http://articles.affordablededicatedhosting.com/rss.xml A blog about affordablededicatedhosting.com daily 365 1901-01-01T00:00+00:00 http://articles.affordablededicatedhosting.com/?a=35923 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>When you've achieved an overwhelming response to your website and the influx of customers is getting a bit overpowering for your current server, you may want to look into the benefits of dedicated web hosting. There are many advantages to consider that are quite different from other web hosts or shared servers. <br /><br />Before making the more expensive choice of dedicated web hosting, you should first analyze your current website needs, as well as what you want to get out of the service. Website owners, who have exhausted the usual web host routes and must find another venue to accommodate their needs, will find dedicated web hosting a promising option. Others may want to make a switch from a shared server to a dedicated web server because they wish to obtain greater control over their site. <br /><br />Make Sure You're Ready<br /><br />Those who desire better control over their website should take into consideration what qualifications they need to possess. Sometimes, too much control over the website is handed to them and they simply do not know how to keep up with the software demands of dedicated web hosting. This switch may become more overwhelming than dealing with the higher influx of Internet traffic. When there is a lack of experience needed to maintain your website on a dedicated web server, you may consider a shared web host.<br /><br />The Differences Between Shared and Dedicated Web Hosts<br />When making decisions, knowledge is key. You should know what you are dealing with. For example, a shared web host is one computer that accommodates numerous websites, which could be as low as three to as many as 200. With a dedicated web host, one computer is in charge of one server, meaning websites do not share IP addresses and the space capacities are quite expansive. <br /><br />The Benefits of Dedicated Web Hosting<br /><br />Choosing a dedicated web host is a more expensive choice, but look at all of the possibilities you will have in front of you. Sharing web hosts are either beneficial or too restrictive. You thrive more when the websites you are associated with on a shared server do well. You will also reap negative backlash when they are doing poorly. You traffic is affected with this option, but with dedicated web hosting, you will gain more control on how your website is maintained and operated. Users can upload a variety of software programs; enjoy flexibility and extra space; as well as let the creative juices flow.<br /><br />Now, Let's Look at the Downside<br /><br />Sometimes too much of a good thing is bad. With dedicated web hosting, you will not have the luxury of having all of your technical issues answered by a support team. No one will be around to aid you in the uploading of new software. This will all be your heavy burden to bear; all of the random occurrences that computers and the Internet like to throw at you from time to time. If you do not possess adequate programming skills or a tech savvy friend, you could be in for a lot of headaches. <br /><br />This is a big decision to make when it comes to the prosperity and continued success of a booming website. One of the biggest cons of dedicated web hosting surrounds technical issues, which could be solved by hiring someone to help you out. But, they will have to be quite reliable because you don't want incompetence to disrupt the flow of your site. For some, the amount of space offered is too much to pass up and they will forge through whatever they encounter. Weigh the factors before jumping into something you may not be able to handle.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as affordable dedicated hosting at <a href="http://www.affordablededicatedhosting.com/">http://www.affordablededicatedhosting.com</a></p> 2006-09-30T03:21-04:00 http://articles.affordablededicatedhosting.com/?a=35922 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>When it comes to making a decision regarding the purchase of dedicated web hosting services, you may want to take a look at some of the available options on the market. There are plenty of factors to keep in mind, as well as selections to choose from, making this task all the more difficult. Consumers will also have to pay attention to the costs of dealing with various companies. This could be the deciding factor in regards to webmasters maintaining a small to midrange website. Getting all of the facts is the best way to make the decision that is most beneficial for your personal situation. <br /><br />The Cost<br /><br />There are two ways to establish a relationship with a dedicated web hosting company. While some consumers prefer their own, others choose to rent. Monthly costs tend to range from $200.00 to $400.00 for these types of services. Also, don't forget there is a connection fee attached to initial costs, which could be anywhere from $30.00 to more than $100.00. A small or midsize business must attract a reasonable amount of clients to keep a balance in these costs. <br /><br />Knowing the Terms<br /><br />When choosing a server for your website, you will encounter a variety of terms to consider. For example, there is a difference between dedicated hosting and a dedicated server. Hosting refers to the provided service, while the server is the equipment actually needed to handle high volumes of Internet traffic. Keep in mind that many dedicated hosting options can be less expensive than shared hosting companies, which handles many different websites on the same server. <br /><br />Renting a Dedicated Hosting Server<br /><br />The rental of a dedicated hosting server allows you to maintain the control of the entire server and software because there aren't any other websites attached to it. This is expressed through the term, root access, which means you receive complete access to all of the server files and directories. Some of the luxuries you will enjoy include downloading new patches and software, as well as altering security options. Some companies allow limited access to the system, which can be overcome by simply purchasing the rights to additional access points of the server. When dedicated servers are not situated onsite, a data center located elsewhere will provide your connection. <br /><br />Operating System Compatibilities<br /><br />Knowing the type of operating system that the hosting company provides is an important factor. Some companies only support Windows or Linux operating systems. This is something to keep in mind because it also affects how much knowledge is requiring when it comes to supporting scripts, codes and software issues. Also, not all dedicated servers are the same. They vary in connectivity; you will want to find one that offers better connection, which is sometimes achieved through multiple providers. <br /><br />Other factors to take into consideration include whether or not the dedicated server features anti hacking capabilities or allows Internet Relay Chat usage. In some cases, large bandwidth capacity is needed for sites containing adult content. Most dedicated web hosting selections do not offer this. These are all things to consider when making your decision.<br /><br />Let's Take a Look At the Advantages <br /><br />There are numerous benefits when using a dedicated server. For starters, console access is made easier. This comes in handy if for any reason you are unable to gain access through normal scripts. In cases of a system crash, you may gain access through a console. The most reliable hosting server companies also offer continuous back up of your files. This helps to avoid reconfiguration of your files. <br /><br />All in all, deciding to use a dedicated server, you have to possess some sort of knowledge in a wide range of software selections. Monetary gains, as well as a large amount of Internet traffic are also necessary to reap the benefits of a dedicated server. If you lack any of the above, you may want to consider a shared web hosting plan until you fulfill the desirable qualifications. It's all about making the best decisions for your website.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as affordable dedicated hosting at <a href="http://www.affordablededicatedhosting.com/">http://www.affordablededicatedhosting.com</a></p> 2006-09-30T03:18-04:00 http://articles.affordablededicatedhosting.com/?a=35258 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>Before you can get a website up and running, you need to have a place to put it. Paying for web hosting is, basically, like renting a small amount of space on someone's server and paying what it costs them to send your web pages to your customers. Fortunately for you, though, web hosting has never been cheaper.<br /><br />Domains and Hosting Together?<br /><br />Many domain name companies have taken to offering you hosting when you buy your domain from them. This is generally an expensive option, and a bad idea - you'll be getting few features compared to what you're paying. Few people who are serious about web hosting get it from the same place they get their domains.<br /><br />So Where Should I Start?<br /><br />Well, that all depends on what your website is going to need. How many visitors do you expect to have? Are you going to have lots of large graphics on the site? Do you have a lot of articles or products that you want to put in a database? Do you want to have an email address at your website (yourname@yourdomain.com)? On and on it goes. Each host you look at will offer you different combinations of features at different price points, and finding the one that's right for you can be quite a task. Here's a technical-to-English guide to what you should be looking for.<br /><br />MB storage. The more MB of storage you have, the more you can put on your website. For most websites, this number can be really very small without it being much of a concern - the pages would be too big for anyone to download and see before they'd be too big to store. You only really need to worry if you're planning to put something apart from plain pages on your site. If you want to make a gallery for your digital photos or let people download ebooks from you, for example, this number needs to be higher. <br />GB bandwidth per month. This is a limit on how much data your website can transfer each month. For small websites, you don't need to worry too much, but as you get more visitors the amount you need will increase sharply, especially if each one looks at lots of pages or downloads large files from the site. The amount of bandwidth your site needs is generally considered to be the deciding factor in how 'big' it is, and how much it will cost you.<br /><br />MySQL databases. The number of databases your website will have to store things in. It will make it much easier for you if you have one. Don't pay more to get extra, though: one database is all you need. It's worth noting that if your host may offer some other kind of SQL instead of MySQL (for example, PostgreSQL). You should usually avoid anything apart from MySQL, unless you know what you're doing.<br /><br />PHP, Perl, ASP, JSP, ColdFusion, Python, Ruby. These are all scripting languages, used to write your website. You should make sure your host offers the languages that any software you plan to use is written in. If you don't have specific requirements, then you should be fine with just Perl and PHP.<br /><br />Subdomains. These allow you to split your website into more sections than just 'www' - you might decide, for example, that you would people to be able to go to 'shop.yourdomain.com' and 'news.yourdomain.com' and see pages there. You don't really need these, though, as doing the same thing with subfolders ('www.yourdomain.com/shop/') <span><a href="http://www.alexa.com/data/details/main?q=&amp;url=www.yourdomain.com/shop\" target="_blank">(Alexa)</a></span> is usually just as effective.<br /><br />FTP accounts. An FTP (File Transfer Protocol) account is what you'll use to upload your website to your host. You'll always get one of these. The only situation when you'll need more is if you want to let someone alter things on your site without giving them the master password.<br /><br />POP3 accounts. POP stands for 'Post Office Protocol', which is just fancy-speak for email. The more POP3 accounts you get, the more email addresses you can have: useful if you want to have sales@yourdomain.com for new customers and support@yourdomain.com for existing ones, for example.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida with his 16 year old son. For website hosting check out <a href="http://www.affordablededicatedhosting.com/">http://www.affordablededicatedhosting.com</a></p> 2006-07-30T09:59-04:00