mails on given email account.
FTP: It stands for FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL. Specific data/required data is sent to developer with the help of FTP. Web developer can have access to your files through FTP accounts .

9- Different Platforms:

Websites are created on these platforms:-
Examples: WordPress, Joomla, Mambo, Drupal, Nucleas, Moodie, Geeklog, Lifetype , serendipity, phpBB, SMF, Vanilla forum, open card , Woo Commerce , Magento etc.
There is special language used in programming world known as programing language.
There are various programming software and databases used by web-host like frontpage server extension, custom Php , in etc

10- Tools:

There are tools for websites , market and shopping cart websites

Examples: web analysis tools , google custom search , google webmaster tools etc. These tools are helpful to build websites , nourish websites and increase site visits .

SEO:  SEO is the abbreviation of “search engine optimization” . It improves your website’s position in search result pages. It places your site on the top of the list while searching for the purpose of more visits on your website. Google is well-known search engine which prefers locally hosted sites . Domain names or regional TLDs also help in local search rankings . SEO ranking is vulnerable to technical loss in case of shared hosting. You’re advised to obtain separate IP address ( VPS or dedicated server).