Web Hosting

What exactly is Web Hosting ? It is basically a service that allows you to upload and store a site's HTML documents and related files on a Web server. This makes the files available on the World Wide Web for viewing by the public. Also called site hosting. If you don't have your own dedicated server than the webhosting route is the best way for you to get your site up and running.

Web hosting service providers offer a broad range of services but with the vast amount of webhosting services you will also find that the quality varies as well as the pricing. With the increased competition, you can usually find great services at low prices and have a very user-friendly web hosting service to work with.

The first step in deciding on a webhosting service is to determine what your needs are. If you have a web designer or web master they can be of great help in determining these needs for you. If you are trying to do it all by yourself than you might want to ask around or even consult with one of the many web hosting sites as to what they recommend. After you have talked with them research their recommendations. Following are some basic things to consider that can help you.

• What is the basic purpose of your website?
• Is it a catalog of products and services?
• Is it informational only?
• Will you be needing a large number of E-mail accounts?
• Do you have any special applications to be hosted or is it a standard off the shelf application?
• If you are selling products and services do you want to be able to accept credit card and other forms of payment online?
• Will you need to store a large amount of images and/or multimedia files?
• Will you be using audio and video presentations?
• Will you be providing online and live help?
• Will you be selling or trading banner ad space with other companies?
• Do you foresee many visitors to your site?