Free web hosting is best suited for small sites with low traffic, like
family sites or sites about hobbies. It is not recommended for high traffic or
for real business. Technical support is often limited, and technical options
are few. Very often you cannot use your own domain name at a free site. You have to
use a name provided by your host like http://www.freesite/users/~yoursite.htm
This is hard to type, hard to remember, and not very professional.
Collocated Hosting
Collocation means "co-location". It is a solution that lets you
place (locate) your own web server on the premises (locations) of a service
provider. This is pretty much the same as running your own server in your own office,
only that it is located at a place better designed for it. Most likely a provider will have dedicated resources like high-security
against fire and vandalism, regulated backup power, dedicated Internet
connections and more.
This is hard to type, hard to remember, and not very professional.
Good:
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Bad:
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Low cost. It's free.
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No domain names.
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Good for family, hobby or personal sites.
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Few, limited, or no software options.
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Free email is often an option.
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Limited security options.
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Limited or no database support.
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Limited technical support.
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Shared (Virtual) Hosting
Shared hosting is very common, and very cost effective. With shared hosting, your web site is hosted on a powerful server along with maybe 100 other web sites. On a shared host it is common that each web site have their own domain name. Shared solutions often offer multiple software solutions like email, database, and many different editing options. Technical support tends to be good.
Good:
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Bad:
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Low cost. Cost is shared with others.
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Reduced security due to many sites on one server.
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Good for small business and average traffic.
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Restrictions on traffic volume.
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Multiple software options.
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Restricted database support.
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Own domain name.
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Restricted software support.
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Good support
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Dedicated Hosting
With dedicated hosting your web site is hosted on a dedicated server. Dedicated hosting is the most expensive form of hosting. The solution is best suited for large web sites with high traffic, and web sites that use special software. You should expect dedicated hosting to be very powerful and secure, with almost unlimited software solutions.
Good:
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Bad:
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Good for large business.
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Expensive.
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Good for high traffic.
|
Requires higher skills.
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Multiple domain names.
|
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Powerful email solutions.
|
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Powerful database support.
|
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Strong (unlimited) software support.
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Collocated Hosting
Good:
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Bad:
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High bandwidth.
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Expensive.
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High up-time.
|
Requires higher skills.
|
High security.
|
Harder to configure and debug.
|
Unlimited software options.
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Your Checklist
Before you choose your web host, make sure that:- The hosting type suits your current needs
- The hosting type is cost effective
- Upgrading to a better server is a possible solution
- If needed, upgrading to a dedicated server is possible
Internet Commerce
E-Commerce is about selling products or services over the Internet. If you are selling a product or a service, e-commerce might be a smart way to do business. Over the Internet you can reach a large number of customers.E-Commerce Systems
It is not a very good idea to build your own e-commerce system. Some (larger) companies might do it, but we will not recommend it if you run a smaller business. Building an e-commerce system is a complicated process, with the potential for a lot of errors. You might buy a ready-to-use system and run it on your own server. Many systems are available on the market today, and most of them will cover your basic needs for order management and processing. But again, if you are not familiar with hosting your own web site, starting with an e-commerce site is not the right thing. The best solution, in our opinion, is to find a hosting provider that offers an e-commerce solution.Hosting Providers
E-commerce covers a very huge range of products. With different hosting providers you will find anything from very simple to very complex solutions. Most providers will offer a simple and inexpensive solution that allow you to run your own "virtual store".Your Checklist
- How does it handle customers?
- How does it handle product catalogs?
- How does it handle orders?
- How does it handle inventory?
- How does it handle back orders?
- How does it handle shipment?
- How does it handle accounts?
- How does it handle billing?
- How does it handle payment?
- How does it handle foreign currency?
- How does it handle credit cards?
- How does it handle taxes?
- How does it handle security?
- How does it handle integrity (encryption)?
Nice article ! In my experience, Paid hosting is more beneficial than free hosting . If you want to get cheap hosting plans, contact the provider 9cubehosting.com
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