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Eric Wolfram's Writing: Web Hosting For Your Web Site

Free Web Hosting For Your Web Site

You want a web site? There are two things you might want. First, it's a domain name. This is the thing that normally ends in .com. So my domain is wolfram.org, because wolfram is my last name and wolfram.com was taken by someone else. Buying a domin usually costs from $4.95-$15 per year (as of March 2004.) After you have a domain name, you'll want a place to "host" your web site. That is, you will want an internet service provider or ISP to provide the service of web hosting -- basically, these are all just fancy words for "renting hard drive space and a user account on someone's web server." Generally, web hosting accounts run the range of free-$50 per month. Today, you can lease WHOLE servers for $49/month, so I wouldn't spend more then that.

Finding the best hosting service for your Web site is easy if you know what to look for. These tips will help you choose a web hosting service that will meet your business Web site needs now and in the future.

  1. Hard drive space -- generally, more is better. The more hard drive space means more photos, videos and pages can be uploaded to your web site.
  2. Bandwidth -- generally, more is better. The more bandwidth you have, the more stuff people can download from your site.
  3. email addresses -- it's good when a web host allows you to have many email address from your domain.
  4. domain registration -- these days, many web hosting companies also help you register a domain name.
  5. Be cautious of free web hosting services. Not all offer server side support which is needed if you require guest books, polls, counters, etc.
  6. Free or very inexpensive web hosting can result in experiencing frequent "down-times" (inability to access your web site) or poor technical support.
  7. When shopping for a web hosting service, ensure that there is a technical support phone number which is either local or toll-free. Long distance calls may be costly and e-mail only support may in some cases, cause confusion and not resolve the issue promptly.
  8. Shop around. Price differences are common in the web hosting service industry and some are needlessly high.
  9. Ask yourself the following:

    Can this web hosting company accommodate potential future needs?

    Will I have to look for a new host in the event I want to add e-commerce or wireless capabilities?

    If I need a database, can the web hosting service accommodate it?

    How much does the hosting service company charge in the event that I need extra web space, e-mail, or bandwidth?

    If the web host service offers different packages, what do I have to do to upgrade my existing package and do I have to pay an extra setup fee?

    How fast will my account be activated?

    Does this web hosting service company claim to have few down-times? Be cautious of companies that claims to have 0% down-time.

    If I need a domain name, can this host get me one free of charge?

    Are there any specials or discounts?

    How much bandwidth am I allowed? Each person that visits your web site will use a portion of bandwidth to access each page. (Example: It takes more bandwidth to download a photograph in one second than it takes to download a page of text in one second.) If you're expecting a very large volume of visitors, please account for this and enquire about how much bandwidth you're allotted and how much the web hosting service charges for extra bandwidth.

    About This Page
    I keep this page to help people understand the web. Please let me know if anything on this page is misleading, needs updating or additions.

    eric@wolfram.org

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