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Some Points to Ponder When Choosing a Web Host

A good number of web hosting companies offer the following basic services:

1.  Data Transfer- This is the speed of the website. The higher the bandwidth the faster the downloads. Think of this like a strong pipe for passing your data. Many Web Hosts offer bandwidths of 3000 GB.

2.  Disk Space - Storage is an important consideration for your website especially when you have audio, video and graphics. The higher the storage the better. Think of this like a strong box for holding your data.

3.  Shared or Dedicated IP Address- Every website has an IP address which is a 4 octet number that uniquely identifies a website e.g www.yahoo.com has the IP address 216.109.112.135. Most web hosting starter plans offer a shared IP address in which many websites point to one IP address. This is suitable for most users but has the disadvantage that if any one the websites spam for instance, the IP address could be banned and this will inadvertently affect you.

Basically, in shared IP hosting, one IP address is assigned to several domains and access to a domain is available only by its domain name while in dedicated IP hosting, one IP address is assigned to one domain. To access a domain you can use either its IP address or its domain name. You need a dedicated IP address if you are building a serious business site. The search engines look with favour on websites using a dedicated IP address and this can lead to good search engine rankings.

4.  Number of Databases - When you capture data on visitors to your site, it is stored in a database. This feature is important if you are building a site for commerce. Generally, you need at least 2 databases for your site. Look for web host that offer the following databases:

• PostgreSQL
• PHPMyAdmin
• PHPPgAdmin
• MySQL

5.  E-mail Accounts- Email accounts are useful for site feedback and comunication with your visitors. You can have different accounts for different departments in your company for example: sales@webdesignfortune.com, admin@webdesignfortune.com, inquiry@webdesignfortune.com. Many Web Hosts offer from 1000 -3000 email accounts-more than you need!

6.  Autoresponders - Autoresponders automate your website and run you business while you are asleep or on vacation. This feature is important if you are building a business site.

7.  FTP Accounts -FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is used for sending files quickly. You can upload files to your site using FTP.

8.  Scripts - Scripts are small programs that run on your web server. The perform such functions as auto responders, form processing and web search. The following are some script languages and a good web host should provide support for them:

• Perl
• CGI
• CGI-BIN
• Javascript
• DHTML
• Server Side Include (SSI)
• Override .htaccess Support
• PHP

9.   Multimedia - If your site is going to have multimedia i.e audio, video or streaming media, you need the following:

• MIDI File Support
• Streaming Audio Support
• Streaming Video Support
• Real Audio and Video Support
• Flash and Shockwave Support

10.  Support - Because of the numerous issues that may arise from hosting your website, you need a web host with good support. This support comes in the form of a live phone conversation, live chat or a ticket center.

Look out for the following: CPanel and Fantastico, MySQL DB,   Unlimited Email accounts, Subdomains,  Blog Installation, E-commerce Pack, Website transfer and domain name transfer

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