A web hosting company is a company that allows you to put one or more webpages onto their Internet-connected computer (aka a web server) for others to view. It can also be thought of as leasing virtual space.
Getting a website hosting company to host your website
Do not work with website hosting companies that only allow you to host a few pages and charge you a lot of money for them. There are many, many website hosting companies that allow you to have several megabytes worth of storage space that can hold hundreds of pages for as little as $10 per month.
Here is a list of features that a good website hosting company will provide:
- 10MB is typically the smallest amount of storage space that most hosting companies provide.
- access to the hosting computer through services such as SSH or FTP so that pages can be updated or added by you or by your workers.
- A 2GB per month transfer rate is a minimal amount and almost standard amount among hosting companies. This rate specifies the amount of data that can be transferred from your website to viewers on a monthly basis. The more graphic intensive the website, then the higher this rate needs to be.
- The ability to run scripts that help your site be more dynamic and user-friendly.
- 10 or more databases that your website can use to store and process website information such as
- a shopping cart database that tracks customers, customer orders, and products;
- a blogging database that tracks article information and blogging users and participants;
- a product or service support database that tracks customer problems, work done on the problems, and problem status viewable by the customer; or
- a calendar database that tracks events, allows customers to make reservations, and allow customers to make appointments.
- SSL services for secure credit card processing.
Here are a few website hosting companies from which to choose. Each of them provide the services mentioned above at great prices. (Disclaimer: this website is hosted on Powweb.)
- Powweb Web Hosting and Services
- IONOS Web Hosting and Services
- GVO Web Hosting and Services
- IntelWeb Hosting and Services
Website Hosting on Your Own Computers
An alternative to renting space from a website hosting company is to host your own website on your own computer. There are many advantages of doing this such as:
- you have complete control of the website and the web server;
- your website will operate faster because the web server is not shared with other websites besides your own;
- as your website becomes more popular and the workload on the web server increases, it is easier to upgrade computer hardware because you own it; and
- in relation to the previous advantage, as the website workload increases, separating the components of your website into multiple servers to distribute the workload and maintain high load times is easier.
Although there are several advantages of owning your own website hosting servers, there are challenges with doing so such as:
- you must ensure that your webserver stays online during a power outage;
- you need to know what web server software is needed to run and operate your own web site;
- you must know how to configure a computer in order to operate and to maintain your webserver;
- you need to know when is the appropriate time to expand and upgrade your webserver; and
- you need to have the time to deal with these and other challenges when they occur.
If you are familiar enough with computers to maintain your own personal computer, then these tasks should be doable for you. However, if you are short on time or not comfortable with these tasks, then finding a website hosting company may be a better fit for you.
Some hosting companies allow what is called co-location services. This option allows you to have your own, dedicated web server for your website that is located in a facility that already has power backup systems, adequate cooling systems, and access to high speed internet service providers. These facilities and systems can be costly, so a co-location service such as this provides a good stepping stone for your website needs as your company grows and your website demands increase.
In regards to website hosting, it is suggested to start with a hosting company on their web servers. This saves time and money at the outset. As your business grows and as your website workload increases, then you can transfer your website from the web hosting company to your own web server, wherever you decided to physically locate it.
Regarding Website Domain Names
If you like the idea of having your own 24 hour-a-day eCommerce storefront, you simply must have your own Internet Domain name (i.e. brigadiercomputers.com) and web space. Your company image will be improved by having your own domain name and your own website. Free website offers are okay for personal use, but they do not create a good, solid image for your business.
The only time when not having your own domain name may be beneficial would be if your site works in association with another site such as for a township, business association, or business network. For example, a network of collaborative physicians with a domain such as theRockHealthNetwork.com/DrPebble or theRockHealthNetwork.net/DrGravel that hosts a few web pages of physicians who work with is a good option. However, it would still be a good idea to use such a site to be more of an advertisement that links to your primary website with your own domain name.
Select an online store front solution for your Website
Selecting an online store solution can be a daunting task. In times past you would have to search the Internet for a potential solution and then install and setup the system yourself. Thankfully, times have changed. Many web hosting companies provide a collection of the more popular storefront solutions as part of their hosting package.
Common click-and-install solutions include OpenCart, TomatoCart, PrestaShop, osCommerce, Zen Cart, and AgoraCart. Enabling a storefront for your website is now as simple as deciding upon and selecting which storefront you want, then clicking on an Install button and an installation script automatically installs the software and even provides sample data for you.
Typically a web hosting company will have a list of eCommerce options with links to demo sites where you can test drive the different systems. This way you can explore and analyze the available options before you make a final decision on which is the best for your business.
Website Hosting and Business Integration
Although a shopping cart system may be helpful for some business, your business may require other options. Commercial and other service companies may need other functionality. Web ho
sting companies usually offer other click-and-install solutions such as client management, classifieds, content management, blogs and forums, surveys, and others.
Like the storefront solutions previously mentioned, you can setup these alternative solutions yourself. You can preview the solution on a demo website before deciding whether or not such a system is a good fit for your business. Scripts will automatically install or uninstall software on the webserver for you.
Do not think for a moment that if your business doesn’t require a storefront with a shopping cart that you don’t need a website. Every business can benefit from a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week website that can promote your products or services. And be sure that even if you don’t, then it’s highly likely that your competition will.