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Choosing the Right webhost

by Alex LD 28 Nov 2008

Choosing the Right WebHost
Written by Alex -PcArmada.com

In this article I will try to keep it short and sweet, I'll go over some of the key features while choosing a webhost that you will want to be aware of.

What is a WebHost?
A webhost refers to the service of providing WebSpace or allowing you to put your files on ones server. A great example of that would be if you were going to make a website, but you want the whole world to see it, not just you from your own computer. You would get webhosting spot on a server upload your files, then with the right server specifications, the whole world can see it.

Choosing the Right Host
One of the most asked things I hear is "whats a good webhost Alex?" The answers is not so simple after all if you want to be picky about it. I've came up with this short list of the most popular webhosting service providers. (not in any specific order)

HostGator
BlueHost
1and1 (1&1)
Host Monster

However I do not recommend any of those, I recommend some of the smaller less known webhosts, not the ones who are just starting out, but that who have been doing it for a little while but, just aren't HUGE yet. I know, some of the things I get are "but they don't know what they're doing" or possibly "they'll rip me off" To be honest; anyplace can rip you off.

Here are some of the questions why choosing the big guys aren't such a good idea after all.

- Lack of Interest. Vast amounts of customers show that they really have no need to make sure that 1 of there customers if satisified out of the thousands they may have. They'll be just fine without you.

- Crowded servers. A lot of these companies want to hold on to their money, not purchase new equipment and hardware until it is necessary. This can lead to slower load and wait time while using the webhosts, this can also mean that you will be down a lot and when contacting support you will have to wait longer for service which brings me to my next one.

- Slower service, a lot of these webhosts are huge, and do not always have the proper amount of staff on hand to service their customers. This can lead to 2-3 day replies. Though on the website it may say 6-8 hour reply period. That's not a promise.

- OVERSELLING! a huge factor that hooks there customers. Offerings outstanding number of disk space or storage as some call it, can fool there customers into believing something that is not true. Here is a great example.

The server is a Core 2 Duo, 200 Gb Hard Drive. 2 GB DDR2 Ram. ( Not the best setup but it is common)
They might offer plans such as
300 Gb Storage
5000 GB Bandwidth

Now for one. That cannot be done, because they could only service you and they'd have to throw you on another server. Which is not what they do. Webhosts like Hostgator use a 20% CPU usage limit. That means that if you use more then that much of the server you are red flagged and possibly suspended. But you may ask "what happened, I thought I could use 300 Gb?" they would reply saying that you failed to comply with there terms of service which in small text or content states how one can only use 20% of the server.

Now when you go to choose the right webhost, make sure that you read everything!. If you are unsure of something, call them, email, open a ticket! Get in touch to clarify any mis-understandings. This can save you in the long run.

What to look for
A lot of people don't put in much time in effort for searching, they ask one of their friends and they're usually sent to one of the big guys as I like to call them. But you should really look around before choosing. Read all the offers that are included, make sure that Features are right for you
(Number of Email accounts, FTP Accounts, Sub Domains, Add on Domains, etc...)
Dont be fooled on the hosts they say 400000 GB for just $4.00. Trust me, it really is to good to be true seeing that the server is probably incapable of providing that much space for all the people let alone yourself.

Always look for if they look professional, and mean business. a not so well done template could mean that they do not care what they look like, they just want money, or that they do not have enough to higher a decent design team.
If you are curious on how many customers that are already on the server. Get one of the IP's of the server and or do a "WhoIs" check at like
- http://pcarmada.com/forums/redirector.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdomaintools.com
- http://pcarmada.com/forums/redirector.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwho.is
- http://pcarmada.com/forums/redirector.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdnsstuff.com
Then go to this website or one similar
http://pcarmada.com/forums/redirector.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.myipneighbors.com%2F
Look for typos or errors on the content pages, this again could lead to lack of professionalism they represent this reflex on the server and support as well.
Give there live support or support a test run. Ask them a few questions see what they know. If you do not know a whole lot, then just have them tell you a few things about the company.

Security
It is important that the webhost has secured the server somewhat. This includes Php hardening, and installing simple deflate scripts. These are really decisary if you dont want just 1 person DoSing you and taking down your whole server. It is also a great idea to ask or make sure that the datacenter has setup or the host has setup an external firewall or something like a Cisco Guard this will help fight off DDoS attacks and botnets from taking down your server.

You don't want to be on a server with other sites doing illegal things, if the government steps in and takes the server. Or if the website leads to a hacker, hacking the server. Then you my friend are what they called "screwed" if they choose to make that happen. This is where a lot of the "big guys" put some money in, securing their server.

I myself have ran and made money running webhosting sites. However this is to help you, so I'm not going to give you a bunch of lies. I hope this was very helpful

~ Alex
http://pcarmada.com/

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