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What Exactly Is Web Hosting?

Web hosting is the service that makes a Website available to others on the Internet. Here are a few key terms to know:

Operating Platform
Disk Space
Bandwidth
SSL, MySQL and Shopping Cart
Control Panel
Technical Support

Choosing A Web Hosting Plan

Web hosting plans generally fall into three categories: inexpensive Web hosting, professional hosting and ecommerce Website hosting. You should select a plan based on your storage, data transfer, pricing and other requirements.

Inexpensive Web hosting
Professional Web hosting
Ecommerce Web hosting

Inexpensive Web hosting is a popular option for individuals, families or small businesses needing a basic site. Budget hosting features range from email and domain names to scripts and Web statistics. Inexpensive hosting plans are typically available for less than $8. At LunarPages and BlueHost, for example, hosting plans are as low as $3.95 per month and include 5 GB of disk space, 50 GB of bandwidth, Front Page extensions and other features.

Professional hosting is ideal for mid-sized businesses with larger, more complex Websites. Hosting plans include expanded disk space, scripting options, FrontPage extensions, MySql database and more. LunarPages and BlueHost, with pricing plans starting at just $4.95 and $7.95 a month, are also excellent options for this hosting category.

Ecommerce Website hosting is perfect for Website owners wanting to sell products or services directly online. This type of hosting typically includes a shopping cart system that keeps products in a database and allows customers to make selections and payments in a secure environment. BlueHost is an ideal ecommerce hosting company. For less than $50 each month, it offers an 2000 MB of disk space, all the standard hosting features, plus toll-free support. Or for about half the cost and disk space, LunarPages is a good alternative.

Determining Your Web Hosting Needs

If you’re a new Website owner, it can be difficult to predict your Web hosting needs. Here are some tips to give you some idea what your site will require.

• Operating Platform – When you’re considering a Web hosting plan, one of the first things you’ll need to decide on is the operating platform. Basically, there are two options: Unix/Linux and Windows. There are benefits to using either system, so be sure to choose the one that will provide the functionality required for your Website.
• Disk Space – Most sites use less than 5MB of Web space, which is generally enough to accommodate 100 pages — depending on the number of pictures involved, whether you need sound files, video clips, etc. You should allow another 5MB to 10MB of space for email use, especially if you’re planning to use your account for business or expect to receive large attachments. Email attachments generally take up 20 percent more space within the email than they do once they’re downloaded. And if you don’t have enough disk space available with your Web hosting account, your emails may be bounced back to the sender. As a rule of thumb, make sure you allocate at least double your initial Web space requirement to allow for future growth and the various server files and directories which will take up space too. LunarPages and BlueHost offer a generous amount of disk space for their inexpensive, professional and ecommerce hosting plans.
• Bandwidth – Bandwidth, also known as traffic or data transfer, is the amount of bytes transferred from your site to visitors when they browse your site. When someone downloads anything from your site, whether it is a single Web page, several pictures or music files, this is counted as data transfer. You also use data transfer when checking and downloading email or uploading (publishing) your site. So if your site contains many pictures or music, you need to choose a Web hosting plan that will give you plenty of flexibility. Generally, 1 to 3GB of traffic per month is sufficient for a simple site just starting out. Basic hosting packages from LunarPages and BlueHost and JumpLine offer plenty of bandwidth for the average new Website.
• SSL, MySQL and Shopping Cart – If you’re planning to accept credit cards and/or any sort of payment system through your Website, you’ll want to make sure your Web host provides these features. Shopping cart and MySQL technology allows consumers to select and purchase multiple items from your site. And SSL (Secure Socket Layer) enables you to process credit card payments in a secure environment. Both JumpLine and LunarPages specialize in ecommerce Website hosting and offer MySQL, shopping carts and other features for as little as $22.95 a month.
• Control Panel – A control panel lets you do things like add, delete, and manage your email addresses, and change passwords for your account. It gives you the capability and convenience of making basic changes to your account without the hassle of having to go through host-provided technical support. You’ll find that many hosting companies, such as JumpLine, include a control panel as a basic feature.
• Technical Support – Technical support is perhaps one of the most important of all Web hosting requirements. Eventually, something will go wrong with your site. That’s why it’s essential for your Web host to offer some form of support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Most hosting companies, like Ipowerweb, provide online support. LunarPages and JumpLine go a step further by offering offer toll-free phone support.