So you have a business, maybe you just want to create a family home page, or a forum where you and your friends can talk. Maybe already have a website and you are shopping around for web hosting. Well our goal is to help you get smart about web hosting so that you know the things to look for, and what is important.

By taking a few minutes and reviewing our website you will really start to understand what kind of hosting you do, or do not need. Also what kinds of questions to ask a web hosting company BEFORE you buy anything!

Let us save you a lot of time and headache, so feel free to learn about:

Shared Hosting – For 90 percent of web sites

Reseller Hosting – For those who have more than 1 website or small hosting companies.

Dedicated Hosting – For those with popular websites or for larger hosting companies.

Shared Hosting

So you have to be asking yourself what is shared hosting? Well it is quite simple, shared hosting means that your web site is on the same web server as many other people doing the same thing as you, having a website. Normally you have less control than someone that has a dedicated server or a reseller account.

So the question is do I need shared hosting? Or can I use a free hosting service?

Wel l m y first piece of advice to you is, DON'T B E CHEAP! You are trying to build a web site for other people to view, or buy your product. One good question to ask yourself is, would you like to visit a site with cluttered banners or pop-up's? The answer would possibly be no. The other reason that a free web hosting account is not a good idea is because once you leave the free host, they take the domain that you were using with them! However if you pay 6.99 from a register to get your www.domain.com you can transfer it to any host you wish forever!

Well now that I know that I NEED a shared hosting provider, what kind do I need?

Shared Hosting is for those who host a simple business site, or a personal home page, or those who wish to just start their e-business out.

Reseller Hosting will fit someone who has a few web sites that they own the best, or the start up small web hosting company

Dedicated Hosting is for someone who has a LARGE website, a site with many downloads, tons of visitors, or a larger web hosting provider. Many Large e-commerce web sites have many dedicated servers to serve people from all around the world, this is called “mirrors” but we will not get too far into that.

So I need Shared Hosting, what should I look for in a web hosting company?

Here are some of the questions you should look at when choosing a web hosting company:

Do they offer Toll-Free phone support?

Do they offer fast support via e-mail or chat?

How long is the average response time?

What is the true uptime guarantee?

Do I get FTP access?

Do I get SSL support?

Do I get a unique IP address?

How many domains are hosted on 1 server?

Can I have unlimited e-mail addresses?

Are there any pre-installed scripts?

Do they offer a network for bandwidth providers?

Do the offer a free trial?

Is there a setup fee?

Do they offer a control panel that is easy to use?

Are there any contracts?

Can I check my mail from the web?

Do they offer PHP and CGI?

Do I get graphical stats?

Are there spam filters?

Can I have password protected directories?

How much disc space do I get?

How much transfer do I get?

So these are some of the things that you will need to get you started, from here I suggest you do some more research on the subject and then start to look for good deals from good well known companies.

Reseller Hosting

So you now know what shared hosting is, but what is Reseller Hosting? With Reseller Hosting you have the ability to add domains, typically you share the server with a few other re-sellers that sell or use shared hosting space. One of the powerful things about re-seller hosting is that you have 1 central control panel to login and manage ALL of your domains, instead of having to login to each one. The main drawback is you do not have ROOT control of the server, so installing extra modules that you may want for your clients is dependant on your main Reseller Hosting Company.

So the question is do I need reseller hosting? Or can I use a shared hosting service?

Well, do you have more than 1 website? Do you wish to sell web hosting space to people on the web, or even friends? Do you wish to have the ability to add more domains at any time without having to contact anyone? Do you need a easy way to manage your domains? If you answer yes to any of these you will need to get reseller hosting.

Well now that I know that I NEED a reseller hosting provider, what kind do I need?

Reseller Hosting will fit someone who has a few web sites that they own the best, or the start up small web hosting company. If you do not fit into this category check out:

Shared Hosting is for those who host a simple business site, or a personal home page, or those who wish to just start their e-business out.

Dedicated Hosting is for someone who has a LARGE website, a site with many downloads, tons of visitors, or a larger web hosting provider. Many Large e-commerce web sites have many dedicated servers to serve people from all around the world, this is called “mirrors” but we will not get too far into that.

So I need Reseller Hosting, what should I look for in a web hosting company?

Here are some of the questions you should look at when choosing a web hosting company:

Do they offer Toll-Free phone support?

Do they offer fast support via e-mail or chat?

How long is the average response time?

What is the true uptime guarantee?

Do I get FTP access?

Do I get SSL support?

Do I get a unique IP address?

How many domains are hosted on 1 server?

Can I have unlimited e-mail addresses?

Are there any pre-installed scripts?

Do they offer a network for bandwidth providers?

Do the offer a free trial?

Is there a setup fee?

Do they offer a control panel that is easy to use?

Are there any contracts?

Can I check my mail from the web?

Do they offer PHP and CGI?

Do I get graphical stats?

Are there spam filters?

Can I have password protected directories?

How much disc space do I get?

How much transfer do I get?

So these are some of the things that you will need to get you started, from here I suggest you do some more research on the subject and then start to look for good deals from good well known companies.

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated Hosting, You have finally made it! Welcome to the best form of web hosting there is. B ut before you go any further you must know there is 2 types of dedicated hosting:

Self-Managed – You configure and manage the server, this can prove to be a lot of work and headache if you are a novice.

Managed – A hosting provider manages the server, security and any other headaches that you may occur. This is the B EST way but is not cheap!

Both options are great, you will have full ROOT control of the box and you can do anything you wish with them. B ut you have to decide how involved do you want to be with the running of your server.

So the question is do I need dedicated hosting? Or can I use a reseller hosting service?

With this my general rule of thumb is that you have anything sensitive on your server, or just don't have the faith in your hosting company, get dedicated hosting. If your bandwidth is going over reseller hosting each month, get dedicated hosting. If your current hosting provider has a lot of downtime due to DDOS attacks, get dedicated hosting.

So I need Dedicated Hosting, what should I look for in a web hosting company?

Here are some of the questions you should look at when choosing a web hosting company:

Do they offer Toll-Free phone support?

Do they offer fast support via e-mail or chat?

How long is the average response time?

What is the true uptime guarantee?

Do I get FTP access?

Do I get SSL support?

Do I get a unique IP address?

How many domains are hosted on 1 server?

Can I have unlimited e-mail addresses?

Are there any pre-installed scripts?

Do they offer a network for bandwidth providers?

Do the offer a free trial?

Is there a setup fee?

Do they offer a control panel that is easy to use?

Are there any contracts?

Can I check my mail from the web?

Do they offer PHP and CGI?

Do I get graphical stats?

Are there spam filters?

Can I have password protected directories?

How much disc space do I get?

How much transfer do I get?

So these are some of the things that you will need to get you started, from here I suggest you do some more research on the subject and then start to look for good deals from good well known companies.