Tips for Matching Your Requirements for Web Site Hosting
A Web Hosting Article Contributed by Raj Rao
Web Site Hosting - Introduction
Web Site Hosting is the backbone of all Internet Services. Web Site Hosting is an essential component of all your activities on the Internet, whether it is a personal website or an e-commerce offering.
Web Site Hosting means different things to different people and circumstances. For instance, Web Site Hosting of a Personal Web Site can be quite different from the Web Site hosting of a large shopping mall on the Internet, although the basic services utilized by them remain the same.
Due to the varied nature of services offered under the service of Web Site Hosting, it is necessary to know your requirements well before you approach the Web Site Hosting providers.
Understanding Your Requirements for Web Site Hosting
Before you decide on using the services of a web site hosting provider, prepare a list of things that you expect from the web site hosting provider and your critical requirements to ensure that your presence on the Internet is successful.
Your requirements should include at least the following: a) Operating System for hosting your content (Windows or Linux or Either); b) Expected number of visitors per month; c) Expected bandwidth per month; c) Technical resources and like support for ASP, PHP, CGI-BIN, Databases, Java etc. d) Space on the Server for website content ; e) Number of E-mail accounts, estimated total space for e-mail accounts, Auto-responders, mailing list management tool etc.
In arriving at a reasonable estimate for each of the above, you will need to take the help of your Web Designer and Web Programmer or a Web Master who is experienced in these matters. The reason for estimating your requirement is not only to reduce cost but also to ensure that you have all the resources required to successfully launch and manage your web presence.
Tips for Matching Your Requirements for Web Site Hosting
The most critical requirement to be matched by the Web site hosting provider is the need for a specific operating system. Some providers only offer Linux or specialize in only Windows operating system. Once you have identified a Web site hosting service provider who offers both the Operating system, you can start discussing the rest of your requirements.
If you are not able to accurately estimate your visitors or your bandwidth, it is necessary to ensure that your service provider offers you Internet bandwidth which is at least 1 GB per month for a medium size website and at least 5 GB per month for a large E-commerce service.
Although, the disk space is becoming cheaper by the day, it is essential to know the maximum disk space included in any web site hosting plan. This should include both web site content as well as your e-mail account. Ideally, there should be no limitation on the number of E-mail accounts created.
Finally, it is good to monitor your website traffic and few other parameters on a monthly basis to ensure that you do not run out of resources and also plan for the future.
