HostMaze.com

It was almost 13 years ago whenever I first bought my domain name and decided to bring my business onto the Internet. Most of you that have only been around for a little while on the Internet realize that that is in literal eternity in Internet years. Although things were a little bit different during those days, there were many ways that they were the same.

The first thing that I did was to go over to networksolutions.com and purchase a domain name for about $35. For those of you that are wondering, it is no longer necessary for you to purchase your domain through them and you can typically get them for eight dollars apiece. Once I had the domain name, I was a little bit curious about what to do with it. I needed to learn about web hosting, and it opened my eyes to a new world.

Whenever I first got started hosting a website, I was on a shared server and it cost me roughly $20 per month in order to own the service. Being on a shared server is one of the most popular options that is available to those who are hosting a website. You have your own little bit of space that exist on a physical server but you’re also sharing the server itself with hundreds or perhaps even thousands of other websites. Shared servers have come down in price in recent years and it is possible for you to get a reliable service for under five dollars a month.

There came a time whenever I ended up outgrowing the shared server and I needed to move into a larger, more robust system. It was at this time that I began looking at a virtual Private server, or VPS. This type of the server was on a more robust computer, and it did not have as many individuals that were sharing it at any given time. Because it was only split about eight different ways, I had access to more of the server resources for myself.

As my business continued to grow, I started to purchase additional server space at various locations. At times, I would start a new website on a shared server and host it there until I got enough traffic that it could support itself on a virtual Private server. I also started hosting multiple domain names on the same server, even though I made sure each one had its own individual IP address.

It didn’t take but a few years until my business grew to the point where I needed to go with a dedicated server. The hosting company that I was with allowed me to move my websites directly from the virtual Private server into a more robust, dedicated box. It allowed my business to grow and it continues to do so down to this day.

It took a little bit of a learning curve in order for me to get started with hosting in this way, but it has enhanced my business in far too many ways for me to describe it. Take a little bit of time to learn about hosting and look at the various hosts that are available. The time that it takes you will be well spent.

If you design your own websites, there is something that you are going to need to understand about the hosting before you go any further with your online business. Although some of these things may seem rather simplistic, there are also some aspects of hosting that are often overlooked by individuals. Overlooking these things can be detrimental to your business.

As far as hosting companies are concerned, there are literally thousands of them for you to choose from that are currently online. That being said, there are really only three different types of hosting accounts that are available to you. These would include shared hosting, VPS and dedicated servers. If you are able to distinguish between these three, your business will grow as a result.

The most common type of server that is available is a shared hosting account and most individual webmasters or businesses get their start on one of these types of servers. It is the same as any other type of server but the real difference is that you will be sharing the physical box with a number of other webmasters. You will still have your own little chunk of the box that nobody else will be able to access, but there may be thousands of other websites that are available on the same server. This can cause some problems.

Most hosting companies are not going to reveal to you how many other websites are existing on any of their physical servers. As a result of all of these websites being put on the same server, you can run into some rather unique problems. For example, if one of the websites is running a script that goes rogue, it might end up slowing down or perhaps even shutting down the entire server for a time. This is an uncommon occurrence if you go with a reliable company, but it does happen from time to time.

A virtual Private server, or VPS, is basically the same thing as a shared hosting account but the main difference is that you will be sharing it with far fewer other webmasters. In the case of a shared server, you might be splitting it with thousands of websites but with a virtual Private server, you will only be splitting it with about half a dozen other people. This gives you a larger chunk of resources and your websites will typically run smoother and faster as a result.

It takes a little bit of time for your business to grow to the extent where it needs a dedicated server, but there will eventually come a time whenever this is the case. Many people who are not technical minded can find the entire process of moving to a dedicated server difficult, but it does not necessarily need to be that way. A dedicated server is the same thing as any other type of server but you will have access to all of the resources. This can really boost the performance of your websites noticeably.

Something that dedicated servers and virtual private servers have in common is the fact that you are able to upgrade them in a number of different ways. Adding memory to either of these servers will help your websites to run more smoothly and if necessary, you can also purchase a larger physical disk.

Before you start thinking about going with a virtual Private server or a dedicated server, however, you should really look at some of the shared servers that are available on the Internet. These are an excellent way for you to get started in hosting your website and to begin to understand the subtleties that take place within the server itself.

Many of us look forward to the day whenever we are able to bring our individual or business website onto the Internet. Whenever we do so, however, we are going to need to have a hosting account that is going to be able to show that website off to the world. You certainly do have a number of different choices to make as far as hosting is concerned but a shared host is the one that most people tend to go with when they are first getting started.

One of the main reasons why people look to a shared hosting provider whenever they first get started online is because of the reduced price. Don’t let the small price fool you, however, many of the more reputable shared hosting accounts give you all of the options that the larger servers give you as well. Price is something that many people look for, and it is important to make sure that the shared hosting account is well within your price range. Fortunately, there are several reliable web host which charge just a few dollars per month.

Another reason why shared hosting is so popular is because it is one of the easiest ways for you to get started working online. Many of the backend features on a shared account are going to be the same as some of the more advanced features that are available on other types of servers. If you’re able to run your domain on a shared server, you will be in a much better position to eventually move up to another server which has additional features.

Because of all of the options that are available to you whenever you’re looking at the shared hosting accounts, you can easily get overwhelmed and find yourself giving up for a little while. That is the reason why it is important for you not to stop whenever you’re simply looking at the price of a hosting account, there are some important decisions to be made. One of the most important decisions is the control panel that is going to run your entire hosting account. Some of the most popular control panels include Plesk and cPanel, but there are a variety of them that are available. Make sure that the one you choose is relatively easy to find on other servers as it will make your next move an easy one.

If you are still unsure which hosting company you want to use, one of the best things that you can do for yourself is to look at one of the review websites that is available online. If there is one thing that people enjoy doing, it’s giving their opinions about these various services. It won’t take you very much reading in order to find out if people like the product or if they consider it to be worthless. Making a good decision is important at this stage of the game, so look at the reviews first.

I can’t emphasize enough the fact that it is just important that you get one of these hosting accounts, get your website up on the Internet and get started. Having the website sit on your computer is not going to do you any good at all so go through the various options that are available to you and choose one.