In order for your company to have a web site, you first need to design that site, and then find somewhere to put it so that it can be accessed by anyone connected to the internet.
The most cost effective and hassle free way to do this is to use the services of one of the many web hosting providers available on the internet, you can use a web host if you pay a monthly fee and have a domain name. Your domain name provides the URL that people will type into their Internet web browser to be directed to your site and should have some relevance to the content of your site.
You usually have to pay to register your domain name, although most web hosts provide free domain registration services, website building software and analytical tools to enable you to monitor the traffic coming to your site and help you market your web space more effectively.
Storage Space
When choosing a web host you should see how much space your web files take up on your computer before deciding upon a package, taking into consideration the fact that as the business grows so too will the web site.
Bandwidth
Bandwidth is the maximum amount of data transfer that visitors on the site can achieve each month measured in gigabytes.
If you choose a web hosting package with an inadequate amount of bandwidth, the owner of the domain may charge you to access more.
E-mail Accounts
Along with your hosted domain your web host will also provide you with a number of customizable e-mail addresses, how many you need will depend on your requirements and should be thought out before entering into a contract.
Shared Web Hosting
This the most likely way your will host your first web site, your site will be hosted on a sever which is shared by many other sites. Shared web hosting offers an extremely cost effective solution for hosting a home or small business website, but may be too restrictive for a larger business who wish to use large amounts of storage, bandwidth and customized software.
Dedicated Hosting
This option give you much more flexibility to grow your business. A dedicated server can host as many site as you choose, and you have the added advantage that your bandwidth will not be compromised by web users accessing other site as only yours is on the server. Dedicated hosting also provides you with added security as only you have administrative access to the server, and you are free to add your own virus protection software and operating systems.
Support
Another very important feature you need to consider is the level of support offered by your web host, most will offer some form of helpline and/or online support package. But it is worth finding out if this is 24/7 or just limited to working ours, some of the cheaper hosting solutions use the latter to cut costs but this is no good if your site crashes on a Friday evening and you are hemorrhaging money in lost sales over a busy weekend.
Summary
In short there are many options out there, the choice and permutations are literally endless with many more being added each day, so take time and research well, it is often worth paying a little more for reliability as it will pay off in the long term in increased sales.
Reviewed on 6 Sept 2008 by |
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