Web Hosting Services, Their Benefits and Choosing a Web Hosting Company

What is Host?

A 'host' is a technical term and is often referred to as a 'server', is permanently connected to the internet. People host their website with hosting service providers to store the web pages data onto the internet. A web hosting service provider provides the technologies and services needed for the website to be viewed on the internet..

Web Hosting Service Provider

These companies can offer the following benefits.

1. High Level of Internet Connectivity - Even a small hosting company will have a better internet connectivity that your office. The hosting company will have a 100 Mbps, Gigabit (1000 Mbps) or bigger connection available for its customers.
2. Redundancy - A hosting company will have a back-up power systems and multiple internet connections as a redundancy to prevent failure or provide alternative.
3. Staffing - Hosting companies have technical staff to maintain their networks and to deal with emergencies.
4. Flexibility - If your site suddenly becomes popular and have lot of traffic, the hosting company is likely to have the capacity to deal with it.
5. Safe Location - A hosting company has secure systems and fire containment systems to minimize the chance of any incidents.
6. Price - Since the hosting business is competitive and operates on a large scale, hosting deals are relatively inexpensive, and starts at less than ₹99/month. Click here to Get the Hosting Deals

Choosing a Web Hosting Company

If possible, select a single hosting service provider to provide all your domain names, Web hosting and e-mail services. A good hosting company will provide following services

1. Domain Names - The hosting company will provide and register your domain name, host it and safeguard your identity and other free services. Check it out Free Services
2. Email Services - When someone sends an e-mail to your domain, it is manage by your hosting company's e-mail server. The e-mail server takes delivery of the e-mail, stores it in a mailbox, until you download it. It may also forward your outgoing e-mails.

   The services of receiving and forwarding e-mails is referred to as SMTP (simple mail transfer protocol). The storage of e-mail in mailboxes is called either POP3(post office protocol) or IMAP (interactive mail access protocol)

   There are added e-mail service features that some hosting company may provide and they are:

   • Web-based E-mail Services - A Web-based e-mail system allows employees to access their e-mails from special Web address. Know about Business Email, Enterprise Email and Google Workspace
   • Spam-Filtering - A good mail hosting service will include a feature for checking for spam (unsolicited junk-emails), making it easy for you to filter it.
3. Web Hosting - All hosting companies provide basic Web space for your domain. However, there are few technical things you need to know:
• Web Space - This is the amount of space on the hard drive of the hosting company and depending upon your hosting plan, a basic website generally need a few megabytes of storage.
• Bandwidth Allowance - All hosting companies impose some limit on the amount of traffic your website can receive in a month. For a starter and a single website 100GB bandwidth transfer is sufficient. You can always upgrade later if your site becomes very popular or you've large files for download.
• Scripting - Scripting (also known as 'server side scripting') - If your site has e-mail forms or search system, you will need to put scripts on your site. There are number of different scripting.
• Databases - More complex sites will require a database such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, or MicrosoftSQL Server to store detailed, structured information and allow it to be retrieved easily. Ask your web developer it it is needed.
• Dedicated Hosting / Co-Located Hosting - The standard hosting service offered to small business is shared hosting, which means your website and e-mail is kept on a server that is also used by other customers of the hosting company. This is done in order to keep costs down, and as each customer uses only a small proportion of the total available capacity. If you need special software, or require a lot of disk space or bandwidth, you may be better get a dedicated server. This server is 'dedicated' for your use, but is 'co-located' at the premises of the hosting company, so that it can utilise the redundant broadband and power connections available there.
• Windows or Linux Hosting - Most hosting companies offer a choice of having your site hosted on a Windows or a Linux systems.
• SSL Certificates - SSL (secure socket layer) certificate on website will encrypt data in order to protect it during transmission. SSL certificate secure your website visitors' data, increase your customer's trust, boosts SEO rankings across search engines. Click to Secure your Website Digi-certificates and SSL, SiteLock, and Code Guard
• There are a number of other aspects of a hosting company or deal package that you should take into account before you sign up.
4. Customer Service - If your are setting up a domain for the first time, you may need some help with setting up, setting e-mail addresses and configuring mail program. Try to find out whether the company provides good customer support
5. Reputation and Longevity - You want to be confident that your hosting company is going to stay in business.
6. Location - If possible, check the location or branches of the hosting company, and their server locations. You may run into difficulties with payments, support hours and familiarity if their branches or support numbers are not in the same part of the world as you.
7. Competitive Pricing - Hosting will probably cost less than your broadband internet access package, there is a lot of competition in the market place. Take Advantage of Price Click now
8. Requirements Checklist - Now that you understand the difference between the features and services of the different hosting options, you can set out finding the company that suits your needs. The first step is to write down your requirements. Consider following questions.
• How many e-mail addresses do I need?
• How much Web space do I need?
• Do I need to use scripts?
• What level of customer service do I need?
• What payment schedule and method suits me?
9. Ask for Recommendations - Ask your Web developer, to recommend a hosting company. My recommendation click here - for all your domain, website hosting, e-mail services, customer service and deals.
10. Search Online Hosting Services - There are a number of hosting service providers in India alone. And you can find them quite quickly if you search on Google for 'web hosting services India'. You will get list of hosting services providers website. Assess each company by visiting their website.

Previous Read What is Domain Name? Its Importance? Choosing a Great Domain Name?