Getting a website up on the net is relatively easy to do these days but the trick is deciding where and how it will be hosted. Given that, you need to have a good understanding of what you are planning to do with your site.
For instance, if you are just going to throw up a few pages about your kids that only your family and friends will see, you likely can get away with using free platforms like Blogger or Xanga (and a ton of others). However if you have more enterprising needs there are a number if things to look out for:
1. Uptime - To put it in simple terms, uptime is the amount of time your site is available for your visitors to browse, place orders, make comments, whatever. Obviously, you want your site to up as often as possible. Now, uptime is typically measured as a percentage of the total time in a month, like 99.99%.
2. Security - If you are collecting someones personal information, like addresses or credit cards and such, security is crucial! Matter of fact, your customers have to feel confident that you are treating their information securly or they just won't do business with you. Security is also linked directly to uptime.
3. Redundancy - On top of having good security standards, a good host will have built in redundance in its operations. What that means is they have back up systems, like back up servers, in place just in case the main system goes down. Having back up servers, for example, will help to ensure that your website stays up and running.
4. Facility Maintenance and 24/7 Monitoring - To protect against disaster and other threats, a good host will maintain a locked, temperature-controlled facility that has fire protection and an back up power source. The building should be monitored on a 24/7 basis. Monitoring should include an established hacker detection system to guard against security breach.
5. Technical Support - The amount of technical support you receive from your hosting provider is usually dependant on how much you pay them for the service. Some low-cost providers offer no technical support at all, while others in the low-to-mid-cost range offer email or online chat support. Some of the best hosting providers offer phone support (sometimes toll-free, but not always) in addition to online support.
For instance, if you are just going to throw up a few pages about your kids that only your family and friends will see, you likely can get away with using free platforms like Blogger or Xanga (and a ton of others). However if you have more enterprising needs there are a number if things to look out for:
1. Uptime - To put it in simple terms, uptime is the amount of time your site is available for your visitors to browse, place orders, make comments, whatever. Obviously, you want your site to up as often as possible. Now, uptime is typically measured as a percentage of the total time in a month, like 99.99%.
2. Security - If you are collecting someones personal information, like addresses or credit cards and such, security is crucial! Matter of fact, your customers have to feel confident that you are treating their information securly or they just won't do business with you. Security is also linked directly to uptime.
3. Redundancy - On top of having good security standards, a good host will have built in redundance in its operations. What that means is they have back up systems, like back up servers, in place just in case the main system goes down. Having back up servers, for example, will help to ensure that your website stays up and running.
4. Facility Maintenance and 24/7 Monitoring - To protect against disaster and other threats, a good host will maintain a locked, temperature-controlled facility that has fire protection and an back up power source. The building should be monitored on a 24/7 basis. Monitoring should include an established hacker detection system to guard against security breach.
5. Technical Support - The amount of technical support you receive from your hosting provider is usually dependant on how much you pay them for the service. Some low-cost providers offer no technical support at all, while others in the low-to-mid-cost range offer email or online chat support. Some of the best hosting providers offer phone support (sometimes toll-free, but not always) in addition to online support.
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