Key Differences between Paid Hosting and Free Web Hosting

Website Hosting

When making a choice between hosting services, more often than not it ultimately boils down to paid hosting and free web hosting. Business owners also have a tough choice to make when deciding between Windows hosting and Linux hosting. Here’s a checklist that should help you make the right choice as far as web host provider is considered.

Free–hand to Advertisers: In most cases when hosting services are free, the providing company at hand generates revenue through advertisements. Your business website, in such a scenario becomes an advertisement portal. Your web host has the free will to put up pop-ups, banners and other adverts, without you having any control over the same. On the other hand, when you pay for a web host, you are directly giving money to the provider, allowing for complete control over your site from your end.

Customer Support: Free web hosting companies generally offer minimal customer support. Getting a query answered, even if it is a crisis, may hence involve a long wait time. Obviously paid hosts in that respect are a notch up. They ensure quality customer support, at your beck and call at all hours of the day. What’s more a paid web host will provide you with tutorials and help desks as a backbone, making it all the more valuable.

Security: Naturally, a free web host doesn’t have security for users among the list of its priorities. It can be said hence, that with a free host, the likelihood of your website being hacked is larger. With investments in safeguarding business owners’ privacy and data, paid hosts, on the other hand give your website higher protection.

Bandwidth limit: A capping on the amount of bandwidth you are offered is a norm amongst free web host providers. In the event your website witnesses incoming traffic that is much above the limit offered by your host, it can lead to more downtime. With greater bandwidth at hand, paid web hosts, in contrast, are a better option. You also have the option of choosing for allowances on data transfers with possible upgrades in the future. High bandwidth can always be chosen at a later point in time. Most free web hosts don’t come with this option.

Features and functions: When you pay for the services of a host, you can rest assured in terms of the features and functionalities on offer. You get exactly what you pay for and sometimes more in terms of plug-ins, tools and webmaster implementations. With a free web host, all this is a challenge and you are offered just about the basic tools. Another aspect that most freebies have missing is site builders and shopping carts, which can pretty much make or mar your website.

So whether you decide to go for Windows web hosting or Linux web hosting, the cost of your host provider is important too. Ultimately, when you pay for something, you are automatically ensuring quality service. While a free web host could be great for personal websites or when you are working in a tight budget, it may not be the best option around for business owners. If you are a professional who yearns to generate income for their website, paying to get the crux of your website to be among the best will only help.

Look out for hidden costs being charged by web hosts in web hosting plans

Web Hosting Providers

There are a number of companies offering website hosting at affordable prices. More often than not words like ‘cheap’, ‘free’, ‘affordable’, ‘value-for-money’ etc attract all of us. But it is important to look for hidden costs when you choose a web host provider.

Don’t give in to temptation

As direct and straight as it can get, it is very important that when you choose a web host, you don’t let temptation or luring offers get the better of you. While at first an affordable or free web hosting plan may feel like the best option you could have come around, it’s important that you check it thoroughly. Even if your business online doesn't generate a large sum as profit, you must choose wisely. Many web hosting services look cheap on the face of it, but overcharge you in the most unlikely ways in the long run.

A number of hosting services in India claim to offer everything you need to have your website up and running in one value-for-money bundle. This however, may not always be true. What may look like an enticing offer could simply be bait. And you don’t want to regret your actions and suffer losses, for the most obvious things.

There’s a reason why they are cheap

Website hosting in India is no longer an exclusive service. You have a number of options to choose from. You may want to check beforehand the cons of the web host instead of taking the plunge for your website directly. Most web hosts that come with a low price tag have many pitfalls. The commonest among them being poor services and that’s the last thing you want for your business website at least. Many a times, web hosts offer their services for free when they are not fully equipped with the necessary resources. Behind all those frills and fancies, a nightmare could be awaiting you.

In other cases, some web hosting companies play smart and offer basic functionalities for a limited period in the beginning for free or in an affordable bundle. However, once you are deep into the design of your website, you may be required to make inevitable upgrades that could burn a hole in your pocket. Server performance and age of hardware is another aspect you may want to check in cheap web hosting plans.

Downtime and performance

While even the best in the business may face troubled times online, excessive downtime of your web host server is a cause for concern. If your web host is not fully equipped in terms of hardware to deal with overcapacity, your website could be in a mess. More often than you’d like them to, visitors will be seen jumping to your competitor’s website for services and products that could be your forte. Without the appropriate infrastructure to support your website, a host could do more damage to your business than anything else.

While a number of hosting services in India offer shared allocation of resources and servers, you must be wary of the cheap ones. In most cases, sharing your server for free could see you spending large amounts of money on maintenance. It could also affect the performance of your website drastically. What’s more, free services usually see many anonymous users making the most of their features. Imagine sharing your server with a hacker! That could definitely be dangerous.

It isn't obviously necessary though that all web hosts offered at affordable prices or for free come with poor quality services and support. But, it’s best to stay cautious. A little money spent could go a long way in determining the future of your website and consequently your business.

Web Hosting- Choose your hosting company carefully before it is too late

Web Hosting

The market is crowded with web hosting services and sometimes making the appropriate choice can be quite tricky. It is hence essential that you pick your hosting company carefully, early on, rather than regret later. The main reason for this is that changing a host is definitely not one of the easiest things around and best avoided. What’s more, a reliable hosting company will only work in favor of your business.

Having to choose web hosting in India is no different than having to make a choice anywhere across the globe. When you pick a website hosting company, you can keep a check for the following points so that you don’t regret your choice:

• Obviously, the pre-requisite of a website, especially one for your business, is that it should be online for most parts. You must hence ensure that the web hosting services you pick are running on most occasions. While it’s okay to have a website down for a couple of hours once in a blue moon, if it happens more often, you definitely need to rethink your choice of web host provider. Downtime often leads consumers to jump to competitors, causing much loss to your business. 

• Expensive web hosting in India doesn't necessarily translate to better features. Check for reviews of the company you choose while also ensuring that all costing details are clearly communicated right from the word go. When you start off, it’s best to incur minimum costs. Typically, a good host will offer bandwidth, online storage and customer service for one flat price. 

• The security offered by your website hosting company should be clear. You must double check the policy your host offers. The company in question must not only be able to keep hackers at bay, but should also have all the necessary protection to keep customer information confidential. 

• The amount of bandwidth your hosting company offers you is another important aspect that should determine your choice of the provider. With less bandwidth at hand, you could be putting an unexpected cap on the traffic to your website, which in turn could damage your business. In addition limited bandwidth automatically means a slow website, which can put customers off. Imagine having to wait until eternity for a website to load! Keeping a track of your online visitors will help in this department.

• Another important pointer to keep in mind when you choose your web host provider is the email services offered. Make sure that you get enough resources to handle emails, since most communications in online businesses happen via email. 

• Yes, 24*7 customer service at your beck and call by your web host is as important as any of the things mentioned in this list. When you’re running a business online, you don’t want to be left in the lurch in times of crisis.

• Lastly, having the support of a host that gives you a free hand to add domains later will only be of much help. With this feature, you not only save on the money you spend, but can also organize your website constructively. 

The success of your online business can more often than not depend on your choice of web hosting provider. So, make the right pick, and give your business a much needed online boost. 

Web Hosting options for your online travel portal

Hosting Services

If you’re a travel company, and still haven’t taken your business online, the right time to do so is now. There’s no dearth of hosting services in India to help you with this, and your journey to build your website can be a rather seamless one. Windows hosting in this respect is easy to understand and implement. It should hence be of much help to you.

Website hosting is offered by a number of companies with a range of options to choose from. The host provider you decide to go with should not only be efficient but also user-friendly. The latter is important, particularly, if you are a novice user. A good host can boost your website and give your travel business a whole new meaning. Sky is the limit really, if you give it a try.

Key points to check for when you choose from among hosting services in India

• As a travel business, you will already know that your services and products undergo constant changes. When you choose your website hosting company, it is hence very important to pick one that stays abreast with the said changes. It should be able to support continuous upgrades to not just designs but also developments.

• In the event, your business is at its peak, your host provider should be able to meet the increasing needs of your customers. It must be fully equipped to meet all the desired requirements, irrespective of the size of your business. 

• When you choose windows hosting, keeping the price in mind is very important. Your hosting company should offer you the best services at a competitive price. 

• Self-booking is now the norm, whether users are traveling on a personal vacation or for work. It thus becomes essential, that your travel portal is easy to navigate, making online bookings a breeze. This can happen only when you have the required support from your hosting provider. What’s more your website should offer a number of options that users can choose from. Receipts to confirm or cancel bookings on-the-fly are also important. 

• The search options offered on your website should suit all kinds of users. Budget is very important for frequent travelers  Your portal should be resource – rich in this respect. This can only happen when your host provider lends a helping hand. 

• With almost everything available on the internet with the mere click of a button, the way your host helps your travel portal provide online status for consumers is very important. The information provided should be complete, including hotel bookings in the desired locations. 

• Ask any frequent traveler and he/she will promptly tell you why the ability to chat or get instant email responses from travel companies is important to them. There’s no reason why your hosting company shouldn’t be able to help in this regard. 

• Databases are another important aspect of any travel website considering that you will be dealing with scores of hotels and customers. Ensure that your host is capable of reliably offering this information too. 

Easy editors, constant upgrades and connected customer service are some other things that you can check for when choosing your web host provider. With a good host to support all the features and functionalities your travel portal offers, your business can reach new levels within no time.

Grow your ecommerce business with reliable hosting

While there are a number of hosting services available at the drop of a hat, the one you choose can make or break your business. In an ecommerce business, it’s all the more necessary that you go with reliable hosting. Doing this is never an easy job, but there are a number of hosting providers in India that assure to make the entire process a seamless one.

Making the right choice among Indian hosting providers

No matter how good your brand and how salable your product, an unreliable site can spell doom for your business. Hence making the right choice in the sea of hosting services is important. You can check for the following when you make a pick from among the various hosting providers in India to ensure that you have nothing but the best:

Security: One of the most important aspects of an ecommerce business is maintaining security, and the best one, if you must. Since online businesses rely heavily on transactions across the web, you must ascertain the dependability of your host provider in terms of the security it offers.

Server: Even if you don’t have much technical know-how of a server and the hardware specifications, looking at it in detail will only be of much help. You must understand that it is the server which is ultimately going to be hosting your business online. Knowing the technical details will allow you to measure your website’s overall performance and better allocate resources in the long run.

Handling Traffic: What really makes your server reliable is the way it handles website traffic. Typically, your hosting provider should be capable of handling peak traffic effortlessly, to allow smooth function of your ecommerce website.

Uptime: It’s only obvious that a reliable host is one that offers more uptime than downtime. You must research and check reviews of the host you’ve zeroed down on for your business to keep a tab on the maintenance routine followed. Most server performances are after all maintenance-dependent. Your server is dependable if it has transparently kept a track of user experiences. Among the reviews, keep an eye on hardware problems with servers. A log in real-time, depicting the status of your host server will also be helpful.

Customer Care: A hosting company providing customer services 24*7 either through telephone, email or video calls is best. Considering that your online business will involve your finances, there is no reason why you should take a risk in this department. Sufficient customer support is among the most important things that you must check for.

In addition to the above points, a reliable hosting provider will also take care of your merchandising needs. In this respect, an internet merchant account which is able to process not just credit cards but other payment gateways too is important. A good host will also ensure that you have a range of shopping cart options to choose from for your online business.

An online business if managed properly can be quite profitable. Remember, sometimes it’s all about the choices we make.

10 Tips to Follow When Switching a Web Host

Web Hosting Tips

You are unhappy with your provider and have made up your mind to switch your web host. This is definitely not one of the easiest jobs around. Nevertheless, if you remember a few things, you can almost certainly avoid pitfalls. Here are 10 tips that should ease the transition process:

Back-up: Transfer of a hosting service will have you looking at many things simultaneously. Hence taking a back-up of your web files and pages before you get started can help you in the long run. You don’t want to be worrying about lost files and misplaced pages, when there are other important things that demand attention.

Operating System: It is very important that you check the hosting plan of both your current and new provider. Often, if not paid attention to, this can lead to a broken website. Check and compare the similarities and differences in functionality as far as operating system of the hosts is concerned.
Storage: Assess the storage of your existing website much in advance. This will allow you to choose the correct web host to make the desired switch. Your new plan should have the ability to store not just your current website storage needs, but a little bit more too. The storage plan should typically be your total storage, log files and emails included.

Bandwidth: When you buy hosting, it is inevitable that you check for the amount of bandwidth offered. It should be at least on par with your existing provider. Not knowing about your bandwidth details can see you spend extra money with a new web host.

Shopping Cart: If yours is purely a business website, your new provider must be capable of either accommodating your shopping cart from your previous host or offer a new one that suits your requirements. This feature is essential if your site requires visitors to add their purchases to a shopping cart before proceeding further.

Mail Support: Another often ignored feature is that of email accounts. You must know in advance whether your new hosting provider will offer email accounts in the same quantity as your current provider. You may also want to check for mail forwards and auto responses.

Uploading Content: Hosting a website on a new provider can make you quite hassled, if you didn’t already check for the ease at which you can upload content. The functions and features of different hosts are obviously going to be different. It is important for you to check the know-how of your new provider as far as file uploads to the server is concerned. Most hosts offer to help you transfer your files.

FrontPage support: If your existing website deploys FrontPage, it is only essential that you check whether your new provider does so too. In addition to this, make sure that you check the version of FrontPage supported by both hosts is the same as well.

Email Set-up: Before you transfer your website to a new host, you must have your current email accounts set up on the new server. This ensures that there are no hassles and confusions later.

Script support: Lastly, your new provider must lend a helping hand to all your existing scripts on your website. Hosting a website on a new provider may require you to make relevant changes to your current scripts for smooth functioning.

How to Choose a Web Host in a Sea of Options

Web Host

The online space is crowded with a number of options for web hosting. Making the right choice can hence be a tedious process. Planning and research should however solve most of your dilemma as far as website hosting is concerned. Scour the internet for options, weigh the pros and cons and finally make a choice based on your requirements.

What do web hosts do?

Web hosts are typically designed to add functionality to your website. Depending on the company and the bundle offered, the features can be varied. While some may come packed with storage space and web connectivity, others may have limited email storage space. Categorically, you must be able to identify the hosting services that best suit your need. Whether your website should include shared hosting, committed web hosting or collocation hosting will purely depend on the extent to which you look at expanding your business online. Hosting services are meant to keep at bay the troubles and complexities involved in managing and maintaining your website. So choose wisely.

Tips to keep in mind when choosing website hosting:

Free Hosting: If you go for a hosting service that is free, more often than not, the company will impose adverts on your web page. This may include pop-ups, banners, an advertising frame etc. While banners and frames are still okay, pop-up windows can be really annoying, especially if you are launching a new website. Thus, it is important that you clearly make-up your mind about going with a particular service of this kind that doesn't require you to pay any money.

FTP: FTP or File Transfer Protocol is the commonest way people transfer web pages and files to the server. In most cases, it is important that you enjoy the services of a web host that throws in seamless FTP access for good measure. You must be able to upload and download content without any hassles. Most online website creation tools give you the option of designing webpages online which though useful for starters can be quite troublesome when you look at expanding your website.

Dependability and Speed: While many people are of the opinion that these two factors can be ignored, bear in mind that these are the determining features to help you choose your provider. In the ever-competitive market, the last thing on your mind should be a website that is more down than up and running. Since the web is crowded with options, most users will jump to other businesses if they can’t access your website. The host must thus be reliable. Another important thing is the speed at which your site can be accessed. And this should be the speed, irrelevant of peak and non-peak hours.

Technical Support: You may consider yourself to be a tech whiz, but 24*7 technical support never hurt anyone. Your host must include a staff that is working on all days and at any given time, since inconveniences never announce their arrival. In this respect, it would be foolish to believe someone purely by word of mouth. Ensure that you test their services and competence before taking the plunge.

Shared Web Hosting: Well, the term pretty much speaks for itself. A shared web hosting service is cost-effective for more reasons than one. The price you pay for server maintenance will be shared by other people who may be using its services along with you. Thus, it’s a great option for those who are just starting with their website. What’s more, you can rest assured about security updates and software installations since that too should be taken care of by the providers.

There are many hosting providers in India, who meet the above criteria. With the aforementioned tips at hand, you should be able to make a good choice.