Complete guide to choosing your web hosting provider (2012) by: Paul Hughes
I am asked on a regular basis how to select a web hosting provider, and also what questions should I ask to make sure I am selecting the correct provider. I think first of all the question you need to ask yourself is what am I trying to publish online and what type of service will I require to do this? Web Hosting is split into three main categories, and you need to decide which one you fit into before you even proceed to select a provider:
Shared Web Hosting Shared Web Hosting – This option is the lowest priced option, and designed in a way that the service provider will hold a number of other clients including yourself on the same physical server or network. The sharing of resources means that this is a cost effective solution, but it can come with restrictions on security and performance. Most people who select shared web hosting have smaller web sites where uptime and performance are not critical.
The pro’s of shared web hosting are: a. Its very cost effective due to the sharing of resources b. It requires low management as the service provider will normally deal with all the security and management updates c. Its normally easy to use for someone who is starting out online and does not have a lot of knowledge of web hosting
The con’s of shared web hosting are: a. As the resources are shared performance can be slower than other options, and if another client on the server is being abusive of the resources it can result in downtime to your site. b. With a shared platform the security risks are higher, as other web sites on the same server could be hacked without your knowledge and this could effect your content. c. The features you have available maybe more limited by the web hosting providers policy’s, and this might restrict the use of scripts you are looking to use. Overall Shared Web Hosting is a very good option for a beginner or someone with a small web site. This solution would be recommended for a personal home website, small business or maybe a blog.
Virtual Private Servers Virtual Private Servers – This solution is designed to meet a middle ground between a shared solution and a full dedicated server, as it comes with normally a full operating system like a dedicated server but is priced much more cost effectively. These types of solutions are designed for clients who require a greater development toolbox, or those who have just outgrown a shared hosting server maybe due to how busy their website is. This is becoming a very popular option, as these solutions are normally much more affordable than a full dedicated server and they allow for virtually any server software to be run on them over a choice of Linux or Windows backends.
The pro’s of a Virtual Private Server are: a. They allow for full development and installation at the operating system level. b. They are not too much more expensive than the shared hosting but can be considerably cheaper than a dedicated server c. The hosting provider monitors the backend and applies software updates to the Virtualisation software. d. Your system is segregated from other users at a hardware level, giving you an assigned hardware profile and better security
The con’s of a Virtual Private Server are: a. Other customers can still effect the uptime though to a much lower level if there virtual system is under attack until the provider takes action b. As there is a Virtualisation technology on top of a backend operating system you do have more which can go wrong c. Performance and abilities are based on the providers hardware and software setup which is not always clear The Virtual Private Server (VPS) is becoming one of the most sought after solutions for web hosting these days, as this approach is very flexible and can be scaled. Recently, with advances in hardware and software technology, we are also seeing VPS solutions being offered with High Availability or within a cloud meaning that a lot of the con’s are being eliminated with this solution.
Dedicated Server Dedicated Server – With a full server the options are endless you can run any technology you wish, whether an operating system or network configuration. As such these are very popular with online businesses, which demand the highest levels of uptime and performance. With a dedicated server you can buy the physical resources you require to run your web site selecting CPU, Memory and Disks. With regards to security, this solution also leads the way
as it means your data is fully under your control and all security is within your own design and implantation. This can result in the requirements of a more knowledgeable web administrator, but clients who normally select this option will usually have a web developer or in house IT who take care of this. The pro’s of a dedicated server are: a. It’s a very high performance solution with the client being able to select a solution to there exact needs. b. The security is much higher as everything down to the hardware level is owned by the client and they are normally installed within a secure location c. You can custom install any operating system and software setup The con’s of a dedicated server are: a. This is normally the most expensive option, as a web hosting provider will offer which is sometimes too much for some clients b. You rely more on your own knowledge and is can be a learning curve for new users c. You need to check with providers to see what SLA and hardware replacement options they have in case of a hardware failure. Generally this is the solution, which is recommended for larger businesses and especially people doing e-commerce online. It providers a very stable and secure platform on which your online business will benefit from. It can though be out of the reach of new businesses and sometimes requires the use of 3rd party admins. Understanding the different options is only the first step to selecting a web hosting provider, you also need to consider a commonly misunderstood question of which operating system you need to run your hosting. This question normally comes in the format of Linux or Windows, and while the misconception is that this is what you are running on your own local computer system, it actually has nothing to do with it at all. Generally most web hosting is done on a Linux based platform, as from my experience they are more stable, have more software development for them and when it comes to debugging is much easier to manage. A normal Linux setup will come with a web server like: Apache, a Mail server and other features like: MySQL & PHP. These are all great development tools and cover a lot of the requirements for many people who publish a web site online. So you ask why would you use a Windows hosting platform? Well the answer is simply to access copyright technologies which are developed by Microsoft and not ported to Linux. Examples are web sites which are developed in ASP or use a MSSQL database, though this is not for every eventuality. Both of the above technologies are limited to running only under a Windows hosting server, but my recommendation is to select Windows hosting only if you need to use these technologies, as from experience working with Windows hosting can be much more tricky.
We have now covered the different package options, the selection of hosting platform but more important than all of this is are you working with the correct web hosting provider. If you start looking on google for web hosting providers, you will find more company’s offering this service so that you could compare and eliminate some options immediately: 1) Is the provider within my geographical location and do they also host their servers within this same location? The reason that this is some important is that if you select a US hosting company the loading speed of your web site will be slower than if you select someone within your own market. 2) What level of support do they provide? Can you call them or is the only communications via email? Is it clear from the start how to get in contact and do they have a normal email reply time? Sometimes the most important point with this is to get in contact with them and see if you are happy with the information they provide. 3) Do they have an SLA and Money Back Guarantee? This is not vital but can help a lot if for any reason you find the service they provide not to be to your requirements or specification. 4) Are they a legally registered company and show a contact address etc.? This is important as its far too easy for anyone to just open a web hosting company and the service you will get will most likely be from a 3rd party reseller. 5) Do they offer the software you need to run your scripts? With most people now developing there web sites using add-ons like blogs and content management systems its important to make sure they will run using the hosting 6) Does the package come with enough disk space / and features i.e. email addresses? 7) If you grow your online business do you have the option to upgrade your hosting at a later date? 8) Are you tied into any long-term contract. Normally a good provider will not have a long term contract and allow you to come and go as needed. 9) Redundancy, its very important to check that the provider has redundancy built into there technology and that they are taking regular backups. 10) A web hosting provider that has been established for a long time should have already have customer testimonials which you can review and example web sites to visit. In general its good to do as much research as you can, but I would always recommend that you take regular backups of all your data, even if your host does provide backups independently. Previously, it has been the case that server equipment has been confiscated by law enforcement, or the company itself could go bankrupt. To summarise, when you come to select a web hosting provider there is a lot you need to consider including items specific to you which might not be covered above.
Good contact with your provider is very important, and they should always be able to assure you on the specifics.
Complete guide to choosing your web hosting provider (2012) by: Paul Hughes www.ukhost4u.com