Free Web Hosting
A free web hosting service is offered free of cost to the users. This service is normally supported by advertisements and has limited functions. The free web hosting facility provides either a directory or a sub domain. In contrast to this, these services that are paid, usually give a second level domain to the users along with the service of hosting.
Some of the services that are offered for free allow the use of domains that are separately purchased. The free web hosting service rarely operates as the domain name register. Amazingly, the registry services of such services are expensive than the other services.
Features and Limitations of the Service:
Some of the free services of this offer free basic packages and the enhanced packages, having more features for a basic cost. This helps the users to take an initial trial of the service for comparing it with the other hosting services and then, elevate the service as and when required.
The limitations of the free hosting services are mentioned below.
o There is a limitation on the size of every file that is hosted here.
o It gives a small bandwidth for a month as compared to the other services.
o It prevents the hotlinking of the files.
o Certain types of files are not allowed on it.
o It requires the mandatory placement of the banner of web host and the pop up ads on all the web pages.
o It does not provide uptime guarantee.
So, in a sense, you get what you are paying for.
The Benefits of Hosting Your Own Website
You will find there are a lot of great benefits to hosting a website on your own, but you must know there can be some problems. It is necessary to be completely confident that you want to make such a commitment such as hosting a website on your own. If you do not know what it takes yet to host a site on your own you may find that it is exhausting. This will lead to quite a bit of lost cash and effort.
One of the major negative factors of hosting your own website is the fact you have to watch over it by yourself. If wish to upgrade the website or you find some sort of problem with it, there is not host to contact that will assist you. If you want something to do with your website done, you will need to do it yourself in stead of paying someone else to do it for you.
Also, unless you have the know how, your web hosting abilities are not going to be as top notch as some of the more pro website hosts. The professionals have access to much more resources, and have more time on their hands. This isn’t even mentioning the level of expertise they boast. While hiring someone like an IT pro can take a bit of weight off your shoulders, in the end it is not much different than it would be.
Another big downside to this whole thing is the fact you tend to pay a hefty price for both the server as well as the bandwidth that it takes to run. You don’t pay nearly as much when you simply get what you need from a host. You will find a lot of waste cash and efficiency unless you are completely filling your server with websites. It would be quite a loss to pay for a full server to run your website off of it.
There is a huge benefit to hosting a website on your own. If there wasn’t no one else would bother now would they? The biggest facet is the fact you will have complete control when it comes to your website. You can change things such as the operating system and various programming languages or even the hosting environment. This is all at your whim to change. The limits of your options are the ones you set yourself.
Also, there is not having to put up with a bothersome hosting company. If you are trying to fill a very specific niche with your website and have special needs, there is a high likely hood you will not find what you need in another website host. In situations like this the only route you can take is a path toward hosting a website on your own.
There is the great pro side of this with the fact you are not limited on what you can place on your site. You can also find a lot more use from a server besides simply using them to host a website, they are powerful machines. You will be able to try new things with your wide spread freedom that owning your own server and hosting your own website gives you.
Web Hosting – Common Problems and Troubleshooting
Every website that is created needs a location or an address where it can reside. In order to achieve this, the user is required to go through a hosting company. A hosting company provider the user with a web address, server space, bandwidth and a loads of other tools and applications required to host a website. In the process, users may find themselves grappling with various web hosting problems and issues that would come the fore. Listed below are a few common problems with web hosting companies that you may have to deal with:
Lack of technical and/or customer support: A quality web hosting service would offer 24/7 technical and customer support. So, no matter what time difference you are residing in, you should always have access to an open line customer service representative in order to troubleshoot technical/common problems. Make sure that a real person takes your call and it should not be an automated or recorded message on the other end. This would reflect the reliability and credibility of the web hosting company.
Pricing structures, reliability and uptime guarantee: While some web-hosting companies offer dearth cheap hosting services, their services are often deficit of 100% uptime, reliability and speed. These are a few issues that the user must brace himself from, before registering with a company that fails to guarantee a minimum uptime of 99%. Also ensure that the company is offering all the essential features and tools for smooth functioning of the website.
Hidden Costs and lack of add-on features: While the hosting company may offer all the essential tools and application support, ensure that these are offered within the price range of the package selected. Otherwise, you may find yourself shelling out additional money for add-on tools that are usually offered by other web hosting services. Ensure that no hidden costs are involved and all the essential features are in place for your website to function smoothly.
There are a few hosting companies that do not offer the “control panel” which is vital for a web hosting account. The control panel comes equipped with a whole lot of goodies including PGP secure e-mail, shopping carts; log analysis, database creation, etc.
Lack of high-tech servers: The user must ensure that the hosting company that they are about to register with employs the latest technology and expertise in order to provide superior services to their users.
It is therefore imperative to delve into the seemingly intricate aspects of the company before you open a hosting account with them. Do not get lured into cheap deals and ads like “unlimited bandwidth” etc. Weigh your requirements carefully and set yourself a monthly budget. If your website has a potential for growth or is e-commerce enabled, your website requirements would greatly differ as compared to hosting just a simple web page.
Speak to experienced users; get involved in forums and blogs and read unbiased user reviews. This would give you an idea of the level of services offered by the web hosting company.