Cheap Webhosting - Is It For You

by: John Pierce

There's an old adage which states that "You get what you pay for".

In most areas of life, and business, this holds true. Not necessarily so, however, in the webhosting industry. Often, you pay too much, and don't get what you pay for.

Several weeks ago I got a call from a web designer friend of mine.

"John," He said "You won't believe this".

He went on to tell me about a Plastic Surgeon he was redesigning a website for. This client was paying $600.00 per month for his webhosting account.

"The incredible thing is" He related, "I can't get the current host to return my phone calls or emails".

After looking at this clients needs, I was shocked to find that there was nothing special about his site that justified his being on anything other than a basic shared webhosting plan. We quoted him a monthly rate of under five dollars.

In this case, the client was being raped by an unscrupulous host who was not only overcharging him, but not even providing the basic support he needed.

This is an extreme example, no doubt, but it all to often characterizes the poor deal which most website owners fall into.

Several years ago, there was no such thing as a webhosting industry. Nearly all websites were hosted by local ISP's. The average monthly cost for hosting a website was $20.00 per month. Often, if you called the ISP with a technical question, they would tell you to buy a book or take a class.

Around 1996, we saw the emergence of a few "webhosting" companies. These were companies which were strictly committed to hosting websites. Using the economy of scale, they were able to offer incredibly useful webhosting packages for around $10.00 per month. What's more, some of these companies provided useful tech support which was geared towards meeting a website owners needs.

Fast forward to 2005 and we now see the emergence of a new type of web host - the cheap webhosting provider. These are companies which offer hosting for less than $5.00 per month.

Generally, cheap webhosting providers are newer companies. There's a reason for this. It's extremely difficult for the older companies to lower their prices when they already have a large customer base which pays higher prices. They'd be slashing their gross, and most companies just can't afford that.

So how do cheap webhosting providers offer such a low price to begin with?

Part of it is that servers, hard drive space and bandwidth are much, much less expensive than they were several years ago. Cheap webhosting providers capitalize on this.

Another part is that cheap hosting providers use a different business model than the older providers. Webhosting is a very competitive business. Until recently, web hosts attempted to compete by providing the most tools and features. The problem with this model is that not everyone needs everything. Most web hosts provide free backup services to all of their clients. Backups are costly, and not everyone needs or wants them, but everyone pays for them because they're built into the cost of the package.

A cheap webhosting provider, on the other hand, might give you the basic features that everyone uses, but offer weekly backups as an available add on feature, putting the cost of backing up websites on only those customers who want that service.

This all sounds great, I know, but what about service? Will I get competent and fast customer support from a company which charges me $4.00 per month?

The answer, surprisingly, is usually yes.

Obviously, not all cheap webhosting providers will give you great service. But not all expensive webhosting providers will give good service either. Our Plastic Surgeon friend couldn't get his $600.00 host to return his emails.

But, with a cheaper provider, the key for the providers success is customer retention. A savvy web host will endeavor to please his existing clients by providing the best support possible.

About the author:
John Pierce is a technology writer and the Customer Service Manager for Gold Zero Web Hosting - http://goldzero.com-and the Webmaster for Cheap Webhosting Info Guide - http://cheapwebhostinginfo.com


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CGI Web Hosting - 3 Essential Scripts for your Business

by: John Michaels

If there's one thing that people love it is a web site that has plenty of automated features. Sites that are highly interactive tend to get the most traffic and generate the most business for the companies that run them. Automated features can also play a "behind the scenes" role, making your site easier to use, run smoothly and allow for things like online sales and password protection. There are many ways to get this type of automation into your site, but all involve either client side or server side scripting.

Scripts are written in programming languages specially designed for the web, and there are several languages that are commonly used. Most client side scripts are written in Java which is still one of the best web programming languages around. Some functions of a web site must be completed via server side scripting, however, and the most commonly used languages for server side scripting are PHP, PERL, and CGI. PHP and PERL are newer languages and are gaining a lot of popularity, but there are still plenty of features that can be scripted in the granddaddy of web scripting languages, CGI.

Shopping Carts
No online sales site would be complete without a functioning shopping cart and most of the best ones have been written in CGI script. CGI web hosting is great for shopping cart scripts because it interfaces well with most databases, including the popular MYSQL and MS Access databases, it can be utilized on Windows, UNIX, LINUX, and MACOS servers with equal ease, and can be easily configured for sales tax and shipping cost calculations. Some newer shopping cart scripts are being written in PHP and PERL, but most of the functioning carts on the web are in good old CGI web hosting scripts.

Password Protection
Many web sites require some sort of registration and entry of a password for the user to access the site's features. This is done for a number of reasons from simply a desire to track visitors for marketing purposes to allowing postings on message boards and ensuring that users have paid any required fees associated with use of the site. The automated registration process and user name/password issuance can be written with CGI scripts and many of them have been.

Form Managers
Have you ever wondered how the forms you fill out online are handled? In most cases, they're handled by CGI web hosting. When a user fills in that form and hits the "submit" button, a CGI script takes over and sends the data in email or writes it to a database where it can be accessed later by the site's administrators.

These are just a few of the uses for CGI scripts on today's web sites. There are literally hundreds of others and if there's something that can be done on a web site, it is something that can be done with CGI. PHP and PERL may be gaining a lot of popularity for various reasons, but CGI was with us first and it isn't going anywhere. As long as there are web sites, CGI web hosting will remain king.

About the author:
John Michaels is a freelance author for WebHostPacks.com where he regularly publishes articles on how to find a cheap web host and reviews of low cost web hosting services.


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4 Tips to Find the Web Host That’s Right For You

by: Paul Herbert

Choosing to make a web site is a very big decision. However, even more important than deciding to make the website itself, is choosing your web host. There are many web hosts out there, and so it is very difficult to find the web host that’s right for you. In order to find the best web host, it is important to find as many options as possible, and have a clear idea of what you want out of your web host. Following these four tips will make your search for a solid web host a lot easier.

1. Use search engines.
Search on Google and Yahoo using keywords such as “web host.” Carefully going through the results will give you an accurate idea of the web hosting options available. Some may say that the web hosts ranked the highest are clearly the best, but this is not always true. Taking the time to look at a large number of the results will give you an ample group of web hosts to compare.

2. Know how your site is going to work.
This tip may sound confusing, but it is important to know what your goals will be for your web site. If you plan to have a great number of large files hosted on your site, then you want a web host that gives you ample amounts of space. Bandwidth should also be taken into consideration. Is the site a personal site, or a commercial site? If you plan on making money with your website, than a larger investment for more storage space and bandwidth is justifiable. If you are making your site a blog and hosting it with a service such as TypePad, you want a web host that allows domain mapping.

3. Have a price range in mind.
Knowing the general amount of money you are willing to spend will save you a great amount of time. If a certain web host is simply too expensive, then you move on to the next one with no issues. Additionally, if you set a specific price range, you can search for the best offer within that price range. Some web hosts may offer more space for $20 than others do for the same price.

4. Finally, make sure that you have web host support based on your needs. If it is your first web site, then you might want a web host that is willing to give advice on building new sites. Some web hosts offer a very “hands on” approach to new users. Other web hosts simply let users do whatever they want and no help is offered.

The most important thing when finding a web host is knowing exactly what you want. Your search for a web host will be a lot easier if you search for hosts using Search Engines like Google and Yahoo, and you know what you are looking for. Every web host offers something a little different than others. Simplicity and customer service should be high priorities when searching for a web host. Remember, the most expensive, and highest ranked web host may not always be the best web host for your needs. Beginning your web host search with a clear, informed mind is the perfect way to assure a successful venture.


About the author:
Paul Herbert is very interested in UK web hosting. Learn more at http://www.hosting-netexplorers.co.uk/web_hosting_uk/web_hosting_packages.php.


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Finding the Right Web Host

by: dale ronewicz

Feel free to use this article. Please include the advertisement and active link at the end. Thank You.....word count 521

Finding the Right Web Host

Choosing the right Web Hosting service for your website can be a little bit confusing. There's so many choices out there and many people aren't exactly sure what they should be looking for.

Here's a few things you should take into consideration when looking for a Web Host:

File Storage Space/ Disk Space
How much disk space do you need? That depends on how many files (pages) you plan to upload to your hosting space. If it's a personal or ecommerce site (a site that sells products) with just a few pages and graphics, than 25 MB of disk space a month should be more than enough. If it's a multi-page site such as an online shopping mall, then 2000 MB would be safe.

Storage space is specified in kilobytes KB, megabytes MB, or gigabytes GB, a megabyte is 1000 kilobytes and a gigabyte is 1000 megabytes.

Bandwidth / Traffic / Transfer
All words above are used interchangeably. It's the amount of data that flows through your site, the amount of hits or how many people visit your site. If you're expecting a few hundred hits a day then 10, 15 of 25 GB of Transfer should be enough. If you're expecting hundreds of thousands of hits every month then you should get a hosting account with as much Bandwidth as possible. Bandwidth is usually expressed in Gigabytes.

CGI
Common Gateway Interface, is a protocal script used to make your site dynamic. Flash banners, moving objects. With the right web design program or scripting knowledge and a host that offers CGI you can easily bring your site to life.

Frontpage Extensions
Now-a-days more sites are offering Frontpage extensions. Microsoft Frontpage is a WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) web design program that lets you easily create web pages while the software does all the coding behind the scenes. The great thing about using Frontpage and having a host with Frontpage extensions is once you design your webpages all you have to do is click one button that says "publish site" and all your pages go from your computer to your hosting space with one click.

Shared Hosting / Dedicated Servers
Shared hosting, or sometimes called basic hosting means that the webspace that you rent will be shared on the same web server with other clients of the company you've purchased web space from. This is the most common.

If you purchase a Dedicated server it means your website will have it's own unique server. This is the preferred choice for sites with a huge amount of traffic and many graphics that would take to long to load on a shared server.

Finding a Web Host can be confusing if you're not sure what to look for. If you're planning on having an average website with a few hundred hits or fewer a day, than shared hosting is the way to go.



About the author:
COMPARE TOP 20 WEB HOSTS! FIND THE RIGHT ONE!
Basic and Shared hosting, Reseller Accounts, Dedicated Servers as low as $29.95, Virtual Servers, CGI, Mysql, webpage builders, Frontpage Extensions and much more.
http://www.top20webhosts.marketing-maneuvers.com


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