Web Hosting for the Newbie…

Whenever I have started a blog on a subject that interested me, I am always perplexed as to how to dive into the subject matter.  Do I simply start with things that are currently on my mind or do I begin to lay a foundation of knowledge and information to draw upon and refer to.

Starting out with what is on my mind is easy, but I am uncomfortable that it presupposes knowledge and information that is possessed by the reader that may not actually be present.  I, therefore, often start out by building a store of information, often containing the basics of the subject matter at hand, that I can refer to in subsequent posts.

One of the foundations of publishing or transacting something online is web-hosting.  Because my mission with this blog is to help the non-technical web savvy person navigate through their frustrations, I am going to assume for the purposes of this post that the reader is someone with a working familiarity of the web, at the very least having published something on a free blog host.

One of the first steps in the development of your web presence is the choosing of a web-host.  Those of us who have been on the web for a period of time, and we have also had a web hosting business, have all experienced the pratfalls of hosting problems.  In order to help you avoid those, the following guidelines and hosting specifications should alleviate future frustrations and feelings of smashing…..

For this post, we are also going to assume you are a relative newbie to the world of hosting and web publishing and require an entry level host to publish a blog or a simple html site that will be a store of information.  If that is the case, you will require a relatively entry level hosting account.

Entry level, however, does not mean that you do not require robust specifications in order to implement your new concept.  Most hosts today have relatively robust settings for all customers on their servers, so this should be no problem to find.  With a plethora of offerings in the market, however, I would suggest the following minimum specifications in order to begin winnowing your choices down:

Key Specifications for a Web Host:

1. Low Introductory Price:  Most hosts today will offer a fairly richly specified hosting package for an introductory price which today falls around $5.00 to $7.00 per month should you choose to pay six months or one year in advance.
2. Host Operating System:  Unless it is for a specific, specialty need (which we intend to address in a subsequent post), we overwhelmingly recommend that you go with a host that uses a Unix platform and a Linux or Linux derivative operating system.  This is by far the most common configuration on the web, and you will not only find the most informational resources regarding this platform but also the most web specific applications for it.   Windows based servers are also quite good platforms, but unless you have a specific reason for wanting to use Windows, you life will be easier with the Unix/Linux/Apache (the webserver software) than with any other configuration.
3. Domains:  Obviously, you wish to run your own domain name.  Many hosts have introductory plans that allow you to have one domain with scalable plans that allow unlimited domains to be hosted on your plan.
4. Email Accounts:  You want to make certain that your host will offer multiple email accounts with your package.  Many offer unlimited email accounts even with their introductory packages.
5. MySQL Databases:  If you intend to run Wordpress, Drupal or any other blog or CMS software package on your website, you absolutely need MySQL databased capability. 
6. PHP:  Again, PHP functionality – which is a scripting language – is absolutely essential for any starter web package.
7. IP Address:  Although not absolutely essential if you are just beginning to publish your new concept, it is desirable to have your own, individual ip address for your account.  Having your own ip protects you against potentially abusive business practices by others you may share an ip with in a shared hosting environment.
8. Bandwidth:  Many hosts today claim that they offer “unlimited bandwidth” on your account.  These are always offered with the caveat that you must comply with their terms and conditions which almost always state in some indirect language that your account may be cancelled for using excessive bandwidth.  Should your new site be picked up #1 on a valuable keyword by Google or your blog featured at Technorati, you might just find your site inaccessible.  The best way to avoid this is to make certain that your host has scalable plans that would include a VPS solution – Virtual Private Server. A VPS is, in effect, similar to having your own server but you really have a walled off portion of a server.
9. CGI (Common Gateway Interface):  This controls what your site looks like in response to common scripting and computer language codes.  Your host must offer it.
10. Perl:  Like PHP, it is a programming language.  It used to be the main language of the Internet to enable dynamic content, but is largely being replaced by PHP.  Regardless, it is necessary to run many applications you may have on your site.
11. Cron:  Almost all web-hosts have cron enabled, which allows you to do prescheduled routines on your webservices and software, but make sure that the host has it enabled.
12. GD Library:  This is a graphics package that needs to be installed on the server by your host.  It is critical to run image imports into Wordpress and just about any other automated web publishing environment.
13. ImageMagick:  This is an extension of GD Library and is again needed for many of you plugins to Wordpress and other web publishing programs.
14. Curl:  Curl is a php script optimizer that you will find required by many plugins to your web publishing software.  Discovering that your host does not have it installed when implementing new capabilities to your site is indeed frustrating.
15. Zend Optimizer:  Very similar to Curl in that it will be required by some of your scripts and/or plugins and it is better if you know it to be installed by your future host than to find it not there at 2 am when installing a new application.
16. CPanel:  many people would not say that CPanel is a requirement.  But, Capanel is a web interface that allows you to manage your hosting account.  It enables you to manage your own email addresses, add-on domains, install pre-approved scripts, check your webstats, create MySQL databases, and, if extended with Fantastico, allows you to one-click install wordpress and a variety of other applications.  There are alternative management panels in the market, but it is our experience that having Cpanel will make your life easier.

The above are what I would call basic and minimum requirements of a new hosting account, even at the entry level.  There are other modules like Curl and Zend that are desirable, and required for more advanced hosting solutions, but the normal person publishing on the web should be well served with the above specifications. 

Two hosts that we recommend that have both exceptional reputations and provide the the level of specification that we consider to be the minimum – in fact they are both more robust – are Host Gator and Blue Host.

Blue Hostis an excellent host for the person buying their first domain hosting package.  They specialize in hosting Wordpress run sites and their servers are optimized for the unique usage demands that the most widely used web publishing software places on MySQL databases.  Click Here to see Blue Host’s phenomenal hosting plans that start at $6.95 per month for some very robust solutions.

Host Gator is run by a iconoclastic guy who actually helps his competitors optimize their services.  They are specialists in scalability and have helped a wide range of new sites introduce themselves and grow phenomenally.  Click Here to review their excellent introductory packages that feature exceptional scalability.

There are certainly many fine hosts in the marketplace that can meet the requirements that we recommend.  Host Gator and Blue Host are the two, however, with whom we are most familiar and have a high level of confidence in.

Regardless of your choice, it is our hope that taking the time to document the minimum specifications that you should look for has been helpful.

For those looking for more advanced solutions and have more experience on the web and with hosts, look for Part 2 of our web-hosting recommendations for a review of the essentials of VPS (Virtual Private Servers) and Managed Dedicated Hosting.

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