Anyone who is doing business over the internet needs to have secure web hosting. There are many security threats, and anytime you're dealing with customer data you need to be sure it's safe from prying eyes. This is especially true if you're using a shared host, where multiple websites are hosted on a single server.
If you're considering shared hosting for your business website, check with your hosting company to find out what kind of security they use on their systems. You want to be 100% sure that your website is not accessible by any of the other people hosted on that same server.
You should also find out about the host's policies regarding scripts and software installed on the server. If unproven code is allowed, it can lead to problems if someone else on the server is running a program that is poorly written.
The third thing you need to check is what the host's policies are regarding operating system upgrades and maintenance. Windows gets most of the bad press about security problems, but they happen on Linux and Unix as well. You want to be sure your host applies these fixes quickly once they are released.
Fourth, find out how often your host audits their security, and whether they do it themselves or use a third-party to do it for them. Even the best maintained systems can sometimes fail, and having an audit done - especially by a third-party - can sometimes uncover problems before they get exploited.
Finally, take steps to protect yourself as well. Don't use easy-to-guess passwords for your website, and don't use the same password for everything. If someone can guess your password, they can wreak havoc on your site.
These five steps will go a long way to ensuring that your website and - most importantly - your customers' personal data are safe and secure from attack or theft.
About the Author:
John Lenaghan writes about web site hosting and other related topics for the Hosting Report website. Get more helpful hosting information at http://www.hostingreport.org/
5 Steps To Ensuring Your Website Is Secure
Web Hosting Terminology
Bandwidth (or Transfer or Data Transfer) Bandwidth is the amount of traffic that is sent (and recieved) by your website. It is usually measured in gigabytes (GB), where 1 GB = 1024 megabytes (MB), and it is usually allocated on a monthly basis, for example you could have 5GB/month of bandwidth, which means that there is a limit of 5GB of files that can be downloaded from your site within a month. Bandwidth is only a concern if you host a lot of files, for example images or movies, as webpages are usually small file sizes.
Colocation Server (or Colocation Hosting) This is similar to Dedicated Hosting (see below), except the server is owned by a customer and they pay the colocation hosting company to host the server for them - that involves paying a charge for bandwitch which the hosting company provide, the physical space which the server takes up and the power that the server uses. With this set up the customer is responsible for their hardware.
Control Panel This is a web page with a usable interface which the customer can connect to when they want to tweak their hosting settings, view the transfer statistics, or utilise other features provided with their hosting.
Dedicated Server (or Dedicated Hosting) This is a server which is owned by the hosting company which they will rent out to you for a monthly fee along with an allotment of bandwidth which you can use with it. This means that you get a whole server to yourself to use for what you desire, this is needed for scripts which use a lot of server resources (for example large message boards, for one of which I pay for a dedicated server). As a customer, you would have full control over the server and could change the configuration as required, a facility not available when you have to share a server with others. With a dedicated server, the web hosting company is responsible for the hardware as they own it, not the customer.
Disk Space This is the amount of space on the server that you have to upload your files on, it\'s usually measured in MB or GB.
MySQL This is a type of database (as is PostgreSQL) which allows the customer to store and retrieve information on the server. A lot of scripts require that a database is present to function.
Reseller Hosting This is similar to Virtual Hosting (see below), but the customer is given the ability to create small hosting accounts of their own, which they can then give or sell to people if they desire. It usually allows the customer more features, bandwidth and diskspace than with normal virtual hosting.
Scripts (eg PHP, Perl, ASP)These are server side scripting languages which allow the customer to use already written scripts, or write their own, which provide additional features for the website and increased interactivity (for example message boards and content management systems).
Virtual Hosting (or Shared Hosting) This is where a webhosting company puts many customers\' webpages on the same server - so the server resources are shared amongst all the customers using it. This means that applications which cause a high server load are not suitable, and if one customer uses one then other customers will suffer.
Reprinted from www.heydo.com
Which Type Of Web Hosting Should You Choose?
In this new millennium, website advertising, marketing, and sales have become a multi-billion dollar industry. Every day in the business section of the newspaper, we read of a new "dotcom" business that is taking the world by storm. Websites by the thousands pop up every day promoting every imaginable product. Search engines give us instant access to products and services never imagined 20 years ago. Everyone dreams of setting up a small website, advertising on Google, and becoming a millionaire.
But, in order to set up a website, you need a web host. With thousands of options available, how do you make the best choice? What criteria should one use in order to get the best web host for his needs? The choices might seem daunting, but you can make the right one with a little planning and forethought. Let's explore this further.
Costs vs. Features
In setting up an e-commerce website, a web hosting service that is chosen can literally make or break a business. Most of us do not have truckloads of cash to throw at our web hosting service. It will be much less costly in the long run to evaluate many different web hosts, compare the features, and decide what is right for your business. If for instance, you are planning to set up many so-called mini sites in order to collect adsense revenue from Google, you might choose a low cost or free web host, such as http://50-webs.com. This type of web host is ideally suited for the one to two page mini website that consists of interesting content and adsense ads.
If your needs for web hosting include accepting credit cards, running scripts to make your sales, or gathering and tracking customers information, then the free hosting websites will not be adequate for your needs. You might still need multiple domains or sub-domains, but in general, the free or low-cost Web hosting services will not offer the features that are required for a more sophisticated e-commerce website.
If you are going to be running a very large website such as an auction site, membership website, or a wholesale distributor website, then you are going to require a very robust and reliable Web host. You might even opt for a dedicated server that will host your website only. The dedicated Web server is much more expensive than a shared Web server, but the advantage would be that you will not suffer for the mistakes or blunders of others. This option, however, is much more costly than a shared Web server.
The Middle Ground, or "happy medium."
Most new or first-time website owners will probably need the middle choice for their e-commerce websites. In the arena of the shared service Web hosts, there are many levels of service and price ranges available. As competition between Web host providers heats up, prices have become very manageable, and features such as unlimited bandwidth, unlimited domains, and pre-written, easy to install scripts, have become almost the standard, most good-quality Web hosts have easily integrated e-commerce functions, blogs, and scripts that can be integrated into the website through the sea panel. Many times, e-mail services and domain services will be provided as well.
A new phenomenon in web hosting services, has recently become more popular. Traditionally, web hosting services have been paid on a month-to-month basis. In some cases, a discount is provided in the Web hosting services are paid for annually. The new trend that has seen these days is that of one time payment Web hosts. The website owner would make one payment only and could use the Web services for life. All of the services provided by the month-to-month Web hosts would be available for this one time payment.
So in this world of costs vs. benefits, there are many different choices that can be made. Choose wisely, and your business will thrive. Think in terms of long term reliability, scalability for your future needs, and costs of doing business for years to come; then you will make the right choice.
Michael Ziegler is a writer and web entrepreneur. He owns and maintains numerous websites devoted to e-commerce, among which is http://www.acrwebhost.com, a site featuring Lifetime Web Hosting. With 6 Gigabytes of webspace, unlimited domains, subdomains, and emails, Lifetime Web Hosting boasts a 99.9% uptime for unparalleled reliability.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
The bargain that can cost you more than money
The cheap hosting plan can be enticing. Let's face it - none of us wants to pay more than necessary when we buy something, and this is particularly true of hosting services. After all, this is hardly the sexiest part of our web site strategy and it's hard to get motivated by anything other than cost. So, our primary aim is all too often a cheap hosting package rather than a professional and stable solution.
But, as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for and you can often lose out later if you cut costs here. The reality is that you'll have to spend more in the long run if your hosting choice goes wrong. Don't worry - it is possible to find a reliable cheap hosting plan. You just need to learn how to look behind the bargain to check your choices before you buy.
The main trap most people fall into is simple. They believe what the hosting company tells them. Fact is, they can tell you anything they want and it may not actually be TRUE. Read the marketing blurb on many cheap hosting sites and you'll come across the same 'factual' statements. You'll have more server space than you could ever need, top of the range servers, support and security promises....the list goes on. But what if it isn't true? Well, the one thing you WON'T have is a working web site that's available on the internet 24/7, 365 days a year! So how do you bypass this trap? One way is to read our web host reviews.
Let's take a look at where things can go wrong with a cheap hosting package. One of the biggest issues is that of server space and bandwidth allowance. It's not just about how much you get for your buck now but how much extra it'll cost if you need to buy more later. Many providers start off with generous packages but charge way over the odds if you want more. And, they make sure that you will NEED to buy more.
In some cases, you'll even find that cheap hosting plans are useless anyway because too many sites are put on to individual servers. Here web site speed won't be the problem you'll face because there won't be any! You'll be lucky if anyone can access your site at all. Look at the small print and you'll also probably see that the company limits what you can do with your site. This might not be an issue for you now but may hamper your growth later on even more.
And then there's support...or the lack of it. It costs money to provide a decent support service so many cheap hosting plans limit what they offer. Monday to Friday e-mail support from 9-5 might sound OK but is of no use to you if your site disappears from the internet at 5:01 pm Friday. It really is worth paying that bit extra to get a real person on the end of the phone 24/7, seven days a week.
So, what can you do? First, ask questions about their system, what you do and don't get, the support service and the cost of future changes. Ask if you can sign up for a trial period rather than giving a long-term commitment. Next, ask for a copy of a service level agreement. Any hosting provider will give you an uptime percentage guarantee (this is the time that their servers are up and running OK). This figure should be in the high 90s. Of course bad providers might lie but good providers will offer you compensation if they don't meet their guarantee - simply because they know it's true so they can afford to bet on it.
Another good tip is to ask for the web site addresses of current customers and then do a bit of research. This is better than testimonials as an unethical provider can falsify those or pick a friendly customer (many bad cheap hosting companies aim to keep a couple of people happy to help pull in new business). Spend a few days trying to log into the web sites at peak and off-peak times. If you can't get access or loading times are slow then this isn't the service for you. Take some time to follow these steps and you'll soon find one that is.
Start Up Your Web Site With Yahoo Web Hosting
Yahoo Hosting - who knew? Turns out they are a major player in the hosting game, in addition to their other product offerings, which include search, directory, malls, auctions, shopping…
Yahoo! Web Hosting in fact offers a full suite of hosting products for small businesses; hence the name Yahoo Small Business. The best part about dealing with Yahoo! is that you know that this host is not to suddenly disappear. They are the safest pick on the Internet and are a great start for beginners.
Yahoo hosting packages do not offer robust features when compared to other web hosts, nor are they the cheapest, but they are the most reliable host on the Internet. A great feature of Yahoo! is their elaborate E-Commerce features. You can take your business to the next level with their comprehensive add-on features that are easy to implement on your business website. Market your business to the millions who surf Yahoo! daily with their substantial assortment of E-Commerce features.
Price Value. Packages offered by Yahoo Web Hosting are not really designed for power web users, but are more geared towards beginners. Their packages are a little more expensive when compared to the other top web hosts, but this is Yahoo! and they offer a complete support team to help you get started, as well as tools (such as website builder) for free.
One thing Yahoo! Hosting has always done well is web-based applications, and this is no exception. If you are new to site building, they are a safe place to go. If you are experienced, you may find their packages to be extremely limiting.
Starting an online store with Yahoo small business hosting is easy because they will set you up with credit card processing, a Yahoo! store in a Yahoo! mall, catalogue, inventory, etc. and help you along the way.
Control Panel. Yahoo Web Hosting features an excellent web-based control panel that really helps to keep you on the right track. The control panel offers extensive features and functionality that integrate directly into Yahoo's other applications and services.
Customer Support. Yahoo! Web Hosting features excellent trained technicians that will help you along the way. They are used to calls from many web hosting beginners, so take advantage of their 24/7 toll free-support desk in multi-languages.
What Yahoo Web Hosting Can Offer Your Business
With Yahoo web hosting you can get your website on the Internet quickly and easily, and have Yahoo take care of all the technical details of hosting and managing the files that make up your website. They monitor the network, take care of backups and protect your data, all of which allows you to spend your time on promoting and developing your business.There are four important things you need to consider when deciding on a Yahoo web hosting packing.
First is how much disk space you will need for your disk. The disk space you need will be determined by the number and sizes of images, audio and video files and other content files you will want to be able to display on your website.
The second consideration is the amount of traffic you want and expect to get to your website. This traffic includes all the customers and prospects you want to check out your website to see your products. This amount of traffic will determine how much monthly data transfer you need. In the third place is the number of e-mail accounts you require. With your Yahoo web hosting account you can create e-mail accounts for your business, such as you@yourdomain.com or info@yourdomain.com.
At the time of writing, the Yahoo web hosting Starter package includes 5 gigabytes of disk space, 200 gigabytes of band width per month and 200 e-mail addresses. When your needs change you can upgrade to a larger hosting package.
As a bonus each Yahoo web hosting package includes free registration for one domain name. Yahoo will pay for the initial registration and the annual renewal fee for your choice of domain name for as long as you keep using Yahoo web hosting. This represents quite a good value. They also offer other features such as their own web site design software, and support for applications such as MS FrontPage. They also support scripting languages like PHP and Perl and MySQL databases and 24 hour toll-free phone support.
The process of signing up for Yahoo web hosting is pretty simple. First you have to select the package you want. At the time of writing the packages range from $11.95 to $39.95 per month, however they have regular special offers. The next step is to select your domain name. If you do not have a Yahoo account yet, you will be asked to create an account and finally you will enter your payment information. And it is as simple as that. You are all set to start up your website.
Written by: Evert Du Toit
What You Have To Look For In A Web Host
Now that you have completed the website and are launch it on the internet, you need to consider where you will host your new site?
In order to make this process a little easier, I 've provided you with a list of some key things that you must at least consider when choosing your web hosting company. While not every business will need all of these features, keep these factors in mind when reviewing different hosting packages.
Fast Servers. The web host you choose should have at least a T3 connection to the major internet backbone. This is a crucial feature because your online income is directly proposional to the speed at which your web pages load... so there is no such thing as a server that is too fast.
How Much Space Do They Provide? Most web sites never use more than 5 gigabytes of space, but it never hurt to have extra space available for future expansion. Also, check to be sure that you can purchase more space, just in case you end up using all that you were originally provided with.
Secure Server Capability. If you are going to selling anything online, you must have secure server capabilities, which allow private information such as credit card numbers to be sent through your site without fear of interception. Most people will not order anything online unless there is a secure server.
Unrestricted CGI. Most professional web sites need to use CGI programs at some time or other, so be sure that you have full CGI-bin access.
SSH and FTP. Most web hosting companies will allow you to use FTP to transfer files back and forth between your local computers and your web server.
Web-Based Administration. Most quality web hosting companies provide a web-based administration interface that allows you to manage your server via the Web. This is a great feature for those who do not consider themselves to be technically inclined.
Raw Server Logs. This is an important feature because you will need access to this information in order to analyze your web site traffic.
Full e-mail Services. Your web host should offer full e-mail services, including POP mailboxes and unlimited e-mail aliases. that is even better if they offer IMAP - a newer technology that gives you more control over your messages.
Power and Daily Server Backups. A top notch web host utilizes a power backup system and performs daily off-site backups of your server. This ensures that you will never lose anything should the hardware crash or natural dissaster occur.
No Minimum Contracts. Don't even sign a long term contract. It is just not necessary. By doing so, you give up a lot of flexibility.
Downtime. A web host hwo knows what they are doing should be up to 99.9% to 100% of the time. Your web site is your business, so choose a web host that you can depend on to keep your storefront visible to the world.
24/7 Technical Support. Their technical support should be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by phone and e-mail.
Services/ Scripts/ Software. A good quality web hosting company should not only have an extensive library of scripts that you can use to add guest books, forms, statistics, etc. to your site, but also be prepared for e-commerce with shopping cart software, merchant account setup support, real time processing availability, and more.
No Charge for Extra Services! While some web hosting companies may initially appear to be offering you a deal, you need to be sure that they are not charging you for every little extra service. You should never be charged extra for your own POP mail-box, e-mail aliases, autoresponders, CGI scripts and bins, or your site statistics.
You can find a number of free web hosting providers and services on the internet. However, if in case you are planning to create a website with a business purpose in mind, then go for professionals web hosting providers instead of the free web hosting services. These professional web hosting providers ensure more credibility since web sites hosted on free servers are not taken seriously and suffer a serious loss of business due to varied reasons. In order to establish credibility, you must be willing to invest in a professional web hosting service.
Choosing A Web Host... Choosing A Business Partner
Did you know that the web hosting company you choose could literally make or break your Internet business? It really is one of the most important decisions you will make when getting started online!
Think about this for a moment...
When you choose your web hosting company, you are essentially choosing your business partner! You are deciding who will be responsible for presenting your web site... your business... to the world.
Your web hosting company is responsible for ensuring that your web site is always up and running at top speed. If your web site is constantly down... or if it takes eons to load... you can be sure that you are losing money!
This is a lesson that I had to learn the hard way ... and given the e-mail that I receive from clients, it's obvious that a lot of you are learning this lesson the hard way too!
You wouldn't believe the number of clients who contact me, upset about problems they are having with their web hostings:
- Many complain of web hosts going out of business, leaving town, and leaving them in the lurch!
- Many are angry because their web sites are down 20% of the time!
- And many are incredibly frustrated with the lack of security measures that give hackers free reign!
... and these are just a few of the problems I've been hearing about!
You see, the bottom line is that you simply cannot afford to do business with an unprofessional web hosting company. It will cost you clients, revenue, and credibility. Once you've lost these three essentials, you have nothing left... nothing but a massive headache, that is!
It's critical that you do your research and find a reliable hosting company. Just think about how many hundreds of thousands of dollars it could cost you if...
- Your site goes down for just 2-3 hours a month...
- You are forced to spend days chasing their technical support staff for an answer to a critical question...
- There is a hardware failure and you lose all of your information including your site content...
... and the list goes on and on. It can literally cost you your business! So take this decision very seriously!
And remember, your web host is responsible for making that vital connection between you and your customers, so be sure that you take the time to get to know them well before signing any contracts or agreements.
