Congratulations to Content Maven Meryl!

June 6, 2008

Back in 2005, I had the opportunity to publish an article on my business website, 2 Smart Chix, by Meryl K. Evans aka The Content Maven. I was looking for interesting information to share with my visitors and Meryl kindly volunteered to send me an article about finding the right webhost. I got to repay her this week by being a guest blogger on her site, Meryl.net, for her eighth blogging anniversary. Yep, Meryl’s been blogging for eight years! Besides having guest bloggers, she’s also giving away some really cool prizes, so scoot on over and check them out.

In honor of Meryl’s tenacity as a blogger, I’m reprinting the GREAT (and still relevant) article she wrote for 2 Smart Chix. Thanks, Meryl, and congratulations on your 8th blogging anniversary!

Searching for Mr. (Pardon, Mrs. and Ms., too) Good Host
By Meryl K. Evans

The overwhelming Web hosting choices can give a person a long-lasting headache. We’ll try to cut out the bull and get right to business in finding a place to house your Web site. To clarify things, a Web host is also known as a hosting service provider (HSP), which isn’t the same thing as Internet service provider (ISP) as companies in this category provide you with the ability to connect to the Internet. Some may offer Web hosting as part of the plan.

Simply put, a Web host holds the files that make up your Web site and supporting content. When someone enters your Web site address (URL) in the Web browser, it takes them to the Web host’s server where they receive the files that you put there.

This article assumes you want to set up a personal Web site or one for a small business. In this case, you will most likely want to look for shared hosting. If you would like to know about other types of hosting, here’s an article.

Shared hosting typically serves small business, small scale e-commerce, personal sites, and entry-level hosting needs. They’re the cheapest and easiest way to host a Web site. The host is responsible for uptime rates (Web site availability), tech support, and monitoring. Shared server performance is affected by the activities of other Web sites sharing the same server.

Some hosts offer a complete package, which includes obtaining a domain name (URL), a Web site template for designing your site, and hosting. How much? Plans range from $5 to $20 per month depending on how much storage and bandwidth you need.

What features do you need? Some of you might be thinking, “Heck, I don’t know what’s available.” That’s OK. The following lists the major features to consider. If you don’t know the answer, then do research on it or ask the potential host about it.

• Data transfer rates (bandwidth) – Bandwidth includes data transferred into or out of a Web site such as content, images, and media files. Anything that you or your visitors receive or send is data. When a visitor comes to a Web site, data is transferred from the host server to the client (visitor’s) computer. The more visitors a Web site has, the higher the data transfer rate is needed.
• Storage – Amount of space the host provides for your files. If you don’t know when you begin, start small. Most host providers allow you to upgrade if you need more space.
• Uptime rate (availability) – How often does the server go down? The higher the uptime rate, the better.
• Server application - If you want to use IIS (Microsoft’s Internet server), review the vendors’ offerings to see whether it’s offered. Or if you prefer UNIX running Apache software, then look for that. How do you choose? Do research and ask around.
• Subdomain – Do you want to have subdomains like blog.website.com, about.website.com, and products.website.com? If so, look for this feature.
• FrontPage Support – I discourage using FrontPage for creating a Web site. However, if you use it, you’ll need this feature.
• FTP – This is how you get your files from your computer to the host computer. Some hosts provide multiple FTP accounts so you can give access to others. Software like Filezilla make it possible to upload and download files between your computer and the host.
• Email – Many hosts offer multiple email accounts. If you want to give every member of your family an email address, you can do that. Other options include POP mail and Web-based email. POP mail allows you to get your emails through your email application like Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora and Thunderbird. Web-based email lets you read and respond to emails through the Internet like Yahoo and Hotmail. You can get both options.
• Logs – Learn about your visitors and the amount of traffic that comes to your Web site by reviewing logs. Logs also provide information about Web site and page errors, so you can address them.
• Shopping – Will you sell a product or service through your Web site? If so, you will need shopping cart capabilities. But, there are outside vendors you can use rather than the one that comes with your host.
• Chat – Another feature you can integrate or use an outside application.
• Message Board – In building a community, you might want to have a message board. Again, you can use third party application instead of your host’s.
• PHP, SSI, CGI, databases – Technical stuff here. It would take another article to cover this. These are technology and languages that serve dynamic Web pages.
• Backups – It’s a good idea to have a copy of all the Web site files on a local computer. A host with backup capabilities typically backs up all of its servers on a daily basis to use for recovery should a disaster (hope not!) happens.

Where to Begin?

The choices are endless. There are comparison sites available that review the hosts’ capabilities. The following Web sites are resources for host provider information and ratings to help you find the perfect host for a Web site.

· HostReview.com

· The List of ISPs

· RateMyHost

· SMESource

· Web Host Magazine & Buyer’s Guide

· Web Hosters

Also you can find a host by asking friends or posting a message on a trusted bulletin board or mailing list discussion group. If a host doesn’t work out, you can always move to another. That’s where having a local backup of your Web site comes in handy.

Meryl K. Evans, Content Maven, is the author of Brilliant Outlook Pocketbook and the co-author of Adapting to Web Standards. She has written, edited, and contributed to The Dallas Morning News, InternetVIZ, InformIT, O’Reilly, PC Today, Sams, Wiley, and others. She’s the editor of several newsletters including her own meryl’s notes. She has been blogging since before it was cool. The Fort Worth native lives in Plano with her husband and three children, just a heartbeat north of Dallas where many of the stories about the city’s people are tall tales.

Posted in Interviews, Tech Tips, Views From The Coop, Web Design, blogging