Capital Hosting

So, here you are. You have a great web site and you your web hosting company has done all that you expected to bring your site to the internet. As time goes, you either hear about additional services that may be available to site owners or you simply need to expand your web business and those additional services become a must. Below are a list and brief explanation of these services and uses.

Unlimited Disk Space

Unlimited disk space is often available on even some of the most basic web hosting accounts. Simply put, it allows for your site to store an unlimited amount of data (pages, videos, images... ). Consider it the same as having an unlimited hard drive on your computer. This feature is most important for people who have a need for large file storages such as videos and data bases. Note that, in some cases, although the host company will advertise unlimited disk space, they may limit disk space access and speed.

Unlimited Bandwidth

Just as with unlimited disk space, this feature is often already included in many basic accounts. Bandwidth is a very important aspect as it allows for your site to show on the internet with as limited delay as possible. Do providers really give you unlimited bandwidth? Yes and no. They said they would so they will try their best to do so. In most cases, though, they know that the great majority of website owners will not use much bandwidth in the first place so offering unlimited amount of something you know no one will use is fairly easy. It is kind of like unlimited food at a buffet dinner.

Site Builder Software

There are a great number of site builders being offered by web hosting companies. Most will offer, at least, their own brand of site builder which will tend to be very basic and free. In most cases, you will want to be able to build web forms which will allow your site visitors to contact you with questions or other needs. For e-commerce sites, a secure web site add-on with password protected accounts and a shopping cart should be available easy to set up. Some common site builders are WordPress, Joomla and Drupal with e-commerce shopping tools.

Templates

Templates and more templates! Most hosts offer so many they can get a bit overwhelming. Your web host should offer an easy way to narrow down your choices. Note that some templates are not as easy to use and may require some knowledge of HTML or other web programing language.

Certificates

Basic SSL certificates are sometimes offered for free with a web hosting purchase. More advanced certificates such as SiteLock, Verisign, Comodo that offer more protection and features can range from a few dollars per month to hundreds. The size of your site and transactions done will affect your cost. Also, some certificate do offer added security but do validate your site and content and scan for malware and viruses.

Anonymity

If you do not want the public to see personal information on your site ownership, most web hosts will offer privacy plans for a few dollars per month. This will keep your WHOIS info private.

Dedicated C-Panel

The C-panel allows you to organize how you access your site resources. This will save you on time and thus money and can be most beneficial for multiple client access (you, your programmer, your advisor... ). The larger your site and the more complex it is, the more you will appreciate having your own c-panel. Since the C-panel is available online, you can access it form anywhere you have web access. Each C-Panel will have its own user name and password.

VPS hosting server

With VPS hosting you have root access which gives you much more control over file format and set up. Unlike shared hosting, other clients will not affect your site. You will have all your own dedicated resources. Your limited amount of disk space and bandwidth will be your choice, not the provider's (we host). You can usually choose a level which offers you more or less of the resources and options your online business needs. Note that with VPS, under certain plan levels you do not get your own C-panel. Make sure that the processor that is being offered will allow you to run and load your web site pages without causing major slowdowns. With most VPS you can host as many domains as you wish.

Dedicated servers (A step up from VPS)

A DS is much more expensive than any other type of hosting accounts. You are the only site on the whole server. This type of hosting is often used by host resellers who need full control as if they owned the server(s). For each DS you can usually have five or more IP addresses, 10 terabytes of bandwidth and a very large hard drive. You can also host as many domains as you wish and you will get your own c-panel (see above for c-panel explanation). You may choose to get your own WHM control panels to create separate c-panel per web names. With a DS server file structure will be less cluttered than with shared hosting or even VPS hosting. Developer access will be more limited to the domain you will allow them to access.

Other Options

Free toll free number included in some plans. You get a toll free number that will forward to a number of your choice. Minutes per month are limited so beware as it can get pretty expansive past the free minutes. Chat service may sometimes be offered on permanent or trial period.

We hope this article has helped you get a better handle on web hosting plans and the additional benefits being offered beyond basic hosting. Feel free to ask us any questions. We wish you great success.

Havilah Marketing offers web marketing advice and many web tools for small to medium size businesses. Our web address is http://www.havilahmarketing.com. Some of our offerings are:

Web Marketing including
Pay Per Click Advertising
Hosting Services
Web Security Plans
Domain Name Selection and Registration
Content Writing

With our many years of experience in online marketing, we have been able to help businesses create and greatly improve their web presence while reducing marketing expenses.