Archive for April, 2009

Do I Need Managed Web Hosting or Shared Web Hosting?

Sunday, April 26, 2009 posted by admin 3:34 am





There are many different choices to make when it comes to selecting the best type of web hosting for your particular needs. Shared web hosting is by far the most popular type of web hosting, and is ideal for most websites. However, many websites, such as those with very high traffic or form whom security of sensitive information is of utmost concern, managed web hosting just might be a better choice.

Shared Web Hosting

For smaller websites, purchasing a server or paying to leasing a dedicated server would be an unnecessary and very significant expense. Shared web hosting is an inexpensive and effective web hosting solution for most smaller websites. This type of hosting is referred to as shared web hosting simply because multiple websites share space on a single web hosting server.

Web host servers are large and powerful, and have sufficient room and bandwidth capacity to host multiple websites with ease. When you select a shared web hosting option, you purchase a package from a web hosting company that includes a certain amount of space and bandwidth on the company’s server. This option allows website owners to enjoy the power of a powerful web hosting server without having to pay for more than is actually needed.

The number of other websites with which your site shares a web host depends on the size and bandwidth needs of each website along with the capacity of the server. As long as your shared web hosting agreement includes a sufficient amount of space and bandwidth for your needs, you don’t have to worry about running out of room in a shared environment.

If your website grows faster than you expect, and you do find that it is outgrowing your current hosting agreement. You can always negotiate with your web hosting company to add additional space and bandwidth capacity to your current shared hosting agreement. Another option is to step up to a higher level of web hosting, which could mean getting a dedicated server with managed web hosting.

Managed Web Hosting

Websites that deal with highly sensitive confidential information, as well as those who receive a great deal of traffic are more suited for a dedicated web hosting environment than for shared web hosting. With dedicated web hosting, your website does not share a server with other websites. One web hosting server is dedicated specifically to your website.

Most companies who need the capacity of a dedicated web host decide to go with a managed web hosting solution. This is because the actual management and administration of a dedicated host can be very time consuming. If a website owner selects an unmanaged hosting option, he or she becomes responsible for every aspect of maintaining the web hosting server. Managing a web host is very time consuming, and involves everything from day to day maintenance to security issues.

Those who operate large websites are typically busy with other activities, and it is worth setting up their web hosting agreement so that the hosting company handles most of the task associated with managing the dedicated host. Another option for managed web hosting is simply to contract with an outside organization to handle the duties associated with managing the web host server.

Making a Decision

If your website is large enough to need a dedicated web hosting, it is certainly in your best interest to go with managed hosting instead of unmanaged hosting unless you employ a server maintenance expert who has the time to handle the large task of maintaining your web server.

However, before making the decision to invest in managed hosting, it is in your best interest to see if shared web hosting will meet your needs. Shared web hosting is significantly less than dedicated hosting options. Remember that shared web hosting is sufficient for most websites, so don’t take on the expense of managed hosting if it is unnecessary.

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Category : Internet And Businesses Online

Web Hosting Kenya

Tuesday, April 14, 2009 posted by admin 9:29 pm





Finding a web hosting in Kenya took me more than days. I should say it took me weeks. I started off with some local providers like the Africa online and Kenya web. But soon found that the Bandwidth I required was not provided. I also came to know that some of my friends and clients in the America were not able to see my website due to the Bandwidth limits. After a lot of procrastination, I came to the conclusion that I should use a provider who is global and not a local provider. At the end of the day it does not matter where I host my website as long as every one around can access it.

So what’s all about the Web hosting in Kenya which makes it so bad?

Poor infrastructure. Very bad customer service Poor Turn Around time Google Hardly recognizes my website. That was enough to tell me that I had to move forward with a decent web hosting provider. But who can give me a decent hosting for a limited budget? I had to pick some Funny Indian company which would probably rip my money off and not provide anything.

I tried a few, some went off the Roof. It was worse than that of Kenya. It was nearly when I gave up that I found a decent web hosting company. The rates they gave were quite decent and payment was accepted through credit cards. Service was Excellent. And for a money back guarantee, I was taking the risk of not losing anything at all.

It worked at last. Today, Kenyan Hosting companies charge a bomb of money for hosting and I get it at a fraction of the amount. 99% up time and much more than anything the Kenyan local company can provide. So why go for a web hosting company in Kenya. Shoot out for someone who will charge you lesser and will of course be worth your while and money.

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Category : Internet And Businesses Online

How to Keep Your Web Hosting Costs Down

Monday, April 13, 2009 posted by admin 12:03 am



Getting your website up and running for the first time in your new speedy hosting provider can be really exciting. The tools available give you a lot of flexibility in customizing your website, whilst the bandwidth and space should be enough for larger personal sites and some business sites to be hosted without any signs of performance degradation. However, as your site continues to stay online, you may find yourself struggling with the web hosting costs. Here are some ways to keep these web hosting costs down so you can enjoy more uptime for lower costs.

Start with a Low Cost Web Hosting Plan

If you haven’t decided where you wish to host your website, start off with a low cost web hosting plan. Before accepting the plan, read the specifications and make sure your website can support these specifications. See if the amount of space provided is reasonable and if the bandwidth is sufficient. Many of the best hosts offer unlimited space and bandwidth which are excellent choices. If you are spending more money on excess bandwidth, the next four methods can help greatly.

Design and Code Web Pages to be Faster to Load

If you have experience with web development, try to analyze your site code and optimise it using the latest CSS and AJAX techniques. Utilising these techniques can not only reduce the size of your pages for bandwidth savings, but also make the site more attractive and accessible to visitors. Also try to substitute Flash elements with other web techniques if possible.

Use the Best Format and Compression Level for Images

If your site is heavy on images and graphics, you can reduce the file sizes of these files as well to save bandwidth by using any image editing software like Adobe Photoshop to slightly reduce the quality of JPEG files. The difference in quality may not be noticeable if you add a little bit of compression, but the lowered file size can save a ton of bandwidth during heavy traffic situations. You can also try converting some graphics to GIF format if there are only few colours being displayed.

Use File Hosting Services when sharing Larger Files

If your website has a ‘downloads’ section where people get retrieve large documents and other types of media, that may cost you big on the bandwidth. Fortunately, there are plenty of free file sharing sites that offer unlimited bandwidth. Upload the files in these areas and copy the link to your download’s page.

Restrict Certain Areas to Registered Members Only

If you maintain a large website aimed towards a specific audience, valuable bandwidth may be wasted on people that just browse around and do not do anything productive. Add a registration script to your site or blog so that only quality visitors that really want to read your content can get in. This keeps other unwanted visitors at the home page which shouldn’t consume as much bandwidth.

Keep track of your bandwidth and see how much you have saved after trying these tips. If you are confident that you can keep the bandwidth low, you can possibly switch to a lower costing web hosting plan to minimize the heavy costs

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Category : Internet And Businesses Online