Tuesday, September 19, 2006

FTP Hosting for Beginners Lesson 101

Have you ever realized why the Internet is so popular? It is because the Internet provides us with easy and fast access to all types of information and knowledge. It is the perfect platform to share information, gain knowledge, send messages, listen to music, and view graphics.
However, if you face problems in transferring this information, then the very purpose of using the Internet will fail. This is where you need the help of FTP Hosting service.

The FTP Hosting service helps you to transfer files over the Internet irrespective of the length and size of the files. The files to be transferred using FTP Hosting service can come in the form of web pages, media files, image files or text files.

Difference between Transferring Files via Emails and FTP Hosting Service
FTP Hosting service makes use of a safe and sound online file storage system. It is in this storage system that the FTP Hosting service allows you to upload all the files, irrespective of their type and size. Once you have finished uploading all the desired files, the recipient of the respective files can easily download them according to their preferred time.

You may feel that even the email can serve this purpose of transferring files. But, there are size restrictions in an email, and the email services fail to transfer large files. You may face a situation where you need to transfer files of size over 100MB – 300MB. This is when you require the help of FTP Hosting service. Moreover, emails allow you to send files from one person to another. FTP Hosting allows you to store the files in an online secured storage system from where the recipients can easily download their respective files.

How Secured is FTP Hosting?

You will be considered a good candidate for FTP Hosting service if you share large files with a number of vendors and clients. The FTP Hosting service provides you with multiple accounts, with the help of which you can easily upload and download files to and from your vendors and clients. Since this whole process involves handling a number of accounts, FTP Hosting service will also provide you with secured passwords for all the individual accounts, thus preventing one client from viewing files for other clients.
FTP Hosting service is mainly used in various organizations and firms including designer, medical practice, law, art, transcription, engineering firms and other organizations that require secure transfer of heavy files.
FTP Server & FTP Client

FTP in “FTP Hosting” stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is one of the fastest and the most effective ways of transferring large files over the Internet. In order to perform FTP Hosting, you will require two types of computers – FTP Server and FTP Client.

FTP Server – This computer runs the FTP server software. It keeps track of requests by the Client computers for connecting to a file that is uploaded on the online storage system.

FTP Client – This computer runs the FTP client software. It instigates connection to the FTP server. Once the connection is established, the client can download and upload files to and from the server, edit, delete or rename files on the server.

FTP Software
To make sure that the two computers required for FTP Hosting, FTP Server and FTP Client, are working effectively, you will require FTP Software. The software runs on the Server and Client computers and handles the smooth transferring of the files. Almost all the FTP Hosting software are easy to use. All you need to do is - install the application, fill in details of site address, name and related information, and just connect. Once connection has been restored, you can easily upload files from your PC to the site and download the files from the site to the local drive of your computer.
A number of FTP Hosting software are available - both for server and client programs. Some of them are:

WS FTP – as file transfer client software, it is the most popular. With the help of this secure software, you can quickly and easily manage all the digital information. It helps to compress files into .zip format during file transfer. It guarantees security of data with the help of 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) keys and SSL transfers.

FTP Explorer – this allows you to resume file download even after an interruption. This FTP client software is modeled after Windows Explorer interface.

Cute FTP – this is one of the widely used shareware FTP programs. This FTP Client software is developed by GlobalSCAPE. Their enhanced tools help them to manage complex data.

FTP Hosting costs only a fraction of the cost that you pay for sending files via UPS, Fed-X and various postal services. Moreover, the risk of damage and delay and the associated delivery costs are not there. Usually, you will need to pay only $3.50 every week. However, if you go for a monthly payment, you only need to pay $25.00 every month.

How to Increase Web Traffic

To succeed on the Internet, you must learn how to increase web traffic. Without getting targeted visitors to your website, you don't stand a chance of selling your products or services to any large degree. There are a variety of tactics, tools, and resources you can use to increase web traffic. In this article, I'll share with you the specific resources I've used to increase my website traffic and generate a large annual income online. More specifically, I'll tell you some of the secret tools I've used to drive targeted web traffic.

Google Adwords
If you want to know how to increase web traffic instantly, then learn about Google Adwords. This is the most targeted form of marking on the Internet. However, it requires that you have a marketing budget and can realize a positive return on your investment. Google Adwords allow you to drive traffic to your website using a specific keyword or phrase. Your ad appears across the Internet on websites displaying relative content. When users click on your ad, they are redirected to your web site. You must pay each time a user clicks on your ad which can get expensive, especially because a click does not guarantee a sale. Therefore, before using Google Adwords, you must fully understand how to increase web traffic using online marketing techniques such as cost per click and generating a positive ROI.

Optimizing your Webpages
A much simpler method to increasing web traffic is to optimize your homepage using on-page and off-page optimization techniques. The best part of this method is that it costs nothing! Learn to employ on-page optimization techniques such as using your selected keyword phrase in your meta tags (page title, description, etc.), as the title of your page using h1 tags, and sprinkling your keyword phrase throughout your text. Lastly, you want your keyword phrase to appear as the last thing on the page. These techniques alone are sure to increase your web traffic by improving search engine results.

Off-page optimization techniques are quite simple, yet more difficult to achieve. If you want to improve your search engine results and therefore increase your web traffic, then you must build links to your web page. This can be done through a link exchange program, directory submissions, or purchasing one-way links to your website. Don't forget how to increase web traffic by combining on-page and off-page optimization techniques.

Low Budget Online Marketing Techniques
If you don't have a budget to throw at online marketing, you may want to use some tried and true marketing techniques that require little or no investment other than your time and some basic HTML programming knowledge:1. Build an opt-in list that you can market to over and over again by offering something of value in exchange for an email list.

2. Use viral marketing (referrals) to have your website visitors generate links to your website such as "email a friend".

3. Generate compelling "one-time-offers" to get users to take action and optimize these offers on their own web page so that the search engines can pick them up.

4. Focus your website copy using the WIIFM concept (what's in it for me?). By doing so, users will find your site engaging a recommend others to visit your site.

5. Develop an affiliate program and get others to generate traffic to your website by offering a commission when selling your products or giving you referrals.

6. Use testimonials one your site and see your on-site purchase rates skyrocket! Using this technique alone to increase web traffic has generated thousands of conversion that I otherwise would not have had.

These are just a few of the marketing techniques I've used over the past few years to generate serious online income. I learned these techniques and a number of others from a report I read online about web marketing techniques. I usually don't recommend someone else's products, but if you're serious about generating an online income, you should check out the Butterfly Marketing Report. It really helped me understand basic marketing techniques and apply them quickly to generate a steady monthly income. If you want to check it out, just Click Here or serch on Google for traffic generating strategies in your specific market niche.

Increasing Web Traffic by submitting your site to Web Directories
I couldn't believe how many websites offer free directories for those seeking specific information on the web. After doing a number of Google searches, I quickly found one powerful way to answer the question of how to increase web traffic - Search Directories. You can submit to a lot of web directories, but the most popular is DMOZ. Dmoz is the Internet's largest human edited directory. The drawback is that it takes a long time to get your website listed. So if you haven't already submitted your site, go to DMOZ.org to find a relevant category and submit your site.Using these techniques and a number of others, I have learned how to increase website traffic. What's great is that I do so without spending a large sum of money. The best investment you can make is to read all you can about online marketing techniques that show you how to increase web traffic and apply them.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Shared Web Hosting Explained

Shared web hosting is a service offered by web hosts wherein more than one website is hosted on a single server. It is an economical option since the overall cost of running and maintaining the web server is shared among many websites.

A real-life comparison can be that of a students' dormitory where all students share the same facilities. Except that in case of shared web hosting, individual website owners do not normally know each other.

Usually small websites prefer shared web hosting to keep overhead cost minimum. It is quite common to find websites from any part of the world availing shared web hosting service from a single provider. For them, ability to host own website is more important than other considerations.

On the other hand, in many large companies every department has its own server which is shared only by department personnel. Clearly then the concept of shared web hosting varies from need to need depending on necessity and ability to afford the cost involved.

In the paragraphs below we will look at the pros and cons of shared web hosting in more details:

Shared Web Hosting - The Pros

If you are dipping your toe in web-world for the first time, shared web hosting will be a good choice. Costs are low since you are entitled to a small portion of the whole pie. More than that, shared web hosting offers unique advantage of many features and software that already come installed in host server. In addition, a system administrator, available 24x7, will be there to help you in case of any trouble with your shared web hosting.

Depending on service provider, typical freebies in shared web hosting include open-source software such as fully-featured shopping cart (like Agora, Oscommerce, CubeCart, Zen Cart, etc.), content management system or blogs (like Nucleus CMS, Drupal, Wordpress, etc.), image galleries (4Images, Coppermine, etc.) and so on.

This apart, most shared web hosting plans come equipped with web statistics facilities like Awstats and Webalizer, and sometimes even with a site-builder so that you can design your website in no time.

Since all hosting-related needs are taken care of, shared web hosting specially appeals to those website owners who want to focus on their web businesses and have no reason to bother about nitty-gritty of host server. In short therefore, with shared web hosting, one gets going without too much of hassle and certainly in shortest possible time.

Shared Web Hosting - The Cons

Not everything is rosy with shared web hosting. The principal concern is lack of privacy. If your website deals in sensitive data, then shared web hosting is not preferable. Since you have no control on what others are doing in shared web hosting, there is no guarantee that your website data will not be tampered with intentionally or otherwise.

It is true that some shared web hosting will offer SSL and TLS shields (SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer and TLS means Transport Layer Security) to ensure that all your web communications remain totally confidential. But in practice this is not so. This is because in shared web hosting, all websites have same IP address (Internet Protocol Address) and therefore share the same SSL/TLS digital certificate.

Another issue of concern is when your host server malfunctions. This can happen even if yours is not a shared web hosting. The problem is that since you do not control the server, you will not know what ailed the system and so you cannot take any preventive measure.

Summing Up

Shared web hosting is without doubt the first stepping stone across the turbulence of web world. Once you graduate and progress you will find you no longer prefer shared web hosting for various reasons. You have grown big and have reached a point where it will be a better option to move out of shared web hosting, for good.

5 Common Web Hosting Mistakes

Mistakes aren't necessarily a bad thing, but if you can learn from other people's mistakes it can save you from having to deal with them yourself. When it comes to web hosting, there are basically two kinds of mistakes - technical and general business.

Technical mistakes usually come up because of a misunderstanding of the internet and how it actually works. The first mistake many people make when creating a website is to cram as much information, photographs, images, etc. on each page as possible.

This makes the site take longer to download, leading to many visitors just moving on and never actually looking at the site. It also makes it more difficult to find what they're looking for if the page is unorganized.

Another common error is creating a web site that isn't search engine friendly. If the search engines can't determine what your site is about, they aren't going to be able to send you people who are searching for what you offer.

A mistake that many people make when starting out is to choose a host solely based on price. This is obviously an important factor, especially in the beginning, but if you choose the cheapest host you may be limited in your scalability as the website grows in popularity and traffic.

On the business side of things, the most common mistake is trying to be everything to everyone. You should have a plan for your website - a purpose for its existence - and build according to that plan.

Choose your target market and stick with it. Advertise in places they would see. Market in ways that would be of interest to them. Resist the urge to branch out into other areas just because something catches your eye. A site that tries to do everything usually ends up achieving nothing.

Another common business mistake is following the competition's lead. You'll obviously want to keep an eye on them to see what they're up to, but if you copy everything they do you'll always be one step behind.

Use your creativity and come up with unique ways to stand out from the rest of the websites in your market.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Boost Web Traffic in 5 Specific Steps

What's the number one problem facing website owners? It's not hosting cost or creating good content or finding good images. It's getting good quality traffic, getting visitors' eyeballs to your site. Below are five specific, easy techniques to boost your website traffic.

1. Create your own web ring. You will gain highly
targeted traffic to your web site and others will link
to your site because they'll want to join the ring. For
example, if you were selling products to net marketers,
you would want to start an online marketing web ring.
You would then draw your target audience.

2. Remind your visitors to promote your web site.
Use phrases like: "Refer Our Web Site To A
Friend" or "Link To Our Web Site". Scripts are available online to add code to your site so all they have to do is click a link or button. Offer them incentives for referrals, such as free e-books, reports, software and other informational products. You could also offer them discounts on other products you sell.

3. Blogging can no longer be overlooked as just a fad, either. A relevent blog entry with a link back to your main site is a surefire way to get indexed by the search engines much quicker than manually submitting your site to Google or MSN. If your topic is good enough, it can also be picked up by the “blogosphere” and copied to countless blogs around the net (hint: use Pingomatic.com to increase the likelihood of this happening).

4. Along with blogging is “the next great thing”, podcasting. With the popularity of portable MP3 players, getting your message out there as a free MP3 download—without it obviously being an ad—is another great way to get free targeted traffic to your site. In fact, you can simply record already-existing content that you have and not have to spend any money creating the MP3! It's yet another channel of distribution, and it's portable, so people can listen to it even when they're away from their computers.

5. Get an XML sitemap for your website, then submit it to Google, Yahoo!, and MSN. This is a super-easy way to get them to spider your website and get listed faster, and you can even specify which pages to list. Search for xml sitemap and you'll find free tools to do this.

6. OK, so I'm putting in one last step, which perhaps should be the first (think of it as a bonus step). Think of a domain name for your web site that's easy to remember. It should be related to what your business does, sells or provides, such as onlineincomegenerators.com. Ideally you should try to work in some of your main keywords into the name (see below for a site about marketing). If there aren’t any business names available, use your actual birth name (or a variant thereof, perhaps with an initial, since the trend in recent years has been for companies to register last names as domains then resell the first names as subdomains). Also consider different domains—don't limit yourself to just .com when there are at least eight other domain extensions to choose from.
You could at least brand yourself. Your own name
will give you credibility. And don't necessarily limit yourself to one domain name, either.

Start with these six steps and you'll be on your way to boosting your website traffic for virtually no cost.

Monday, June 05, 2006

5 Steps To Choose A Great Free Hosting Service

Free Hosting is sometimes a great way to go when you want to put up a website. Its great when you don't have a credit card to arrange the hosting and domain name. Also if it's your first website, a personal page or many other factors you may choose to go the free hosting route. In order to have a good website though, there are some things you need to be aware of and look for in a free host provider. They are:

1. Trustability

For the first reason, I'm inventing my own word! Trust in the provider is very important though because your privacy is of importance to you. The last thing you want is to have all your information sold to mortgage companies or something.

2. Storage

This one is important. Storage is important, especially if you want images on your free website. Many free hosting services are free for the first 10mb and then start billing you in order to get more storage. Find a host that has at least 50mb of storage so that you don't risk running out

3. Bandwidth

This is where lots of free hosts fall down. They only offer small amounts of bandwidth, and then once you reach it, they suspend your account. If this happens, often you need to pay for more bandwidth, or wait until the month is out in order to get your account functioning again. If this happens in some cases you can email them and ask for more and they might grant you some more, but is it worth the risk of website downtime?

4. Ads

It's a free service and the provider needs to make the income to pay the servers and maintenance somehow, so ads are expected. Lots of free hosts though go overboard with Popups and float-ins, as well as banner ads and plenty more. Try and find a free hosting provider that has non obtrusive advertising (NO Popups, visitors hate that!)

5. Functionality and Uptime

Without user-friendly functionality, you could struggle to get your pages looking the way you want them to look. Try and find a service provider that offers easy editing and also has safe, reliable servers and maintenance, otherwise you may risk your website being up and down throughout the day!

In conclusion, you need to find a safe host that provides you with plenty of storage and no over the top advertising. This way you are ensured to have a pleasant experience hosting your free website. Why not try http://www.eqquhost.com. They offer lots of storage, Massive Bandwidth, great security and have their own servers and maintenance guys! Hope that this article was helpful and enabled you to make a more informed choice.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Finding the right cheap domain web hosting

Finding the right cheap domain web hosting

All of us want to find the right cheap hosting provider. Unfortunately, finding a professional and cheap domain web hosting service can be harder than you think. The most common problem with cheap domain web hosting providers is that, despite the fact that they offer really cheap services, they usually don’t care too much for their clients. So buying cheap services can bring you more problems than benefits.

Be patient and make a great choice

Don’t let yourself tricked by the first offer you will have. In case you are a novice in this area, it is recommended to ask for someone’s help. It takes a certain level of web hosting knowledge to find the best cheap domain web hosting services. With some proper homework you will find yourself paying less that $10 for good services that will satisfy all your needs. So, try to be patient, and the positive results will definitely come.

Another solution is the shared web domain hosting. The problem with this option is that a server could crash because of another web site, and you can loose important amounts of money. And in most of the cases, the provider will find cheap excuses and will do poor efforts in solving the problem

Make sure cheap also brings quality

There are hundreds of hosting companies and their fees vary considerably. Before you choose the domain web hosting provider, make sure that the provider includes all the services in that price. So, ask your provider how much traffic you will get, what keywords will need to be used to get to your personal web site or how many visitors you will be able to host per month. Also, know that 5GB of disk space, 75GB of bandwidth and the Cpanel will be more than enough for every web site. If cheap domain web hosting services will provide you all these facilities, you can be sure you made the right decision.

But all these depend on what type of web site you are about to launch. For example, a large professional e-commerce site will need more bandwidth or disk space. On the other hand, if you have just a small personal site and you have no intention on selling things on your site, cheap domain web hosting will probably ensure enough technical support for your needs.

Therefore, we can say that the most important criteria when choosing cheap domain web hosting services is the type of your web site. Do not hurry to make a bad choice before you get all the information you need. And, in case you have made the wrong decision this will all help you in the future, when you will have to make another choice. Good luck!

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Tips On FrontPage Web Site Hosting For You

FrontPage is one of the most common web design software. This software will help you to create small web sites without learning HTML. The only thing you have to do is to design a layout and FrontPage will automatically make the coding for you. After finishing the site, you can instantly transfer the site to a server by clicking the button "Publish site". However, before publishing a FrontPage site, you need to find FrontPage web site hosting.

First, you should find a server with Microsoft FrontPage, available to potential customers. Depending on the web hosting company, you may find a plan with other scripting languages included, like PHP, CGI and ASP. For some extra money, you may gain access to MySQL or Access databases. In addition, FrontPage web site hosting servers give access to customers to modify their sites with a set of programs that contain many useful tools. With just a few clicks, customers can make changes in all their pages, simultaneously.

FrontPage web site hosting advantages

On FrontPage web site hosting servers you can find thousands of java scripts, images, templates and ready to run solutions. You can add and position images in your pages with drag and drop technique and you can format the text without learning cascading style sheets. All these things can save you lot of time if you are a beginner in web design.

FrontPage package has also included Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting. This means that you can add lots of ready to run vb-scripts to your site, without knowing how they were created. Another useful tool is the online coding. On the UNIX servers, you can change the files of your site only on your PC, and then you upload them on server. Nevertheless, on FrontPage web site hosting servers you can edit the files directly by coding in a window. After you finish editing the files, you may browse them in Design View, simulation different screen resolution or browsers.

Disadvantages of the FrontPage web site hosting

FrontPage web site hosting includes lots of useful tool for webmasters. However, after you create a site using these tools you will not be able to move your site on other type of server, unless you start coding all your pages. Servers with FrontPage, have Microsoft Windows as operating system, while more then 95 percent of web hosting servers use UNIX. This will make harder to install additional modules to your site if they were not design for Windows.

Even if you host your site on a server with Microsoft FrontPage installed, you may need to manually code your pages in order to make them accessible in other browsers like Fire Fox, Opera, Netscape, etc. Anyway, 90 percent of the visitors use Internet Explorer, so this problem will not affect very much your daily traffic.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

A Guide To Finding Your Web Hosting Provider

A Quick Guide To Finding A Hosting Provider

You decided to build your website and you are excited about your new online venture. You even picked out your domain name. So now what? It is time to find a web hosting provider.

This article will walk you through some of the things you should keep in mind when finding your web hosting provider.

The Domain Name: Most places that sell you a domain name also try to sell you one of their web hosting plans. Remember, that you can buy your domain name from one company, and host your web site someplace completely different. Don not get pulled into thinking you have to host your web site at the same company that sold you your domain name. Most reputable domain name registrars will charge you less than $10/year for your domain name.

What kind of web site do you want to build? The web site your build (especially if this is your first one) should be simple and easy to navigate. Don not get caught up in technical issues. Most web hosting providers offer low cost plans that are either Windows Based or Linux Based hosting platforms. Either platform will support HTML pages AND most will provide some kind of free site building software to get your site up quickly. If you're going to use your own HTML editor like MS Frontpage, make sure your web host offer FrontPage server support on their Windows plan.

Fancy Web Sites: If you are building a site that has PHP or ASP technology, then you will need more technical requirements. PHP is used primarily on Linux plans and us usually accompanied by MySQL database. These types of sites offer advanced features like allowing visitors to login, create accounts, manage their information, etc. You will find that PHP and MySQL hosting is typically lower cost than ASP pages hosted on a Windows platform. The reason is in the cost that the web host has to pay for the server's operating system. Your web host should be able to look at your software and determine if they can meet your requirements.

Low Price- Lots of Support: This is the ultimate combination for the hosting provider you choose. There are 1000s of hosts out there that can provide hosting for $5-$10 per month. Make sure there are low or no setup fees, and make sure that you are not locked in for 12 months. This is a common tactic used to pull you into a long term contract. Your host should offer low or no setup fees, and provide 24x7 customer support. They should offer a 30 day moneyback guarantee. This way you can send them a support ticket after you sign up and see how long it takes them to reply. If it takes more than 3 hours, ask for the refund and move on. Do not worry, you can take your site with you!

3 Differences between Shared and Dedicated Hosting

When it comes to making the all-important choice of what web hosting method to use the choices come down to shared hosting and dedicated hosting. There are so many arguments arguing for both shared hosting and dedicated hosting. Perhaps it is time to shed a little light on this web hosting dilemma.

First of all, let's deal with the all-important question of server access. Needless to say, if you choose to use shared web hosting you will be sharing space with other businesses. Now your parents may have told you it is good to share but that is not always true in the world of web hosting. In the world of web hosting shared is synonymous with limited access.

A limited access approach to web hosting means that your access is limited through a control panel that is provided by the hosting provider. And if the web hosting provider is in charge of the control panel then they are in control of your access. A lack of control to your web hosting means a lack of control for every part of your web hosting needs.

On the other hand, a dedicated hosting server gives you complete and total access. Now doesn't that sound a lot better? Full access in the form of dedicated hosting means that you get the final say in all web hosting decisions. Dedicated hosting also gives you access to the remote desktop manager, which allows you to have access to the machines desktop.

Next we look at web hosting from the perspective of exclusive use. Getting back to the concept of shared web hosting, the question needs to be asked, how much do you like to share? With shared hosting you are sharing a server with roughly 500-1000 other websites. Wow, that's a lot of neighbors in your cyber neighborhood. With these many other websites clamoring for web hosting you may not always have access to all the server's resources. Other websites may be taking up more web hosting resources than you are.

A dedicated hosting service however, gives you exclusive access to all the resources the dedicated hosting server has to offer. Your information alone is responsible for the performance of the server.

Finally lets deal with scalability in regards to the issue of web hosting. Most shared web hosting services do not allow you to install your own applications on the web hosting service. They have a set configuration and they do not go outside the box, thereby limiting your growth.

A dedicated hosting service gives you complete control. Your IT department can install any applications that are necessary for your web hosting needs. Again more control means a more effective web hosting service.

So all in all, it would seem that dedicated hosting is a far more viable option for most businesses web hosting needs. Dedicated hosting gives you more control and, in the world of web hosting, it's all about control.
limiting your growth.

A dedicated hosting service gives you complete control. Your IT department can install any applications that are necessary for your web hosting needs. Again more control means a more effective web hosting service.

So all in all, it would seem that dedicated hosting is a far more viable option for most businesses web hosting needs. Dedicated hosting gives you more control and, in the world of web hosting, it's all about control.

Business Web Site Hosting Provides Your Business With The Tools To Succeed Online.

Business web site package must be ideal for your business. The package may differ with your size of business. There are plans for large, small and medium sized businesses. Business Web Site Hosting For Large Businesses
Many business packages are available for large businesses which include
Dedicated Servers:

The decisive option available for large businesses is the use of dedicated servers for Business web site hosting. Dedicated servers offer unlimited bandwidth and can provide fast data access. Dedicated servers are the preferred solution for businesses which provide e-commerce facilities. Dedicated servers provide space requirements as per your customized requirement. Dedicated servers are a costly affair which could be used by medium to large sized businesses.
Shared Business Web Site Hosting:

Another option available for large businesses is shared web hosting. The hosting company provides shared hosting options for few companies on the same server and are faster than fully shared servers. These servers also have a good bandwidth and data transfer capability.
Business Web Site Hosting for Small and Medium Enterprises

Small and Medium size enterprises cannot afford the quality and costly hosting options preferred by large businesses. They prefer quality shared access for their web sites. The website may be with or without e-commerce but Small and Medium enterprises also require reliable servers. Many hosting companies typically concentrate on small and medium businesses. They are large in number and the scope of business is also huge.

There are many business packages available for small and medium enterprises. They are:

Shared Hosting:

Shared Business Web Site Hosting is a quality and reliable package for small and medium size businesses. They are faster than other options available for these enterprises. This Web Hosting Package can be customized according to your requirement.
Web Space Hosting:

There are many web space providers who provide economical and good hosting facilities. They also provide good hosting plans to suit your requirement. These servers provide multiple DNS support.
Low cost / Cheap Web Hosting:

Many hosting companies provide low cost web hosting. Low cost Business Web Site Hosting is preferred by enterprises which have low internet traffic on their sites. This package is only suitable for enterprises which place more importance on cost.

Web Hosting and Why Service Is King

Web Hosting and Why Service Is King


If you are an Internet business owner, you definitely have a website. Where you choose to maintain that site makes a big difference. You can’t afford to trust your Internet business to just any web hosting company. You need a web hosting company that understands that service is all they really have to offer.

Technical Matters

No one can dispute the fact that server speed and reliability, upgraded hardware and software and web hosting features are all important. After all, these are the features that will determine how fast your Internet business will be able to grow and expand. You don’t want to have to change web hosting companies in the middle of the game. Ideally, you want to stay with the same web hosting company for as long as you own your business. It just makes life easier.

Time Is Money

One important aspect of web hosting that people frequently overlook is the service. Yes, price matters, but service matters even more. Low prices won’t mean a thing if your website is down. If your site goes down, you lose sales – it is as simple as that. Also, when you have an Internet business, time is money. You don’t want to waste time waiting for the web host to provide you with that much-needed support. Every minute, hour or day that you have to wait for answers is another day that you could have spent doing what matters most – providing service to your customers and increasing your bottom line.

Why Service Counts More

These days, it is hard to find a web hosting company that focuses almost entirely on customer service. Yet, if you are able to find one of them, you will have hit the jackpot! A web hosting company that specializes in customer service is very valuable to you. Why? Because their aim is to keep you happy as a customer. This means that they will answer your calls promptly and provide you with the very best service. Additionally, because their focus is on you, the customer, this means that they want your business to succeed as well. It is in their best interest to make sure that they are providing you with the tools that you need for your business to be successful. Instead of trying to sell you a cookie-cutter web hosting package that has been sold to hundreds, perhaps thousands of businesses, they will listen to your needs and be able to customize a web hosting package especially designed for your business. In addition, they will:

  • Provide customer support 24/7
  • Give you real-time access to their server status
  • Give you a money-back guarantee
  • Assist you with moving your website from another web hosting company
  • Have a toll-free customer support phone number
  • Consult with you on customized solutions for your busines

Your Internet business is your livelihood – don’t leave it to chance. Your choice of web hosting company can make the difference between the success and failure of your business. By choosing a web hosting company that focuses on service, you can make the right decision and give your business a fighting chance!

Website Hosting

Web hosting directories are marketplaces where products, plans, technical specifications, and prices are detailed of web hosting companies. Customers may appraise various web hosting company offerings and contrast the information to their own explicit hosting requirements, in order to choose the most suitable plan for their purposes. A good directory will focus on diversity, as well as quality.

A comprehensive web hosting directory will provide a platform where clients may resolve vendor stability, cost, performance and security. One imperative feature of web hosting directories is rankings, which can be a priceless tool to any forthcoming web hosting company consumer in determining which web hosting company to patronize. Web hosting directory includes: Tools to locate and research all kinds of web hosting, dedicated servers and collocation; along with web hosting news, information, constructive articles, and interviews.

The Website Hosting Directory also features daily deleted and expiring domain names in addition to the customary website hosting directory resources. HostSearch.com offers a directory of web hosting providers and their services with an advanced search tool, reviews, hosting news, informative articles, interviews, and its "Host Lab" tool and cheap web hosting directory features daily expiring domain names, deleted domain lists weekly with traffic, page rank, Alexa traffic and other links. Also offers Google Web Hosting and website hosting updates, interview archives, and links to articles, forums, free list sources, other hosting directories and web designer tailored information.

Good web hosting directory should provide admittance to information from the professionals who have been in the business for many years, and are in a position to provide meaningful insight into web hosting that can hoard a beginner a lot of time and money in the long run. It seems that if a directory’s sole purpose is to generate revenue as though web hosting company rankings can be easily manipulated. However, one way to determine the validity of web host rankings may be to establish if they are based upon customer voting and have provided their remarks with a website address to verify statements made.

Rankings on web hosting directories may be very useful in comparing web hosting companies. The important thing is to comprehend that the information provided is only going to reflect what has been provided to a particular source. That is to say, there is no way that each and every customer's experience will be reflected in a given ranking. Consequently, it may also be sensible to check other resources, for getting a more comprehensive view and make the most intelligent choice possible.

Advantages Of Cheap Virtual Dedicated Server

Most webmasters started off using single domain hosting or shared web-hosting services. Shared web hosting means you share a server with dozens of other webmasters. Typically, shared web hosting plans allows you to have more than 1 domain per shared web hosting account with a predetermined hard disk space and bandwidth. The cost is usually pretty low. You only need to pay around 3-10 dollars per month.

Although it is cheap to host your website on single or shared web hosting accounts, there are many disadvantages you should be aware of.

By the nature of shared hosting, the server resources are shared among many websites, therefore it is very easy for resources such as CPU and memory to be used up quickly. Certain types of websites such as proxy sites are known to generate high CPU utilization, therefore if your website is on the same server, be advised there is a possibility of your website going down. Spam complaints against other sites on the same server will also affect your website. Any form of denial of service attack against someone else hosting can impact on the uptime of your website.

Also some web hosting companies over packed too many hosting accounts on one server causing the server to be slow and sluggish. The end result is your website is up but takes too long to load and display properly.

How can you do to avoid this issue?

Years ago, the only solution is to get a dedicated server. However, nowadays you can get a cheap virtual dedicated server for less than 30 dollars a month.

A cheap dedicated virtual server or VPS allows you to run your sites as if you own the server virtually. In reality, the dedicated server is spilt into multiple virtual dedicated servers. The main advantage is that each virtual dedicated server has control over it’s own resources such as CPU, RAM etc. So each virtual dedicated server is totally isolated from other virtual servers and will not be affected if other webmasters bring their servers down.

Some web-hosting providers also have unmetered bandwidth, which is a plus.

So Are There Any Disadvantages in having a virtual dedicated server?

There are not many major disadvantages except for cost. It will cost a little bit more on hosting. The other disadvantage is you need to be technically proficient in administering the server. However, some web-hosting providers also can provide managed virtual dedicated server. It means they will help you to manage the server. Examples are routine server maintenance, security patches etc.

With increased speed and reliability from using cheap virtual dedicated server, you will rest easy that your websites are always up while you are sleeping.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Unlimited Bandwidth is just a myth

How Much Bandwidth / Monthly Transfer Do You Need?

Bandwidth is the measurement of the amount of data transmitted over an internet connection in a given time. The majority of web hosting companies will set monthly limits. Some of these hosts will allow overselling which means your site will remain up but you receive a bill for the extra amount used others will simply pull the plug until next month.

Bandwidth explained:

Bandwidth is the amount of data transfer that you are allowed to have for a hosting package i.e. Let's say you have a web page that is 48KB in size, now each time a user opens your site and goes to that page S/he downloads 48 KB of information on to their computer. If a 100 users view that page one time each then there has been a total of 4800 KB of data transferred from the server on which your files are stored for the computer of users.

Size of web Page: 48 KB
Number of users who viewed the web page: 100
Total amount of data transferred: 48KB * 100 = 4800 KB

Bandwidth is the term that is used to denote the amount of data that has been transferred from your web space.

The amount of bandwidth that you require while choosing a host depends on two factors:

1. The size of your site.
2. The popularity of your site.

If your site is not very big and you do not have any audio/video downloads and it's not very popular i.e. not a lot of people visit your site then you do not really require a lot of bandwidth, on a average a web site uses up only 500 MB of bandwidth per month. Or if your site is small but extremely popular then you might have to go for a web hosting package that offers high bandwidth.

On the other hand if your web site is huge, providing audio/video downloads, as well as being very popular then you would certainly require a huge amount of bandwidth. Let's say you have a video file that is 150 MB in size and in a single day a 100 visitors download the file. This means that 15 GB of bandwidth will have been used. If you multiply that by 30 days for the month it comes to 450 GB.

Unlimited Bandwidth
Many website hosting companies offer "unlimited bandwidth" as part of their web hosting packages.

It's absolutely true, you can have unlimited bandwidth. However, you will need an unlimited amount of money by your side! Jokes apart, if you ever come across such a host it would be best to turn around and run back the way you came from.

Any web hosting company claiming "Unlimited Bandwidth" is simply lying. There's no such thing as "Unlimited Bandwidth".

In the real world, we've never seen any broadband company offering an internet connection as "Unlimited Megabytes Per Second." So, how could a web hosting company, which normally doesn't even own its own access lines, claims to customers that it will give them "Unlimited Bandwidth"? I have yet to come across a hard disk with unlimited disk space either.

Just think, if you can get unlimited bandwidth for $25-30 a month then why aren't big companies like Sun, Microsoft etc. not hosted there? In fact, why isn't everyone hosted there? For that matter, if unlimited is a standard feature then why don't all website hosting companies offer it? Is it because the hardware is expensive? No, it's because some hosts are honest and don't give in to such gimmicks.

There are a lot of ways you can be duped by these ' unlimited' hosts; here are just a few of them:

1. The secret of 'unlimited' is actually buried in the Terms of Service by the host. Do not be surprised to find that unlimited only equals 900mb or so .

2. The host may restrict the sort of files that you can host on their server. Generally image galleries and audio/video files attract a lot more downloads thereby resulting in higher bandwidth consumption. So if there are no files of this type, your site won't really require a lot of bandwidth.

3. Some newly opened hosts use it as a scam. They take your money and after a few months when their server starts to become slow or reaches its limit, they run. with your money!

4. Some hosts outline in their Terms of Service that you can have unlimited bandwidth as long as you qualify for it. i.e. Your site must use less then, let's say 2 GB of bandwidth in order to qualify for the unlimited bandwidth feature. As soon as your site goes over that limit they either start charging you for it or cut off your downloads altogether.

In life it's absolutely true that you you always get what you pay for, and it's no different for web hosting.

If a host is using a cheap advertising gimmick like 'unlimited bandwidth' they maybe lying about a few other things too.

In short: Website Hosting Companies offering "Unlimited Bandwidth" to attract customers need to be avoided. Most of the time, high bandwidth sites on these "Unlimited" plans will be disconnected, and no refund given or will end up with a large bill at the end of the month that they had not counted on. Normally, the web hosting company will simply say that the site violated its Acceptable Use Policy or Terms of Service.

So Why Do Unlimited Bandwidth Plans Exist?

Most websites only consume a very small amount of bandwidth and disk space. Web hosting companies that provide unlimited anything as a plan feature are banking on the fact that you won't use very much. Unlimited is a marketing trick to get your business. The web hosting market is very competitive. Although selling plans that pretend to be unlimited can seem dishonest, it does not mean that the hosting company will not provide good service. Check in the hosting company's Terms of Service: there will probably be a note about what "unlimited" really means.

When Are Unlimited Plans Ok?

If you have a small website and know that it will not consume too much space or bandwidth, then unlimited plans make your choices a bit easier to understand. Most plans that offer unlimited will have some restrictions such as no audio or video downloads. The reason audio or video downloads are typically not allowed in unlimited hosting plans is because these types of files consume significant bandwidth and disk space which exposes the host to the risk of having to add more hard drive space and bandwidth, which costs them more money. If you choose an unlimited plan and you know your needs won't be very intensive then you won't run into any problems.

When Are Unlimited Plans Not Ok?

If you intend to have a lot of visitors to your site, lots of downloads, including audio or video files, do not choose an unlimited plan hoping to get unrestricted bandwidth. You will find yourself with problems. Your web host is not going to run at a loss for long - they could shut down your website or even charge you extra (read the terms of service).

So What Is The Best Thing To Do?

The best course of action is to plan ahead. Remember, you can always buy more bandwidth or disk space if you need - often for just a few extra pounds

Only consider an unlimited hosting plan if you know your disk space and bandwidth requirements are very low. If, on the other hand, you have an ecommerce site or a site that you expect to grow in size and bandwidth in future, avoid any plans that offer unlimited bandwidth or disk space.

Remember it is impossible for any provider to actually provide an unlimited amount of bandwidth or disk space.

Affordable Linux Hosting Plans

The success of your small-business web site depends a lot on how you choose partners at each step of its development, right form designing your small-business website to hosting it over the net.

When you are at the start of your business, you don’t need a big website and a huge disk space on the server and probably look for companies offering affordable web hosting plans.
Let’s say, you have got your Domain Name (www.yourdomain.com). Its time to check for a good hosting service provider to have your files uploaded in the domain.

If you go for a Linux Based Hosting Plan, make sure you have the following included in your plans:
1. Control Panel - This is the nucleus of your website. In a Control Panel, popularly known as CP, you can literally do anything. The moment you signup for a hosting plan, you must be provided with a CP to manage your web space.

2. POP3 email Ids & Aliases - yourname@yourdomain.com is an example POP3 ID. You must be provided with ample of POP3 email ids depending on your package size for better mail administration.

3. FTP Accounts & Virtual FTP - This is your online folder where you upload your files, delete them, and update them. Make sure you have handful of FTP sub-accounts to provide your clients/users with password protected directories. This is very much useful wherein your clients/users can use the FTP to upload /download files from designated password protected folders.
4. Backup - Most quality hosting service providers take automated backups. While choosing your hosting plan, make sure of this.
5. Web Statistics - Say, your website has been launched and you get NIL Visits or More than 100 Visits per day. Whatever the case may be, visitor analysis plays a key role in the success of your website. You can view the Report using Statistics Application that run in the server backend.

6. Bandwidth - Choose the hosting plan that gives enough bandwidth for your website. Even though you cannot judge at the beginning, as time progresses, you can easily calculate the bandwidth required.

7. PHP & Mysql Support - All the Linux Plans support PHP & Mysql. Make sure you get this free of charge when you buy the hosting plan. Few Hosting Providers may charge extra for MYSQL Database Support & PhpMyAdmin.

8. Webmail & SMTP - Email becomes key part in your life once you launch the website. Check if the hosts provide WEBMAIL (mail.yourdomain.com) to check your mails through a web based interface using Squirrelmail or Horde. Corporate users prefer downloading mails thru Email Clients such as Eudora or Outlook Express. Only if SMTP or IMAP support is enabled you can use this option. Hence check if SMTP support is provided.

9. SPAM ASSASIN - No email user is free from a spam attack. Hence you need to have Spam Filters installed on the server where your website resides.

10. IP - If your website requires SSL Support (https ://), make sure you get a DEDICATED IP. Most of the websites are hosted on shared IPs. Ask your Hosting Provider about the extra charges involved in getting a dedicated IP and SSL Support. Note: For SSL (https ://), you need to buy a Digital Certificate.

These are the basic ingredients of Linux hosting plans.
Choosing your hosting provider is perhaps the most crucial element in the success of your website. You need a good hosting partner for hosting your well-designed web pages on the server to be viewed by your potential customers.
The right web partners help you to get good footing on the net from the very start of your small-business, be it in the terms of building your brand image and presence, search engine optimization or providing small business hosting solutions.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Major Features of Web Hosting

Choosing a web hosting package is determine whether your online business or personal web site successful or not. So, there is a nice article to read through . Here is some explain on the web hosting features.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Registering Domain Name

If you are thinking about building a website, registering domain name is an important step. Registering an effective domain name is just as important as choosing a company name. It can also communicate to your customers the type of products or service you sell online. An easy and understanding to remember domain name is the goal of every site owner. So I have some tips to registering the best domain name.

Please bear in mind that domain name is very important and more important than web hosting

First, What is Domain Name?

The name of website. A unique name that represents each computer on the Internet world. The DNS (Domain Name Server ) converts the domain name to an IP ( Internet Protocol ) that is similar to the telaphone number. Because it is hard to remember IP adress, the DNS make it easier by using letters instread of typing 123.45.67.890. So, you can type www.yourdomainname.com that makes more convinent.

• Domain name has to contain a mininum of 2 characters but no more than 67 characters. The shorter is the better
• Domain name is not case sensitive, so www.yourdomainname.com is not different from WWW.YOURDOMAINNAME.COM . But using capitalised text is quiet unpolite.
• Domain name contains letters, numbers, hyphens but no space. However, you cannot use hyphens as the first or last characters of your domain name.

Type of Domain names.
• Paid Domane Name like www.yourdoname.com or www.yourdomame.biz etc. The advantage is that you own the domain name, but you have to pay for it.
Free Domain Name like www.freedoname.co.nr or www.freedomain.cjb.net . These are free but you do not own the domain name. Also, there may be advertiments and many terms of service.
• Domain Name from free host such as www.geocity.com/yourdomain or http://yourdomain.companyname.com that is very hard to remember.Also, 90% of them have the advertiment (Banner or Pop up).

How to Registering Domain Name.

Before registering domain name, you have to check the Domain Name Avaliability at www………….com . When you have the domain name you want, go to a domain name registering company or web hosting company. And register it .
After that, you have to make Domain name and web hosting know each other by setting Name server and DNS of web hosting at your domain name.
For example, this is the name server of hypermart.net

Primary server :ns1.hypermart.net IP = 206.253.222.65
Secondary server :ns2.hypermart.net IP = 206.253.222.66

Finish.
Importantly, choosing a good company to register domain name by…..
• Do you retain sole ownership of domain name ?
• Does the domain name registering company allow you to tranfer the domain to another company?
• Is there an online control panel for domain name administration?
• Is it easy to change the domain name server (DNS) ? In case that you change the web hosting company.

Top 3 Tips For Protecting Your Domain Name

Do you have a business website? Do you ever plan on having a website for your business? Are you even remotely interested in having a website for your business? If you've answered yes to any of these questions then it's important that you pay special attention to what we're about to discuss here. It won't change your life but it might just save you a gigantic headache and potentially thousands of dollars.

If you plan on either building your own website or having one built for you then you're going to need a domain name. Owning your own .com is a nice feeling and something that has a certain sense of pride to it. When you register your domain (or it's registered for you) there are three critical elements to this:


1. Who actually owns the domain. Make absolutely certain you have 100% legal and financial control over your domain name.

2. The number of years you want to register the domain for. Make sure your domain is registered for at least 5 years.

3. Always, always, always set your domain to automatically renew.


On point one here you want to be absolutely certain that nobody outside of your business has any legal or administrative control over your domain name - for any reason. It's just good business sense to retain 100% control of a company asset.

On point two it's important to register your domain for 5 years for one very simple reason - in case you forget to pay the renewal fees next year. It can happen all too easily too! If you forget to renew your domain ownership then somebody else can register that domain instead. As a matter of fact some individuals wait for just such an opportunity to arise. They'll pay for a service to inform them of the moment your domain name becomes available again on the market. They'll then register the domain themselves and either sell it on the open market or offer it back to you for several thousand dollars. This happens every single day.

Oh and what was the personal experience? Recently I was leaving my home office to drop off some toys to the childrens ward of our local hospital. Before leaving I quickly checked my email and found that I'd forgotten to pay the renewal fees for my domain. DOH! I came within moments of losing my most important domain name. All my email addresses, site logins and a whole pile of other things are tied into that domain. To lose control of the domain would have been catastrophic to me.

If your domain is important to you (and it should be) then take the steps to protect. Register it long term and always have it set to autorenew - never hurts to be cautious with these things.

A Quick Guide To Finding A Hosting Provider

You decided to build your website and you are excited about your new online venture. You even picked out your domain name. So now what? It is time to find a web hosting provider.

This article will walk you through some of the things you should keep in mind when finding your web hosting provider.

The Domain Name: Most places that sell you a domain name also try to sell you one of their web hosting plans. Remember, that you can buy your domain name from one company, and host your web site someplace completely different. Don not get pulled into thinking you have to host your web site at the same company that sold you your domain name. Most reputable domain name registrars will charge you less than $10/year for your domain name.

What kind of web site do you want to build? The web site your build (especially if this is your first one) should be simple and easy to navigate. Don not get caught up in technical issues. Most web hosting providers offer low cost plans that are either Windows Based or Linux Based hosting platforms. Either platform will support HTML pages AND most will provide some kind of free site building software to get your site up quickly. If you're going to use your own HTML editor like MS Frontpage, make sure your web host offer FrontPage server support on their Windows plan.


Fancy Web Sites: If you are building a site that has PHP or ASP technology, then you will need more technical requirements. PHP is used primarily on Linux plans and us usually accompanied by MySQL database. These types of sites offer advanced features like allowing visitors to login, create accounts, manage their information, etc. You will find that PHP and MySQL hosting is typically lower cost than ASP pages hosted on a Windows platform. The reason is in the cost that the web host has to pay for the server's operating system. Your web host should be able to look at your software and determine if they can meet your requirements.

Low Price- Lots of Support: This is the ultimate combination for the hosting provider you choose. There are 1000s of hosts out there that can provide hosting for $5-$10 per month. Make sure there are low or no setup fees, and make sure that you are not locked in for 12 months. This is a common tactic used to pull you into a long term contract. Your host should offer low or no setup fees, and provide 24x7 customer support. They should offer a 30 day moneyback guarantee. This way you can send them a support ticket after you sign up and see how long it takes them to reply. If it takes more than 3 hours, ask for the refund and move on. Do not worry, you can take your site with you!

Major Features of Web Hosting need to watch out

Storage
You need to know if your web host offers enough disk space. If you plan to host a small sized website with few graphics and html coding, 500 to 1000 MB of disk space might be quite sufficient.

Bandwidth
Bandwidth determines the amount of data transfer you are allowed per month. This would be determined by the level of traffic that you are expecting to attract to your website. Bandwidth of 1GB can support more than 3000 unique visitors, which should be sufficient for a small web business.

Pop email
If you are running a web business, you would need pop3 email facilities. This means that you can have an email address of your own domain. You don't need a lot of email addresses for a small website, but "unlimited aliases" feature allows you to have unlimited versions of email addresses going to the same email box. This makes it easier for you to filter your email. For example: order@domain.com for order related emails etc.

Free or paid
Should you pay for your web host or choose a free one? However, if you use a paid web host, you would have full control over the content of your website with no third party advertising. This would also create a more professional and reliable image of your web business.

CGI, MySQL, PHP, ASP
If you want to run interactive scripts (counters, form-to-mail, guest books) on your website you will need a CGI-BIN in your web hosting server. If you want your website to have a data base (mailing list, message boards) you would need php and MySQL facilities. ASP is also a data base related format that works with Windows servers.

Support
It is essential for a web host to give 24 hours customer support and address any problems of the customer immediately. You can check out the level of their support by emailing them before you setup an account with them. They should respond within 24 hours and answer all your questions in a satisfactory manner.

Cost
You can expect to pay anywhere from $7.75 to $20 for hosting a small website. If you are lucky, you can find a web host who will fulfill all your requirements at a reasonable price that suits your budget.

Uptime
Your web host should guarantee 99% uptime for your website. You can determine this by contacting some of their current customers. Some web hosts have a list of their customers on their website. If a list is not available, you can contact them and ask for testimonials from current customers about their level of service.
Try to choose your web host carefully, as having a reliable and efficient web host would help immensely in the success of your web business.

Control Panel
Different webhosts tend to use different control panels. Although they might look and feel different, they usually accomplish the same type of tasks. Some popular control panels are Sphera, CPanel, Plesk, Ensim's WEBppliance, and Zervex DSM.

Paid Back Warrant
You must read their "terms and conditions" and "Paid Back Warrent" terms before signing up.

Major Features of Web Hosting need to watch out

Storage
You need to know if your web host offers enough disk space. If you plan to host a small sized website with few graphics and html coding, 500 to 1000 MB of disk space might be quite sufficient.

Bandwidth
Bandwidth determines the amount of data transfer you are allowed per month. This would be determined by the level of traffic that you are expecting to attract to your website. Bandwidth of 1GB can support more than 3000 unique visitors, which should be sufficient for a small web business.

Pop email
If you are running a web business, you would need pop3 email facilities. This means that you can have an email address of your own domain. You don't need a lot of email addresses for a small website, but "unlimited aliases" feature allows you to have unlimited versions of email addresses going to the same email box. This makes it easier for you to filter your email. For example: order@domain.com for order related emails etc.

Free or paid
Should you pay for your web host or choose a free one? However, if you use a paid web host, you would have full control over the content of your website with no third party advertising. This would also create a more professional and reliable image of your web business.

CGI, MySQL, PHP, ASP
If you want to run interactive scripts (counters, form-to-mail, guest books) on your website you will need a CGI-BIN in your web hosting server. If you want your website to have a data base (mailing list, message boards) you would need php and MySQL facilities. ASP is also a data base related format that works with Windows servers.

Support
It is essential for a web host to give 24 hours customer support and address any problems of the customer immediately. You can check out the level of their support by emailing them before you setup an account with them. They should respond within 24 hours and answer all your questions in a satisfactory manner.

Cost
You can expect to pay anywhere from $7.75 to $20 for hosting a small website. If you are lucky, you can find a web host who will fulfill all your requirements at a reasonable price that suits your budget.

Uptime
Your web host should guarantee 99% uptime for your website. You can determine this by contacting some of their current customers. Some web hosts have a list of their customers on their website. If a list is not available, you can contact them and ask for testimonials from current customers about their level of service.
Try to choose your web host carefully, as having a reliable and efficient web host would help immensely in the success of your web business.

Control Panel
Different webhosts tend to use different control panels. Although they might look and feel different, they usually accomplish the same type of tasks. Some popular control panels are Sphera, CPanel, Plesk, Ensim's WEBppliance, and Zervex DSM.

Paid Back Warrant
You must read their "terms and conditions" and "Paid Back Warrent" terms before signing up.

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Increase Website Traffic with 10 ways

Webtrac traffic is very important for every website. normally i also need doing some website traffic for otcss.net to increase my website popularity. now i sharing 10 way for increase traffic.

Friday, April 21, 2006

10 Ways You Can Increase Website Traffic!

1. Submit to Search Engines: This is the first step towards increasing your website traffic. Don't wait for the search engines to find your site. Go ahead and submit it to them voluntarily. Submitting a sitemap would be better - this will encourage the search engines to examine your site more often. Visits by the Search Engine Spiders are a key way to increase website traffic.

2. Link Exchange: The search engines count inbound links when ranking your website. Look for free link exchange programs. You can increase website traffic by including relevant links to your site - so seek out sites with similar or complementary products/services. You can also use free blogs as lead generation tools to help increase website traffic. When you make a post on a blog, include a link to your site URL, using anchor text. Blogs are a direct means to increase website traffic for free! Free classified ads that allow links to your URL are also good ways to increase website traffic.

3. Article Marketing: A relatively new but powerful (and free!) traffic booster. Publish articles on Ezine and Article Directories. Articles create interest in your website as you are seen as an expert. Having links to your URL utilizing anchor text increases your number of relevant inbound links.

4. "Tell A Friend" Scripts: Include a "tell a friend" script on your website. This will enable your customers to pass your website (and links) around. You'd be amazed at how well this works. Someone finds your site interesting, passes it to a friend, so on, and so on..you get the picture. This directly helps increase website traffic, and you build your customer base! A favorite technique of Internet business owners, and it's free!

5. Hold a Contest: Use your website's autoresponder as a means to hold a contest of some type. For example, if they sign up for your newsletter, they get a chance to win a free ebook or one months' worth of web hosting (or one of your products). Again, this is an excellent way to increase website traffic and build your opt-in list, all at the same time!

6. Press Releases: This is one of the most overlooked ways to increase website traffic. The subject can be as simple as announcing a new product that you offer, or a new hire that you've made. As long as it's newsworthy, you can distribute your press release to the online press release companies and have it picked up by the major search engine's news categories (for example, Yahoo! News). Do you know how many people read these things? Thousands! An excellent way to increase you website traffic. Totally free!

7. Affiliate Program: Do you sell a product or ebook? Then you need to create an affiliate program. This is how it works: you offer to permit sale of your product on other Internet owners' websites, in exchange for giving them a portion of the sale (say, 35%). Do you realize how many websites that you can have your products on using this method? There are many Internet business owners that simply sell other people's products (we call these Super Affiliates). This way, you sell more products and increase website traffic absolutely free of cost! You do have to promote your affiliate program and product, which brings us to the next method, which is....


8. Get A ClickBank Account: Clickbank is the largest product directory on the Internet today. Additionally, Clickbank will set up and manage your affiliate program for you. They will also manage sales and any returns. You don't do a thing! Both your product and affiliate program are listed in the Clickbank directory. People looking for the product you offer find your website and wham! You've just taken a major step toward getting an immediate increase in website traffic! And, it only takes 5 minutes to sign up!

9. Joint Venture: You can team up with a company that sells similar or complementary products and services. Your website link is then advertised on that company's site and vice versa. This results in directing traffic from their site to yours. All you have to do is contact the company that you are interested in via email, with a proposal. This technique works amazingly well. You increase website traffic, and most importantly, it is both relevant and targeted, increasing your ability to make a sale!

10. Use Ebay: Stop passing up Ebay! Ebay is less intimidating than it looks, and it is easy for beginners to get started. In fact, Ebay was practically made for the Internet business owner who wants to increase website traffic. You can set up an Ebay store, of course linking back to your website. Including clever sales copy and pictures of your products/services increases your chances of customers clicking through and making a purchase. You can sell ANYTHING on ebay

Finding a Niche with Domain Expirations

As internet marketers, we are continually looking for was to maximize traffic to our respective websites. The methods we use vary from paid advertising, pay-per-click opportunities, writing articles, banner and classified ads, etc. Additionally, we follow as closely as possible the methods to improve our overall search engine optimization criteria. But is that enough? Often times, "no it is not" is the sad but simple answer. What other ways then are there? We have a great looking website, doing all the (w)right things, but they still do not come to your site.

One of the most commonly overlooked techniques for increasing web traffic is having a website domain name that closely matches our niche market, while being easy and associated with the market we are trying to get to the top in.

For many, expiring and expired domains are the answer. According to Google, in excessive of 3 million clicks or url hits to targeted traffic are lost or receive website not found errors on a daily basis. This common occurrence happens for a number of reasons, ranging from simple neglect by the owners to abandonment due to poor performance, lost interest, and the list goes on and on. To look at some of the traffic information about these sites, some were never started, while others received respectable traffic, sales and revenue. All of which have been abandoned.

The opportunity exists to acquire these sites, single sites or in bulk at a fraction of what it might cost you otherwise. Think of it, being able to start up a site that already have traffic, reciprocal and one-way links to it, targeted clients, all under new management – that’s you!

As a secondary activity there is a lucrative market on the internet (some through eBay) for auctions specializing in resale of domain names (some expired, some not). When you have a chance, do a search of domain auctions. You will be surprised at what some of the highly sought after web domains are selling for. Many are beginning to see these as investments. And the great part, many of these can be obtained for future use or for resale potential with merely the cost of registration, which can be very inexpensive ($5-$15 dollar range).

The list of possibilities is endless, with thousands more expiring each and every day. With a little bit of background research to investigate the previous use of the website and traffic information where available, you could find yourself with a lucrative niche with additional revenues before you know it.

Monday, April 17, 2006

Cheapest .EU domain

.eu DotsterUsing this coupon, you can enjoyed a discount on .EU domain name purchase. since .eu top level domain registeration already announces on 7 april. but the pricing on other domain name purchase company still remain very expensive. Here is the coupan of doster company which is the cheapest, i can get on the net.

How to Choose a Domain Name for Your Business Website

A website’s domain name (also know as a website address or URL) is an important consideration when developing your online presence. Choosing an appropriate domain name is the first step in the process of building online credibility. Remember to choose carefully because this online address may be where your business resides for the rest of its operating life. Now, some important tips to consider before choosing your domain name:

Choosing Your Domain Extension

A domain extension or top level domain is simply the suffix of your website address: (.com, .net, .org, .ca, etc.) Most Internet users are familiar with the “.com” extension, and will generally use this extension by default when typing an address into their browser. Choosing a “.com” extension should be your fist choice in case your potential customers forget that your address is “www.mybusiness.NET”, and visit your competitor at “www.mybusiness.COM” by mistake. Choosing the “.com” extension gives your website the most credibility in the eyes of your customers.

If your business only caters to the local community, then it makes sense to get a country specific domain name, such as the “.ca” extension. A country specific domain benefits you in two ways: both your customers and search engines such as Google will know that your website is registered to a Canadian and operates in Canada. Potential customers will feel more comfortable knowing that they are dealing with a Canadian company, and not a U.S. based business pretending to be a Canadian company. Also, search engines will give your website higher placement in the search results when a user is performing a Canadian specific search.

I personally recommend that my clients, if possible, register both the “.com” AND “.ca” extension. This way, your Canadian based website will benefit from using the “.ca” extension, while at the same time ensuring that they reach your website if they accidentally type the “.com” extension into their browser.
Using Your Business Name
The first choice for any domain name would be your business’ name. This ensures that your customers will remember your website’s address. You can’t expect your potential customers to remember a phrase that just relates to your business.

Choosing Choice Keywords

Including specific keywords in your website’s address will help your rankings in popular search engines such as Google or Yahoo. It is best to choose a keyword that you think your potential customers will use to search for your business. A search engine optimization (SEO) professional such as Cost Effective Design can assist you in choosing your keyword(s). These type of domain names are used in instances where the client does not want to use the business name because it is either already registered by another company, or the company name is simply too long. Any company that is serious about generating traffic through search engines should acquire a domain name with a keyword in addition to your business name.

Don’t Confuse Your Customers

If possible, try not to use domain names that include: “2” for “To” or “4” for “For” or “u” for “You”. These may make your domain look “cool” or “hip”, but in reality they are not very practical. These domain names create a problem when directing your clients to your website verbally or over the phone. For example, if you owned www.UsedCars4U.com, every time you verbally directed someone to your website, you would have to specify that the URL uses the actual number 4, and letter U.

To Use, Or Not to Use Hyphens

Given that more and more businesses are registering domain names every day, getting the website address you want is becoming increasingly difficult. One or two word domain names are usually already registered, forcing new registrants to choose URLs containing three or four words. To some people, these URLs can look like a big mess of words. Using hyphens in between the words can make them visually more appealing. For example, “www.used-cars-for-you.com, looks better than “www.usedcarsforyou.com. The jury is still out on hyphenated domain names. The advantages are that they look better and search engines can easily distinguish the separate keywords for better search placements, but the disadvantages are that they are difficult to verbally communicate and type.
The best solution would be to register both the hyphenated, and the un-hyphenated version of the domain name to ensure that there is no confusion.

Domain Name Length

Even though you are allowed to use 67 characters for a domain name, the general rule of thumb is: shorter is better. Although, in some instances, the website address may be more memorable if it is more descriptive. For example a domain consisting of initials only, such as “www.waa.com”, may not create a lasting impression compared to the domain name “www.windsorautoassociation.com”. Therefore, it is best to choose a name that, while short, contains enough description for your customers to easily remember.

Buying an Existing Domain Name

Maybe the domain name you really want is already registered, either by a legitimate company, or by a “domain squatter” who merely registered the name to sell for a profit at a later date. You can make an offer for these types of domains, although they make cost several hundred, or even thousands of dollars. There are advantages to purchasing an existing domain name. In addition to getting the domain you want, it may also rank highly in the search engines for certain keywords and / or generate topic specific traffic that you will benefit your business.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Choosing A Reliable Colocation Facility

There are no industry standards to designate a good colocation facility, but key areas can help identify one: power, cooling, Internet connection, and service. Good colocation facilities offer reliability through redundancy, maintenance, and service, meaning more uptime for networks and longer equipment lifetimes. Ask questions, be prepared to research answers, and look for the facility that meets the needs of their customers.

Power
A good colocation facility will have a power system with backup units not only for the generator, but also the universal power supplies (UPS) and transfer switches or circuit breakers.

  • UPSs run the servers while power switches from regular electricity to generators. Regardless of quality, UPSs fail regularly, so facilities must have multiple UPSs running sufficiently below capacity to manage the total server load if one fails. Transfer switches or circuit breakers switch power to the generators.

  • Circuit breakers are more dependable than transfer switches, but it is important to have a backup for either system so that power can be transferred regardless of equipment failure.

  • As the primary source of power during an outage, the generator must be large enough to handle 1.5 times the total building load. If there are multiple generators, the colocation facility must be able to transfer the load between generators, otherwise a failure could disable all generators.

Cooling
An overlooked consideration for uptime and equipment maintenance is cooling. All servers generate heat yet are designed to operate at room temperature, between 72°F and 76°F. Computer room air conditioning (CRAC) units, chillers, and facility layout ensure that all servers receive adequate cooling. High-end colocation facilities regularly maintain cooling systems and monitor temperature, humidity, and power usage for optimum server performance.

  • Chillers pipe cooled fluids to the CRAC units. There must be redundant pumps and chillers which automatically take over in case of failure so that the CRAC units continue to operate.

  • CRAC units are large (20 to 30 tons), specialized air conditioners which constantly blow cold air. The minimum number of CRAC units to cool a facility is .030 tons per square foot. If there are four 30-ton units and the facility is 4,000 square feet, then there are .030 tons per square foot (120 tons ÷ 4000 square feet).

  • The facility layout should have designated hot and cold rows. Server fans blow hot air from the back of the servers into hot rows; the CRAC units blow cold air down cold rows across the front of the servers. Solid floor facilities should have return vents on one side of the room to draw hot air from the servers, and cold air vents in the ceiling blowing down the top of the server racks. Raised floor designs should blow the cold air with enough pressure to force air to the top of the racks.

Internet Connection
There are two major types of Internet connection.

  • Tier 1 providers create national networks which are dependable and fast but tend to have high latency and poor out-of-network performance.

  • Tier 2 companies buy access from multiple tier 1 networks, so they have speed and dependability combined with better latency and performance from a wider network. Some tier 2 providers offer performance routing to route traffic more efficiently between networks, boosting network performance by 50% and creating a self-healing network.

Service
A quality colocation facility offers extra service, including any of the following:

  • A dedicated, 24-hour customer service line, plus onsite engineers for emergencies.

  • Changing backup tapes and storing them in a fire-proof safe.

  • Crash carts with monitors, keyboards, and other tools available when a computer crashes.

  • Structural designs to withstand earthquakes, storms, and floods.

Tour of the colocation facility, take notes and ask questions about their systems, backup systems, and maintenance, and find the facility with the service, access, and quality care to give your business reliable, dependable network.

The Pros & Cons of Hosting-It-Yourself

What you need to know before you decide to run your own server

We’re fond advocates of the DIY (do it yourself) mentality. So you won’t find us dissuading you from taking the reins of your internet presence fully and hosting your website yourself on your own server, if that’s what you want and are prepared to do. Consider this checklist-cum-article your minimal preparation.

First and foremost, do you have what it takes? How tech savvy are you, anyway? Do you know what it means, for example, to secure a server? Do you have the time to devote to the arduous maintenance of a server, responding personally to every glitch that comes with the territory? And do you have the inclination?

Secondly, do you have what it takes? No, you’re not seeing double. This time what we mean by “what it takes” is hardware and software and internet access. Hosting your own server requires the following:

A dedicated computer
This means a computer that will be used exclusively as your server and for nothing else. And it can’t just be any computer. The computer you choose to be the server that’s hosting your websites must be able to handle the amount of server requests you’re hoping to receive (remember, most websites are built with the dreams of getting more and more of these, not less and less).

A Network Interface Card (NIC)

A broadband connection
This must be reliable, secure, and has a high enough upload rate to serve your web hosting needs.

A server-capable OS (operating system) for your server
Just like your computer has an operating system, your server must too. This can be Linux or Windows or something comparable.

An Internet Service Provider (ISP)
Your ISP will need to be able to support the degree of web traffic you’re anticipating. One of the worst things you could do is thwart interested visitors from accessing your website. One of the easiest ways to do this would be to choose the wrong ISP, one that starts curtailing your traffic unbeknownst to you.

Thirdly, do you have currently have a website or websites, and if so, what’s the traffic like? If you’re running multiple websites or applications already and they’re already generating a steady flow of traffic, then it makes good sense that you’re thinking about hosting your own server.

If you’ve gotten this far in the checklist and are still seriously contemplating hosting your own server, we’ll only offer up one alternative for your consideration before you make your final decision: a Dedicated Server.

With a dedicated server, you get all the benefits of hosting your own server without the burden of hosting it yourself. You’ll have your own IP address, you won’t have to share bandwidth, memory, or storage space with anyone else and you’ll maintain 100% control over server administration.

But you’ll benefit also from the committed services of a professional team of experts managing and maintaining the machinery that’s running your business and a secure, safe, and reliable datacenter with redundant power, environmental controls, and other features you probably can’t provide hosting your own server in your own living room or office space.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

.eu domain sales

.EU Domain will be launches on Friday, April 7 at 2am PDT. This is the biggest news on top level domain on this year.

The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) has now approved the appointment of EURid to manage the allocation of names. if you want to register an .eu domain, you can try the below hosting company to purchase an .eu domain.

so far. Dotster hosting company offering the cheapest pricing .eu domain on internet. it is just 14.95 euro only.

Hostway offer .eu pre-registration which is cost 35.00 per domain under .eu.

.eu Domains

eu Domains

Webmasters all over the globe are anxiously anticipating the latest in domain registration. In fact, the registration of .eu domain names—European domains is expected to go quickly and anyone interested in such domain names needs to stay on top of the game in order to secure their place in the every changing Internet world. Let’s take a look at what European domains are and why they are so promising:

1. The new European domain registry (Eurid) opened for business on December 7, 2005 and made first offerings to Government agencies. Further, the outpouring of Government agencies scooping up .eu domains was truely phenomenal! In fact, within the first few hours of .eu domain offerings, some 80,000 applications were placed from all around Europe. Countries like Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden were submitting applications as fast as possible!

2. With .eu domain names already proving to be popular, remember some 80,000 application within first few hours of first day is a testament to the popularity of these new domain names, the remaining domain names are likely to disappear just as quick in phase II and III of the .eu domain registration process. On February 7, 2006, domain registrars like are expected to offer .eu to trademark businesses. Later, in April, phase III commences and offers .eu domain registration to everyone. Clearly, the most popular .eu domain names will be all but gone by April of the following year! Well almost.

3. All the best domains have gone from the .com and .co.uk registry, yet the .eu domain registration process gives webmasters an opportunity to, once again, get in on the best domain names available. Webmasters can get short, professional looking domain names with .eu domain registration, but only if they are quick about signing up and they don’t waste time waiting for the right moment. The moment is now—decided on a .eu domain name and visit a .eu domain registrar now, before all of the popular .eu domain names are gone.

4. The .eu domain names will go quickly for a number of reasons. First, the .eu is likely to be popular on the continent and amongst the newer member of the EU such as Poland. European webmasters will be racing for .eu domain names and you will miss out if you don’t sign up as soon as possible. Second, because .eu domain names afford webmasters the opportunity to get easy to remember domain names, many webmasters will be looking to get in on the opportunity to improve their web traffic and business will be looking to improve their profit margin.

5. During the Landrush phase on 7th April 2006 when everyone has a shot at getting a .eu domain name, it is likely that there will be tens of thousands of applications. The only way you can ensure that you will get the .eu domain name of your choosing is if you beat all of the other webmasters in your request for that domain name. It is time to start thinking about the possibilities afforded to you with a .eu domain name now and to choose your .eu domain name wisely.

6. There is a lot of interest in UK market. The Internet has got businesses thinking about the global market and the massive improvements such a market can give to a company’s bottom line. Thus, the rush for .eu domain names will most assuredly be a maddening process, one in which businesses from all over the globe are vying for the attentions of an international market.

7. Most of the main registries and resellers will be offering it and this is good news for webmasters. By visiting accredited registars you will find that their pricing for .eu domain names is highly competitive and everyone knows that when the market competes the consumer benefits. Now is the time to get that .eu domain name, while the prices for such domain names are competitive and low.

8. Pricing is likely to be competitive and to ensure that you get a decent price for your .eu domain registration, you need to get in on the market with a reputable domain registrar. Discountdomainsuk.com offer you the opportunity to get in on this incredible venture and reap the benefits from having a .eu domain name of your choosing at a price that you can easily afford.

9. Many services offering a backorder system - but there are likely to lead to disappointment. A backorder system cannot guarantee you that you will get the .eu domain name you want—in fact, if another Webmaster applies for a .eu domain registration name before you do, you are out of luck. The sooner you sign up for your .eu domain name the better—there’s no time to waste and www.discountdomainsuk.com can help you get your .eu domain name with ease.

10. It is important to note that there are residency criteria - so it’s only open to citizens or business established in a EU Country. Nevertheless, the domain registration will allow companies in this area to reach out to other countries and gain new audiences for their businesses.

If you want to see your EU business succeed and become as profitable as possible and by helping you find and obtain an attractive and attention grabbing .eu domain name, one that is keyword potent.

11. Finally, .eu domain names are technically the same as other domain names types. The big difference is their newness—because they are so new, many unique and profitable domain names are waiting to be taken. Don’t be caught at the end of the waiting list on this one—get your .eu domain name today.