Web hosting features
by budget-web-hosting.net
(c) 2005
Each web hosting plan has many features...
php, mysql, ftp and so on. What do I need? How much web space or
bandwidth I will need? These are many questions new web site owners
ask. |
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Disk space
This is your web hosting account disk space limit for all your web site
files. For example, if your average web page is 15Kb in size and you have
50 pages, you will need around 0.750Mb of disk space just for your files.
Please note that images, audio and video are usually large and thus will
use most of your web space.
Monthly transfer
Bandwidth limit of how much of transfer your web site can generate per
month. Small sites do not generate a lot of traffic it all depends how
much web visitors your site serves and what files web visitors are downloading
from your site. Again, download files, pdf, archives and images will burn
your monthly traffic limit the most. For example, if your average web
page is 15Kb and images around 50Kb and you have 5000 users who browse
atleast 3 web pages your monthly traffic will be around 1.2GB (1200MB).
Always note that browsers do cache and if you have the correct structure
for image files that repeat - you save the bandwidth bill.
Own domain name
Old times when people used client.hostingprovider.com or www.dialupprovider.com/~client
is over. Now you can get your own .com, .net, .org domain names for as
low as $6..$10 per year. So get your own domain name and sign up with
hosting provider that offers full own domain name support.
Control panel
Almost 95% or even more web hosting providers bundle hosting accounts
with cpanel. All control panels are web based and offer even a novice
easy configuration and web site management, email configuration and much
more.
POP3 accounts
Amount of real POP3 mailboxes - all email can be easily downloaded via
POP3 compatible client and saved on your local PC.
Email aliases
These are not real mail boxes but an alias for existing real mailbox (for
example POP3 account). Example: web@domain.com email address that works,
but actually it's an alias for a real pop3@domain.com POP3 account/mailbox.
Email forwarding
Works like an email alias, but you can also forward it to a different
email account on a different system, for example, web@domain.com gets
forwarded to web@yahoo.com
Webmail
An web interface to access your POP3 accounts on-line. Usually bundled
with all control panel installations/accounts.
PHP
PHP is a widely used (actually, the KING!!) scripting language that is
especially suited for Web development that can be easily embedded into
HTML with easy-to-use tags.
Perl
Practical Extraction and Report Language. Perl has become one of the most
popular languages (the mother of all dynamic web sites) for writing CGI
scripts. Perl is an interpretive language.
SSI
Server Side Includes. It is a method of invoking script programs that
run on the web server to perform some function and/or add information
to a web page.
ASP
ASP is an HTML page that includes one or more scripts (small embedded
programs) that are processed on a Microsoft Web server (IIS) before the
page is sent to the user
MySQL
A powerful, reliable and free (open-source) database that has the largest
user base on the globe. There are many high-profile web sites powered
by this freely available database. Number #1 choice if you need a simple
and powerful database backend that's fully compatible with standart SQL.
MS SQL
Microsoft SQL database that runs on Windows platform. Almost all web hosts
who provide this feature charge additional monthly fee for using this
database.
Support
Support can sometimes mean everything. If you are just starting and need
some support - you will definetely need to look around for companies that
offer good support. Check if it's 24/7 and don't believe 24/7 banners
on the web site - check to make sure it's there when you need it.
Web statistics
A feature that will provide you with your web site statistics - monthly
transfer, hits, downloads, referals and so on. A must for every web site
owner.
Access to raw logs
Every time someone visits your web site - each hit (image download, web
site download etc) is logged into the file. Using this file you can easily
generate your web site statistics using your own or custom web statistics
software - for example on your local PC. A must for a serious site owner.
Linux or Windows OS
If you do not need to run ASP use Linux OS as it's more stable, secure
and reliable.
Money back guarantee
Make sure your hosting company offers money back guarantee in case you
are not satisfied with it's service. Check if set-up fees are included
in the money back guarantee.
SLA on uptime
Check if your hosting provider offers uptime guarantee and that it's written
in Service Agreement. You do not need to host your web site on servers
that are constantly not available for on-line users.
Frontpage extensions
If you plan on using Microsoft Frontpage web site design tool you we suggest
you get hosting account that supports MS Frontpage extensions, otherwise
you may run into some problems when guestbook or MS Frontpage counters
will NOT work.
FTP access
Using FTP (FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol) client you will upload
your content from your local workstation to server where your web site
will be hosted.
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