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| Why HostGator is the Best Web Site Host: |
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| Ease of Use and
Customer Service: I was frustrated with web site hosts until
I found HostGator... | |
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| "Killer Site Builder" |
| I got pretty frustrated with my
other web site host because I don't know a lot about building web sites
and their site builder assumed you knew all about it.
When I tried HostGator's site
builder I was blown away by how easy it was to quickly build a
professional-looking web site. |
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Of
course, as with any service, HostGator is not totally perfect.
Personally, I find their online documentation to be a bit too general
in some cases. However, this is more than made up for by their terrific
online support. Your questions will be quickly and courteously answered
and that's what counts for me.
As you can tell, I wouldn't use any other web site host and I
definitely recommend you try HostGator. You'll particularly appreciate
their helpful and friendly style.
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| What to Look for in a Web Site Host |
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| With dozens of web site hosts available today,
it's important to know what to look for in a web site host for your
needs. Here are the most important things to look for: | |
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* Uptime and
performance (speed) of the servers
* Data Transfer (or Bandwidth) and storage space
* Technical support
* Number and type of extra features
* Technical features available
Uptime and Performance of the servers: If people try to view your site
and get the dreaded "server not found message" more than once or twice,
they will likely not come back. At a minimum, the web site host's
servers should be up 99.5% of the time. Better web site hosts will
guarantee a minimum of 99.8% uptime on a 24/7/365 basis. This is what
you should look for. As to performance, if the information is available
for the web site host you are considering, look for an average response
time (time for an average page to be returned when requested) in the
area of .3 to .4 seconds.
Data transfer and
storage space: Data transfer, also called "bandwidth" refers to the
capacity of the servers at the web host to handle simultaneous traffic
to your website. A basic website will be okay with about 50GB of data
transfer, but the best web site hosts will offer "unlimited" bandwidth.
For disk (storage) space, you should look for at least 200MB. Here too,
the best web site hosts today will offer unlimited disk space.
Technical support: Check this out thoroughly because it will end up
being the most important factor in a web site host whenever you have a
problem or question. Every web site host will at a minimum offer a
"trouble ticket" system, where you submit your question or problem via
a web form and wait for a reply. Look for at least a two hour response
time guarantee on a 24/7 basis, NOT just on weekdays during business
hours. The better web site hosts will also offer online chat support,
and the best web site hosts will take this one step further with phone
support from a live technician.
Number and type of extra features: At a minimum, you want a great
website builder with lots of predefined templates to use. Even if you
have strong HTML skills, it's nice to have a good site builder to throw
a site up quickly. Also look for eCommerce features such as SSL and
shopping carts, the ability to create instant blogs, unlimited email
accounts, and the ability to host unlimited websites. Most good web
site hosts will have all of these features and then some.
Technical features available: For you techies out there, you'll want
unlimited MySQL Databases with phpMyAdmin Access, SSH Access and Cron
Job Scheduling, FrontPage extensions, unlimited autoresponders, mail
forwards, email aliases and mailing lists. You'll want support for at
least the following programming languages: CGI, Fast CGI, PHP 5, Ruby
on Rails, Perl, Python, SSI.
Two last things to look for: at least a 30 day money back guarantee if
you aren't satisfied, and a service that requires no contracts (the
only exception being for a reduced price, but this should be optional).
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The Best Web Site Host...
Don't take my word for it that HostGator is a
great web site host. Every year HostReview.com publishes its ratings of
the top web site hosts in nine categories.
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| In the 2009 annual rankings, HostGator took
first place in two of the nine categories. They were one of only two
web site hosts to take first place in more than one category.
HostGator took first place for "Best Budget
Hosting" and for "Best Reseller Hosting", which are the two categories
likely to be important to the greatest number of people. | | |
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| Why Not Use a Free Web Site Host? |
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| If you want people to
take your web site seriously, probably the biggest single reason why
you don't want to use a free web site host is that you won't be able to
use your own unique domain name. | |
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Why
is having your own unique domain name important? In a word,
credibility. When someone visits your site, they start judging it right
from the beginning. As they surf through your information or products
or services, they are thinking about how the site is set up and whether
or not it looks professional.
In the early days of the Internet, when people were not as savvy as
they are today, it may have been okay to use a "shared domain name"
which is what you get with a free web site host. Today, however, most
people notice right away if your domain name is not unique. Having
"www.YourDomainName.FreeWebSiteHost.com" is nowhere near as good as
"www.YourDomainName.com". The shorter name is easier to remember and
looks far more professional. It's an important way to add credibility
and build trust in your website.
Having a paid domain has other benefits as well. It's easier to get a
unique domain name listed in a registry, directory or search engine.
Getting found on the Internet today is a difficult enough task already,
so don't make it any harder for your web site than it already is.
Another important reason to have your own domain name is so that if you
decide to change your web site host, you can take your domain with you
. This is something you can't do with a free service because they "own"
the domain name you use with them.
Besides the advantages of your own domain name, there are other reasons
why a paid web site host is better. First, you will receive many more
features and virtually unlimited space with many of today's paid web
site hosts. Also, the technical support will be far better and
frequently will include both phone and online chat support. Most free
web site hosts make you fill out a "trouble ticket" and then wait for
an answer to your question or problem.
As a rule, paid web site hosts will have faster connectivity, so your
web site appears faster, which lends more credibility to your site.
Uptime will also likely be better than you get with a free web site
host and will often be guaranteed for higher percentage of the time.
Finally, and for many of us most importantly, when you use a paid web
site host you won't have to display advertising on your web page. With
a free web site host, you actually "pay" for the service by running
banner and other types of advertising on your site. This screams to the
world that you are using a free web site host and seriously detracts
from the professionalism of your site.
There are many excellent web site hosting companies available today
with packages starting as low as six or seven dollars per month, with
an impressive array of features. With prices this low, there's really
no longer a reason to use a free web site host.
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