The most basic choice when administering multiple domains is whether or not to do so with the same host. Most hosts offer packages which can be set up to allow several sites on one account, or allow individual sites to be operated under separate accounts.
You may have an existing website and are happy with the services your host provides. If you decide to start a new website using the same host, you will have the reassurance of dealing with a company you are familiar with and trust. You may also get a discount for each additional account you open with the same host. On the other hand, using a new host for a second (or third or fourth) website can allow you to compare the quality of hosting offered by different companies. In addition, separate hosts will provide each of your web sites with a different IP address.
Having different IP addresses can be an important factor if you plan to link the sites together to aid in search engine optimization. Incoming links are an important indicator of the importance of a website, so a site with a lot of incoming links can get a higher position in search engines like Google. If all the links are coming from the same IP address, however, their value may be discounted. Hosting your various sites with different hosting companies guarantees that each site has a different IP address. Individual IP addresses, however, are available as an extra from most web hosts. For a yearly fee each website can have its own unique IP address. This can help with search engine ranking and is also needed if you want to have a secure connection (https) on your site.
If you decide to host all your sites with the same company, there are three basic ways to go. Each site could have its own account; you could sign up for a re-seller account; or you could get a dedicated server account.
As a re-seller you are acting as an agent for the hosting company. You are allocated a certain amount of disk space and bandwidth and you are free to use them as you please. There may be a limit to the number of websites you can host with your re-seller account, but if there is space left over after using this account for your own sites you could earn some extra income by selling accounts to other people. The advantage of a re-seller account is that all the technical details are taken care of by the hosting company. Some will even provide gateways for billing your customers.
A dedicated server account gives you control of all the resources of an entire server. You are free to setup as many websites as you wish and allocate disk space and bandwidth as you see fit. The downside to this type of account is that you are responsible for maintaining the server. This can require a significant level of technical know-how so if you don't have that knowledge or don't feel like learning about it, dedicated servers are not for you. You can, of course, go with a managed dedicated• server. The downside of this is the higher cost involved.
Hosting all your sites with one host can offer lots of advantages but there is one major disadvantage - if your server goes down, all your sites go down. If you are depending on your sites for income this can be a disastrous situation. For this reason, it is a good idea to have at least one of your sites with a different host. If your sites are essential for your livelihood and you can't afford any down time whatsoever, you would be advised to host everything with (at least) two hosts.
Getting hosting for multiple domains used to be quite difficult, and many webmasters, including me, ended up with single domains scattered around various hosts. Now, many of the top hosting services offer multiple domain web hosting as an option. This means you can create a set number, or an unlimited number of sites under one hosting plan, for a set monthly price. Often this price is little more than the cost of hosting a single site.
Sometimes, people really want multiple domain pointing ? the hosting of many domains which simply redirect to the one important domain with content. We will also give a source for this below.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of hosting many domains on one host, under one plan? Let's look at the advantages first.
Advantages of multiple domain web hosting
1. Price
The price is the main attraction for most people. For one reasonable monthly payment, you get to host a set number, or an unlimited number, of domains. If you pay an annual fee, the cost for all your hosting is fixed for the year.
2. Marketing
If you have an idea for a web site, it takes only a few minutes to buy a suitable domain (better to buy this from a separate domain registrar) and then set up a new site on the multiple domain web hosting service. You can implement web marketing ideas quickly, and respond to trends and seasonal demand with no extra cost, except that of the domain name. If you are involved in affiliate marketing, you can create a site for each product area, or even a site dedicated to selling the products from your favorite merchant. You don't need to load up a single web site with multiple product lines, confusing the search engine spiders, and confusing your customers as to what your site is about.
3. Maintenance
You only have one host to visit to do all your site maintenance. Once you have learned how to install a blog, or a forum, or a shopping cart, you can do it again on your other sites much more easily.
Disadvantages of multiple domain web hosting
1. Single IP address
You will usually have all your sites under the same IP address, usually shared with others; depending on who you believe, this may mean the search engines discount link value. In other words, any high PR site you manage to get may not pass on link juice to other sites on the same server. If other sites on the same server are considered spammy, your site may suffer by IP address association.
2. Down time affects all your sites at once
If your host goes down due to hardware failure, or for maintenance, all your sites are not available at the same time. If you are earning your living from your sites, this could be very bad news.
3. Unlimited bandwidth
Why should this be a problem? Not all multi-site hosting services offer this, but it is generally agreed in the hosting industry that offering unlimited bandwidth is not a viable business model long term, since all bandwidth has to be paid for eventually. If all your sites are on one multiple hosting service and that service collapses due to financial problems, you are in trouble. However, this is your call.
Both Dave Pierce & Don Break 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.
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