Introduction To Small Business Web Hosting Services
In order to publish your website on the Internet and allow others to view your web site from anywhere in the world you need to upload your site to a server that is connected to the Internet 24/7.
Think of a server as a large computer and uploading your site as simply transferring files from your home or business computer to your server (downloading is the other way around - transferring files from your server to your own computer) and you’ll have a basic understanding of the process.
The thing is that there are a number of problem with server…
1) They are harder to run and use than your home or business PC
2) They are expensive (thousands of dollars)
3) They use strange software you’ve probably never heard of before
4) They need to be turned on and connected to the phone lines every minute of every day - which means running costs are high
5) They need protection from fire, theft, hackers, viruses and more if you website isn’t going to vanish overnight
All these elements mean it’s complicated and expensive to get your own server so what 99% of small businesses opt to do is to outsource this element of running their business website and let someone else buy, install and maintain the server.
You just pay a small fee and essentially rent space on the server of another company set up specifically to own and run a huge number of servers. These companies offering small business web hosting servcies are typically known as “web hosts” for short and the service you are paying for is “web hosting”.
On this webite therefore we will be fully examining every aspect of web hosting - particularly from the point of view of the small business owner - where to get it from, what to look out for, what to pay and how to use it.
What Do You Want To Do With Your Small Business Website?
If a server can be looked at as a more powerful home computer here’s something to consider…
Compare the computers that all your friends, family and business colleagues have and I’m sure you can see that just as their are infinite different hardware and software combinations - so their are with web hosting accounts too.
This is not a “one size fits all” solution.
There are literally thousands of different web hosting companies, many offering half a dozen or more different accounts each - ranging from the ultra-budget options of $25-30 a year (steer well clear of these!) to solutions costing $300+ *per month*!
So the key to starting to make your decision on the most suitable small business web hosting company your you is to consider what you want from your small business web site, then follow on to find a suitable web hosting company that can accomodate your needs - never the other way around.
Our jargon buster will help you link the following “plain English” considerations with the “technobabble” used by most of the small business web hosting companies currently in existance.
Here are just a few things to consider…
How Many Visitors Do You Hope To Receive?
You don’t need to be too specific here but try to estimate it on a monthly basis. 1,000? 5,000? 10,000? 100,000?
How Large Will Your Site Be?
Will your site consist of just a few pages or tens of thousands? Will these be static pages or dynamically-generated pages? Will they be basic web pages consisting mainly of text plus a few graphics or is your site going to contain hundreds of photos, images, pictures, video and audio content?
What Scripting Do You Need?
Some webmasters use a variety of scripts to automate time-intensive tasks or add extra functionality to their small business website. Do you intend to use any of these scripts and if so what are their requirements?
You see, each script will require different things from your small business web hosting account to work properly - so ensure the hosting account you’re considering is capable *before* you take out your subscription.
There are a huge number of options to consider here but for an average small business site - capable of displaying products, taking orders and receiving a decent number of visitors each month two options I have used very successfully are listed below and should be able to deal with most tasks - at a very reasonable cost.
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