Hosting Overseas – Is It Worth It?

March 19th, 2012 admin

By  Ivan Ivanovich

No matter where you are located, businesses seem to clamor to host your website. The top hosting positions among these companies are not only hard to award, but hard to define as well. There are simply too many needs to be met for too many different websites to conclusively have ideal criteria for a hosting website. All top hosting contenders do meet standard requirements for standard hosting services, and overseas companies often will meet these needs for a lower price than US or Europe based competitors, but should hosting be outsourced overseas?

Why the Difference in Price

Foreign web hosting offers the same packages as top hosting companies for considerably less cost in most cases. While some overseas companies may simply be offering low rates as a sales ploy, other offer rates that adequately reflect the cost of living in that country. Overhead costs can be tremendously lower in countries such as India or Pakistan, which means the web hosting services can be offered for less.

This makes it difficult to determine the best route for selecting top hosting companies based solely on price. Low prices can be tempting, but there is always the question of quality. Do the budget services offer the same level of service? Like all things, that answer simply depends on the company. Overall, webmasters should not write off or immediately sign up for foreign hosting companies simply based on rates. There are many other determining factors to consider.

Location, Location, Location

Much like real estate, location matters. The closer your server is to your clients, the faster those clients will be able to access your website. Even in a virtual existence, the physical distance between servers and end users can make a difference. Most internet marketers target United States and European citizens, so by hosting halfway around the globe, website response time for target demographics may be adversely affected.

Customer Service

Many foreign companies are highly trained in customer service and are highly respectful of customers and other individuals. Customer, in this case meaning webmasters, care is a top priority for most of these companies as they realize they must work a bit harder than top hosting companies in the United States to garner the same level of respect and reputation.

Having stated that, hosting in countries with different customs as well as time zones can also be frustrating for webmasters. The same problems that complicate any sort of outsourcing affect web hosting as well. Communication gaps, misunderstandings, and difficulty finding a common time to work together, despite the claims of 24/7 service, can all plague individuals outsourcing hosting. These problems, of course, are not a guaranteed byproduct of overseas hosting, but rather should be determined on an individual basis.

This original article belongs to Web Hosting Geeks (http://webhostinggeeks.com). Web Hosting Geeks provides independent web hosting reviews, web host rating and monthly best web hosting awards. Visit our site for more information about web hosting related services.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ivan_Ivanovich

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How To Get Cheap And Reliable Web Hosting & Domains

March 19th, 2012 admin

By  Oliver Antosch

I’ve been an Internet programmer for about 10 years now and in that time I’ve tried several web hosting companies for my ecommerce sites. Unfortunately most web hosting provider were a big disappointment, some were quite good for some months but after a while the service or uptimes became horrible. So far I’ve been with about 10 different hosts. Here are a few rules you should follow before forking out your cash.

1. Check some forums like Webhostingtalk and see what people say about a particular company. There are lots of experts who know what they are talking about. There is also a forum where you can basically post your needs and many companies will compete with great deals.

2. Go for a company which is not too big but also not too small. If its a one-man show you never know what this guy is doing with your files if nobody looks over his shoulder. Also what happen to your websites if he suddenly drops dead because of a heart attack or he’s involved in a car crash? On the other hand if the company is too big then there’s a good chance that its very impersonal and nobody really cares about you. Smaller companies tend to be more flexible and are more likely to suit your needs.

3. If you are already with a web host don’t move all your sites immediately. First test the waters for a couple of weeks or at least days. Use internet tools to check the uptimes.

4. Make a list of your needs beforehand. For instance if you need shell access (SSH) there’s no point if you test the host and like it but later you need shell access and they don’t have it. For those who do not need shell access it might be better to go for one which does not offer it because that will mean more security for you.

5. If you go for a new host check if they offer a 30 day money back guarantee like most do. However often there is a catch like its a pro-rated refund, that means you can’t be refunded for the period you used their service. This is of course in the small print, so make sure its a full money back guarantee. Also if you do not live in the US and you buy webspace from a US company you might lose money when they refund due to the currency conversion. So it might be better to pay only for one month and not pay for one whole year even if thats cheaper in the long run.

6. If you what to find a long term host go for one which has been in business for a couple of years. Web host tend to disappear very quickly due to the cutthroat nature of this business. Check the PageRank of their website (it should be at least 3 or 4) and go to the Wayback Machine at Archive.org to see how long the site exists.

7. During the trial period ask some questions even if you just want to test them. That way you can find out how competent they are and how fast they answer.

8. Find a host which is based in the center of where most your customers are based. Also be aware that US host are often the cheapest, so based on that the best location is often the East Coast in America since its close to US and European customers. The NAC center in Parsippany (New Jersey) in the North East of the USA is quite good and many webhosting companies buy webspace at wholesale prices from them.

9. If you not only want cheap webspace but a webhosting provider with a “community feel” check out if they have a busy forum and other community features like a most wanted list of new features, etc.

10. If it’s a smallish company it can never harm to ask for a special deal or a discount. Some even offer a free domain with the packages. However I prefer to separate webspace and domains to be more independent. I recommend Namecheap, Dotster and Godaddy to buy Domains. Don’t pay more than 15 US Dollar per year or you are wasting money.

So all in all there isn’t really a best web hosting service. Everybody has different needs. Don’t put up too long with a bad webhost, there are many good ones with great deals. Some even help you transferring your websites for free if you want to change web hosts. Check the original blog post here (http://www.bookmark-manager.com/permalink-71) I’ll keep it up-to-date and will be adding more tips.

Oliver Antosch is the programmer of Bookmark-Manager.com and many other websites. To read his blog click here

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Oliver_Antosch

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Think of Long-Term When Choosing a Web Host, Not Just For Christmas – Things to Consider

March 19th, 2012 admin

By  Rowena Fernandez

Owning something is quite pleasurable, it’s so easy to walk into a store, pull it off a rack and make it yours for awhile, maybe just for a season, just for a holiday, like Christmas. But when it comes to a business, especially an online one, one can’t make rash decisions and become part of a company or buy a share of web hosting services as if it’s to keep for a season, you’ve to think about it as a long term investment and take a few factors into consideration.

Location, location, location. That’s among the top factors to consider when you’re looking for a web hosting company to settle with. Depending on what your website will be used for, look for a web host that is based within the area that you’d like to serve. Check if the company of your choice is available in all the countries you’d be serving so that you can get easy access to your customers. In example, if your site is only for those in Europe, then pick a company that has its base in Europe and servers within the countries as well. This is because one of the ranking aspects is the location of where the site is hosted in correlation to the clients who search for it.

Besides that, the price is also very important because everyone wants the best but doesn’t want to fork out too much money. Picking a host that’s cheap isn’t the right thing to do because if you’re going to put money on something, you might as well put it on something good. Anything that’s too cheap would have a reason for it being cheap, maybe it doesn’t have the technology you need or the right features for you to run your site. So pick something that’s reasonably priced with good features, if you don’t know which these would be then do a little research beforehand and find out what’s reasonable and what’s not.

As for the features, picking the company to host your site would depend on what you’re site is about and how it will be used. So before you start looking for a web hosting company, know what you need and what you’re looking for. The three main features you would need regardless of your site content are FTP access, control panel access and webmail. These are great features meant to support your customers, you still have to think about what features and applications you may need to run your site smoothly.

The next thing that’s necessary would be customer support. Go for a host that can provide a 24 hour support system through a method of communication that’s easy to reach. This is also where the location comes in as you would want to use a company that’s located in the same country as yourself so that contacting customer service won’t be too much trouble. some companies may not offer 24/7 call support but if they have got everything else that you want, then check if that have got an online customer service or anything else that could make up for it.

There are quite a few factors to consider, so choose your web hosting company wisely.
Owning something is quite pleasurable, it’s so easy to walk into a store, pull it off a rack and make it yours for awhile, maybe just for a season, just for a holiday, like Christmas. But when it comes to a business, especially an online one, one can’t make rash decisions and become part of a company or buy a share of web hosting services as if it’s to keep for a season, you’ve to think about it as a long term investment and take a few factors into consideration.

Location, location, location. That’s among the top factors to consider when you’re looking for a web hosting company to settle with. Depending on what your website will be used for, look for a web host that is based within the area that you’d like to serve. Check if the company of your choice is available in all the countries you’d be serving so that you can get easy access to your customers. In example, if your site is only for those in Europe, then pick a company that has its base in Europe and servers within the countries as well. This is because one of the ranking aspects is the location of where the site is hosted in correlation to the clients who search for it.

Besides that, the price is also very important because everyone wants the best but doesn’t want to fork out too much money. Picking a host that’s cheap isn’t the right thing to do because if you’re going to put money on something, you might as well put it on something good. Anything that’s too cheap would have a reason for it being cheap, maybe it doesn’t have the technology you need or the right features for you to run your site. So pick something that’s reasonably priced with good features, if you don’t know which these would be then do a little research beforehand and find out what’s reasonable and what’s not.

As for the features, picking the company to host your site would depend on what you’re site is about and how it will be used. So before you start looking for a web hosting company, know what you need and what you’re looking for. The three main features you would need regardless of your site content are FTP access, control panel access and webmail. These are great features meant to support your customers, you still have to think about what features and applications you may need to run your site smoothly.

The next thing that’s necessary would be customer support. Go for a host that can provide a 24 hour support system through a method of communication that’s easy to reach. This is also where the location comes in as you would want to use a company that’s located in the same country as yourself so that contacting customer service won’t be too much trouble. some companies may not offer 24/7 call support but if they have got everything else that you want, then check if that have got an online customer service or anything else that could make up for it.

There are quite a few factors to consider, so choose your web hosting company wisely.

Find out more about Hostgator review via http://www.HostgatorCouponCodex.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rowena_Fernandez

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