A comprehensive guide before hosting

Few things you need to consider before hosting

1.Web Site Purpose

Whether you want to create a web site for professional or personal reasons, starting your own site can be one of the most exciting experiences in your life. Millions of people surf the Internet each day. Your web site could be viewed by hundreds or even thousands of internet surfers each day! But how do you get started? We can help guide you through the few easy steps it takes to put your site on the World Wide Web! There are some common steps for all web sites, but some are different depending on what the purpose of your site is. Select the type of site you have in mind from the list below and we will explain the steps toward a successful site.

Some Different Types of Web Sites

• A Personal Site
• An Interest Group
• Business - Informational Only
• Business - Selling Goods Locally
• Business - Selling Goods Globally

2. Web site name ---Domain Name Registration

A domain name is the name that identifies your website. In reality the name you choose for your site points web surfers to the IP Address of the computer which is storing and serving up your web site.

It's normally easiest to have your web hosting company register your domain when you set up hosting, but we have a list of companies below that specialize in domain registration.

The domain name comes in two parts. The actual name (i.e google) and the identifier at the end (i.e .com) When you register a domain name you are reserving that name for your use. Once you register it then nobody else will be able to use that same name unless you fail to maintain the registration (usually a yearly renewal).

"dot" com is the most common end to a web site name, but others are available like "dot" net and "dot" org - these are just a little harder for people to remember than "dot" com but dependent on the nature of your site that may be perfectly okay. Worth to bear in mind that if you choose a non "dot" com name because "name.com" is taken - many people may accidentally go to the "name.com" site by mistake ! There are also some exotic endings like ".biz" .Use one of the domain registration companies below to check for those names or you can even check with the web hosting company,it even provides the domain name check

This is a list of top ranking domain registrars ranked in order according to the statistics at RegistrarStats as of June 15, 2007.

1. Go Daddy
2. eNom
3. Network Solutions
4. Tucows
5. Melbourne IT
6. Schlund+Partner
7. Register.com
8. Wild West Domains (Part of Go Daddy)
9. Moniker Online Services
10. DomainDoorman

These companies below all specialize in domain registration. They are listed in no particular order. This list is not exhaustive - there are literally thousands of companies that will register a domain name for you.

After you register you domain you must use the domain registration company control panel to point your domain to the name servers of your hosting company. Then your hosting company must add the name of your domain to their domain name server.

3. Creating your Web site

• Using a Web Design company

• Doing it yourself

4. Find a good Web Hosting company

Don't worry this whole blog is about this part only.We will help you find the best web hosting package that suits your interests and needs.

Anyway lets discuss few basic things

There are a few things to watch out for when looking for a web host. Follow these simple guide lines, and things should be fine.

1. Know the lingo.
When you first venture into the murky water that is web hosting, you will be immediately be inundated with terms such as web space, transfer, CGI-BIN, Unix/Windows, Apache, IIS, PHP, MySQL, etc. KNOW what they mean so that you don't fall prey to offerings which really don't exist. Do your research here!

2. Avoid unlimited/unmetered web space/bandwidth/transfer like the PLAGUE
As the old adage goes ... if it seems too god to be true, it often is. Lets look at it logically. Unlimited hosts basically offer all you can eat. Take as much as you want - you only have to pay a set price.
Seems perfect? Hardly. Such hosts count on you using little bandwidth and space - start using too much, and they will cancel your account.
And how do they do this? In their killer terms of service.
Usually hidden and mostly not paid attention to, the terms of service outlines what you can do or not do n their server. In order to keep their very false promises, such unscrupulous hosts usually do not allow any downloads, and CGI programs, allow 'unlimited' only to a certain value (which of course goes against the entire principal), and suspend your account for excessive use (in which they hold the right to claim what is excessive and what is not).

3. Your own Gut
Checking out the website is very important. If you have troubles navigating the website, if it is very slow, if you just don't have a good feeling -- what makes you think you will be happy with their service if you do sing up? Web hosting is a satisfaction thing.

4. Do the Research
The internet is a hug repository of information. If a host is bad, it likely has angry customers that want their voice heard!
There are lot of places to check. First off, check web hosting directories. Do a search on the specific host. If the host isn't listed, it isn't all bad - they could be just new and not built a reputation. Alternatively, if they are listed don't have any reviews, that could not be bad either - the reputation factor comes in. Do understand that angry people are morel likely to voice their displeasure than content ones will voice their pleasure.
Next, check out webhostingtalk.com Do a search on your host, and post asking for opinions. Many small and mid-sized hosting companies frequent that place, and maybe even the owner of the host you are inquiring about can be found there! Be careful though. ... it can become a jungle and solicitations might come flying. The forum and its search function is one if the richest resource on web hosting.
Lastly, hit the newsgroups. Using groups.google.com, do a search on the host you are looking for.
Remember one thing ... due to the intense competition, some hosts do post negative things about other hosts. Remember to carefully read what is written.

5. Contact them!
The final test - there is no better text in service than by actually contacting them. Find their contact info, and shoot them an email with some questions. If you cant find their contact information easily, run FAR AWAY from them. Such hosts can be trouble if you need urgent assistance and you can't even get a hold of them
Judge the host by the timeliness and manner in which they reply. If they are rude to you now, or don't know what they are talking about, what makes you think they will be kind to you if you sing up? Also, taking more than 24 hours to purely can be a bad sign, and more than 48 hours is UNACCEPTABLE.

There you have it. The lowdown on the business. Follow these steps, and you should have no problem finding a good host.

5.Driving Traffic

After you have created your web site, the next step is for people to visit it (to drive traffic to your site)

The methods you might use to increase the number of visitors to your site will depend upon the type of site you have.

A successful plan to drive traffic will encompass many different angles. If you are planning to drive traffic to a business related site, remember that it will take time. Unless you have a very large budget it is impossible to drive traffic over night and even if you did this traffic would not be sustainable.

The aim is to create sustainable and increasing traffic to your web site.

Different methods to drive traffic are :

• Search Engines
• Advertising
• Building Links
• Generating Publicity
• Affliate Programs
• Building Content
• Building A Community
• Overture / Pay-Per-Click