Keep your web host from costing you money
Now that you've probably just spent hundreds of hours and possibly even thousands of dollars to build your web presence, one of the most important decisions you'll make next is where to host your website.
Choosing a Platform It may be true that Unix tends to be more reliable than NT, but it is even more true that any server when overloaded with sometimes 250+ web sites, like most web hosting companies do, will not be as stable as you need it to be. Don't expect your site to incur 100% availability if you are on a shared virtual server. There are too many things that can go wrong when 250 different sites are competing for the same resources. If your web host doesn't publish how many sites they put on a single server, find out from them, they shouldn't have anything to hide. By the way, 255 sites is the maximum that Windows NT will allow per server, and most web hosts take full advantage of that for their lower end solutions.
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How I Host My New DOT-COM Domains For Free!
Michael Hopkins
When it comes to selling online, one thing is certain: a small focused website that features just one lead product will far outsell a big website that features lots of products and links.By focusing on just one product, you avoid distracting your visitors or forcing them to make decisions. That way, they'll take the time to study your product and the chances of making a sale are vastly increased.
I can see the evidence for this in my own business. While the main company website (BizzyDays.com) continues to bring in a steady stream of sales, it's actually the individual websites for each of the ebooks that are responsible for the lion's share of orders.
The problem, however, with having one website for every single ebook is that it adds a lot of extra overheads. In general you're looking at minimum $100 for any kind of webhosting and somewhere between $8 and $35 for a domain name.
These are not huge figures, but let's face it, costs are costs and if you're in business you want to keep them as low as possible.
That's why I felt it was worth sharing with you my little 'trick' for setting up brand new websites for just the price of a domain name.
This week I launched a new website for our ebook publishing guide "You Step By Step Guide to Success On The Internet". The TOTAL cost to set up this new website (http://selfpublishing-ebooks.com) was just $8.97!
So how did I manage that?
Firstly, it's worth noting that I use an excellent hosting service for my main website BizzyDays.com. One of the many features they include for just $9.95/month is the ability to create your own sub-domains (http://subdomain.domain.com).
So, the first step I took was to set up a new sub-domain (I called it http://selfpublishingebooks.bizzydays.com). Next I designed the website and published it to this address.
Then, I went along to http://www.DNbuy.com and bought the domain name www.selfpublishing-ebooks.com for $8.97. The reason I bought it at DNbuy is because they offer a whole range of domain name services completely free (domain parking, URL re-direction, e-mail re-direction, etc.).
Once I had the domain name, it took me just a couple of minutes (via the DNbuy website) to set up the new domain name to point (or re-direct) to the sub-domain I'd just created (http://selfpublishingebooks.bizzydays.com).
I'm even able to 'cloak' the address shown on the browser's address bar, so that, even though people are surfing on http://selfpublishingebooks.bizzydays.com what shows up on the address bar is http://selfpublishing-ebooks.com.
Finally, DNbuy even re-directs my e-mails for free. This enables me to create new addresses (like sales@selfpublishing-ebooks.com) and have any messages that are sent to these addresses re-directed to my regular e-mail address inbox.
And that's it! A brand new website -- hosted and all -- for less than $10.
Now there's no excuse not to create sales-focused mini-websites for ALL your products!
Michael Hopkins is owner of BizzyDays eBook Publications. Visit now to download original ebooks for FREE at: http://www.bizzydays.com This article first appeared in Michael's newsletter 'Ebook Times'. To subscribe visit: http://www.bizzydays.com/free_newsletter.htm
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Your web host could be the reason why you are a sitting duck for a DDos attackJust as we have been forced to face terrifying new terrorist attacks in the offline world that threatens our very way of life, online and less publicized dangers are an increasing and terrifying threat.
Few people realize that your choice of web host has a lot to do with just how secure your web site is going to be against attack. Even a simple assault from a lone hacker will tend to be easier with an unprepared web host with less resources and experience.
But the real terror emerges from Ddos attacks or Distributed Denial-of-service attacks. Deliberately designed to elude detection by today's most popular tools, these attacks tend to be swift and come without any warning, leaving behind huge losses that can never be recouped. Microsoft lost an estimated $500 million in just a few days from a Ddos attack on the site in January 2001. Of course the costs go way beyond simple monetary terms. Because site performance is compromised, the business ends up with frustrated customers.
The network infrastructure of the host you choose is very important if a web master is to ensure that their site is protected. And yet most of this protection does not come cheap. For example the most recent Cisco Ddos protection appliance costs about $200,000. Without this protection the host and his entire network are "sitting ducks" as any Ddos attack on any single site will affect the entire network and thus other web sites as well.
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