Chapter 7. Web Hosting

Choosing a provider, some of the top things to consider, Windows vs Unix/Linux platforms, tools web hosting companies might provide.

This is part 7 of the 10 part eBook "Online Business Bible." You can get the entire eBook by joining our newsletter at http://www.gbizbuilders.com.

Shared Web Hosting

Shared webhosting is the most widely used web hosting service. Shared web hosting, permits more than one site to be hosted on the same server. In this hosting, the web hosting company provide system administration. Most web hosting companies provide the user with features such as ASP, PHP, MySQL, Blogging Software, variations of more or less bandwidth, one or multiple domains on one account, and multiple e-mail addresses.

Free Web Hosting

Free webhosting is the simplest kind of web hosting service. It's free because Ads are run on the website to support this type of website hosting. It's generally NOT recommended to take on this type of website hosting, even if the offer seems good, because of these obtrusive ads. A better choice would be to choose a reputable and inexpensive website hosting option.

Dedicated Web Hosting

Managed Dedicated webhosting is a good option for someone who wants more storage and bandwidth, and also wants a lot of flexibility that is not available with shared web hosting. Here the user is not limited to a certain number of databases, domain names or e-mail addresses, and also gets a very high amount of bandwidth. If your site needs the flexibility of a ton of bandwidth, say for doing a lot of video streaming, then this might be a good choice.

Unmanaged dedicated web hosting. Under this arrangement, the user is the server administrator, permitting the user the greatest amount of control and flexibility. This allows you to install programs, etc... but it is at your own risk. You need administrator level of knowledge if you want an unmanaged server since it's not easy to be a server administrator.

Windows vs. Linux or Unix

Before deciding which type of hosting to use for your website, consider carefully the functions you need. The functions you need and the technologies you choose (such as programming languages or databases you are using or will want to use) will decide the Operating System for your web hosting.

• Do you need a dynamic site? Both UNIX and Windows can provide dynamic content with PHP, MySQL, as well as CGI. If you are heavily invested in ASP for delivering dynamic content, and VBScript for site enhancements then you will need Windows.
• Will you have multimedia content such as streaming video or audio? Multimedia can also be hosted by either type of server, although Windows media (WMA and WMV) need to be hosted on a Windows server.
• Do you need a database? If you have or need MS Access or MS-SQL databases, then you need a Windows server. MySQL databases will run on either operating system.

For web hosting, go here for recommended choices: Web Hosting.