May 2008
Monthly Archive
Reliable Web Hosting
Posted by admin on 15 May 2008 | Tagged as: Articles
Most web hosts will provide an uptime guarantees in the range of 99 to 100%, but how is this possible? Servers do crash at some point and packets are lost on occasion so how can you truly get 99% or 100% uptime?
While uptime may not be as important for personal homepages, e-commerce sites rely on their page being up 24/7 so that no sales are ever lost. Nothing is fool-proof but before signing up to a host there are a few features you should inquire into about the potential host:
- What type of UPS are they using?
- What type of backup generators are on site?
- Are the servers mirrored?
- How often are backups created?
Every host should have some combination of battery backed UPS systems and on-site generators in case of localized loss of electricity but it is good policy to see what you are risking thousands of dollars on.
Choosing a host with mirrored servers is your best possible option if you are worried about servers crashing and catastrophic loss of data. A mirrored server will always be running right along side the main server, ready to take over in the event of a halt or crash. An even better way to make sure of this would be to purchase a dedicated server plan that includes mirroring. This way you don’t have to worry about what -other- people are doing on the same server you use.
Finding the Best Hosting Service
Posted by admin on 15 May 2008 | Tagged as: Articles
Choosing the best web host amongst a sea of prices, packages and features can be dizzying. While prices is an obvious deciding factor when comparing web hosts, when browsing through features several aspects are universal:
- Disk Space - will your sites fit? how much can you expand?
- Bandwidth - will you safely stay within the limit when your site gets busy?
- Uptime - what kinds of guarantees does the host offer?
- Customer Service - if you call for help, will anyone answer?
Disk space and bandwidth are in high supply these days and many hosts reflect this by providing large supplies with their packages.
Uptime and customer service are big concerns so why not take care of both at once? Contact customer service (not the sales team!) and inquire about when they last had a server crash and how long it took to rectify the situation. Be sure to note if the response comes from customer service, tech support or sales.
How to Choose the Best Hosting Service for You
Posted by admin on 15 May 2008 | Tagged as: Articles
Choosing the best hosting service for your needs all depends on what type(s) of sites you intend to have:
Blogs: The main consideration for blogs is finding a host that provides proper scripts for hosting blogs, such as Wordpress. Most hosting providers will have these scripts. Blogs can be setup and maintained using very little diskspace so when considering how much bandwidth you need you will simply need to do a small calculation (visitors x disk space used) to determine if the bandwidth will meet your needs.
Content Sites: Content sites, like blogs, are not likely to take up very much disk space or get close to using up the maximum available traffic in most modern shared hosting packages. When looking for shared hosting for content sites your main considerations will usually by price and reliability.
Image Galleries: Image Gallery sites will likely require a large sum of disk space and bandwidth. Some hosting providers allow up to 15TB of traffic or even unlimited traffic. Although this may cause somewhat slower-than-average loading times at peak hours, these packages are likely ideal to avoid charges for going over bandwidth any given month.
Streaming Audio/Video: Streaming audio and video will require even more bandwidth than an image gallery. You need to take bandwidth into account in a big way. Depending on the formats you’re providing you may even need to think about using a dedicated server in order to ensure that you are not sharing a connection with other customers and therefore causing buffering delays that may lose potential viewers/listeners.
StartLogic Review
Posted by admin on 15 May 2008 | Tagged as: Web Host Reviews
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Linux / Windows “Personal Logic” - $4.95/month “Pro-Logic” - $6.95/month “Windows Logic” - $9.95/month Dedicated Servers starting - $99/month |
StartLogic’s shared hosting provides many standard features for an average price. The total disk space and traffic are average and scripts are provided for blogs, forums, image galleries, etc.
StartLogic has a “Pro” web hosting package that allows room for upgrade if the amount of traffic and disk space turn out to be less than required.
What’s good about StartLogic:
- Low monthly fees
- Unlimited Domains (”Pro” only)
- High Bandwidth (”Pro” only)
- Free setup
- Free Advertising Credits
What’s not-so-good about StartLogic:
- Only 10 Domains allowed on “Personal”
- Only 1000GB Bandwidth with “Windows” plan
- Only 1 MySQL database allowed on “Personal”, 5 on “Windows”
StartLogic is a good choice for small sized sites looking for shared hosting with a large selection of scripts and e-commerce options. StartLogic also has dedicated server packages in case your company out-grows it’s shared hosting package - you won’t need to switch providers.
GoDaddy Hosting Review
Posted by admin on 15 May 2008 | Tagged as: Web Host Reviews
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Linux / Windows “Economy” - $3.99/month “Deluxe” - $6.99/month “Premium” - $14.99/month Dedicated Servers starting - $79.99/month |
GoDaddy’s shared hosting provides standard features for a low price. The total disk space and traffic are lower-than-average but the size and pricing of the smallest package are on par with a beginner or someone looking to launch a personal homepage.
GoDaddy really shines in domain hosting and dedicated servers. Bulk domain hosting with GoDaddy is very affordable (comes with freebies like private registration) and their dedicated server packages have lower than average pricing.
What’s good about GoDaddy:
- Very low monthly fees
- Unlimited domains
- Discount domain registration
- Free setup
- Free Advertising Credits
What’s not-so-good about GoDaddy:
- Very limited disk space / traffic
- Lower than average number of MySQL databases, email accounts & forwards
- Premium plan not on par with other plans of similar price range
GoDaddy is a good choice for small sized personal sites looking for shared hosting with a solid reputation. GoDaddy also has dedicated server packages in case your company out-grows it’s shared hosting package - you won’t need to switch providers.
APlus.Net Review
Posted by admin on 15 May 2008 | Tagged as: Web Host Reviews
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Linux / Windows Starting at - $5.95/month
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APlus.net’s shared hosting provides below average features for a high-average price. The total disk space and traffic are low and there are many limitations on features. APlus.net specializes in dedicated servers and shines in that field.
What’s good about APlus.net:
- Highly affordable dedicated servers
- Search Engine Submission
- Search Engine Optimization
- Free setup
- “eTraffic” guaranteed traffic program
What’s not-so-good about APlus.net:
- Very limited features on shared plans
- Additional domains cost extra/month on shared plans
- Very few MySQL database allowed on shared plans
APlus.net is a good choice for small sized sites looking for e-commerce focused shared hosting. APlus.net also has incredible deals on dedicated server packages that completely outshines their shared hosting packages.
Dot5 Review
Posted by admin on 15 May 2008 | Tagged as: Web Host Reviews
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Linux 2 Year Plan - $4.95/month 1 Year Plan - $5.95/month 6 month plan - $6.95/month Quarterly plan - $6.95/month |
Dot5 Hosting’s shared hosting provides many features for a low price. The total disk space and traffic are above average and several scripts are provided for blogs, forums, image galleries, etc.
Dot5 Hosting has only one web hosting package which doesn’t allow room for upgrades if the features turn out to be less than required.
What’s good about Dot5:
- Low monthly fees
- Free Domain name
- High bandwidth limit
- Free setup
What’s not-so-good about Dot5:
- Only 25 Domains allowed
- No Windows plan
Dot5 Hosting is a good choice for small sized sites looking for shared hosting with a limited need for scripts and e-commerce options.
1 and 1 Review
Posted by admin on 15 May 2008 | Tagged as: Web Host Reviews
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Linux / Windows “Beginner” - $4.95/month “Home” - $5.95/month “Business” - $9.95/month “Developer” - $19.95/month |
1 and 1’s shared hosting provides a competitive number of features for a low price. The total disk space and traffic are low-average and many scripts are provided for blogs, forums, image galleries, web auctions, etc. 1 and 1 provides less disk space, traffic and MySQL databases than most hosting providers.
What’s good about 1 and 1:
- Low monthly fees
- Unlimited Domains
- Free setup
- Click-N-Build Applications
What’s not-so-good about 1 and 1:
- Unlimited domains only if registered through 1 and 1.
- Included domains only free as long as package is kept
- Low bandwidth and disk space limits.
- Limited number of “externally” registered domains.
1 and 1 is an okay choice for small sized sites looking for shared hosting with a large selection of scripts and e-commerce options. 1 and 1 also has dedicated server packages in case your company out-grows it’s shared hosting package - you won’t need to switch providers.
iPower Web Review
Posted by admin on 15 May 2008 | Tagged as: Web Host Reviews
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Linux / Windows “Business Pro” - $4.95/month “Windows Pro” - $9.95/month |
iPowerWeb’s shared hosting provides standard features for a low price. The total disk space and traffic are high-average and many scripts are provided for blogs, forums, image galleries, web auctions, etc. iPowerWeb features more scripts and e-commerce options than most shared hosting providers.
Unfortunately, iPowerWeb has only one web hosting package, so there is no allowable room for upgrade if the amount of traffic and/or disk space turn out to be less than required.
What’s good about iPowerWeb:
- Low monthly fees
- High disk space & traffic
- Free Google and Yahoo advertising credits
- Free domain
What’s not-so-good about iPowerWeb:
- Only 25 Domains allowed on “Business Pro”
- Only 100GB Storage with Windows plan
- Only 5 MySQL database allowed on Windows plan
- Free setup, free domain and low monthly fee only available with annual billing
iPowerWeb is a good choice for small sized sites looking for shared hosting with a large amount of disk space and bandwidth.
MidPhase Review
Posted by admin on 15 May 2008 | Tagged as: Web Host Reviews
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Linux / Windows “Mega-Phase” - $7.95/month “Pro-Phase” - $11.95/month “Windows” - $9.95/month “Windows-Pro” - $14.95/month |
MidPhase’s shared hosting provides many features for a high-average price. The total disk space and traffic are low-average and many scripts are provided for blogs, forums, image galleries, web auctions, etc. MidPhase features more scripts and e-commerce options than most shared hosting providers.
MidPhase has “Pro” web hosting packages allow room for upgrade if the amount of traffic and disk space turn out to be less than required.
What’s good about MidPhase:
- Average monthly fees
- Unlimited Domains (”Pro-Phase” and “Swamp”)
- Unmetered Bandwidth (”Pro-Phase”)
- Free setup
- Free Advertising Credits with Linux Plans
What’s not-so-good about MidPhase:
- Only 10 Domains allowed on “Mega-Phase”, 1 on “Windows”
- Only 750GB Bandwidth with “Windows” plan
- Only 1 MySQL database allowed on “Mega-Phase”, 3 on “Pro-Phase”
MidPhase is a good choice for small sized sites looking for shared hosting with a large selection of scripts and e-commerce options. MidPhase also has dedicated server packages in case your company out-grows it’s shared hosting package - you won’t need to switch providers.