Keep your web host from costing you money

Michael Lynn

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.

Web sites running on NT/Windows 2000: *Rapid application development with scripting languages such as ASP or Cold Fusion. *Typically is easier to administer in a shared hosting environment. *If need ODBC to support database driven a site. *FrontPage tends to work better on NT

Web sites running UNIX/LINUX: *Scripting languages such as PERL, PHP or any CGI applications. *If you only need email or a static site, use Unix/Linux, it's cheaper. *Tends to be more reliable then NT in a shared hosting environment.

Web site running on a dedicated server: *If Uptime, user experience, branding, and site performance are a main concern. *If you new to hosting, check out the Cobalt RAQ.

Narrowing the Selection: Price – Its true here like most things, you get what you pay for. Don't expect enterprise class uptime for 20 bucks a month, even if they guarantee it. Options – Don't skimp on your options, if you need extra email address, get them. Some options are a "must have" depending on your websites functionality. Site traffic reporting tools are extremely useful also. Support – Most of the top web-hosting providers have 24/7 support. Make certain that your host has a toll free number for support. Waiting for someone to email you back when your site is down and you're losing business is no fun.

Expect to Pay: $10-15 Basic email, static site, and 25-50 Megs of space. $25-30 Added features like scripting support, Windows NT, basic databases, site reporting, and SSL. $50-150 Will add advanced database support, e-Commerce, and shopping carts. $199-375 Dedicated Cobalt Raq server. $250-Up Dedicated Windows NT, and Unix servers.

Monitor Your Site: Your newly created web presence needs to be up and running 24/7 in order to be effective. Most top-notch web hosts offer money back guarantees if your site is up for less than 99% of the time.

That is considerable when: An avg. uptime of 99.9% is 10 minutes of downtime per week. An avg. uptime of 99% is 1 ½ hours of downtime per week. An avg. uptime of 98% is 3 ¼ hours of downtime per week. An avg. uptime of 95% is 8 ½ hours of downtime per week.

This is downtime where your business has effectively closed its doors to potential customers. It is recommended you take advantage of web-based site monitoring services. This will allow for accountability between you and your provider. The fact is, you can't be there checking to make sure your site's up at 3am everyday, but a good web site monitoring service will email or even page you when your sites down at anytime with diagnostic data to help pinpoint the problem. In the end, these services can potentially save you money or even justify you switching providers completely.

References: http://www.hostcompare.com - compare web hosts http://www.cobalt.com - rack optimized servers http://www.serverpatrol.com - advanced website monitoring

Michael Lynn is the webmaster at Serverpatrol.com

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How to Choose a Web Hosting Service! 1. Support. Is there really anybody there? Send them a question by email and see how long they take to respond. You want to know if they'll be there when you need them. Some offer 24-hour support and a few will respond quickly. Speedy customer service is rare and indicates a superior service. I think that this is the single most important consideration. Also, check out the quality of their online documentation. 2. Server performance. You want a server that is reliable and fast. There is a free tool available that allows you to evaluate this before making a decision! NetMechanic.com will measure the speed of access for all facets of access (network speed, DNS lookup, connect time, download time, and absence of timeouts). The "download time" statistic is the most important single item to compare. Collect your list of candidate hosting services and run side-by-side tests of all the candidates. Sample during peak and non-peak times for optimal comparison. 3. Are they familiar with the application you plan to use? If you're planning to use a particular application that requires special setup parameters (such as Online Merchant, a popular online store), make sure your potential host is familiar with the application. Otherwise you may find yourself spending a great deal of time trying to figure out how to configure it - perhaps never succeeding! 4. Traffic allowance. Compare your traffic allowances. Some services give you a small limit on the amount of material that can be downloaded from your site each month and charge you large amounts when that limit is exceeded. Some offer huge traffic allowances (several thousand MB/month, where 1,000 MB = 1 GB) for the same price as others that limit you to a few hundred MB/month. Sure you probably need less than a hundred MB/month now, but why put yourself in a position where you have to move when your traffic takes off? Plan ahead and allow for growth. More...