Frequently Asked Questions
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Most major web hosting providers have their own private data centers, in which all of their web servers are stored. Datacenters are specially designed to accommodate the environmental needs of a web server. The temperature, humidity, dust content, lighting, cleanliness, and security of the data center is meticulously upheld by on-site staff that is responsible for keeping all of the web servers in perfect condition. The floors are air-cooled, all rooms are equipped with state-of-the-art fire extinguishing systems, and there is a 24-hour maintenance staff on duty 7 days out of every week.
Server uptime is a term used to describe the amount of time that a web server is fully functional and online. When a server crashes or goes offline, all of the websites hosted on it are also rendered useless until it the problem is repaired. Thus, server uptime is a direct indicator of the reliability and consistency of a web hosting provider.
Most web hosting providers have a seal posted on their website that guarantees more than 99 percent uptime. While this may seem appealing, the truth is, most companies do not live up to this promise. If you have been experiencing frequent downtime then you may want to switch web hosting providers. Every time your site crashes you are potentially losing money. This is especially true if you are operating an eCommerce website.
Disk space is the amount of storage space allocated to your website, server or server partition, which can be used by your website. Having adequate disk space is very important because it directly affects the total size limits of your site or network of sites. If you want to continuously update your web sites with new content and steadily build your online empire, then you will definitely need a plethora of bandwidth.
For example, if you have 20 GB of disk space allocated to your web hosting plan, then the number of files on your website cannot exceed this amount of data. When you run out of disk space you will be unable to update your site with new content, which means the progression of your online endeavors will come to a complete halt. Since updating your site is a very important part of building traffic levels and keeping your visitors returning you will need to make sure you have an adequate amount of bandwidth available at all times.
Disk space is often displayed on all hosting plan sales pages. Disk space is extremely important because it directly affects how much data can be stored on your web server at any point in time.
To find out how much disk space you need, you’ll need to learn a little bit about file sizes. If you don’t feel like reading a book about various file types and how much space they consume on a web server, then you can simply use your computer’s hard drive as a reference.
For example, download a web page from the internet, and then take note of the file size of that web page. Now simply multiply that file size to realize the amount of disk space consumed to host thousands of similar pages. You should also consider multimedia content as well, such as videos and movies. Videos can range in size greatly depending upon whether they are a clip or an entire movie.
It is best to assess your disk space needs before you purchase your web hosting plan by estimating how big your site will be within the foreseeable future. If needed, you can upgrade your hosting plan; however, your goal is to make the site creation process simple and hassle-free. By having a plan with adequate disk space, you remove the need to upgrade unnecessarily.
Web hosting bandwidth is the measurement of data being transmitted through your web server at a given period of time.
Having adequate bandwidth is very crucial to the success of your site because it will affect your site visitor’s experience, especially when there are high traffic levels. Every visitor that views a page on your site is consuming bandwidth because they are downloading and uploading information to the web server. Thus, in order to accommodate high daily traffic levels you will need ample bandwidth. This is the primary reason why bandwidth is one of the two most important web hosting features to consider when shopping for a new plan.
Bandwidth is perhaps the most important because it dictates how many visitors your website can handle during a single time period.
Bandwidth is simply a measurement of the amount of data being transferred at any particular period of time. To understand the limitations of bandwidth and how it is measured, you have to understand how data transfer works. If a file that consumes about 5MB of data is transferred from the web server to the visitor’s computer at one point in time, then 5MB of bandwidth is being used at that time. However, if three people download that 5MB file at the same time, then 15MB of data is transferred. Thus, if your hosting account only allows for 10MB bandwidth, in the above example, one of the visitors would have to wait because the bandwidth limitations would be exceeded at that moment in time.
Web hosting plans usually start with bandwidth limits of about 100 MB. To put that into perspective, it would take just 40 people to download a large file at a speed of 2.5 Mb/s at the exact same moment in time to exhaust the resources of that hosting plan.
By measuring bandwidth, web hosting companies can accurately and effectively control their web servers and keep them operating smoothly. The way server resources are delegated after the limits are reached depends upon the type of web hosting. In VPS cloud hosting the hosting provider will pull resources from a network of servers and charge the webmaster for the excess bandwidth. If you are noticing that you are routinely exceeding your bandwidth limitations, then you may want to start comparing other web hosting plans for your next upgrade.
The answer to this question depends entirely upon what kind of site you have and how much daily traffic you anticipate. It is important to note that sites with an abundance of multimedia content will often consume more bandwidth. This is because more data must be transferred instantaneously to stream videos or music to the visitor’s computer.
If you have a site with plenty of streaming content, and you foresee a high amount of daily visitors, then you will want a plan with excessive bandwidth. Hosting plans like VPS, dedicated and even reseller hosting plans are perfect for such sites.
You may also need a lot of bandwidth if you have thousands of daily visitors, and/or plenty of page hits from each visitor. Every page that loads will consume bandwidth because it has to transfer data from the web server to the visitor’s computer.
Control panel is a graphical user interface (GUI) to manage your web hosting account. Within your control panel you can upload and organize site content, manage domain name settings, schedule duties and much more. Whether you need comprehensive traffic analysis or a simple interface to check your emails, a good web hosting control panel can do all of this and more.
Web hosting is, more or less, an agreement between you and a web hosting service provider that you will pay a monthly lease to own and operate a portion of their massive web servers. These are computers that will house all of your data and will allow others to get a good look at the content you so painstakingly create. Think of it as a storage unit with windows that other Internet users will drive by and take a peep through.
In order to operate a website you absolutely need a web hosting account, as no site can just live on the Internet without a web server. Since a web server usually costs thousands of dollars it is much more affordable to simply lease one from a web hosting provider. Web hosting services give you the opportunity to reach the world wide web without making a significant investment.
Shared web hosting services are amongst the most popular types of web hosting, primarily because they are extremely affordable. Shared web hosting provides the plan holder with access to a small part of a web server that is used by hundreds of other websites. These powerful web servers are split into partitions that are allocated to the web hosting customers. As a shared web hosting plan holder, you have access to a set amount of server resources. However, if you need to exceed these limitations then resources are pulled from other partitions on the network to accommodate your needs. Although this process may sacrifices performance and page loading times, it gives you the ability to have unlimited plan features such as bandwidth and disk space.
Shared hosting is a very unique web hosting type that usually costs less than any other kind of web hosting plan. Many webmasters get their first bit of web hosting experience by purchasing and using a shared web shoring plan. Shared hosting is essentially a type of hosting configuration in which a single web server is used to power hundreds of websites that are owned by different webmasters, hence the term “shared” hosting.
Web server configurations can have a great impact on the way websites perform, especially when the site beings to grow and experience high levels of traffic. Even though shared web hosting is a less comprehensive service, it is enough to run a basic website and receive internet training. In fact, most experts recommend starting out with shared web hosting in order to learn in a comfortable and affordable hosting environment, before moving on to more advanced solutions. If you are planning on getting started as a webmaster then you may want to consider shared web hosting as your first web hosting plan.
The basic concept is simple: you purchase web hosting services in bulk and receive a hefty discount. You can then resell these services for an even heftier profit.
The purpose of a reseller hosting plan is to provide the tools and resources needed for you to create your own web hosting business from scratch. As a reseller plan holder, you will receive access to server resources that can be controlled and delegated by you to your clients. You have complete control over the software configuration of the server, as well as the allocation of server resources and the structure of hosting plans. You can create custom hosting plans using the reseller tools included in your hosting account. You have the ability to brand your hosting company and offer a custom control panel with your company’s logo within your client’s web hosting control panel. You can even rename the plans, customizing them according to any specifications you wish. You may also bundle the server resources with other web-based services.
If you want to profit from the incredibly lucrative web hosting industry then you may want to consider a reseller hosting plan. You can even sell your hosting company after you have made a decent profit with it!
VPS web hosting is one of the most popular kinds of hosting available, most likely because it offers a perfect balance between affordability and professional functionality. VPS is an abbreviation for Virtual Private Server, which describes the web server configuration.
Web servers are powerful computers that serve information to web pages so that they can be accessed by visitors around the world. When a visitor views one of your web pages they are actually downloading content directly from your web server. A virtual private server is simply a section of a web server that is devoted solely to your website. VPS hosting is a mixture of shared hosting (the most affordable kind of hosting) and dedicated hosting (the most powerful kind of web hosting).
Many people confuse shared hosting with VPS hosting because both types involve splitting a server into partitions for use amongst multiple hosting plans. However, unlike shared web hosting, VPS hosting does not place any restrictions or limitations on the kinds of software that can be used on the web server partition.
As the name implies, a dedicated server is a private web server that is dedicated to a single person or company. Unlike shared or VPS hosting plans, the web server that is servicing your websites is not being used by anyone else.
Dedicated web servers are the envy of the web hosting industry, being the most powerful solution available for small to medium size online business owners. Many webmasters decide to purchase the cheapest web hosting plan available rather than shop around for the most suitable solution for their web site. Unfortunately, doing this will almost always result in an unnecessary upgrade later on, often at a time that is very inopportune for both the site owner and the site visitors.
Dedicated web hosting is the most powerful hosting type currently available to the public, other than cloud hosting which is generally a corporate solution. Dedicated hosting accounts are capable of hosting hundreds of websites simultaneously without the need for additional features or services. If you are planning on building an online empire then you will definitely need a dedicated server.
With a dedicated server, you never have to worry about slow-loading pages, site downtime, or unnecessary limitations caused by a shared hosting environment.
Domain names are much like VIN number of a vehicle, there are no two that are exactly the same.
Domain names are the identity cards of the Internet, representing the face of each website. In basic terms, a domain name is simply the name of your web site. However, behind each domain name is a process that turns a local web address into a word or phrase that anyone can use to access your site from around the world. A domain name is a phrase or even just a word that people input in their browsers to be pointed directly to a specific website.
Domain names actually originate as the IP address of your website, which is a number that appears in the following syntax – xx.xx.xxx.xx or 77.77.777.77. A domain name is perhaps one of the most important parts of any website because it is ultimately what the visitor will remember when they try to return to the site.
The ideal domain name is short, memorable, and contains no dashes and/or numbers.
Domain names end with extensions called TLDs. The TLD is the letters that appear after the last dot in the domain name. For example, .com is a TLD. Fortunately there are a wide variety of TLDs available, and there are even geographically specific TLDs that specify the location of a website. The cost of a domain name will usually depend upon the TLD.
Dot com domains are the most common, with .org, .net, and .info following closely behind in terms of popularity.
Subdomains are actually extensions of a website that are primarily used to separate and categorize website content. The address of the subdomain appears before the main domain name. For example – subdomain.example.com. It does not cost money to add a subdomain to your website, and many web hosting providers allow the use of unlimited subdomains.
By creating a subdomain you are actually creating a separate website within your site, which can be used as its own independent directory. When content is uploaded to the subdomain via FTP, a new FTP account should be created for the subdomain to facilitate quick access to the site’s directories and files.
Parked domains are web sites that are not currently being utilized by the site owner. Parked domains often have advertisements on them that are related to the subject of the domain. For example, if you have a domain by the name of “carinsurance.com” then you could park it with advertisements on the page related to that niche or industry.
There are two ways a domain name is parked – either by a domain owner through a domain name registrar or by default. When you first purchase a domain name it is parked by the domain name registrar automatically. For example, if you were to purchase a domain name from GoDaddy, the domain would be parked by GoDaddy automatically, until you place content on the site.
IP addresses are used to uniquely identify a website or computer. Any device that is connected to the internet is automatically assigned an IP address. IP stands for Internet Protocol, which is simply the practice through which data is transmitted over the internet. When a computer or web server is connected to a network it is given an IP address that separates it from all other devices on the network. An IP address is a string of numbers separated by dots that appear in the following format – 161.28.31.91. If you are connected to the internet right now then you have an IP address assigned to you.
IP addresses are crucial to internet communication because they dictate where a request for information is sent to. For example, if a website visitors your site and clicks on a button, information is sent from their IP address to your web server. In order to return the proper information the web server will need to know the IP address of your computer.
Domain Name System is responsible for the allocation of domain names and traffic direction based on URLs in the address bar of the web browser. The Domain Name System is the largest database in the world, containing information about every website in existence. There are currently more than 350 million unique active domains on the Internet.
Web sites are identified by the IP address of their server and/or server partition. However, an IP address is a number, which is far more difficult to remember than a simple phrase. In order to convert the IP address of a website into a memorable phrase that is the domain name, a DNS server is needed.
A name server is a web server assigned with the sole task of sending and receiving request pertaining to domain names and IP addresses. The job of the domain name server is to take a number like an IP address and turn it into a readable term that can be typed into a browser’s address bar, or vice versa.
Computers read Internet addresses much differently than humans. All computer language is in numbers and not letters. Therefore, in order for information to be transmitted from the nameserver to a user’s computer, the DNS has to transmit information pertaining to the address and meaning of the domain name. The domain name system is basically the largest database in the world, receiving more requests than any other database.
The first thing you should do when you are ready is to select a domain registrar and then open an account with them. Once you have registered you will need to choose your domain name and make sure it is available. The registrar will be able to provide you with your login information so that you may use their interface to edit the name servers and other domain properties.
Your name servers will dictate what website or server your domain name represents. Your hosting account contains the names of the name servers that you need to point your domain to. Simply log into the control panel of your web hosting account, and you can find your name server information, or just call your hosting company and ask them for it.
Domain name registrars are companies that have direct access to the registry of domain names. When you buy a domain name, you are actually purchasing it from a domain name registrar. A very well known domain registrar is GoDaddy, which has registered more domain names than any other company.
Domain name registrars host your domains by default until the domain is pointed toward another Name Server. Most domain name registrars sell domains for relatively the same price, with .com, .net and .org domains being sold for about ten dollars, and cheaper domains such as .info domains being sold for about one dollar. Most domain name registrars will offer a considerable discount for domain bundles.
Content management systems are comprehensive site management utilities that are becoming increasingly popular amongst webmasters. In the past, site management was a complex process that required advanced training, diligence, technical knowledge and internet experience. Now complete novices are building, organizing and maintaining large web sites with no formal training, and nothing more than a basic hosting account.
Content management systems are literally revolutionizing the way the internet is being developed, by giving webmasters convenient access to tools and resources needed for efficient site administration. While some website owners still code pages in HTML and upload files manually to their web server, it is becoming quite obvious that using a content management system is much easier and faster.
With a user-friendly interface you can control nearly every aspect of your website. If you are having difficulty updating your site one page at a time using an FTP client, or you simply need a solution that is suitable for the novice webmaster, then you may want to consider using a content management system. Most modern site owners use a CMS to maintain their websites, so if you are trying to compete on the internet you may want to consider doing the same as well. They are incredibly useful and usually included for free with nearly every web hosting plan.
One of the most advantageous aspects of content management systems is the ability to quickly create web sites with no programming or web design skills. In fact, there are plenty of webmasters that are building and operating dozens of web sites without any previous technical knowledge or web development experience. With content management systems like WordPress it has never been easier to design and manage multiple web sites.
Every day new themes and templates are created and shared online for free. These templates are actually entire site designs that can be applied to a site with a click of the mouse. One of the interesting features of every content management system is its ability to change the design of an entire website without affecting the content of the pages and posts. You can even test out new designs and create your own custom themes without having to worry about losing data or disrupting the site’s content in any way.
Choosing the right content management system can be crucial towards the success of your web site. In the world of online business productivity is everything. If you are constantly held down by the burden of administrative duties and mundane site management tasks then you will be unable to focus on the planning and progression of your business. There are many content management systems available at the moment – WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, etc.
If you are not familiar with internet technology and you are intimidated by the prospect of managing a site, then you may want to consider starting with a simple CMS like WordPress. It is by far the simplest CMS to use. Even though WordPress was originally a blogging platform, it has quickly become the most commonly used CMS in the world. The overwhelming popularity of WordPress has also led to the development of countless plugins that enhance its capabilities. In fact, WordPress has more plugins than any other content management system by far! If you are a new webmaster and you would like to become familiar with content management systems, then you should definitely consider using WordPress first.
Drupal and Joomla are more advanced content management systems that are often used by developers with extensive administrative requirements.
Content management systems are unique management platforms that can be used to complete a variety of administrative actions. However, the main functionality of every CMS is content management. Within the centralized control interface you can write, edit, organize, categorize, schedule, and publish content within a single user-friendly platform. The first step in managing content with a content management system is content development.
Content management systems like WordPress have plugins that can be used to enhance content during the writing process. Using a WYSIWYG editor within WordPress is perhaps the easiest way to develop site content. You can even preview your posts and pages before publishing them. Once the posts are published they can be edited and organized at a later date.
Plugins are absolutely crucial toward the success of any web site that is being managed using a content management system. Plugins are basically software enhancements that improve the functionality of your CMS. WordPress is famous of having an exhaustive library of plugins available that cover virtually every facet of site management and marketing. Plugins such as the Platinum SEO pack and the WP Super Editor plugin are central to many online operation sand projects. Without the addition of such plugins many sites would fail to have the rich content they currently offer their visitors. If you want higher search engine rankings and a better looking professional web site then you will need access to the best plugins for your content management system.
SSL, or Secure Socket Layer, is a security protocol used to protect data as it is transmitted between devices on the Internet.
SSL certificates indicate the presence of this technology being used by a website. Most online shoppers will not shop at your site unless you have an SSL certificate.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client is a simple program that connects your computer’s hard drive to your web server. These programs are often used to upload or download large quantities of data to or from the web server to the user’s computer.
FTP clients like FileZilla and CuteFTP are some of the most popular FTP clients on the web.
Spam is defined as overwhelming or fraudulent web mail or web site commenting that is meant to overload a system, annoy a site owner, or ruin the content of a web site. If a web site is not properly moderated it can quickly be overrun with spam of all types. Spam affects your online efforts because it wastes time as you try to clear it from your web site or inbox.
Most spammers will post spam comments on your posts, causing your web pages to become inundated with spam, which can be difficult to get rid of. Other spammers will send you a lot of emails through the contact us form of your web site. Fortunately, there are tools within your web hosting account that can prevent spam from accumulating. If you are experiencing an influx of spam then you may want to contact your web hosting company to enquire about ways to prevent it from happening again.
SEO stands for search engine optimization, which is a very commonly used term in the web hosting industry. Search engine optimization is basically the practice of optimizing your web pages for higher search engine rankings. Being ranked highly for popular keywords in search engines is the best way to receive residual traffic with very little effort. Every web hosting account comes with tools that can help you tweak your search engine optimization efforts, such as traffic analysis tools and content management systems that simplify on-page SEO.
Search engines are perhaps the best possible sources of traffic. If you can properly optimize your site for search engines, then you will be able to enjoy a consistent flow of traffic without any additional efforts. The process of SEO involves optimizing your web pages so that the search engines will direct visitors to your site when they search for specific keywords.
The robots.txt file is a very important part of the way your site interacts with other sites and site visitors. and most importantly, search engines. The file dictates what computers can view your site. The reason why it is called the robots.txt file is that it is generally used to block robots from crawling and indexing your site.
Search engine robots crawl the web routinely, indexing every piece of data along the way. If your site is not ready for the search engines then you may want to edit your robots.txt file to block all robots. Some web hosting companies do not include a robots.txt file automatically, so it is up to you to create this basic text file. If you are having trouble creating or using your robots.txt file you should contact your web hosting support staff.