In order to be published and seen on the web, all websites must be hosted via a web server.  A web server is basically a computer that delivers designated web pages and/or content to the Internet.  Web servers communicate between web crawlers/web browsers, allowing for the information on websites to be viewed by someone searching for it on the web. Today, the most common way to publish your website using a web server is to go through a web hosting company like GoDaddy or Host Gator (to name just a few).  While there are a number of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that sometimes offer subscribers a free hosting service; these tend to be limited and made only for small-scale file hosting.

If you are looking to host a substantial or more dynamic website for either your personal or business use, it is highly recommended that you use an alternative web hosting service.  Today, there are thousands of hosting companies that offer a variety of products and services to help you publish your website. With so many hosting companies to choose from, however; it seems as though the hardest part of setting up hosting for your website is deciding which company to go with.

There are a number of things to consider when choosing your hosting company. To make it easy I’m going to discuss what to consider in a hosting company according to your needs and your wants. At the bare minimum, consider: server type, disk space, bandwidth per month and reliability.

Server Type – Make sure you understand what type of server your website will need to be hosted on.  The server type is based on the software that is running on the server. There are various types of servers such as Windows 2000 server, Linux, Unix, etc. If you have a basic or static website then the type of server is not that important.  If you have a more complex website with dynamic components such as database functions, Adobe Flash, etc. then the server type will be more important. Not sure which server to choose?  One way to figure out what type of server you will need is to ask your web developer what they coded your site in. If your site was developed in ASP or ASP.NET, you’ll need a hosting account with a Windows server. If your site was developed in PHP or was developed to use a program called CGI, then you will most likely need a Linux server.

Disk Space - This is the amount of actual space that you will have available when storing your website on the web server.  Most small to medium size websites that average anywhere between 5-10 pages take up approximately 1 MB of storage space.  The bigger your website the more space you will need to house it.

Bandwidth -Bandwidth, simply put, refers to the amount of data that can be transferred to and from the visitors to your site within a specific time frame and is limited until upgraded to the next level (for a cost of course).  The more bandwidth you have, the faster your data will transfer or load on your website.

Reliability - Once your website is live and on the web, it is essential that it stays that way.  100% up time is what most of us expect from our hosting companies, and rightfully so.  However, this is not always the case. Although hosting companies will guarantee 99.9% up time, it is hard to actually prove this, until it’s too late (i.e. you’ve fallen victim to unreliable hosting and your site has a lot of unexpected downtime which makes you and/or your company look unprofessional and unreliable).  Beware of hosting companies that offer too-good-to-be-true monthly hosting fees, some as low as $1 per month. This means that these companies are overloading their servers with more websites than they should, which puts their clients at increased risk of downtime.

Some other important things to consider when choosing a hosting company…

1. Dedicated vs. shared virtual hosting – When choosing your hosting setup, be sure that you understand your needs, so that you’re not duped into spending more than you need on hosting and that you make a purchase that is right for you. If your hosting a small to medium size website and don’t need a HUGE amount a space, it is ok to stick with shared virtual hosting. Shared virtual hosting is where there are multiple accounts stored on one website server, but these are kept entirely separate. Think of shared virtual hosting like one apartment unit within a large building.

   A dedicated server, on the other hand, is one account to one website server – kind of like a house, with one home owner. Dedicated servers aren’t necessary unless you think you might need a significant amount of space for a considerable amount of traffic (think enterprise corporations, universities, etc.)

2. Technical Support – Who/What/Where/When – There is a lot to manage when it comes to your website.  A large aspect of this must be managed via your hosting.  With so much competition, hosting companies continue to offer more features and additional capabilities to streamline and upgrade their web hosting services.  For example, with GoDaddy, you can purchase your domain name, create a simple website, add a blog, create an email box and beyond all using the control panel if you have a hosting account with them. With so many new features, however, there is also a great deal of information to know and understand how to navigate, use and troubleshoot. This is where tech support comes in.  I say, that if the company does not provide 24/7 support via a phone number, website online chat, online tutorials, and email then move on to the next company that does.
3. Control Panel – Speaking of control panels – be sure to look into a hosting company’s control panel set up and offerings prior to making any solid decisions as well. The control panel should be well organized and easy to navigate from the domain section to the email section to your hosting area. Make sure you also check to see what additional features are available to you here as well.
4. Email - Most hosting companies will offer you at LEAST one email account with a hosting or domain purchase, which corresponds to your purchase. Be sure to look into the number of free accounts provided at time of purchase, the cost of additional emails, the type of web mail access, web mail space, POP email availability, etc.

That’s my rundown on what to look for in a hosting company at this point.  Good luck to those of you still searching for just the right company to fit your needs, I hope this tutorial has helped you in your search a bit.

EVEN IF you go on vacation, the internet continues to move at a million miles a minute.  Whether you are a web design team, a web hosting company, or just managing your personal website, issues frequently come up without the courtesy of seeing whether or not you’re available.  In these circumstances it is important to be connected so that you can check in and fix problems as they come up.  As they say, “a stitch in time saves nine” and briefly addressing issues on vacation might save you an incredible amount of time the following week.

PREPARATION

Adequate preparation can make all the difference when on vacation.  Troubleshoot as much as possible before the trip.  If you can anticipate all the problems you may have for the upcoming week and deal with them earlier, you can buy yourself some free time.  Some developers say they’ve never worked as hard as they have right before a big trip, because they were doing 2 weeks of work in one.

THE WI-FI METHOD

A cost effective way of staying connected on long trips is to seek out free Wi-Fi from coffee shops, airports and the like.  In this fashion you can just use whatever devices you have whether they be iPhones or laptops.  Although this is free and accessible to most people, it limits you geographically.  With this method you’re dependent on spots that have Wi-Fi, and many vacations provide circumstances where it may not be readily available.  On most streets and highways chances of finding free internet are fairly low, and in the mountains or on the beach chances are practically zero.  If you’re going to an urban environment for vacation, this is a fairly cheap way of staying connected, but realize that you’re hedging your bets.

THE DATA PLAN METHOD

For those who can’t part from their computer kingdom there’s a better method – get a mobile 3G for your laptop and a data plan for your phone/tablet.  As long as you have 3G service, you’ll be able to access the internet, answer e-mails and continue the constant lines of communication.  However, under these circumstances a vacation can feel less like breaking free and more like a change of scenery.  It’s important to stay connected, but it’s also important to relax.

COPING WITH CONNECTION

So how do we stay totally connected and detached at the same time?  It has to do with divvying up your work the right way.  Before you leave, make sure you finish all the really important items so you’re not slammed with a four hour project while a thousand miles away.  During your vacation, you can work during the uneventful times of your trip such as a long drive or the morning before everyone else has woken up.

WE LIVE in an age where the lines of communication are bringing the world closer together.  This has many advantages for business and travel, but makes it difficult for those who want to get away.  If you’re trying to go on vacation and yet stay connected you can jump from Wi-Fi provider to Wi-Fi provider, buy 3G and a data plan, or try something in between.  No matter what you do, just make sure you’re not missing on the precious moments that make a vacation a vacation.

Guest blog submitted by Cameron Albin of A Small Orange web hosting

What do you get when you combine just about everything cool that Google has to offer? The answer is Google+. The company recently went public with its previously top secret social media network; launching a limited public release of what are are calling Facebook’s newest competitor.

Google+ essentially ties in most Google products with a social network at its core. The Internet giant’s latest initiative brings new lingo like the Stream, Circles and Sparks to the world of social media. But what does it all mean?

The Stream is similar to Facebook’s News feed, in that it allows users to share multimedia like photos, videos, links or their location with friends. Circles is the most innovative aspect of Google+, which helps to separate it from Facebook. The Circles system allows users to target their sharing with various social groups. Thanks to HTML5, Circles enables the user to simply drag-and-drop friends into and out of various social circles; whether it be friends, schoolmates, co-workers, family or a customized group.  Sparks is the content recommendation engine behind Google+. Using an algorithmic system that relies on information from other Google products like Search; Sparks is a collection of articles, videos, photos and other content categorized by interest.  Users can search for various topics of interest throughout these collections and then share their discoveries with friends.

Other features that we can look forward to with Google+ are its group chat feature (which is being called “Hangouts”), an Android mobile app that has an auto-upload capability for photos or videos, and a whole lot of +1 buttons throughout the web from here on out.

Although a great deal of speculation regarding the anticipated success of Google+ has been mostly positive, let’s not forget that this is Google’s second attempt at creating a super social network. So what kind of obstacles should Google+ be on the lookout for in order to prevent any minuses this time around? Let’s take a look.

1. Will the population really leave Facebook?

Yes, we live among a generation of the “bigger and the better”. But how many of the millions of people who are already established (that have been building their profile for years) are going to leave Facebook? I know I don’t want to risk losing the past five years of photo albums. Sure, some people became Tweeters, but how many people do you know that completely left Facebook for another type of social media network?

2. The Twitter-Facebook Alliance.

Speaking of Twitter and Facebook; is it me, or do you feel like these two have become like a married couple?  It’s almost as though, you can’t have one without the other and they need to be linked at all times.  That said, I’m not sure where Google+ will fit into this match made in social media matrimony?

3. If you look up privacy in the dictionary…

Google is probably the last thing I would associate with privacy. The issue of maintaining users private information has become a hot ticket surrounding social-networking sites like Facebook, who recently received public and legal scrutiny for misleading users about the safety of people’s information that was being stored. Google itself received particular criticism regarding privacy issues, after it launched Google Buzz.

4. When you want to know something – you Google it.

One of Google’s biggest challenges in becoming the worlds great social networking site could also come from within. Google’s done such a great job branding itself as the number one way to search for anything, that this is what people now associate the company with. For most people right now, Google means search, Facebook means to share with friends.

5. Where do Bing and Yahoo fall into all this?

Although Bing doesn’t quite compare to Google, it is known to be gaining market share – something for Google to think about as it continues to fall under various legal scrutiny from organizations like the FTC. Although its no longer king of all the search engine giants; Yahoo, still makes up a significant segment of search market share and maintains a stronghold in other sectors such as email, finance, news, etc. Part of the Google+ strategy is that it extends across various other Google products, some of which compete directly with those of Yahoo’s strong points: another battle that Google should consider before it spreads itself too thin.

Regardless of whether Google’s attempt at creating the next social-networking phenomena is a plus or a minus, its sure to be interesting as usual watching it all pan out.