Domain Parking:
When you buy a domain name you need to assign it a DNS (domain name server) for it to work. You can register domain names and not use them right away, for example when there is a domain name you want but you want to make sure nobody get it before you so you buy it now. That new domain has to point to a DNS for it's name to be tanslated into a recognizable address on the internet. Domain Parking your domain name is using a host DNS to displays an "under construction" default page when someone types in your domain name. Very often this service is free but check your host first.
Uptime:
It is the percentage (%) of time that a web site is working or online throughout a month.
No host is able to guaranty 100% uptime, it's not possible, but 99% is great uptime!
Can I upgrade my plan:
It depends on the hosting company's policy. Check their FAQ for that or email them your questions.
Hosting my site on my own computer:
You could do it if your ISP permits it, check with your internet provider first.
If you're a beginner I wouldn't recommend it: it's like having a dedicated server. It means you would have to install everything yourself, take care of security, and you would probably not be able to offer the kind of performances that any reasonable host offer (uploads is always much slower than download in personal connections). Hosting companies don't host your site on home DSL. They can handle multiple connections at a greater spead than you could if you hosted your site on your own computer at home. Note that if you set up your own server there will be equipment costs to consider.
Basically you have to pay for quality hosting to get support and support is almost always worth it. When there's a problem with your site, calling and telling a human being is the quickest way to solve the problem.
If you host a business site downtime means money and custommers lost. The visitors you loose when your page is down will probably never come back to your site.
Static IP:
Most likely you don't need one, for most site a dynamic IP is good enough. Having a static IP helps if you want an anonymous FTP or if your web site is using SSL. It's also useful if you change host because your site is not down while switching hosts: you can point your users to a new IP, so they don't have to wait for the domain name change to propagate. Free web hosting VS paid hosting:
Unlike free web hosting, when you get your own host you don't have to suffer forced banner or ads that isn't your own. Your site will not get redirected to some other web page as free web hosting often does.
Can I host any content/material on my site?
Check with the company first. For example Lunarpages accept Adult material/porn but it has to be legal. Usually you find that information in the host Terms and Conditions section.
FTP:
Useful to upload your page and get it running! CuteFTP, Bulletproof and wsFTP are among the most popular FTP software.
Unix , linux and Windows
They are all computer operating systems. What works on unix will work on linux so we'll treat them together.Choosing between Unix/Linux or Windows Hosting:
Price:
In terms of popularity you certainly see more Linux servers. It's normal considering the coreis freely distributable.You'll easily find free scripts for Linux.You find some companies charges you for it. Unlike linux, Windows server software is not free, so you'll find a difference in prices between the two.
If you plan to host the site yourself, and you own the web servers or the software on them, then Unix (or Linux) would definitely be a less expensive option. If you plan to sign up with a web hosting company, and they own the servers and the software installed on them, you will find that there are excellent hosting options available for each platform at somwhat comparable prices.
Features and Scripts:
How servers handles member only areas, e-commerce, live help and other complex scripts then you need to make sure that the type of server you choose will be able to handle these features.
Interactive features rely on server side programs to process inputs and outputs. Most common scripts are in Perl, PHP or ASP.
Each of these programming languages has it’s own strengths and weaknesses. PHP and Perl are Linux based and ASP Windows.
ASP is available on Linux hosting packages and that is true but chances are it might not work as well on Linux as they would on Windows. This is also true the other way around. While you can have PHP or Perl on a Windows web host, they weren’t developed for Windows and might not work as well. In fact, there are often disclaimers about using these languages on Windows servers
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| MS FrontPage |
X |
X |
| Flash |
X |
X |
| Shockwave |
X |
X |
| Real Audio/Video |
X |
X |
| Cgi Scripts |
X |
X |
| Perl |
X |
X |
| PHP |
X |
X |
| SSH(secure telnet) |
X |
X |
| MySQL |
X |
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| Coldfusion |
X |
X |
| Anonymous FTP |
X |
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| ASP |
X |
X |
| Visual Basic Scripts |
|
X |
| MS Access |
|
X |
| Windows Media |
|
X |
Server Security:
Most people will tell you that Linux have more secure servers. Linux has always been more reliable than Wimdows as an operating system. In terms of hosting security entirely depends on if your host has configured his server correctly or not.
What is Apache ?
Apache is a software that allows you to run a web service on a Unix/Lindows server. Apache is very popular and provides access to most web sites on the Internet.
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