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There are many reasons why commercial web space is better than the web space
you get free from your Internet Service Provider or from a free web host:
Advert free webspace: You may be fed up with the advertising banners that free space providers
automatically put on your HTML pages.
To make money: Commercial webspace will generally allow you to put your own adverts on your site and allow you to join affiliate or other money making programmes.
Faster more reliable hosting: Commercial servers will generally be faster and more reliable than the free space that you are using now.
More features: You may get extra facilities such as server logs, PHP, MySQL databases and CGI-Bin. These features will allow to create dynamic sites and host applications on your site such as blogging and discussion board software. If you are wanting to host a blog or discussion board look for hosting services providing MySQL database access.
.htaccess support: If you get are allowed to use .htaccess files then you may be able to password protect parts of your site, use redirections or install custom error pages - look for .htaccess facilities. See my Password and .htaccess pages for information on how to do this. You'll need Unix/Linux rather than Windows hosting to use .htaccess files.
You own domain name: You will get a better domain name that any free space can give you. Often
you can get discounts if you buy space and a domain name together. Buying both together will make your site easier to setup so I'd recommend a host that will sell you both the webspace and domain name together.
Consistent web address: If you regularly change Internet service providers then you will lose your free ISP provided web space. This will lose you the benefit of any search engine coverage or other links which you have built up. You will have to work hard to get your traffic back. By keeping your ISP and web space separate you will be able to keep your web pages at a fixed address. You could also benefit from a professional looking email address which will not change if you move to a new ISP.
Server logs: You may get access to the server logs so you can see exactly how many
people are looking at each of your pages. These logs can give you
information such as which browsers your viewers are using, and which web sites took them
to yours. These logs can tell you if there are errors in your site such as 404 'Not Found' erros which web site statistics tools such as Google Analytics won't be able to tell you.
In case you are wondering this website is hosted by
1&1 Web-Hosting. The
space and name cost about £60/year and includes PHP / .htaccess and server
logs. Another large hosting company to look at is Hostgator .
These days most providers will give you from several hundred megabytes,
to several gigabyte in some cases - far more than you are ever likely to
use. Compare the space between providers but remember if your website only
takes up a few megabytes and is unlikely to massively expand then the provider
which offers you 400mb is no better for you than the provider who gives you
200mb.
Expect to pay between £50-£100/year in general for a virtual
server (PHP, CGI, MySQL, server logs and a domain name). You might pay £30-£60 for
basic commercial web space without any extras.
There are two main operating systems for hosting web sites. There is Unix/Linux (as used by this site!), and there is Windows. If all you are doing is uploading static HTML files then it probably doesn't matter which one you choose. If you want to do anything more clever then it does. Note that the operating system used to host your web site has nothing to do with the operating system used on your PC.
Unix/Linux is the operating system used to host most web sites on the internet. Generally sites hosted on Unix/Linux boxes will be using the Apache server. It gives you PHP, Perl and .htaccess. There is a huge amount of information on the internet about how to use all the features. Lots of software for your website such as blogging software, form scripts and photo gallery scripts are available completely free if you use Unix/Linux hosting.
If you want to use features such as .NET then you should go for a Microsoft hosted package.
Most hosting companies will offer you the choice of either going for Unix/Linux or Microsoft. If you aren't sure which you want then I'd recommend that you go for Unix/Linux. Go for Microsoft if you know that you really need to use the features that you get with a Microsoft hosted site.
This will allow you to run programs on your web space such as your own blogging
application, discussion boards, search
engines, forms and counters. Don't worry if you aren't an expert programmer as
there are plenty of PHP and CGI web pages containing free scripts for you to
use. Installation of the scripts is usually very simple and requires only a small
amount of technical knowledge.
Most CGI programs are written in PHP, Python or PERL. These are
interpreted languages so the files do not need compiling. You just upload the
files to your server's correct directory using text transfer (NOT binary
transfer) and the make it executable by using a TELNET or FTP program.
- Cheapest isn't always best. Make sure the provider you go with looks
financially sound. If they were to go bust then you could permanently lose your
domain name - this happened to me! If you lose your domain name then you will
lose all your traffic and will have to start promoting your new site from scratch.
- Many providers have Bandwidth restrictions and you could be fined or
charged extra if your site is very popular. Providers typically let you have
many gigabytes of bandwidth per month. You need a really popular site to go
over this. If you have a very popular site you may have to go for a business or
professional package rather than a cheaper one.
- Some providers will charge you if you upload a buggy PHP or CGI script as the
script could interfere with other users' web sites.
- The provider may want a one-off set up fee for setting up your web space.
- Many prices do not include VAT so make sure you know the full price before paying.
- Can I have some addresses of sites that you host? - (this will allow you to
make sure that their server is fast enough). You can try emailing the site
owners to see if they would recommend their host.
- Check on any of the above points if you can't find the answers on their web
site.
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