If you are thinking of putting up a web hosting business there are three different ways in which you can set up your business. First, you can buy a dedicated server and use it to host your clients’ accounts. Second, you can simply join an affiliate program or two and promote the web hosting services of the company(ies) you are affiliated with. And third, you can buy a reseller hosting account and, as the name implies, resell the space and bandwidth you get to your own clients. Quite obviously, the first option is the one that requires the most technical know-how and the second is the easiest option. However, the easiest option doesn’t always lead to the greatest profit. But if you really do not have any technical background then joining an affiliate program is really your only option.

One valid reason why the e-mail feature of web hosting providers is important is the protection of one’s privacy. Providing one’s e-mail address for any kind of online transaction can be quite risky as spammers and cyber thieves wait for their chance. However, it should be noted that a vast majority of legitimate sites are not interested in such activities due to the tremendous amount of goodwill that is lost.

Getting junk e-mail can be minimized by avoiding sites that have bad customer service reputation and consciously choosing sites with good online reputations. It pays to always check the sign-up page and to read the privacy policy small print. Sites need to obtain permission to give out an e-mail address and it could only come from the user.

I frequently encounter people trying to decide which hosting service to go with for their site basing their decision on price alone. This is a big mistake in my opinion since share hosting plans can vary considerably from provider to provider. Even if price is your main consideration, knowing factors such as how many sites a provider allows you to host on one account can considerably influence your decision as hosting multiple sites on one plan reduces your actual cost per site. A good resource to check out is top10webhosting.com. They compare all the top webhosting companies and list them side by side for you to compare taking in all the factors. A good host is important for a successful site, do your homework in advance and save yourself future trouble.

A lot of e-mail providers specify a maximum size on the amount of information that can be sent or received in one e-mail message. It is quite possible that it will be much less than the size of the e-mail storage space. The limit will determine the maximum size of attachments that will be sent or received. There may be a need therefore to send two (2) separate messages to accommodate an attachment beyond the size limit.

Sometimes, an error or bounce message will be received when an e-mail beyond the allowable size is sent. However, this is not foolproof as there is no standard way in the Internet for e-mail services to respond to messages that are too big. It would be safer to send a separate and short e-mail to verify if the complete message has been received.

Just like in any business there are some providers, whether cheap or expensive, that doesn’t provide the quality of service they promise. To make sure you get a good web hosting service be sure to ask the following questions. If you don’t get a satisfactory answer on even just one of the questions do not hesitate to look elsewhere. Remember that there are plenty of hosting providers that give great service.

• What is the maximum bandwidth?
• What is the server up time?
• Do they monitor sites?
• How regularly do they back up server?
• Are they insured for major problems?
• How much do their packages cost?

The top three control panel software programs in terms of popularity among web hosting providers today are cPanel, Ensim and Plesk. cPanel combined with their Web Host Manager (WHM) is acknowledged to be one of the best right now. However, it isn’t ideal for those who would like to self-host since it is pretty expensive. Ensim and Plesk are good options for those who want to be able to have a control panel but do not have that big a budget. For those who did not even figure in the cost of a control panel software though there are still pretty good options out there since they can find free software like Cube Panel Lite and VHCS.

If cost is your reason for hosting your own website you might want to think again. DIY hosting is not always the most cost efficient thing to do since there are plenty of web hosting providers that offer their services at a good price.

To help you understand here’s an overview of the expenses that comes with DIY hosting:

• Hardware Expenses - A low cost PC will not do if you want to host your own site. You need lost of storage space and a high speed connection that allows your server(s) to be online 24/7.

• Software Expenses - You will need licensed software. You can use Linux though if you want to cut on costs.

• Labor Expenses - If you are not tech savvy you will need to pay for someone to set up AND maintain the whole thing for you. If you do it yourself you will save money but it will cut into your time.

There is a wide array of technologies when it comes to web hosting. Though we will not delve too deeply into each, it would be good for you to have a basic idea of the different kinds of web hosting technologies and their features.

Windows hosting is one of the most commonly employed technologies. Thank Bill Gates for his one-of-a-kind success with Microsoft. This technology basically makes use of the Windows OS for all the services you get. When should you opt for Windows hosting? If you are developing your site using Microsoft Front Page, then you should opt for Windows. If you’re using Active Server Pages (ASP), Microsoft Access, or Microsoft SQL Server, then this should be your option as well.

Other types of hosting are based on the Unix and Linux operating systems. Though not as widely used as Windows (for now), these two OSes are definitely more stable and less expensive than Windows. Actually, Unix was the first original web server operating system.

In the next hosting post let us look at some technologies employed on the server side. These are mainly scripts used to come up with dynamic web pages. Some of them are more compatible with a specific OS, as mentioned above.

Very rarely would you see a web page composed of pure text. Almost all websites make use of a combination of text, images, audio and video. The general rule for adding multimedia content to your website is simple: the more multimedia content the bigger space AND bandwidth you need.

This is especially true for sites with lots of video content. The good thing about web hosting providers is that, like computer manufacturers, they like to hype up their sales packages by offering lots of storage space. What this means is that for the majority of website owners you won’t have a problem with space even with lots of multimedia content. What you should really check on is if you will have enough bandwidth.