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Friday, November 04, 2005
Determining Your Web-Hosting Needs
Once you decide to create an Internet presense that will require a web site and web hosting, it is key to figure out the types of resources you will need. This determination can make sure that you are not overpaying for service, paying for features you won't be using, or worse yet, paying extra for functionality that you required but failed to check on.
What type of web site are you building?This is a key question. Are you going to use the web site for an e-commerce business, as a hobby site writing about your interests, will the site be static or interactive, used as a blog or online forum, or a site that will provide information and generate revenuss? If you will be running an e-commerce site you will need to find an online payment system, you might need to have your web host support the secure sockets layer (SSL) encryption, and you should inquire whether they provide any shopping carts like MIVA merchant. If you will be developing custom e-commerce software, it is essential to make sure that you know the web hosting environment to ensure that your software will work on their systems. A blog or a online forums site will most likely require PHP or Perl/CGI scripting and in most cases access to a database system like MySQL, PostgreSQL or Microsoft's SQL
How much storage space would you need?
If you are running a small, static website, you don't require a very large amount of storage space. On the other hand, an extensive information or e-commerce site with thousands of web pages and images or a large online forum would require much more data storage. In many cases, the databases are given their own seperate storage limit and could cause problems since 100mb of data capacity might not always equal 100mb of database capacity.
How much bandwidth would you need?
After storage capacity, bandwidth is the next most hyped web hosting feature. If your average webpage (html code + graphics) is 5KB, and you receive an average of 100 hits per day, you can easily see that you are using up (5 x 100) 500 KB of bandwidth a day. Multiply this number by 30 and you have an average monthly figure. It is essential that before you sign up for any web hosting service, you put some thought into how big your web site will be, how popular the category is, and what type of service you will be providing. For example, oneline discussion forums use up a lot more bandwidth than any other type of website because users usually stay on for longer time as they read posts or contribute, and there is a much higher rate of repeat visitors who come back to read new messages, etc. Therefore, your bandwidth needs should be considered prior to signing up for a hosting plan.
What hosting features will you need?
A plain vanilla HTML based website requires different resources compared to a PHP/CGI/ASP based site that uses a database, special image libraries, and custom programming. So if you are developing anything more than an HTML web site that will require custom programming work or uses any type of scripting language, make sure the web host supports these standards and needed features. Often, web hosting companies list everything they offer up front, but if you have questions, make sure you ask. Apart from programming languages, you might need special access to your website, say through FTP or Telnet. Just about every paid web host allows FTP (File Transfer Protocol) access to your website, but Telnet or SSH access is more rare or might cost more. Same with mail, just about every web host will provide SMTP/ POP3 and web based access to email. If you require IMAP or say a secure access protocol, check with the hosting provider. ¶ 11:34 PM
Once you decide to create an Internet presense that will require a web site and web hosting, it is key to figure out the types of resources you will need. This determination can make sure that you are not overpaying for service, paying for features you won't be using, or worse yet, paying extra for functionality that you required but failed to check on.
What type of web site are you building?This is a key question. Are you going to use the web site for an e-commerce business, as a hobby site writing about your interests, will the site be static or interactive, used as a blog or online forum, or a site that will provide information and generate revenuss? If you will be running an e-commerce site you will need to find an online payment system, you might need to have your web host support the secure sockets layer (SSL) encryption, and you should inquire whether they provide any shopping carts like MIVA merchant. If you will be developing custom e-commerce software, it is essential to make sure that you know the web hosting environment to ensure that your software will work on their systems. A blog or a online forums site will most likely require PHP or Perl/CGI scripting and in most cases access to a database system like MySQL, PostgreSQL or Microsoft's SQL
How much storage space would you need?
If you are running a small, static website, you don't require a very large amount of storage space. On the other hand, an extensive information or e-commerce site with thousands of web pages and images or a large online forum would require much more data storage. In many cases, the databases are given their own seperate storage limit and could cause problems since 100mb of data capacity might not always equal 100mb of database capacity.
How much bandwidth would you need?
After storage capacity, bandwidth is the next most hyped web hosting feature. If your average webpage (html code + graphics) is 5KB, and you receive an average of 100 hits per day, you can easily see that you are using up (5 x 100) 500 KB of bandwidth a day. Multiply this number by 30 and you have an average monthly figure. It is essential that before you sign up for any web hosting service, you put some thought into how big your web site will be, how popular the category is, and what type of service you will be providing. For example, oneline discussion forums use up a lot more bandwidth than any other type of website because users usually stay on for longer time as they read posts or contribute, and there is a much higher rate of repeat visitors who come back to read new messages, etc. Therefore, your bandwidth needs should be considered prior to signing up for a hosting plan.
What hosting features will you need?
A plain vanilla HTML based website requires different resources compared to a PHP/CGI/ASP based site that uses a database, special image libraries, and custom programming. So if you are developing anything more than an HTML web site that will require custom programming work or uses any type of scripting language, make sure the web host supports these standards and needed features. Often, web hosting companies list everything they offer up front, but if you have questions, make sure you ask. Apart from programming languages, you might need special access to your website, say through FTP or Telnet. Just about every paid web host allows FTP (File Transfer Protocol) access to your website, but Telnet or SSH access is more rare or might cost more. Same with mail, just about every web host will provide SMTP/ POP3 and web based access to email. If you require IMAP or say a secure access protocol, check with the hosting provider. ¶ 11:34 PM
