What Is Web Hosting?
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I have a mailing list that is affiliated with one of my non-blog websites where I mentor women who want to start small businesses in the crafting industry.
Since the group has almost 1500 members now, I tend to hear some of the same questions over and over. Many of them are very basic business questions and I truly don’t mind answering them more than once. I am finding that my best move would be to develop some useful articles to address some of the more frequently asked questions, though. So, let me start now.
What is web hosting?
When you first decide you want to have an online presence for your business, you will want to take the first steps to establish your own website. Doing this is not a one-step process. You have to secure a domain name for your site, which you will register with any of the online registrars out there. You pay a nominal annual fee for the right to “won” this domain name. This is something you need to renew as the years go on.
Separate from your domain name is web hosting. A web host is the company you will pay to host your website for you. Your website’s files will actually reside on their servers, which will be on all of the time so that your customers can access your site day or night. You pay the hosting company either monthly or annually, and prices vary tremendously.
You have to do some research before choosing a web host. Price is not the only factor to take into consideration. You want to look at the company’s longevity, reputation, average up-time, and what they are offering you in the hosting package.
You may just want simple pages with information about your business and what you offer. In that case, you can go with a basic hosting plan. On the other hand, perhaps you are looking to make your site fully interactive with a working shopping cart, discussion forums, blogs, and other features. If that is the case, you will want to make sure the package you contract includes those possibilities. Do you need to accommodate lots of traffic and bandwidth? Will your site be image intensive? These are just a couple of things to consider.
Once you have a good idea of what you need, your best bet is to use a website that reviews and rates popular hosting plans. Generally, this is where you can find feedback from existing customers, a synopsis of the plans and prices, and an overall rating. Such websites are great tools in your search for web hosting.
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