Becoming A Part Of The Internet Web Of Life
Friday, November 10, 2006
There are currently over a billion websites on the Internet.
Are you ready to join the ranks? If you answered in the
affirmative, then you've got a few decisions in front of you.
Ok, you've got a ton of decisions and you won't want to make
the wrong ones because it can cost you money and time. In this
day and age, those commodities are just too valuable, so let's
look at what's in store for you about web hosting.
The first thing is your domain name. How will you choose it?
It's 2006; the Internet has existed for about 10 years now as a
mainstream rendezvous. That means that most of the basic words
are taken. Your best bet is to combine words, use hyphens or
make up your own word like google, wikipedia and half-a-million
others. You can search on a web host's page to find your domain
name. You can try any name you think up about 5 times per day.
Some people would otherwise sit there all day, trying names and
buying up anything they could think of. Then, when you come
knocking on their door to buy the name you came up with, the
price has doubled, tripled or worse. You should be able to get
your name for free as part of a package from a web host or
sometimes sites like Yahoo! offer $2.99 for a year or about
$19.99 from a domain registry company.
Where Will You Live?
So you've got your name and now you need a place to park it. A
web hosting company is basically like a landlord. They say,
we've got this much space, these utilities are included and you
can hang your sign (domain name) out front. You're probably
going to have to do some research as to who has the best
offers, but no matter who you decide on, the one thing that
should be included is 99.99% up-time. That means your site
won't crash 99.99% of the time and almost every host can match
that guarantee. So if you don't see it, move along. There are
some other major issues you'll need to look at in your web
hosting company.
Spot Checking.
First is the refund policy. If you don't see it, look for it.
If you can't find it, ask them about it, especially if you like
everything else you see or if what they offer sounds too good to
be true. You should have 30 days to decide.
You should also see some offer of technical support. Again,
it's 2006. Consumers are more in control today than ever. They
can find out the competitor's price by spending 5 minutes on
the phone or 2 minutes online. So if you don't see an offer of
technical support, just say 'no'. You may want to call the
number or write them before you sign up and ask them a few
questions. It's a great way to test their customer service.
The last basic thing you should remember to look for is that
you own your domain name, not the web hosting company. Your
domain name is yours. There usually isn't a problem with this,
but if there is a problem, it can be a big problem. Imagine the
web-hosting company saying they own your domain name. that's a
mess you wouldn't want to get involved in.
All it really takes is some mild effort on your part. There are
unbiased places where you can compare a few different web
hosting companies. Ask them questions. Find out who treats you
the best and who is an established provider. You'll save
yourself a lot of headaches in the future if you put in a bit
of work now. Good Luck.
About The Author: http://Alojate.com is the premier web hosting
company in Mexico, offering a range or services for all business
needs. http://www.alojate.com
posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 2:00 AM,
