Choosing The Right Web Hosting
Web hosting is an internet service that provides servers on a reliable network to make your website accessible by people over the internet 24/7. There are thousands of companies online that offers web hosting in different flavors and choosing the right web hosting, is easy!
Having a clear understanding on the kind of website you're creating, is very helpful in deciding which web hosting service is right for your website. Some web hosting companies offer free software for creating websites easily with hundreds of designs to choose from.
The most economical option for static content websites and dynamic websites written in PHP that don't use mysql database, is a cheap shared hosting where lots of websites sit on a single server machine contending for resources. Access would still be fast even at high loads because there are no external resources needed to generate a page. It costs around $2 to $7 a month and get the one that supports PHP.
Dynamic websites or web application written in PHP that use MySql database such as blogs, web forums, photo galleries, online shops, web portals, community websites, corporate websites, and small business websites, need a premium shared hosting that supports PHP and MySql database. Premium shared hosting has a limit on the number of websites hosted in a single server to maintain performance. You may need a dedicated IP address for strong web presence and costs at $1 to $3 a month. Premium shared hosting costs around $8 to $16 a month.
E-Commerce websites, enterprise websites and other high traffic dynamic websites written in PHP that use Mysql database, need a Virtual Private Server (VPS) where multiple websites are hosted in a single machine but each website is contained in an isolated environment with its own operating system and web server setup. VPS is more secure and stable than shared hosting. It costs around $17 to $80 a month and mostly comes with a free IP address.
High traffic and critical business websites that use MySql database heavily, need a Dedicated Server solution where a website is hosted alone on a server giving it full processing power. Dedicated server is the most secure and stable. It costs around $90 to $400 a month and comes with a range of free IP addresses.
For websites that provide secure online services may consider buying a dedicated SSL Certificate to encrypt data that travels over the internet for $29 to $90 a year.
Whichever web hosting option you buy, be sure that the web hosting company provides 24/7 monitoring and support and website statistics reporting tools. Keep the contact numbers handy in case of emergencies.
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