As you compare the different web hosts make some notes so that you can eliminate as you go along. Ideally you want to end up with two to three web hosts that offer the features you want or need.  Then you can break them down by price, reliability, customer service support, disk space, and bandwidth.  There are more features that you may want to inspect and best hosting reviews should give them to you as well. Sometimes more information is appreciated for the final decision so you could go to the web hosts site to see if you can log in for free.  They may have a page that you can go to that enables you to ask pre buying questions or you may find a forum where you can actually chat with present day customers.

Presenting information in an easy to understand format is expected in best hosting review sites.  If you are having trouble discerning the statistics on the review site then you need to change sites.  Another piece of information that should be presented is whether the web host offers more than one server option.  Most of the web hosts use shared hosting.  This is usually a good option for most personal and small business websites.  However, what if your business grows and you want to move to a dedicated server?  When reading the reviews, see if there are chances to upgrade to this type of server. If there isn’t you may want to check out other web hosts.

Don’t overlook the network of friends and business associates you have.  After all the reviews have been read you may still want other valued opinions.  Speaking with business people that are using web hosts can give you insight into the company that you are looking at or in one that you didn’t previously consider.  When you are investing money in growing your business such as a website it is advisable to take as much time as you need to do it right.

This website is going to be the face of your company and you want it to portray a professional image.  Studying the best hosting reviews will allow you to make an informed choice so that your company can shine.  If the customer reviews list their website why not go to their site and see what it looks like?  This could also assist you in making a decision.  Take all the components of the reviews, put them together and choose your best option.

There are pitfalls in all of these reviews.  You can get trapped in a review that is not offering you helpful advice or is even less than honest.  To help you avoid these issues we have three areas you should concentrate on.

1. Determine the objectivity of the writer. This is number one and most important for any review, whether it is a web hosting review or other review.  Is the review offering you both pros and cons?  Have you been able to find who wrote the review?  Is that reviewer in anyway tied to the company?  Professional reviewers will begin that they are offering an unbiased review.  Customers are pretty easy to see because grammar and spelling is not often paramount with them.  A review that is definitely biased will either seem spammy or too good to be true.

2. Look at the analysis offered of the site.  Did the writer really get into the meat of the web host?  A good review will begin with information about the company.  It will then delve into a list or a paragraph of the features available.  From there the review will examine a few of the more important web host features to determine the positive and negative aspects of the site.  The review should state exactly what they are reviewing, whether it is 4 key features or all.

3. Here is the biggest example of how to tell who the reviewer is and if they are the best to write a web hosting review.  What is the writer’s expertise?  A professional review tends to be removed from the conversation.  They may not tell you their expertise, but examine the full range of products. A paid review will definitely omit who they are and make it very hard for you to find out.  A customer is more than happy to tell you that they tried the site and what their experience was.

It is always best to look at all three review types. The customer reviews should tell you exactly what their experience is helping you to find the truth behind the site.  A professional review in an unbiased manner tells you the features in a one shot deal, so that you do not have to read pages and pages of information.

Small businesses may not realize there is more out there than the $5.96 a month shared server package.  We want you to know that there is.  Choosing a server that will uphold your good reputation is imperative.  There is no reason you should have to settle for a shared server when you can earn more revenue from your website using a dedicated server.  The companies we have found offering a dedicated server range from $8.00 to $99.00 a month.  It is reasonable to find a dedicated IP address server out there.

The packages for $8 per month offer you your own server that is not shared with any other website.  You will receive customer support, technical support, around 5GB hard drive, 200GB data transfer, and 20 million page views per month.  It also provides 3 user accounts.  This plan is meant for a starter website that has yet to reach full potential.  Some shared server plans actually charge up to $20 for lesser features, so $8 as a starter plan is very good.

As you increase in price for cheap dedicated hosting you will obtain more disk space, bandwidth, and features.  A package for $99.00 a month provides a choice between Linux and Windows hosting.  They also offer Intel Dual Core Atom processor, 2040MB Ram, 320 GB hard drive, and 3000GB bandwidth.  This plan from SingleHop also offers Plesk or cPanel for the control panel, five free IP addresses, near perfect uptimes, and full root access.

For $91.00 more a month you increase from 5GB to 320GB disk space and 200GB bandwidth to 3000GB bandwidth.  The features are definitely comparing well to the value.

Our next point is that what is cheap dedicated hosting to you may not be to someone else.  If you are just starting out in a web business you have a budget allocated to hosting.  This budget is probably fairly small where $99.00 is not going to work for you.  However, you may feel $19.00 a month is within your budget based on the features that host provides you.  Dedicated Hosting that is not considered inexpensive will range from $100 to $300 or more.  These packages often include the web design and managed server.

One thing to note is your ability to upgrade.  Hosting providers give you the best rate per month based on a year or two year plan.  After the agreement is up you can stay with the same company and ask to upgrade your server.  You can also search for a new host company if the old company does not have an upgrade option.

Green web hosting servers may once have been considered trendy, but today they are widely accepted as being a great source for web hosting.  The web host reviews that you read should examine the claims of the green web hosts to make sure they actually are green.  Once that has been established they can go on to see what features and services they provide.  Based on the services in the different plans the reviewers can rate the hosts according to price, reliability, support, disk space, bandwidth and other services they could offer.

You will find that choosing a green web host is just as affordable as using one who is not.  So if you were concerned that protecting the planet had to cost more you will be pleasantly surprised.  Costs of the green web hosts that we found range from $3.50 to approximately $8.00.  The smaller priced green web host gave the customer unlimited disk space, bandwidth and e-mail as well as unlimited MySQL databases.  Other features that were included in the fees are a free domain, site building, online store and marketing coupons for Yahoo and Google.  It should be noted that this was a promotional charge and it may be good for a limited time.

The more expensive green web host had a discount at the time this article was written so the price was cut by forty percent.  The Linux plan is on a shared server and came with unlimited disk space, unlimited domains and e-mail accounts, free set up and a thirty day money back guarantee.  They also offered free site transfer if you needed it.  They also had plans for reseller hosting, virtual hosting and dedicated servers.  Because everyone has different needs in a web host you may need to have one of these servers.

Some of the green web hosts that reach the ten best are HostPapa, FatCow, 1&1, ThinkHost, IPOWER, Green Geeks, and HostGator.  Read the reviews that the customers have provided to get user feedback.  These reviews generally give you the pros and cons that are easily understandable even if you aren’t technologically adept.  The webmasters should also weigh in about the features and services.  Most of the time they have test websites so they also can give a customer’s perspective, but with perhaps a more knowledgeable twist.  When you persevere you will be able to find 10 best green web host servers that can meet your needs.

An example of what you might find in a free hosting site is a free domain name, 24 hour support, disk space, data transfer, email addresses, design tools, support for third party design tools, photo, audio and video galleries; scripting and database tools, user friendly control panel, and online marketing discounts.  From this example it can sound like you get a lot from the free site, but you have to consider the drawbacks.  To better help you understand free web site hosting we will list the pros and cons for you below:

Pros:

-Free, thus saves you money

-DIY Tools

-Easy to Use

-Launch in Minutes

-Templates

-Use for Personal Sites

Cons:

-DIY Tools can limit your options, with web design programs it is easier to create the look you want 

-Templates offered with free sites cannot be reconfigured or changed.  There may be an option you do not like, but cannot modify.

-You share the host server with many other web sites

The most important aspect of free web site hosting that should be discussed is the server issues.  A typical host server requires you to share the server with other sites.  Even if you pay for the web hosting service you will most likely be sharing with other websites; however, it is the way you share the server.  Any free site is hosted on a slower server, with ample sites in the mix.  The reaction time for loading one page is extremely slow and will hinder your search engine optimization techniques, especially when you are operating a business site. 

Due to the amount of websites on this one server it can be “down,” and thus your customers will not be able to get on.  There is a high potential for loss of repeat customers with free host servers. 

You might be saying to yourself that you have a personal website, but consider what you use your personal website for.  Is it a site for potential employers to find you?  Do you hope to gain notice to help your business website with this personal site?  If you answer yes to these questions then free hosting is not for you.  Even at a personal level the cons are a huge drawback, and should be considered long and hard before committing to the free option.

1. Customer Service and Technical Assistance should never be overlooked.  You might begin to think that cheap means you cannot get the service you need.  You will run into companies who offer $1.99 a month pricing with deplorable service, but you do not have to go with them.  There is a gem in all the thousands of sites offering affordable pricing.  You just have to find it.  Test the customer service department at various hours of the day before you sign up.

2. Domain options will vary.  Some cheap website hosting may offer you a free domain name, but will they offer unlimited domains?  Again, it may take a bit of searching but there are packages that offer top customer service and the unlimited domains.

3. Bandwidth and Disk Space must be in the top three.  Without good speed and space on a server you would have nothing.  Cheap sites often suffer from one thing and that is overselling the server your site is hosted on.  You do not have to let this happen.  Be wise and choose a package that states quite clearly you have this X amount of space and bandwidth, not unlimited.

4. Server maintenance is the difference between going down and staying up.  You can have a set amount of space and bandwidth, but if the server is not maintained with upgrades and updates your cheap package will not be serving you.

5. Templates for web design.  Do you have to use the templates supplied?  If the web host insists you use their templates look elsewhere.  Templates can be nice, but they can also hold your site back.  You should have the option even in cheap website hosting to design your own site.

6. Cpanel control is the best panel you can have with an online affordable site.  It helps you manage your own site with ease.

7. Reputation of the company you decide to trust is important.  A company that is not proud of themselves or their users means they have no reputation or a bad one.  The company should advertise who they work for.  Check on their financials as well.  It may surprise you that some web hosts have bankruptcies on their records.

8. Your customers depend on you for website security.  You depend on the host.  If the host cannot offer you a plan for $6.95 a month with SSL or other security measures they are not for you.

1. Hard Drive or Disk Space can be unlimited or a set number of megabytes or gigabytes.  Do not get trapped in the shiny offer of unlimited disk space.  For one, you will never be able to use all the “unlimited” means and the host companies know this.  The only way to truly get unlimited disk space is to have a dedicated server.  For a small business a dedicated server can be too expensive for your needs, though this is something you will have to determine.  Instead of going for the unlimited package consider how much space you will actually use.  30 pages will fit in 1MB with an image on each page.  If you do not know what you will use go for 1GB or 5GB of space.  You should have plenty and the chance to upgrade.

2. Uptime is related to data transfer and bandwidth.  Like the disk space you need a set amount of bandwidth and data transfer to avoid the oversold servers.

3. During your web hosting comparison check on the number of user accounts you can set up.  You may not want your employees all to have admin access.

4. Statistics are helpful in that you can generate reports regarding page views, the URL’s visitors used, keyword analysis, and others. Some hosts may not offer a full control panel to generate these types of reports.

5. Data transfer and page view reports are also offered with a few of the hosts.  This section will tell you the maximum allowable number of times a visitor can come to the site and access your pages, as well as how many visitors you actually get.  From this you can determine what the most popular pages are.

6. Domain Pointer is not a tool everyone might want to use, but it is helpful.  If you feel your site will lose traffic due to misspellings and you want to capture those visitors the domain pointer is perfect.  It is designed to send visitors from the wrong URL to your main site.

7. The last trait to look for is the operating system.  If you have Windows based programs and are familiar with the Windows operating system it can be easier for you to go with a Windows host.  Yet, you will want to do a web hosting comparison for price relating to the different operating systems to be sure of your choice.

Anyone who owns a business is in it to succeed and cares about the future and reputation of that company.  Furthermore, most people do still believe that if something is worth doing then it is worth doing correctly.  If you want a professional site that reflects who you are and what your company is about then free website hosting is not for you.  The only real value in a free site is the cost because it is the cheapest hosting you will ever find.  This does work for some sites like a personal website for staying in touch with friends and family, but why go with an inferior site when Facebook and MySpace exist for the purpose of keeping in touch? 

The undeniable truth is that there are far more disadvantages to free host servers than there are advantages.  These sites have problematic uptimes, virtually no customer support, and the server can be deleted without notice.  A company may decide to shut it down for insufficient income.  When you compound these issues with the software compatibility problems you can definitely see why most businesses, even smaller companies shy away from free website hosting. 

To have a stable business you need a paid host provider.  The fact is you can find a fairly inexpensive provider that offers you software compatibility, reliability, and other features.  Shared hosting servers range in price from $1.99 to $15.99.  For a few dollars a month you are showing your clients what your business means to you.  You are also looking to the future.  By choosing a good host provider you can upgrade server space and bandwidth, as well as other features as needed. 

Your clients will see what a great reputation you have and this will help you bring in new clients over time. If paid website hosting is not your priority in business it should be.  The unlimited growth potential and server management you gain is almost imperative.  Server management is where the host will actually care for the server’s up keep.  They will look at websites which may not be active anymore.  They may also help you clean up files you are no longer using.  Above all the paid hosts will have customer service support for any questions, problems, and other needs you have.  You can contact most companies 24/7 via email, live chat or telephone.  The benefits of paid servers definitely outweigh what the free host is willing to give you for nothing in return.

Hosting can be broken into categories such as full featured, web, and file servers.  The typical person will be on a free, shared, clustered, reseller, or FFmpeg style server.  However, you also need to understand what full featured options provide in case you decide to pay a little more for your business site. 

Full featured means you have a dedicated service, virtual private server, or colocation facility.  With a dedicated service you have managed host services where the service provider owns the machines and leases full control to the client.  Virtual private server is for virtual technology in which your site files can be on multiple logical servers that run on a single physical server.  In other words your internet sites are out there on many virtual servers with one physical server operating the entire thing.  Colocation facilities are for internet connection with uninterrupted power in which you have to provide the administration to your own system.  These three options are really for larger corporations rather than small businesses, but it pays to understand them. 

The web servers with free, shared, clustered, reseller, and FFmpeg servers are typically where you will find yourself. These sites have good speed and uptime, but they are not always going to be the best.  Any service that has web host provides an internet based service for individuals and businesses to publish their websites on the world wide web by using a server to keep the files.  A free server will have a limited storage space because the server hosting it wants to have paid customers.  You will find the free sites are shared with other clientele, which also limits speed and increases the chances of the site crashing. 

Shared sites will always have performance issues, but if you choose a larger enough company with a large enough server your issues with hosting should be limited.  Sites that tell you they offer unlimited storage space and bandwidth are something you want to head towards in the online world.  This means they have corporation based servers they are allowing you to rent space on.  You get to decide what file sizes and look your website has. 

The reseller server option is basically as it sounds.  You are purchasing space on a server that someone else previously bought.  The FFmpeg host option refers to software provided to domain registrars and web hosting companies that you can use to upload videos or audio through.

To truly gain an understanding of what their business is all about, a comparison of what you get versus price is essential.  Once you have read the review below you can also head out to their site for a live demo of their product.  Professional web hosting packages start at $6.95 per month, and at the time of this review they had a special of $5.95 per month.  This special included a domain name, free set-up, and numerous other features.

According to Host Monster they are the following features with all accounts:

- Domain Privacy, name, and you can have unlimited domains

- They can support international domain names if you wish to branch out further than your national market.

- A free drag and drop site builder

- Secure email support, forwarding email accounts, and email auto responder

- Each site has an unlimited amount of gigs for site transfer, unlimited disk space, and unlimited bandwidth. 

- The host features also include using different databases based on the files you create.  It can also support a Linux Operating System

- Power back-up and back-up generator are included with the package to ensure your files are always secure. 

These above features are just some of what this web host offers.  With their current site promotion they have free search engine submission and $50 in Google Credits.  Additional bonus features can be part of the package such as web blogs like wordpress, image galleries, Drupal and Joomla access and e-commerce features. 

If you are creating an e-commerce site you need to know it has the SSL secure server, shopping cart, and free generated certificate features.  Host Monster also provides streaming video supports, audio, and other multimedia features. 

The website hostmonster.com presents numerous features as you can see above, as well as makes their site easy to use.  Do you already have a domain name in mind?  If you do you can go on to their website to determine if the domain name is already in use.  The site allows you to transfer your original domain name if you already have a website on a server host that is no longer working for you.

Before you can choose a FTP web host you should be familiar with what FTP is.  The initials stand for File Transfer Protocol and transferring files is just what it does.  It is used on the internet so that your data can be stored on a large file and displayed when it is needed.  Otherwise you would create the pages directly on web site builder applications or file manager which can be very slow as far as creating and getting your information on the web site is concerned.  The reason behind this is that it generally does one file transfer at a time.  Personal web sites might be okay with this, but small businesses need the speed and efficiency of an FTP web host.

This is what you need to look for in FTP hosting reviews: reliability of the FTP web host, customer service support, value for your money and what features they offer.  The prices of the different FTP web host should also be posted in the FTP hosting reviews.  If any of these items are missing from the reviews you are looking at then you should find another review site. 

Another item that should be noted when looking at the FTP hosting reviews is how often they are updated.  A review site that updates on a weekly or monthly basis is going to contain the most current information obviously.  This is important to a potential customer because you can see whether or not the web host is fulfilling its promise to its customers.  If a new technology or update has begun you will see if they have stayed current or are just continuing with the status quo. 

You shouldn’t have to pay to see any of the hosting reviews or comparisons.  Advertisers generally pay for space on the review sites so you don’t have to.  You should also investigate how long the review site has been online.  If they have been doing reviews for years they should have a good reputation for giving unbiased hosting reviews.  New companies can be just as reputable though so don’t discount them just because they haven’t been around for ten years.  Look at the web hosts that three or four review sites have in common then read each one’s reviews.  Do they have similar comments? Is there one that has nothing but glowing reports?  You have to examine the information being provided.  Most sites will have at least one negative comment, but you have to look for the common threads.

Reviews will begin with a general introduction about the company and their products on offer.  If the company has a range of free hosting up to more expensive options this will be listed to help you compare the packages the host company provides. 

The free web hosting reviews then break down the most important information into an easy to read format.  Price, disk space, bandwidth, domains, support, online website editor, language support, scripts, control panel features, multimedia features, e-commerce features, blogs, content management systems, forums, image galleries, and other information will be shared in the table format.  This easy to read information outlines what you hope to find on the server site.  It also helps you compare other companies side by side to determine what differences in price and other information can be found. 

Once the essential information has been provided there are two other categories in the review.  You have the customer review and professional review. The professional review will take the most important elements of the web host server and dissect them for quality, usability, and price.  The customer reviews give you a perspective from the actual users of the hosting sites. 

It is here you will learn the most about free web hosting services.  In 9 out of 10 free web hosting reviews discussing free host servers the customer dislikes at least two elements of the free server.  The most common complaint is that the server is always crashing and thus their customers are unable to stop by to read newsletters, blogs, forums, or purchase the goods and services being sold. 

The second complaint is typically the disk space.  Disk space is the amount of megabytes or gigabytes one is given for their website.  Each page will be a certain size, and the more images or text added the larger the file.  If you are restricted in size it is hard to add content, images, make changes, or put all the information necessary on that page and site. 

The conclusion of web hosting reviews clearly show paying for a web hosting service is not only inexpensive, but imperative.  Paying for unlimited disk space, quality, and usability is worth the low price.  The only determination left for you to make is which paying site is better, thus the reviews will help you find the company offering the most for the best price available to you.

Unless you specifically give your web site address to people how do you think you will be found?  Free web hosting providers give you the opportunity to get on the World Wide Web with your web site and that is pretty much all they do.  The internet service provider may own the site or they could just be leasing it.  Either way they won’t maintain your site or often provide other services.  The spiders of Google and other search engines will have a very hard time finding your articles or blogs which is what helps you get ranked.  If your ranking is low or non- existent then your web site isn’t drawing attention and no one will find you unless it is by accident. 

While there are advertisers on the free web sites they may not be well known companies.  A large business wants to be seen by a multitude of people and it isn’t likely to occur on free web hosting providers’ little known web pages.  Paying even a small amount for web hosting is a better option because you will have the ability to write articles for forums as well as be able to manage the content.  In business this would be crucial because old content doesn’t get visits from potential clients or customers. 

Many free web hosting sites also don’t have the speed that is required to get the information out.  Today’s consumer wants it quickly and if they can’t receive it instantly they will go somewhere else.  You may decide that the free web host is alright, but now you have some funds that you can use to pay for a web host provider will you be able to redirect your free website to the new one without any issues?  A server does not require a redirect of your website unless you change the domain name or redirect the files. So the following you may have managed to get won’t know what happened to you.

The template that has been designed by the web host may be adequate for personal use and if you aren’t planning it as a launching pad for a business the look should be suitable.  However, if you want to use it for a business it won’t really have a polished, professional feel.  Since it is generic the qualities that you want to share about your business and its statement won’t stand out.  The real purpose of having a web site should be examined before deciding to sign up on a free web host site.

ASP is less common than when it was first developed.  This is due in large part to upgrades in the technology world making ASP less functional compared to new products on the market.  ASP was originally designed to offer more speed for downloading pages and to work with Microsoft’s IIS Servers.  The simple answer to why you need it is the same as the definition of what it is.  The scripting allowed for quicker downloads, which satisfied consumers trying to access the web page.  It also helped the look of the web pages by being able to add more images and text. 

Today there are a select few companies still offering ASP hosting.  To find these companies you should search for ASP or ASP.net.  The results will be more limited and helpful in your search.  The companies offering ASP are using basic PHP language with it.  The benefits of ASP are:

1. Permission to access IIS and Windows OS directly

2. Better Server Side Scripting combined with MS Access and SQL

3. A more professional and usable website

4. Accuracy

5. The feature is flexible and easy to use

6. Blogs, social networking, and forums can all be part of the website with ASP

7. Interactive functionality is gained

8. Inexpensive

The above are all great features of ASP host options.  The greatest benefit is providing customers with a solution for their requirements.  Each consumer has a reason for going on to a site.  They also want it to be fast, easy to read, and helpful.  The ASP option allows a dynamic site in which the customer can find that speed and service they wish for. 

The disadvantages of ASP hosting is growth in the hosting industry.  Technology industries like the internet will continue to change. Sometimes it may even seem like it changes overnight.  Companies are constantly working to improve what is available to their clients.  The improvements mean that eventually early ASP software will become obsolete.  Your host must keep upgrading their services to use ASP.net and the next generation of the ASP options. 

Windows just launched Windows 7, which replaces Windows Vista.  The new operating system solves issues Vista had, but it also means software used in conjunction with Vista has to be able to support Windows 7, thus the upgrade in options like ASP is required.  The one condition you must keep in mind is that many individuals cannot move as fast as the technology industry.  There are users working with Windows 98 or Windows XP.  Your website and therefore your host has to be able to cater to all operating systems within the server features.

Sites are rarely the same when it comes to hosting, and by same we mean duplicate copies.  The typical hosting site will have at least one difference from that of any other, even if they are affiliate sites.  Affiliate sites work under one corporation, but have a different look to their websites, as well as at least one difference in product.  For example one affiliate site might offer unlimited POP3 Secure Email Support while another has 2,500 emails of storage as the limit.  It is these differences you must look for in a hosting review. 

Most individuals shopping for web hosting services tend to look at the cost of the product as their determiner.  While cost is imperative to your budget do not get lost in price alone.  Inexpensive web hosts are very helpful to getting started in an online business or site.  The drawback to extremely cheap web hosts is the shared server.  For $1.99 a year you are going to be on an oversold server.  Reviews are your method for discovering if the company tends to oversell their servers.  The uptime and speed will be deplorable on this type of system.  Customers who have used the site will also provide you with reviews. 

A good rule to follow is to read both customer and professional reviews.  It should come as no shock that some companies will pay for reviews to show their site in a positive light.  You have to be able to look for the unbiased reviews and the customer reviews.  Customer reviews are easy to find.  They will be on tech sites and the host site as well.  The reviews are short, personal, and direct.  They also tend to have stars to rate each aspect of the site with a 1 through 5 rating.  The paid reviews will have advertising by the host company, and a lot of the times they do not discuss any negative aspects. 

When reading a hosting review check what the reviewer says about customer service.  Do they provide examples of why they think the customer service was good or bad?  Facts in a review give you the information you actually need instead of providing fluff.  Do not just use reviews as your tool to find a web host.  It is only one tool out there, and always double check the facts in the review with the actual site.

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The companies that host these sites offer more than just making the world a better place to live in.  They have great technology behind them as they provide domain names, emails and databases.  You will find that most of the green hosting companies strive to give the user one hundred per cent up time. 

If you want to use different versions like Apache, MySQL and others look for them with a green host.  While they aren’t run exclusively by green hosts you may not have known they were available.  Some of the companies will even install a module that you need if you request it.  These web hosts are committed to keeping their software upgraded continuously.  This allows them to maintain security and enjoy a reputation for reliability.

Because these hosting companies do charge for their services you will get more server space, up time, bandwidth and databases.  This means that if you have a small business it should meet or exceed your expectations and needs.  The more of these services that you can get with unlimited status the better it will be. 

Your environmentally responsible server should offer a shopping cart, web design templates along with software tools.  If you can find one with photos you can set up your web site to have a professional look for a small cash outlay. 

While you can find these services without going green for roughly the same cost to your business, doesn’t it make sense to choose a green host company?  You not only get all the great benefits of the internet service provider; you also get to help protect the environment.

Some of the green web hosts use biogas or use geothermal to power their buildings as well as the computers; they go paperless and plant trees on their client’s behalf.  There are many companies out there that rely on renewable energy to run their businesses and give great quality service that you won’t have any problem finding the one that works best for your needs.

Pricing for a green web host can cost as little as $3.95 a month to $7.95 per month.  They are all committed to helping the planet and giving you the best hosting sites.  The details of what they offer will help you make an informed decision.  Most of the ones reviewed have a free domain name and offer a money back guarantee, and what could be better than that?

A blogger is not going to need the tools the small business needs to sell their products.  Based on these differences you have to research the various business hosting providers available to find which one offers you the ecommerce tools you require for the right value.  There are four aspects of ecommerce web hosting you should consider.

1. The available software for e-commerce: most computers have a variety of software options.  You know to use a document for typing text you can purchase Microsoft Word, Microsoft Works or another word processor.  In e-commerce you have different shopping cart software programs and security software options.  For example of software there is PHP or DotNet.  PHP is scripting.  It is also the most common type of software scripting. 

2. A choice between operating systems will also need to be made.  Do you want Linux or Windows?  Most small businesses opt for Windows operating systems because they are most familiar with the Microsoft product and have corresponding software for web designing. 

3. Bandwidth and disk space is very important.  An ecommerce site will run to larger files.  Not only do you have more text requirements, you also have to have an image for each product you sell.  The customer wants to see what any product looks like before they buy it.  Since you require more disk space you will need a shared server or dedicated server that can offer this.  A dedicated server allows you to host your website without anyone being on it.  A shared server shares space with other sites. One thing about a shared server is that it has difficulty working with multiple SSL secure keys.  The SSL key is needed in ecommerce web hosting to ensure the security of credit card or banking information the user is providing for a money transfer.

4. Stability is of high concern.  Your business image to earn revenue has to show a good reputation and professionalism.  The server host must provide the most stability in order to avoid crashing and downtime problems.  Find an uptime guarantee that is as close to perfect as possible.  100 percent guarantees are not possible, but getting close is certainly attainable for hosts.  Check reviews to see what the stability really is from a client perspective.

This company has been in business since 1996.  They are one of a few affiliate sites available on the internet, offering virtually the same products as Bluehost.com for the same cost. The site www.hostmonster.com is a shared server site.  Shared server means there is more than one website per server.  The company also oversells their servers that offer unlimited disk space and bandwidth, which can cause issues at certain times.  For example if a web hosting server has been oversold and the Christmas season hits with a speciality online Christmas website as one business on that server they could be using all the bandwidth or causing the server to crash.  The result of less bandwidth for your site is a loss of potential sales because customers are unable to get to your site. 

One package available at hostmonster offers 1500 gigabytes of web space, a monthly bandwidth of 15TB, unlimited domains, POP3 email unlimited, unlimited FTP accounts, and unlimited subdomains.  They also support MySQL Databases.  The domain is free, e-commerce options are available, there is a site builder, and support is 24/7.  If a person is unsatisfied with the site they have a 30 day money back guarantee.  This package is $6.95 a month. 

Host Monster provides a package for twelve months at a certain cost.  Each year you may find your price increases by a dollar as more features become available and the market changes.  However, there seems to be one constant year after year with the company.

They always have helpful and available customer support.  Instead of waiting for ten minutes or more on hold, you can pretty much get a live person in the first few minutes.  Any questions, help, or problems you have can be answered by the support.  If the problem is not severe you can expect it to be rectified within minutes.  For example if your website is shut down due to file counts, a simple phone call will have it up and running.  Unfortunately, if there is a power outage that causes the problem this could take a bit to fix.  Of course, the site does have backup systems in place, so larger issues rarely occur. 

As a shared server Host Monster has a good record for providing value for the price.  If you want to eliminate down time issues, file count problems, or anything else you do have to pay for the added value of a dedicated server.  This is the only sure way to eliminate the problems one might find with www.hostmonster.com

GoDaddy.com, Justhost.com, Bluehost.com, Hostmonster.com and Yahoo Small Business are a few of the web host service companies available on the internet.  The companies range in price from $3.45 to $7.50 (per month) of unlimited disk space and bandwidth.  The domain name is generally free.  They also have high ratings for performance in regards to uptime and speed. 

A free service may offer between 50MB and 11,000 MB of space, forced ads are not acceptable, your own ads are allowed, uploads are FTP and Browser, and scripting is in PHP format.  You also have your own URL, though in some instances it is only a sub domain as part of the host company’s domain.   

Already in the information provided regarding free web hosting services you can see the huge differences in paying a few dollars for a host server versus free server.  The free service has a limit on the disk space and bandwidth you can occupy.  If you need more space on a free server you have to upgrade your service to a paying account.  Certain ads are not allowed on the site.  The upload and scripting options are limited.  You may also have a sub domain instead of your own, where as the paid services allow you to make your own domain name and it is not part of the host company’s in any way.

To provide further examples of the differences we will examine GoDaddy.com.  With their hosting packages they offer free setup, free software, 24 hour support, and unlimited storage and support.  Yahoo Small Business for web hosting offers designs, photo upload, audio/ video, leads, security and reports on performance.  Not all web hosting that you pay for will be the same.  Each host tends to have their own offer of services and tools.  The point being made is that with a paid sight you are achieving a better looking website and more space on the server, at such a small monthly cost. 

Free web hosting services do have their place, but when you can spend $3.50 and get a server that works with you and for you why chance the extensive disadvantages to be found with free sites?  The answer is you should not.  Spending a few dollars a month will help your business two- fold.  You have a service you can trust and one that helps you gain the customers and online recognition you need to run your business.

In other words, your customer goes to your homepage and the server will allow the customer to pull up the homepage and display what you have created for that page.  They may see text, images, and more.  With a dedicated system we are discussing how the information is stored.  The definition of a shared hosting server is a server that you do not have control over; instead, other individuals like you will also be storing files on that same server.  With a shared server you can expect the company to manage the server.  A dedicated server can be managed or un-managed.  If you choose un-managed then you are responsible for the upkeep of the server and its information. 

To better explain the differences in servers, we’ll take a look at the filing system.  In a business you have a file for every vendor you work with.  You also have a file for every employee.  This filing system is how you keep track of the necessary paperwork and keep your business organized.  Servers work the same way.  In a business it is easier to have one filing cabinet for employee information or at least one draw, and the same for the vendors.  The server allows you to organize your website in a similar fashion.

However, if your cabinet becomes overcrowded with old employees and vendors where you cannot put a new employee or vendor in the cabinet, your system will begin to fail.  Organization will slide away.  This analogy can be applied to the servers.  On a shared server you have a limited amount of space you can use.  If another user is taking more than their share and you need to expand, you will be unable to do so.  Likewise, if you all the sudden have a million hits on your site and the server cannot handle the needs of your customers your site will go down and crash everyone else’s site as well. 

A dedicated server is set up with the space you need.  You can organize it how you want.  As long as you have a good sized server you can add to your files, building better pages and providing new content.  You can also better handle the customer base you might have, especially if it suddenly increases.  You do have to pay more for a private server than the shared server, but it is worth it when you consider what could happen.

Businesses are able to place their critical files and equipment at the data center. The center has a high level of security and maintenance staff to ensure the dedicated servers continue running properly. For businesses that require high security on their files the colocation center is really the best place to store it. Security guards are on hand for problems and the tech support hired to keep the servers running is top notch.

The cost of the colocation option is also becoming more affordable. The companies using the service are using a “shared data infrastructure.” Added to this design are the large power towers and mechanical systems the colocation business web hosting company offers. To have the same type of center in your business would be more expensive because you are the only one using it. As a center the servers the company runs on the power source can be sold to generate income. Colocation centers are generally 50,000 to 100,000 square feet in order to house the equipment needed to run the servers and network systems.

A few of the features one gets with colocation hosting includes:
• IT Support
• Communication Facilities
• Security
• Telecommunications
• Internet
• ASP

Additional benefits of this system include freeing up internal network space for the company. They are able to resume their business as usual without fear of their website shutting down or other issues due to the high volume of internal use. Colocation facilities also have larger bandwidth capacity and therefore speed.

Customers using colocation hosting include ecommerce companies, corporations, and telecommunication companies. Colocation facilities can offer both types of servers: dedicated and shared. The shared servers will be more cost effective for a business since the one server is being sold to multiple customers. Dedicated servers will always be more expensive, but in a situation like colocation there are literally hundreds of servers to make money off of. This means the center can charge a little less for dedicated servers than say a company with ten servers.

The overhead costs of colocation options are extremely low. If you set up the system on your own you will have to spend more money setting up the system.
We mentioned security above, but to give you a little more detail the security will be cheaper because your business does not have to hire the personnel. You also are renting the space with the assurance that the tech support will have the best security in place on the server as well. The bottom line is you gain a great deal with colocation whether you are on a shared or dedicated server, thus performance is enhanced for your website and other business matters can be attended by you.

A subject that does not get proper attention in many articles is disk space.  Sure, you know that the disk space a web hosting company offers is imperative, but numerically speaking what do you need?  One megabyte of disk space can typically hold 30 pages of content.  On these 30 pages you can estimate one to two images being on it along with the text.  From this information you can surmise that you can get a pretty large site created for a few megabytes of disk space, and have room to grow the site as needed.

Do you really need unlimited disk space to consider a company the best web hosting option?  For small businesses and bloggers you certainly do not need unlimited disk space for data storage.  Is it a handy preference? Yes. However, consider what is being offered with unlimited space.  Many companies may offer unlimited space and then oversell the server, actually limiting your storage too much. 

In discussing disk space we also have to talk about bandwidth.  The typical web server handles 1000 to 4000 megabytes of data transfers in a month.  This refers to the number of page views the server can withstand in that time frame.  The translation from megabytes to page views is 30,000 to 120,000.  The best web hosting company will be able to handle more than 120,000 page views.  The reason is they know one site in one day can get that many page views if their SEO is built correctly.  The site getting those page views does not have to be a corporation or large online business. It can be a blog site that suddenly went viral from one article that gets the attention. 

You have to be realistic in your expectations regarding the server you choose.  Even when a company says they have unlimited bandwidth you have to research it.  Can they really guarantee you the site will not falter if your page suddenly becomes busy?  There is too much competition and inexpensive servers out there to go with a company that cannot perform for you.  Ask the company what bandwidth they truly allot a site and how this may change if one site on the server suddenly becomes busy.

Dedicated servers host offers more flexibility than a shared site.  You will have control over hardware and operating systems among other things.  Leasing the whole server offers more positives because it can actually cost less in overhead charges.  Data centers are generally where dedicated servers host are housed.  These centers differ from a co-location facility in that with a dedicated server the hardware would be owned by the internet service provider.

When choosing dedicated servers host you may find that they offer different operating system support.  It can vary for several reasons, and if you have a favorite operating system you may want to research which server has the one you prefer.  Typically the system chosen is based on price or availability.  Variations of Linux are typically found and may include the Microsoft Windows Server as a commercial system.  The operating system is needed to see that the most up to date security fixes are in place.  If they have the latest in security patches and updates to applications the server will maintain its security and safety.

Bandwidth is a very important part of any hosting provider.  When you invest in dedicated servers host though you want to make sure that you have unlimited bandwidth if at all possible.  Without getting technical, bandwidth is what moves your information from one point to another.  This rate of transfer is measured in seconds.  Your visitors want to have access to the information on your web site right now so having adequate bandwidth to give them instant access is crucial.  If your site moves too slowly you will lose their interest and they will move on.

You should find a dedicated server that uses multiple vendors to provide the bandwidth.  This keeps the cost down and allows the providers to offer a 100% uptime guarantee or at least a 99.9% uptime.  Because this type of service uses many paths they are able to circumvent a problem such as a crash in the system. 

There are four different types of managed support that you may find with dedicated servers.  The first would be a total management, which offers a hands off approach for the company. They do the system upgrades, monitoring, update software and other things.  The next level provides limited management and support along with monitoring and updates.  The customer would have some responsibilities with this plan.  A self managed program is just what it sounds like; the majority of operations are in the hands of the customer with the exception of monitoring and maybe maintenance.  The last type is unmanaged, where the customer is in control of all aspects.

ASP.NET hosting is a type of server available to you.  It literally means the server will be able to support your ASP.NET scripted pages.  ASP is technically for SEO purposes in creating a text and image page that can be downloaded quickly and supply the information needed by the potential customer of your site.  If a web server provider says they offer ASP.NET host capabilities it means you can use the program to design your pages without issues.  As mentioned ASP is for Windows, which means Linux hosts will not be offering ASP options.  ASP.NET also works on the Microsoft IIS Server.  Any other type of server may not work with the ASP, even if it is Microsoft designed. 

The benefits of the ASP.NET hosting are outlined here:

- Any page created with C++, Java or Visual Basic will be supported

- Forums, blogs, social networking applications, etc can be used

- Microsoft Access as the database

- SQL properties

- Save on development time

Is there an extra cost for this type of hosting?  You are probably asking yourself this question.  The answer is yes.  Unfortunately, to obtain hosting with ASP.NET capabilities you have to pay a little extra.  The good news is the price is based on the additional licensing requirements; therefore, the extra cost is relatively inexpensive.  The cost is actually insignificant compared to the benefits you are gaining. 

We mentioned above that you can save on development time using the ASP.NET option.  The time you save in creating the site means you will upload it faster to the server.  The site will be launched and making money quicker.  Through this process you will be able to gain back what you are spending for the ASP.NET fairly quickly. 

The major downside to ASP.NET is not the cost.  It is in your experience.  A small business or blogger really has no need for this feature.  You can create a great website without it.  If you are hiring an experienced Microsoft programming expert then you may want to use it. Otherwise there are numerous hosting options that offer open source based programming that are easier to use than ASP.NET hosting. 

Corporations find more benefit from the ASP.NET than small companies.  They have more products, therefore a need for more images and other web features like a forum.  Review your website requirements to ascertain the real needs you have in a host before going with the ASP.NET option.

Here are two examples:

1. Business Owner A went for a dedicated server, which provides web design tools, unlimited email support and various other features for email, and 98% uptime rating.

2. Business Owner B decided on a shared server host that is more for personal sites to save money, where bandwidth and disk space is supposed to be unlimited, 97% uptime, a few web design tools, and most email services and support options.  Business Owner B is finding it hard to keep his customer base.  He has great SEO tactics and advertising, but the page views are lacking.  He has also noticed when he goes to the site he has issues getting on. 

 Business Owner A is not having the problems Owner B experiences because he went for the more professional server that is good even for small businesses.  The downside is Owner A is paying a lot more for the business web hosting, although his reputation for great service is intact.  The point here is that you are going to get what you pay for in a host.  By spending more you do get features like Owner A received and your site is available for the customers.  Owner B’s site was crashing due to the oversold server thus while he was professional and experienced on the topic clients could not see it with his failing site. 

Personal sites offer useful tools like email support, web tools, and some are even free.  Unfortunately, their uptimes and speed are generally lacking.  Owner B was paying less, probably about $1.99 a month in which the shared server was oversold.  Certainly the website looks professional and the features are akin to the more professional hosting, yet it was not impressive enough. 

In a business you need your site to be there whenever the client wants to get on.  So your uptimes need to be as close to 100% as possible.  This means you have to choose a server host that can guarantee you high uptime percentages.  Along with the uptime you also need enough storage space for your files.  Unlimited disk space is not required. While it is nice, most inexpensive servers tend to oversell this space because they know you won’t use it all.  So pay for the space you need and calculate potential growth.  Email is imperative to an online business; therefore, you need email support, storage, and email accounts.

1. You can save money with hosting if you are on a shared server.  There are a few drawbacks to shared servers depending on the options you choose.  For example you want a concrete contract for disk space and bandwidth, not unlimited. 

2. Backup features: the right hosting service will offer daily backup options for your database and website, just in case the server has some issues.  Downtimes can cause data and customer information to be lost unless a backup system is in place. 

3. The backup options lead us directly to uptimes.  You need to search for the best uptime of at least 98 percent.  Nothing is perfect so 100 percent uptime guarantee is definitely not a true statement. 

4. Security options like SSL, which means secure socket layer. It is an encryption key that allows the customer information to remain secure when entered during the purchasing process. Any website selling items should have the SSL.

5. Extra features help separate one business hosting company from another.  MySQL Database, Joomla, OS Commerce, Shopping Cart choices, email support, and much more can be found in web hosting tools at most companies.  You want to find the company that offers what you will use and extra features you might be interested in at a later time.

6. Technical support is paramount.  Being able to contact them through Live Chat or telephone should be easy.

7. Along with technical support, you should be able to get great customer service for all other questions.  This means obtaining answers, help, and any other support 24/7.  Often a choice between business hosting comes down to the customer service center provided.

8. A money back guarantee with a 14 to 30 day trial is a must.  You should go for the longer trial because it can take a while to find the issues a server has.  14 days while helpful is not always long enough.  So, if you can find a site that offers even more than 30 days you should go for it. 

9. The last suggestion is to look for a “low client to server ratio” where the shared server is not inundated with too many websites, but enough for the company to make money without jeopardizing performance for you.

1. Your needs are always going to take precedent in any decision you make.  The type of website you will be launching will in part determine the type of host you need to find.  For example you may require a Windows based server, whereas another individual is using Linux. 

2. Along with understanding your needs will be the file sizes.  The average person uses 100MB of space and 300MB bandwidth for their website.  An e-commerce website or one with many images will increase in size.  For images a file should be 72DPI.  Many professionals require a height of 150 or a width of 200 pixels for the image size, a reference point.  You can decrease your file sizes with certain techniques, but you will still require enough space on the server to handle the entire website and its various pages.  When discussing size remember you can always upgrade the server size.  Unlimited disk space and bandwidth is available, but you must be careful of over selling. 

3. To narrow your choices of website hosting companies look for companies that offer a trial period and money back guarantees.  You should be able to find a live demo or a 30 day period in which you get to try the product you are paying for. 

4. It cannot be stressed enough that reviews are extremely helpful in getting the right server.  There are paid reviews, unbiased review sites, and customer reviews to take a look at.  Paid reviews are often done for the actual company being reviewed, so try to find unbiased review sites and customer reviews for this area of elimination. 

5. Changing servers requires a redirect of the files from the old site to the new site.  Instead of changing website hosting companies find a company that has different plans.  A company that allows you to grow as your site grows will be easier to work with than finding a new company and potentially losing clients due to the move.  It is true that once you have the URL the domain will not change unless you want it to, but there can still be issues with moving server locations. 

6. Any site that does not offer 24/7 support should be eliminated from your list.  Problems can occur at any time and you need to be able to get your answers and a solution immediately.  For customer service try finding a company with a good customer service support record, availability, and knowledgeable staff.  In website hosting outsourcing to a call center usually does not work.

1. Evaluate your requirements: what type of business or website do you want to have?  Will you have a lot of videos and images? Is your site strictly for ecommerce?  Do you want your site to be more like a brochure?  The answers to these questions will help you narrow down the web host sites from thousands to a few hundred. 

2. Your next step is to eliminate most of the sites you are looking at to a few choices.  Your budget will help in this process.  However, you need to be wary of sites that oversell.  Some hosting companies oversell their servers and provide them at a low cost.  This helps to boost their overall profits.  Not all sites at a low- cost will oversell, so you have to cull out the ones that do.  The best way to do this is by asking the company how many websites they put on one server.  If they do not answer, you know they are overselling.  Another way to tell is the speed and uptime.  An oversold server tends to crash and work very slowly.  In checking the speed and uptime visit a few sites the server is already hosting.

3. Your search for the best web host will bring you to obtaining ‘references’ of the site.  Get reviews from trusted sources. The reviews will explain each aspect of the site: examine it for disk space, price, bandwidth, uptime, and speed. 

4. Customer service is essential.  In such a competitive industry web companies providing a service have to have great support.  You may see bad reviews of a site, but base your decision of that site on the facts.  Yes, customer reviews are helpful, but what really occurred?  If it was bad customer service you should see many reviews with that mentioned.  The same can be said about great customer service.  People will talk about how helpful the staff at a web company is, and it is this that truly sets most web host sites apart. 

There is a possibility that you will outgrow the first site you choose.  The best web host you find when starting out may not work as your company grows.  As your needs change you may have to re-evaluate what is the best host for you, so do not be afraid of making changes down the road.

Free Hosting:
• No Fee
• Unlimited Bandwidth and Disk Space
• Millions of Service Providers
• Shared Server, with no maintenance
• Over filled servers for very slow speeds and extreme downtimes
• Server can be shut down instantly (there one minute, gone the next)

Shared Hosting:
• Small Fee
• Unlimited or Set Bandwidth and Disk Space
• Numerous Service Providers
• More than one website on the server, limited maintenance to provide updates on software and server requirements
• Can be oversold
• Speeds and Uptimes will vary
• Sites tend to remain for years, no fear of having your website suddenly removed

Dedicated Hosting:
• Expensive
• Unlimited Bandwidth and Disk Space
• Plenty of Host Servers
• You have the server to yourself, no competition for disk space or bandwidth
• Managed or Unmanaged Hosting
• Maintenance, high security, and updates regularly
• No overselling
• High speeds and uptimes
• No threat of server suddenly disappearing

The above lists outline the pros and cons of the best hosting options. As you can see there are major differences between the three main server types. Dedicated hosting will range in cost from $50 to over $200. Small companies and bloggers generally cannot afford this monthly payment package.

Free sites will disappear quickly, become bogged down, and generally lose their desirability within a few days. A small business owner or blogger should look towards the shared server. A shared server can have good bandwidth and disk space as long as you opt for a specific megabyte or gigabyte plan. Unlimited plans will be oversold because the companies know you will never use all the space offered. The problem is they do not typically concentrate on the server enough to know when it has reached its limit, which is why a set plan is required for best hosting.

Hosting plans with the shared server range in cost from $1.99 to over $20. Typically the more you pay the better features and tools you obtain. However, you do not want to pay more than the server is worth. Comparing the packages will help you find the most features and tools for the lesser expense.

Reviews from the customer perspective can help you determine if the shared server host provides what they advertise. Stay clear of 100 percent guarantees on anything; nothing is ever perfect 100 percent of the time. Understand the limitations and it will be easy for you to find the best server host for your small business or blog website.

SimpleScripts offers you a list of categories that are common to most websites, and within each category you will find the top six scripts to accomplish what you need. For example, you want to set up a blog on your website for Wordpress. SimpleScripts offers you everything you need to set up that blog. All you need to do is look through the website to find the item you need, click on the big green button on the SimpleScripts page that says ‘Install Now’, and within minutes you will have your items installed and ready to use.

If everything works properly when you choose the script you want to use on your website, you will find yourself on the preferences page of the program you installed or the action you took. You can now set everything up the way you want it to work with your website. Using the Worpress example, you will be able to tell the Wordpress program that is now associated with your website thanks to SimpleScripts coding how to set up your blog the way you want it. The first thing the preferences page will ask you is where you want to store your blog. If you plan on using more than one function of SimpleScripts, say setting up an online shop that is also related to your website, choose a different location for each script. This will help them load faster and function better.

Once you hit the ‘Complete’ button on the bottom of the screen, SimpleScripts will install whatever it is you choose for your website. All you need for this program to function is a domain name and web hosting account so that you are all set. SimpleScripts takes the frustration of setting up a website away. If you are setting up a simple hobby account, then you may wish to consider using the free version of SimpleScripts. Otherwise, the service is only $15 a year. Included in your yearly subscription are all security updates, patches, and upgrades that you need to keep your site rolling.

There are numerous functions available through SimpleScripts that can help you turn your website into a money making venture. From live chat rooms to payment centers, image storing accounts to social networking sites, SimpleScripts is the one stop shop for no hassle website building. It is well worth checking out when you get ready to build your website. If you need scripts for enterprise level features, functionality, and support, invest the $15 yearly fee into this program. You will be glad you did as you will save yourself precious time and money bringing your website online.