Why Do I Need Web Hosting?
You may not realize it, but you probably already have a little web hosting. If you have a Facebook page, it is hosted on Facebook's own server. If you need to publish your own web pages you need your own hosting service. Other reasons to pay for your own hosting account:
1. To own a web site without having to pay someone else to host it.
2. To learn how to become a Webmaster.
1. To own a web site without having to pay someone else to host it.
2. To learn how to become a Webmaster.
How Do I Get Web Hosting?
Web hosting is a service that many companies provide. Basically what these companies do is rent hard disk space on computers that are known as servers. All websites reside on these servers. If you want to have your own space for your own web pages and websites you must rent some space on one of these servers. Then you configure your web space (known as your hosting service) and upload your website to the proper place. You must have a domain name as an address for your web site. Please see Jimbo's Big Domain Page for more info on owning a domain.
Jimbo's Hosting Tips
• Don't buy a big hosting package with a bunch of bells and whistles your first time out. You can always upgrade your account in the future as your needs grow.
• Many packages include free domain names. This is great, but I don't recommend getting your primary domain name as a freebie as you may have problems if you decide to change hosting companies in the future. For more information on domain names please visit Jimbo's Big Domain Page.
• Buy hosting from reputable companies and spend time comparing different options. This has become much easier these days because every company now offers pretty much the same limits for usage - unlimited.
• Beware of "special prices" and more and more ad ons to your package. There is no reason to sign a contract for a certain length of time or get "security features" for more money. If you practice good password management you will be secure enough with the basics. You will see that you must choose an operating system. Get Linux. It's more secure against viruses.
• Registering a domain and hosting a web page are two different and separate things. Many companies do both - don't confuse the two. You can register your domain with any company and host any web pages for it with a different company if you so choose.
• If you only ever intend to own one website you can probably find someone like me to host it for you cheaper (and much easier) than you can do it yourself.
• Many packages include free domain names. This is great, but I don't recommend getting your primary domain name as a freebie as you may have problems if you decide to change hosting companies in the future. For more information on domain names please visit Jimbo's Big Domain Page.
• Buy hosting from reputable companies and spend time comparing different options. This has become much easier these days because every company now offers pretty much the same limits for usage - unlimited.
• Beware of "special prices" and more and more ad ons to your package. There is no reason to sign a contract for a certain length of time or get "security features" for more money. If you practice good password management you will be secure enough with the basics. You will see that you must choose an operating system. Get Linux. It's more secure against viruses.
• Registering a domain and hosting a web page are two different and separate things. Many companies do both - don't confuse the two. You can register your domain with any company and host any web pages for it with a different company if you so choose.
• If you only ever intend to own one website you can probably find someone like me to host it for you cheaper (and much easier) than you can do it yourself.
Where Do I Get Web Hosting?
I use and recommend 1&1. Something we all need in a web host is Great Support. When problems arise and you can't get a response to a question for three days, you won't care how cheap or expensive your hosting plan is. It is absolutely crazy how many companies there are right now selling web hosting and even crazier how many "comparison sites" that purport to tell you the truth about each one. Doing your due diligence on the different companies can take days and you may still end up unsure about it all if you are newer at some of this.
Personal or Business? This is the first question you should ask yourself before shopping for a web host. Once you decide that you can start to narrow down what you are looking for. Pretty much everyone offers unlimited everything these days. Unlimited disk space, bandwidth, email accounts, domains, and more. Technically these accounts aren't really 'unlimited', but the vast majority of users will never have to worry about this. If you are thinking about using your hosting account for a home based business make sure to look at your prospective hosting company's affiliate program. A great hosting company with a decent affiliate program is hard to beat.
1&1 has gained my trust over a few years and I host all my clients' websites here. They use a proprietary control panel for managing your account that is easy to learn. The tools and goodies included in your control panel are somewhat basic which is good when you are new at all this. I have used both the email and telephone support here a few times over the years and although it is not the best in the world, it certainly was good enough for me and those who pay me to keep their websites up. 1&1 has a huge customer base worldwide and really good technical FAQs that make figuring your own glitches out easier.
1&1 MyBusiness Site:
• Disk Space ------------- Unlimited
• Bandwidth ------------- Unlimited
• Subdomains ------------ Unlimited
• Parked Domains -------- Unlimited
• Add On Domains ------- Unlimited
• Email Accounts --------- Unlimited
• FTP Accounts ----------- Unlimited
• SQL Databases ---------- Unlimited
• Site Creator ---- Yes, 400 Business Templates
• Auto-Responder --------- Yes, no email marketing
• Administration ---------- Proprietary Interface
• Free Domain Name ------- One
• Free Trial --------------- 30 Days
• Affiliate Program ---
Remember: All web hosting companies pretty much offer the same services. Make sure you get just the basics to start out. Don't worry about all the extras and upgrades you will be offered. I like 1&1 because they have great sales and I've never really had any technical problems with them. I also don't care for CPanel which is the system most web hosts use. 1&1 uses their own web space interface that I find much more user friendly.
Any links on this site may be my affiliate links. I can honestly say I use, am very happy with and recommend all the products or services linked here. This also allows me to intelligently answer questions about them. ~Jimbo
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