Things to Know When Searching for a Web Host Part 1

So you have got your head right and you have picked your niche now let’s get into the workings of a webhost as in what to look for and where to look when deciding on a good webhost for your website.

When seeking a good web host there are some things to look for that is a must have and some that will depend solely on what you will be using it for. So here is a list of the things you will be looking for and I will touch on each one as we go.

• C-panel navigation

• Auto responders and E-Mail accounts

• MySQL support

• Support CGI, PHP, SSL/TLS, SSH/SHELL or other script
• Activity logs

• Word Press or blog

• Multiple Domains / Sub-Domains

• FTP accounts

• Type of servers such as Apache

• Traffic limits

• Storage or web space

• Easy to understand Tutorials or Video Tutorials

• Types of Domains they will support

I have listed probably more than anyone would like to know but I will try and brief comments on each one. Some I will go into more detail others I will keep them short or we will be here forever talking about this alone.

The C-Panel is the heart and soul of any webhost; it is the location where you will be able to access anything and all of your functions to your website. However not all web host companies are created equal. With some webhost their C-Panel is very hard to navigate or even understand, Heck I have seen some that you would almost have to have a PHD is computer science just to understand.

So when looking for a webhost you’re most often than not will want to be sure that the navigation is easy to understand and easy to navigate. Some webhost even let you take a virtual tour of the C-Panel so you can get comfortable as well as help you make a educated decision on rather or not that webhost is the place for you to host your website at.

With most webhost they offer e-mail accounts for your website so for example your website is called http://www.my-web-site.com you can set up e-mail account with something like support@my-web-site.com or even info@my-web-site.com. Most of them allow a crazy amount of e-mail accounts with your service. This is important if you are running a business so that your customers can contact you. However if your site becomes popular you might consider hiring people to monitor your e-mail for their divisions.

You can also consider using an Autoresponder to monetize the workflow of your site. Some webhost have an Autoresponder built in there service however you might look into rather they have a separate charge to use it or not. Some do charge a monthly fee for the use of the Auto responder where others don’t.

For the ones that do not; you can easily get it set up and have your messages sent out so when they Opt in on your website for whatever program, service or news letter you have to offer.Some of you might not know what an Autoresponder is so let me give a brief explanation. An Autoresponder is a service that when somebody comes to your website if you have an option for them to put their name and e-mail in a box so they can receive e-mail updates from you then when they hit the send button or summit button the autoresponder will accept the e-mail and then send an auto reply that you have written before hand to that person as a response to their quire. This frees up a lot of time for you to do your business because you no longer have to hang over you e-mail box to make replies to your new clients.

What makes the autoresponder so powerful is that if you are selling something and a person doesn’t buy something from your site right then but did however opt-in to your news letter then you can continue to sell them down the road with your already written pre-sale letters in hopes that somewhere in the near future they agree to give whatever you have to offer a go. This also helps to work as a reminder of your product or service that they might have forgotten a week or so before hand.

However if the site doesn’t offer an autoresponder or charges for it then you can look for an outside source for your autoresponder services. I have personally have notice that most people prefer to use an outside autoresponder rather than use one that they have free access to with their service, and as of matter of fact I also Opted out and got one from outside the box so to speak.

One of the best and most common autoresponders is AWeber for their reliability and success of getting the message to your prospects or clients. This is because of their high standards of Anti-spam and they are recognized for being a legit e-mail service. Where a lot of autoresponders wind up in the trash bin or get blacklisted AWeber does not. That is why people have chosen them over the others and why they are growing by leaps in bounds in the autoresponder business.

Don’t get me wrong there are many out that do just as well as AWeber and are just as good but being that I have not tested them out personally I cannot make any judgments or comments on them. I pride myself in giving solid and reliable information to the best of my knowledge.

What is a MySQL? Well it is kind of like having a control panel within a control panel to some extent. Where the C-Panel lets you control the functions of your whole website the MySQL let you control the functions inside WebPages. As I write this I am finding it difficult to explain this where people can understand, so bare with me as I work out the explanation.

Where the C-Panel only allows the admin (you) control to the functions of your site so does the MySQL to your web pages. This is important for people who are offering a service or membership vrs someone offering just information, or a product.

When you have a service or membership; you most likely will require them to log in with an ID and Password. This is where the MySQL comes in for it allows you to have control of what pages of your site can be view by member’s vrs non-member this also gives you more control of the functions on the website within those pages; its more like micro managing of selected pages you might say.

In essence you are allowing your members to your database or a network of databases that you control for example you run a article site but in order for people to post their articles they first have to log in after which they have access to all their article, ranking of the articles and how many visits they acquired, or lets say you have programs or software they can download yet again to access them they have to be a member in order to access the pages that contain the files. So in reality they are web page representations of the hard drives that contain the files within.

In some cases the admin will allow some control of the site or their personal space within the website to modify the way it looks and feels to their personal preferences while still maintaining full control and functions that are restricted to the members.

Now some Webhost have build in MySQL’s of their own however most people like to upload their own control panels or they might even go out and buy one from someone else and upload it. Some people who do that do not know how to make modifications to it so they hire someone to log into it and do it for them for a fee.

If you are looking for a MySQL you can just Google the term to find many different options and sellers that can range from $200 to $900 or even more. But if you have the money to invest in one all the better because when it is all set up and done. it can make your members navigation very easy as well as spoof up your personal income. Navigation means a lot to a many of people and if it’s easy to move around and get what they’re seeking all the better and this will more often than not help you get free advertisement along the way. I will have one of my own going up for sale sometime in the future but for now I just have to finish what’s on my plate at the moment before I venture out on another project.

Joint me in Part five as we further go into what you should know going in when deciding on a web-host for your website.