Hosting Guides
- Price Competition Emerges in Grid Hosting
This year's hot trend in web hosting is grid computing, which employs server clusters to bring the advantages of enterprise-level infrastructure to affordable web hosting plans. As with any trend in web hosting, it hasn't taken long for a price war to break out. - Firefox 3 Beta 5 for Developers
Firefox 3 Beta 5 for DevelopersThe Mozilla organization (mozilla.org) just released the fifth beta version of Firefox 3, the latest interation of its open-source browser, for Windows and Mac, adding a variety of ease-of-use improvements to the software.The beta is a public review release intended for testing by developers and to invite community feedback. The beta includes 750 changes from the previous release (beta 4), with a focus on improving performance, memory usage and speed. Beta 5 reportedly offers improved integration with Windows, Macand Linux. In the case of Windows, users will see improved icons and native user interface elements in the browser. The Mac version, too, will use familiar native OS X elements in its toolbars, icons and other items. The new beta also includes new items for downloading, and controls for moving between Web pages. This instance also includes improvements to its JavaScript engine and optimizations around the speed at which Web applications are run. Designed for testing by developers, the Firefox 3 Beta 5 application is available for download in Windows, Mac OS X and Linux builds and in 45 languages. In addition to downloading the software, Mozilla recommends that developers read the Firefox 3 For Developers document on the organization's developers site. - Be Wary of Misinformation When Choosing a Host
Be Wary of Misinformation When Choosing a HostAny smart Web hosting customer is going to do a fair bit of shopping around before they make their decision; it's just too easy to do with most of that shopping taking place online. But when researching your purchase, it can be difficult for a hosting customer to distinguish the real, valuable information from the biased, unreliable or even outright incorrect.Most shoppers would understandably start with a Google search, but a simple unspecific search for"Web hosting" turns up all kind of sources for information: paid Google listings, regular search rankings (the high ones all generated by concentrated SEO campaigns), links to hosting"review" sites and links to commentary in other venues such as hosting-related forums.While once upon a time paid search listings were a questionable resource, they have evolved into a very reliable means for searchers to find what they need. Particularly in a category with high PPC rates, such as Web hosting, high paid positioning has become almost a badge of legitimacy. At the very least, it's an indication that a company is willing to spend dozens of dollars per click just to attract prospective customers. At the very least, it's a definite indication that your business is valuable to them, and that they have a budget to spend on ads. Paid Google ads are actually a great place to start.Further research into a company you've taken an interest in may turn up long negative message board threads or"Ihatecompany.com" or"companysucks.com" type sites. Those can be valuable indicators of the kind of troubles with service or reliability a company might have had and, in the case of message board threads, they can be a good indicator of how a company goes about dealing with those problems. But bear in mind that the upset customers are always going to be more vocal online than the satisfied ones. A company may have many satisfied customers and only a few unsatisfied, but the satisfied customers rarely take the time to seek out a venue to express that satisfaction.The other side of that particular coin is the positive"reviews" to be found on many sites around the Internet. It's possible that there are altruistic people out there posting honest and objective reviews of Web hosting companies out there, but the business model for many of those sites is pay-for-placement, like Google's paid listings, but without the up-front integrity. And the widespread use of that business model makes it pretty impossible to distinguish which sites might be posting"real" reviews.A good rule of thumb, when reading outside feedback on a Web hosting company, might be to assume that negative reviews are the vocal minority, while the positive reviews are more often than not paid for.Rather than throw our hat into the biased/unbiased review arena, theWHIR offers an unranked and paid-for listing of hosting providers. Sort of the fundamentally unbiased"yellow pages" model hosting directory.And our news, similarly unbiased, makes for a valuable resource in researching a hosting company.Ultimately, you're going to have to do some of your own research. If you're interested, call a company's support line. Check out their response times for yourself. Talk to some of their other customers, and see if they're happy with the service. - Woopra Offers Real-time Analytics
Woopra Offers Real-time AnalyticsSite analytics meets Web 2.0 with a new Web-based application from Woopra (woopra.com) that enables users to track and analyze their website traffic in real time.Woopra says that means it is able to provide precise real-time streaming of every single activity on the website so that you, from the perspective of the user, can see visualizations of your website's activity as it constantly changes. Woopra says that unlike some other website tracking and analytics tools its tracking is"on the spot," which means the Webmaster is updated with all the actions taking place on his website right at that moment through Woopra's on-demand notification component.Woopra provides an interface that displays graphical components like charts, maps and panels. It also enables users to track the little details like where visitors came from, what pages they visited, how long they were on your website and what keywords they used. All this information is logged into your account in chronological order so that you can go back anytime and identify all the actions that took place. One of the more interesting aspects of this application is its interactivity. Woopra offers a tagging feature that enables you to assign tags to your visitors so you can quickly and easily identify them the next time they visit your website. You can even take the next step and engage your visitors by starting a conversation with them through an instant messaging tool. There are a few limitations with the application so far as it is still in its beta format. It seems to be bestsuited for small to medium-sized businesses with websites that receive a maximum of 10,000 daily page views.However the company seems to be trying to cater to businesses that receive more traffic as well, since a section in its FAQ asking websites with more than 10,000 page views a day to contact Woopra directly. Interested parties can create a user profile and then, similar to Google Analytics, add all their websites to their account. Woopra provides a small JavaScript code to embed on each website. If you want to use it in your own applications, Woopra also offers an API for developers. The beta version is free, but the company says it may offer both paid and free versions once it is officially released. - What to choose: Free or Paid Web Hosting
What to choose: Free or Paid Web HostingWhen choosing a web host provider, one first has to determine if they wish to use a paid or free hosting service. There are plenty of both available. Before even examining the differences between paid or free hosting, it should be understood that if you have plans for your web site to be anything more than a personal"About Me" or"My Hobby" site to share with your friends--a free hosting service should be out of the question.In short, providing free hosting services isn't a very sustainable business model and the majority of those who attempt it fail, often disappearing overnight and leaving all of their users stuck with no web sites, and worse yet, no access to the files they had on their free hosting accounts. Reliable web hosting depends upon quality hardware along with trained customer care and support technicians. Obviously, a hosting provider who offers their services to users for free--even if they include some small advertising on their customer's pages to earn a minimal return for the service--isn't going to be able to provide top of the line hardware or hire the highest trained and most experienced personnel; it simply won't be within their operating budget. If you want dependable and stable hosting, you have to use a paid service. The good news is that the costs for paid hosting are extremelyaffordable so there really is no reason to risk sacrificing the quality or security of your web site with free service providers. Assuming that your web site will be just for personal use and that free hosting services haven't been excluded by the reasons mentioned already, there is still a decision to be made on whether or not to use a free or paid service; so an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of both is in order. Free web hosting offers one big advantage, it is free. Even though paid hosting can be found for about the same price as a cup of coffee at Starbucks, there isno getting around the fact that if your budget doesn't have room for that you can use a free hosting service. On the other hand, free hosting typically comes with severe limitations and often lacks some very basic capabilities. For example, low disk space and bandwidth quantities, no ability to usestandard scripting languages or .htaccess rules, no email or FTP access, no visitor tracking statistics, no personal domain names and an absence of quality support. In addition, most free hosting requires intrusive advertising be displayed on your web site pages as well. With paid hosting you generally receive very generous disk space and transfer allowances, the ability to use your own domain name, email and FTP accounts, support for multiple scripting languages and third-party applications like forum boards, blogging software, content management systems, advanced eCommerce and shopping cart solutions, comprehensive visitor statistics and even web site design tools to work with. In addition, with paid hosting you will usually also have access to qualified online and phone support 24/7. Everyone has their own budget to work from, and it basically comes down to a risk versus rewards decision. With free hosting you risk the reliability of the service for your visitors and that your provider may go out of business without warning at any time. In making your decision you will have to weigh those risks against the rewards of reliability and advanced features that come with using a paid service for your web site. Article courtesy of Webhostingresourcekit.com - cPanel or Plesk?
cPanel or Plesk? When purchasing a web hosting account you are forced to make several decisions, one of which is what control panel will be the easiest and most productive for you. There are numerous control panels available, but the majority of hosting services offer either cPanel or Plesk. Here is a comparison of the two that should be helpful when making your decision.In basic features, both cPanel and Plesk offer about the same. You can create, edit and manage email accounts, as well as maintain your domains or sub-domains from them. You can also upload and manage the files on your account from either. For many users, these basic capabilities are all that willbe required in a control panel. Both cPanel and Plesk provide a graphical user interface to work from, though it is generally agreed upon that cPanel has the more user friendly layout. The Plesk interface can appear a bit overwhelming to a novice user, and be slightly harder to navigate; where cPanel seems to have focused their graphic design specifically for the novice. For this very reason, cPanel is often claimed to be the easier of the two to work with. It ultimately boils down to a question of personal taste on which interface you prefer, and doesn't have much to do with the real functions and capabilities that the programs provide, only how you will access them. It is really in the more advanced features, and their ease-of-use offered by the two control panels that sets them apart. cPanel is typically provided by most hosting services with the Fantastico script installer included. What this offers to users is the ability to install a wide range of scripts and applications on their web site; including forum boards, blogs, eCommerce shopping cart solutions, content management systems and much more--all with a simple click-and-go approach. No programming or database knowledge is required, and any of these applications can be up and running on your web site in just a minute or two with a couple clicks of the mouse. Plesk has an application pack, and works on a modules basis that allows for additional third party add-ons as well. However, none that seem as widely used and demanded as Fantastico is with cPanel right now, and generally there is some basic technical knowledge required to install and utilize the more advanced features with Plesk--or a hosting provider willing to do it for you. One major difference is that cPanel only operates on Unix based web servers at the moment, though they are working on support for the Windows Operating System. Plesk however, is currently compatible with both Unix and Windows based servers. While the majority of users don't depend on a specific Operating System for their server and will generally utilize Unix based hosting because it often comes with a lower price tag, if you do plan to run specific applications from your web site which will require a Windows based server then cPanel is not an option for you at this time. If your web site does not have any Operating System requirements when deciding which controlpanel will be best for you, an understanding of what you want to do and achieve will be necessary. If you are a developer, or just the type who wants to get hands-on with the technical aspects and details of your hosting and web site software, you will probably appreciate Plesk more. If you are just looking for a reliable control panel that makes the use of features as easy and fast as possible for you, the odds are that cPanel will be your best option. Article courtesy of Webhostingresourcekit.com - Reseller Hosting: How to Earn good Money
Reseller Hosting: How to Earn good MoneyWhat is reseller hosting? The main idea of reseller hosting is to be a web host who sells reseller web hosting to other (usually smaller) web hosting businesses. Reseller hosting accounts are also used by webmasters who operate more than one website. Lately reseller business prospers, because more people want to be online with their own website and their own domain. For many a hobby turns into a (part-time) business. So, there is a steady stream of people needing more than just a single domain web hosting account.There are two types of reseller hosting. 1) Traditional reseller hosting 2) Private label hostingTraditional (bulk) reseller hosting is like a wholesale business. The reseller host buys in bulk aka an entire web server and splits it into small, but medium sized chunks. A smaller web host buys one of these chunks (reseller accounts) and populates it with single domain accounts of normal consumers. The benefit for the reseller host is that he has only to support one customer while the smaller web host deals with each singe domain customer. The smaller web host who buys the reseller account has the advantage not to worry about the technical side of the business as the reseller web host isresponsible for the server health and maintenance. Private label reselling is a step on top of traditional reseller hosting. With traditional reseller hosting the reseller host?s identity is not hidden. Everyone can easily identify the real web host. With private label the identity of the resellerhost is hidden and the reseller (smaller web host) appears to be owner of the server. This tactic is often used/needed/required to make a different impression marketing-wise. Many consumers do not want to deal with small web hosting businesses. Web hosting businesses know this and disguise the factthat they are using a reseller account. So, where is the money in reseller hosting? Is it on the side of the reseller host/server owner or is it on the side of the smaller web host? It depends on the business model and overall pricing scheme on both sides. For the actual reseller host the bigger profits come in when the cost for system administration and co-location are spread out across more servers. For the smaller web host the big profits (on a smaller scale though) come in if he can add as many single domain accounts onto a single reseller account. Hereby is to consider that if the smaller web host aims at the bottom end of the market in regards to price, it is much more difficult to become profitable. I have been able to use a $35/month reseller account and load it up with 8 single domain customer accounts paying me a combined $320.00 per month. And I am sure that this is by far not a record. Check out Lunarpages for (currently) $5.00 reseller accounts. This is a great and almost risk-free way to get your hands wet in the reseller arena and make money on the Internet. Article courtesy of Webhostingresourcekit.com - How to contact your Web Host and to get results
How to contact your Web Host and to get resultsThere are many ways to contact a web host. For some customers this mean posting messages in public message forums like Web Hosting Talk or others. Sometimes this gets them a response, sometimes it does not. However, it always comes with a bad taste and nobody really walks away happy. Here are some generic rules or tips on how to contact your web host.First check your sign-up email if you are already a customer. Usually a well crafted welcome email shows you the proper ways on how to contact your web host. In most cases this should at least cover the support area, sometimes it also covers sales, or even management. The next step if you still donot have that information you should visit your web host's website to find out how to contact them. A first hint would be a"Contact Us" page. If that is not around look for an"About us" type of page to see if there is contact information. If you see a dedicated"Sales" web page it might give you access to the sales team of the web host.Speaking of sales - some web hosts have a phone number listed on their home page. This is usually for Sales only, but depending on the web host you can also contact technical support that way. If you do not find any contact information on the website whatsoever, check for a help desk or ticket system to contact your web host. Smaller operations or web hosts located in different countries or time zones might use that for the"first line of defense". Still no luck it is now time to consider a different web host or to do a final check. The final check in finding contact information is the WHOIS record of the domain your web host is using. But don't hold your breath - depending on who is running the business, you might either see wrong WHOIS information or they are hiding the real contact information behind a WHOIS Proxy Service. One main thing of advice - the more difficult it is to find proper contact information of a web host, the higher your chances that support lacks in quality.The following example shows you how good companies like Liquidweb make that information available. The first thing you notice is that the phone number is right on the homepage. No need to click your way around to find it. It is highly visible. You will also notice that next to the phone a link tothe chat option with the sales is provided. Below the phone number you see an additional menu option called"contact" - which leads you to the contact information page.Once you know how to contact your web host you should gather some additional information to make the situation as productive as possible. If you have a sales inquiry, prepare your question and follow-up questions so that you do not forget important pieces to ask about. I usually pre-write everything when using a chat option. Copy and paste is so much more efficient then scrambling to type. If you call your host, have a notepad handy to take notes. If you have an existing hosting account get the domain name and the account number (if something like this exists) ready. If you are contactingthe host about an existing ticket, get the ticket number and the name of the technician you have worked with. Collect IP addresses and other pieces as needed before contacting support. Stress situations are always bad for both sides. You might be upset about something and if you address your situation the wrong way to the wrong person you might get nowhere. Before yelling at someone find out if that person is actually the right contact to help. Even if you find the right person to talk to, yelling should not be necessary. You will get things done better if you stay calm. Make sure you exactlysay what you want. Nobody can guess what is on your mind. Don't hesitate to ask for money back or one month free of service if the web host dropped the ball on you - but do it in a professional way and explain why you think that it is justified. Stay calm and you get things done. After a call (sales or support) write down pieces of the conversation. It will be much easier to do it right away and then use that data later on. Save copies of emails or chat conversations. Remember - there are many web hosting businesses out there. If your host is not willing to work with you, you can go somewhere else. On the other side be realistic of what you want and what a host is able to deliver. Downtime will happen with even the very best web host. It's how they deal with the problem that makes the difference. If you pay $1.95 a month for web hosting I would not expect the best service. It is just not possible to expect top notch support for almost nothing. Article courtesy of Webhostingresourcekit.com - I need a Dedicated Server
I need a Dedicated Server"I need a Dedicated Server" is the title of a recent discussion on Webhostingtalk.com. In this thread the thread starter is announcing that he is looking for a new dedicated server. While the request itself is written good enough to communicate what he wants, there are several issues with the topic and the discussion itself. If you are looking for a dedicated server yourself in a public forum you want to make sure that you follow a few simple rules to make the best out of your request.State clearly what you want. Just saying"I need a dedicated server" is not simply not enough. Provide exact details about what you are looking for. Intel or AMD CPU? How much memory for the dedicated server? Disk space and RAID level should also be clearly defined. In most cases bandwidth does not need to be specified unless your bandwidth needs for a dedicated server exceed 2 TB (2000 GB). Be realistic with your requirements. Bandwidth, CPU, and memory all come together at one point. 5 TB bandwidth will suck all the life out of a single CPU server with 1 GB RAM. It's just not feasible. Need a dedicated server with cpanel? State it clear and also mention if you need fantastico or can work with a different dedicated server control panel (Helm, Plesk, DirectAdmin, etc).Specify your price limit. Again, be realistic of what you are asking for. Keep in mind that the web host has to pay for the hardware and also wants to make a buck from his investment. If hardware is too cheap, it really might be cheap. Cheap in quality that is. Or the bandwidth you get comes from3rd tier suppliers and simply sucks. Can you pay a setup fee? Or do you want a dedicated server without a setup fee? Sometimes paying a setup fee makes more sense as it can help to lower your monthly cost. If you plan on keeping the server for at least 12 months a setup fee usually pays for itself easily. Why so much commotion about asking the question"I need a Dedicated Server"? It helps you to avoid answering questions that otherwise would not be asked and it saves on time to receive actual offers for a dedicated server. A web host can read your offer, prepare a good offer for a dedicated server and then present it to you.Article courtesy of Webhostingresourcekit.com - Web Hosting from Your Web Server at Home
Web Hosting from Your Web Server at HomeWith the growing popularity and use of the Linux and BSD Operating Systems, and the free availability of web server software like Apache; coupled with high speed DSL and Cable Internet connections, more people than ever before are exploring the possibilities of setting up and maintaining their own web server from home. Microsoft has even offered a personal web server application for home use. Unfortunately, while the ability to setup and operate a web server at home has become very easy, most people lack the crucial knowledge and skills required to secure a web server properly--and this can lead to disastrous results for them.The first problem one can have in operating a home based web server is that most commercial ISP's simply don't allow it in their Terms of Service. They provide users with high speed access to the Internet for email, web browsing and etc., but specifically stipulate that you can not use their networks for offering others access to your own server to protect their bandwidth capacities. With regards to securing a home based web server there are numerous issues to consider. Entire books have been written on how to properly maintain and protect a web server securely, and not one of them even covers everything you should be aware of before operating your own home based web server because the topic is so wide ranging. This writing will only address one issue you face in operating a home based web server. Software Updates While you can easily go from blank hard drive to functioning web server in just a couple of hours, you will need to devote time each day to updating and installing patches for your Operating System, web server application and any additional modules or programs--such as PHP, Perl, MySQL or any other server features you include in the setup. Updates and patches are issued often for all of these and typically address security issues, so you have to stay on top of them every day to keep your web server secure. Remember that by operating a home based web server you are in effect opening a port to your PC for the outside world to access, and there is no shortage ofmalicious people waiting to exploit that opening in a variety of ways if you leave it unsecured. And once inside, they will have access to every file and piece of information stored on your PC. In addition, by gaining access to your web server a talented hacker can obtain administrator rights on the PC, allowing them to make accounts for themselves, install back doors or even run code and scripts that attack or attempt to break into other machines; and it will all appear as though you were the hacker in the logs of those other targets. Hackers aren't your only concern, you also have to watch for worms. New worms are appearing constantly, and even though most software is being continually updated to secure any holes these worms are able to exploit, if you don't install the update before the worm reaches your web server you could be in serious trouble. Once a worm infects your server it executes whatever functions it was designed to do. It could begin scanning for additional web servers on the Internet that are vulnerable--which can degrade your system resources and power as well as use loads of costly bandwidth, it can launch Denial of Service attacks against other host machines, or it could even access and steal your own personal information from you. This is only the tip of the iceberg. Securing a web server properly involves far more than just keeping your software up to date. You have to know about various intrusion methods and monitor your server logs constantly to watch for them. If you operate a mail server on your PC you have to be aware of numerous Spammer tactics and constantly monitor for those as well. The list of basic security measures and practices goes on and on. While it may be easy to start a home based web server, given the time investment for keeping it secure with the low costs of hosting services that employ professional administrators to keep their servers and network safe it simply isn't economical or practical to maintain your own server from home for anything other than code testing--which can be done without opening your PC up to the outside world. For live web sites in a production environment, paying affordable fees for reliable and secure hosting services is a wise investment and will free up your time to grow and expand your actual web site; and if you are really interested in how web servers operate--or perhaps even offering hosting services to others--there are established web hosts out there who provide Reseller and Virtual Private Server accounts which are a great way to go. They provide you with large chunks of disk space and bandwidth, that you can then divide into smaller chunks and sell hosting services to others with. This allows you to do the things you wanted to with your home based web server, while still having the support and security of a professional service behind you. Article courtesy of Webhostingresourcekit.com
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