Web
hosting (also called hosting or virtual hosting) is a service
of housing and maintaining files for one or more websites on a
web server. The web server makes the files available on the World
Wide Web for viewing by the public. Each website has its own domain
name and set of e-mail addresses.
Designer Software will help you select and set up the web hosting service of your choice. The reason why we offer help in the selection of the correct web hosting service is that many factors are involved and can quickly become very confusing or difficult to make the correct decision. Web hosting services are offered at different price levels which result in different functionality being available.
Web hosting services are generally available in three plans. The difference in the levels between the plans is the price per month (year) and the number and level of features offered for the price.
Differences vary in the amount of disk space provided to store all of the web page files and images, as well as the amount of bandwidth provided for people to access your website to view your web content and images. The greater the cost, the more space and bandwidth you receive.
Some web hosting providers offer email accounts and then only for a higher fee. Some also offer email forwarding. Another difference is the number of databases, the type of database (such as MySQL or Microsoft SQL), and the amount of space allotted to each database.
Each web server requires a host operating system to run and host your website. The operating system provided can influence the cost. The Linux operating system is usually offered at a lower cost but what does this mean? Linux affects the type of programs that can be run on the server and ultimately affects which features you have available such as programming languages and database types. For instance, Linux will only run MySQL server and not Microsoft SQL server whereas Windows will be able to provide both database types. So, if your design requires MS SQL, then you would want to select a web hosting service that provides the Windows operating system.
Designer Software will help you make these important decisions before setting up your web services for you. The following table helps to summarize the differences that you may find between web hosting providers and the varying level of services.
Choose Your
Hosting Plan |
BASIC |
DELUXE |
PREMIUM |
| Monthly Fee: |
$ Least
|
$ More |
$ Most
|
| Disk Space: |
Little MB
|
More
MB |
Most GB |
| Monthly Data Transfer: |
Little
MB |
More
MB |
Most GB |
Email Accounts:
May include space for each account, Antispam, WebMail, Catch-all,
and Auto-responders |
Maybe 1 with
little space |
Some with
some space |
Many with
more space |
| Email Forwarding Accounts: |
Some |
More |
Most |
Databases:
Each database can include
multiple tables. |
Maybe 1
MySQL |
Maybe more MySQL and maybe 1 MS Access or (Windows)
SQL Server (Windows) |
25 MySQL
MS Access (Windows)
SQL Server 2000(Windows) |
Server Operating System:
Learn More |
Sometimes only Linux
|
Sometimes a choice of Linux
or Windows |
Almost always choice of Linux
or Windows |
| Languages Supported: |
PHP |
Linux:
PHP/Perl/Java
Windows: ASP/PHP/.NET |
Linux: PHP/Perl/Java
Windows: ASP/PHP/.NET |
| CGI Support: |
Usually not included |
May be included
(Linux Only) |
Included
(Linux
Only) |
There is also an additional per month imposed by web hosting providers for a dedicated IP address which is especially
important if you are running an e-commerce website. A dedicated
IP address also allows you to connect and upload to your website
before your domain name ripples through the DNS servers which sometimes
can take up to 4 days if you are switching your IP address.
Designer Software offers this selection and set-up service to take the guess work out of choosing the web hosting service and level that will meet your website needs.
Look over the above
web hosting options and please contact us to get started today! If you don't have a website already, we can
design one for you. Find out more about our web
design here!
Boy, does Designer Software have the service for you!
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