Print Article for : Shopping Cart Website Hosting

Your Online Guide » IT Hardwares » Computer Hardware Guide

[S394]Shopping Cart Website Hosting

by Gray Rollins, Gra

Lets see what you have to consider before you plan to set up a website. You will either go for buying a web server along with its support equipments and a qualified technician to run it properly or you will pay a monthly fee to a company that runs websites to hold your website on their equipment. A big company who wants to go online can afford to spend this kind of amount but for others, it is better to go for the second option. You don't need to spend buckets full of money on setting up the required web server infrastructure. So all you need to do is rent a server space from one of the web server companies. If you think it is as simple as it sounds, read ahead.

When you start looking for web hosting services, the number of options available will surprise you. The very first thing that you have to decide is to choose between the shared and the reseller web hosting. Do you know the difference?

The main difference between the two is their scale. A shared web hosting requires you to pay for server space for only website with one domain name. If you want to set up more than one website, you will have to pay additional fee for each website. A reseller web hosting requires you to pay for a server space that can be used for more than one website. You can divide the space to host all your websites and if some space is left, you can even sell it to someone else and become a web-hosting subcontractor. Both options have plus and minus points. Lets discuss them to help you decide which one you should choose.

The simplicity, efficiency and the low cost are the three main features of shared web hosting. If you require it for personal use or for running a small business website then this is perfect for you. Along with one website and one domain name, you will generally be allowed to set up sub domains for different parts of that website. You pay them the rent for the space on their web server equipment and you get their support as well. In a way they become responsible for making sure that your website is not only accessible all the time but also that it is running without any problems. They will be ready with their technical support whenever you require it. This takes care of a very important aspect for any businessperson. This option also requires less expenditure (5 –20 times less than reseller web hosting) as you may have to spend around $5 or even free.

The free web hosting is not the right option if you are running your business on your website. Since they don't charge you anything so you cant expect to get their support when some problem occurs. If their site goes down, your business goes down as well because you cant be sure when their site will become all right. You can't rely on them but if you go for a paid shared web host then this problem is solved. The amount you have to pay them is decided by the size of your website and the expected traffic to that site. They will make sure that you get their support 24/7 throughout the year if you face any technical problem. You can use the services of a web hosting company Hotgator and use one of the three packages (varying from $4.95 to $12.95) offered by them. Don't forget that you will have to buy another shared web hosting plan and therefore spending double amount if you decide you set up another website.

Reseller web hosting is more flexible and has a major advantage of economies of scale. If your business is expanding or you are running multiple businesses then you will have you pay a lot for renting multiple shared web hosting every month. But if you choose reseller web hosting, you will be able to set up as many websites as you require.. Even after they grow, you can relocate the resources among them. You can also utilise the left over space by renting it to other small businesses or individuals. With proper planning, you will realise that the reseller web hosting will prove to be cheaper that shred web hosting on a large scale.

The main disadvantage of reseller web hosting is its cost. You can get Hostgator's (http://www.hostgatorcritics.com shared web hosting package at the cost of $5 to $13 per month but the reseller web hosting package will cost you $25 to $100 for each month depending on your website's size and traffic. You can reduce this expenditure if you sell the unused space to someone else but then there is no surety that you fill find someone to but it. You may not find a customer when you want one. It is possible that in some months you will have to pay for all the space even when you don't use all of it.

Another problem is that when you sell the free space to someone, you have to provide him support whenever there is a problem. Since you yourself have no control over such technical problems, it becomes a major problem. You can provide some kind of administrative help but problems like an Internet outage will not get solved by you without the help of your web-hosting provider. When you are unable to help them, you will end up losing not only the confidence of your customers but the customers too. They will shift to other web-hosting provider and you will ruin your name in the business. This will have adverse effect on the financial conditions of your business.

So the trouble isn't finding them. The real tough part is deciphering which ones you can trust and which ones you can't. There are new web hosting companies starting their business every single day. Many of them fail to make it, due to the poor quality service they offer.

Try to find web hosts that have been around for a while. Usually the longer a web host has been in business, the more reputable they are. After all, if they offered poor web hosting, chances are they wouldn't be in business for 5+ years. Their reputation would have sunk them. In the internet hosting industry, once people hear of many customers who are having the same issues with the their host, is spreads like wildfire.

Hosts should offer strong, secure servers as well as professional customer service. Make sure to look at this before you look at the costs of the hosting plan.

No matter how much money you might save from an affordable website hosting plan, it will never cover how much money you might lose if your website crashes due to poor servers. It's always best when a company offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Poor servers can also cause your website to load very slowly. Visitors of your site will never wait more than 10 seconds for a site to load. That means you've lost a potential customer or subscriber just because you wanted to save a few bucks on hosting. It's just not worth it.

The hosting company that you choose also needs to be accessible 24 hours a day. Eventually you are going to run into a problem in which you'll need their help. Customer service should be helpful and courteous. There is also absolutely no reason why should be waiting on the phone line for more than 30 minutes when trying to reach customer support.

You also need to look at the features that you are getting with the hosting plan. Presently, you can find many respectable companies which offer a shared hosting plan for under $10 a month. This is a great deal, especially for newbies. With a shared hosting plan, you can host multiple domains under one account. It's a very affordable way to build an internet empire.

If you want to spend a little more money on hosting you can splurge and get a virtual private server or dedicated server. With these options you don't have to share your hosting with anybody else. It makes hosting a little more flexible and secure. It's hard to find many affordable hosting plans for dedicated hosting. The average cost is usually $150 a month. Pretty steep, but if you can afford it, it's definitely worth it.

These are just some of the things you have to consider when shopping around for web hosting companies.

Article Source : Pg. 185

About Author

Both Gray Rollins & Jim Buhs are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Gray Rollins has sinced written about articles on various topics from Property Investment, Guide Guitar and insurance agents. If you're looking for then be sure to check out Affordablewebhost.org for our recommendations and read our full. Gray Rollins's top article generates over 368000 views. to your Favourites.

Jim Buhs has sinced written about articles on various topics from Forex Guide, Learn Trading and Penny Stocks. offers many articles and information on affordable web hosting plans as well as the. Jim Buhs's top article generates over 1300 views. to your Favourites.