Small Business Web Site Hosting Services Can Explode Sales

Ranked #30,195 in Business & Work, #433,353 overall

How Can Small Business Web Hosting Affect Your Sales?

What exactly do your small business web hosting services have to do with your web site's sales, revenue and earnings potential?

The answer is actually quite simple and it is reliability and speed. It is 2010 and any old web site that you throw together will no longer cut it in the internet world. People all across the world are on high speed internet connections and won't wait for your web site to load anymore. Many users will not hesitate to click away from your page if there is a delay in it loading. How can you make a sale if the user won't even wait for your web site to load?

Your only hope is to host your web site with a company that can guarantee you that your web site will be live and that your site's server will not be overloaded or running slowly. Without testing out all of the various web hosting companies, how can you figure out who to choose to host your sites? This lens is dedicated to helping you figure out which company may be the best pick for your web hosting services. It will also help to educate you about the important, technical aspects of web hosting that you may not understand.

Small Business Web Hosting Services

Rack of Web Hosting ServersAll of the web sites on the internet have two things in common. They all use web hosting services and domain names. These are two unavoidable necessities in the world of web sites.

Since all web sites have these things, it is natural that there are going to be literally thousands of different service providers to choose from. Unfortunately, technology is one of those things where you need to try it before you can really find out how good it is. All of this combined makes a deadly combination for people that want to start their own web site for a small business or anything else.

When you have to choose one of these companies to be the heart and backbone of your entire business, it can potentially be a scary situation if you find yourself stuck with a company that leaves you a step behind your competition in any one of a number of areas such as web server technology and especially the speed of your small business web hosting account.

Your best bet entering into this predicament is to rely on the advise and recommendations of others that have first hand knowledge and experience with these companies. This lens will provide you with our initial recommendations and will allow it's users to rate and add to our listing of small business web hosting service providers based on their own experiences with these companies.

Most Important Traits of Web Hosting Company

What do you value the most in a small business web hosting company?
Let us and others know what really matters!

Server Speed

How fast the server will process requests for your website. This attribute can be influenced by server hardware, the number of sites on the server, the software running on the server, and the amount and frequency of traffic processed by the server.2 points

Company Reliability

Reliability can be influenced by the hosting company's stability and longevity, server uptime, server downtime, software errors and speed of response to technical issues.2 points

Customer Service

Can the web hosting company provide timely customer service? A company with great customer service will provide personal, friendly service in a very timely manner. Their customer service may also be influenced by proficiency and speed in responding to technical problems, requests and other relating matters.2 points

Hosting Packages Price

The question here is whether it's worth sacrificing the other attributes in order to obtain a cheaper web hosting price.0 points

Small Business Web Hosting Technologies

Small Business Web Hosting Technology LogosThe are numerous different areas of web hosting technologies that can be discussed, although a complete guide to these subjects extends far beyond the capabilities of this lens. If you would like to learn more about any of the subjects or technologies that are discussed here, we encourage you to search various terms we have used to learn more about those subjects. We have also provided a number of voting modules to allow you to rank different areas of technology below.

Small Business Web Hosting Control Panels - Most people that have never had a web hosting account probably do not know about admin control panels provided with web hosting accounts. While most of these platforms provide the same basic functionality, not all of them are created equally. Some of them are more powerful than others and some are also more user friendly than others. Arguably the best control panel is Cpanel. Some other popular control panels are Plesk, ISPConfig, ispCP, DirectAdmin, InterWorx, Usermin, and Webmin. Cpanel is commonly used for the linux operating system while Plesk is likely the most popular windows control panel, although these control panels can run on other operating systems as well.

Web Hosting Databases - Any web site that goes further than being a simple, static html page will likely need the use of a database through their web hosting account. MySQL is possibly the most widely used database platform and even powers some of the largest, most popular web sites on the internet such as Google, Facebook and Wikipedia. It is also the most commonly used database with web site scripts that are available for free and for sale on the internet. MySQL is most commonly used in combination with the PHP programming language, which is one of the most popular web site programming languages. Other popular hosting database types are PostgreSQL, SQLite and Oracle.

Web Site Programming Languages - All web sites will be based on HTML code, which is the basic programming language for web sites. HTML code mostly involves what the user sees when they visit a web page. CSS is a styling programming language used to change the way HTML elements are displayed. Beyond these basic client side programming languages are powerful programming languages, both client and server side. A client side programming language allows the manipulation of events and elements that a web site visitor is seeing. Server side programming languages involve calculations and database interactions that happen behind the scenes of a web site. Some of the most popular client side programming languages are AJAX, Flash and Javascript. Some of the most popular server side programming languages are PHP, ASP, Java, CGI/Perl, Python, Ruby and .NET. ASP and .NET are windows programming languages while most of the programming languages are cross compatible with different operating systems. PHP is probably the most popular server side programming language followed by ASP on the windows OS.

Bandwidth, Hard Disk Space and Other Hosting Account Limits - Many web site hosts are offering unlimited packages as a standard option these days, but are also still a number of them who will suspend your web site if you use your resources you have paid for. Bandwidth is the amount of data transfer that your web site performs. Hosting plans that limit your bandwidth usage will generally reset your usage limits each month but will suspend your site if your reach your bandwidth limit in any given month. Hard disk space is the amount of storage space that your web site's files will occupy on the web server. Other limits imposed on web site hosting accounts can be email accounts, databases and a specific number of files. Using a database to store web page content is one way to avoid problems with a file number limit. When you select a small business web hosting provider, be sure to select one that has the appropriate options for the needs or potential needs of your web site. Most of the big name web hosting companies will often offer unlimited bandwidth, hard drive space and databases.

Favorite Web Site Programming Language

Your choice in web site programming languages can actually influence what hosting company or package you should choose!
What's your preferred language(s)?

CSS

1 point

PHP

1 point

Javascript

1 point

AJAX

1 point

HTML

0 points

ASP

0 points

CGI / Perl

0 points

Java

0 points

Flash

0 points

10

.NET

0 points

11

Ruby

0 points

12

Python

0 points

13

Other

0 points

What's Your Favorite Web Hosting OS?

Vote for your favorite web hosting operating system.
Linux or don't know are the predicted winners but miracles can happen.

Linux

2 points

Windows

0 points

Don't Know

0 points

Other

0 points

Other Important Things to Consider Before Buying

Thousands of small business web hosting serversThere are a few other things that you should pay attention to when signing up for a small business web hosting plan. Look out for hidden fees including but not limited to setup fees. Also look to see whether your web hosting account will receive instant setup or not. Web hosting plans with no contracts are usually best as well.

Some hosting providers will even offer other free services that you can take advantage of, such as free site building software and advertising credits for places like Google Adwords. Existing web sites that are transferring their web site hosting may also be able to receive free domain, file, database and script transfers when they create their new hosting account.

Types of Small Business Web Hosting

You may or may not realize that web site hosting is not a specific term but a general category for a wide variety of different types of hosting accounts provided by small business web hosting companies.
  • Shared Web Hosting - Many different web sites are hosted on a single web site server that will usually have only one IP address to service potentially thousands of domain names. All of the sites will share the same server resources. This is the most common type of paid web hosting bought on the internet and is usually what you will start a new website on.
  • Virtual Dedicated Server - Sometimes referred to as a virtual private server. A common step up from a shared server package where a user essentially has control over their own dedicated server, except there will be numerous virtual servers assigned to a single server. This type of hosting package will allow you to have your own predefined amount of server resources that other virtual servers on your server will not be able to influence.
  • Dedicated Server Hosting - When you get into the realm of dedicated servers, you may find a number of different terms being used that will describe the same thing but have subtle differences that you may not be aware of. A dedicated server is a web server that only your web site(s) will be on. A colocation server is a dedicated server that you have purchased and have a hosting company provide basic services, internet access and storage for it. You can also lease your dedicated server, which can be managed or unmanaged. An unmanaged dedicated server will sometimes just be referred to as a dedicated server. The unmanaged server is your cheapest option where you lease a server and manage it yourself. You will get full root access to the server but the hosting company will not be responsible for any configuration problems, software upgrades, etc. If you do not have the knowledge to administrate your own dedicated server, then you will want to go for a managed server. This will be more expensive than an unmanaged server and you won't have full root access to the server, but it will be the benefits of a dedicated server, simplified.
  • Cloud Web Hosting - A relatively new kind of web hosting that is scalable but reliable and will allow you to only pay for the resources you actually use. This is a technology based on clustered servers that allows the servers to balance their request load amongst numerous servers in the most efficient way possible.
  • Clustered Servers Hosting - May be used for cloud web hosting solutions or as a powerful upgrade from a dedicated server hosting package. This is where you have numerous servers that are clustered together so they can share server resources or even separate front and back end process requests amongst servers.

Web Hosting Articles

The Five Most Recent From FireBoss.net

View the most recent articles from FireBoss.net article directory on web hosting or related subjects. These articles will be updated as more are posted. Additional articles can be found on their web site.

You can also find some articles of ours on small business web hosting and other relating subjects on Ezine Articles - Web Hosting, Internet and Article Marketing, and Work at Home articles.
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Reader Feedback, Comments and Suggestions

This is where you are welcome to have an open discussion about anything concerning this lens

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  • Reply
    kiwisoutback Jan 14, 2010 @ 7:34 pm | delete
    Excellent job on your first lens, you're off to a really good start. I use GoDaddy for my hosting, but I haven't really ventured outside of that. So far they've been okay. Welcome to Squidoo!
  • Reply
    Article-Directory Jan 12, 2010 @ 3:51 pm | delete
    Excellent lens on small business web hosting services!
    The technical jargon used by hosting companies always confuses me but your lens is helpful to understand what is needed from a hosting account. Many thanks.

Related Small Business Web Hosting Information

If you are interested in setting up or transferring to a new small business web hosting account, you may be in need of one of the following other services that are related. These are all recommended services provided by large, professional companies that already have thousands or even millions of satisfied customers.
  1. Register your domain name with GoDaddy


    Please Note: We Recommend Godaddy for Domain Name Registration Services but DO NOT Recommend Them for Web Hosting Services Because of Server Overloading Issues


    What is a domain name?

    A domain name is a Web address, such as godaddy.com, that is linked to an IP address (which represents a physical point on the Internet). When someone types a domain name into a Web browser, the requested Web page displays.


    A domain name consists of a top-level and a second-level domain. A top-level domain (TLD) is the part of the domain name located to the right of the dot (godaddy.com). The most common top-level domains are .COM, .NET, and .ORG. Some other popular top-level domains are .BIZ, .INFO, .NAME and .WS. These TLDs have certain guidelines but are, for the most part, available to any registrant, anywhere in the world.


    The part of the domain name located to the left of the dot - "godaddy," in this case - is called the second-level domain (SLD) name. The second-level domain name is the "readable" part of the address and refers to the organization or entity behind the Internet address. Second-level domain names must be registered with an Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)-accredited registrar.

    Copyright © 1999 - 2007 GoDaddy.com, Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. One Month Free Trial! ProStores - an eBay Company - If you're interested in creating an eCommerce web site, then ProStores, an eBay Company, is a great addition to a premium web hosting package. For people that do not have the knowledge to set up their own web site store, ProStores offers full service options where they will do everything for you!
  3. Launch your own ecommerce store with BigCommerce. All-in-one, easy to use, SEO, marketing tools and more. Try it free!
  4. $20 off Professional Logo Design with LogoWorks

    Why do I need a company logo?

    A professional corporate image can do many things to improve your business:

    Your business image, and specifically your logo, will have much to do with how your customers think and feel about your business.

    Quality logos give your business an immediate air of professionalism. Even if your business is new or less established, a customer will often give the benefit of doubt to a company that looks professional.

    Every business eventually competes with others. A unique and professional logo will help your customers distinguish your products and services and help them remember who you are.
    Not only will a professional image help you with your customers, it might also help attract key employees.
  5. Create your logo for only $19 Dollars with LogoMaker - A professional web site starts with it's logo. If you can't afford to have a graphic designer make a logo for you, then LogoMaker is an excellent choice.
  6. Market Your Business! Get 20% Off Your Direct Mail Campaign. - Direct mail marketing campaigns can be an excellent way to promote an online business for low cost.
  7. The Affiliate Code by Michael Jones. Quite possibly the best selling affiliate marketing video series ever made! If you want to make money with affiliate marketing sites like Clickbank, CJ.com and more, then you will need this to succeed.
  8. Mass Article Control - One of the best, free methods of website promotion involves article marketing. Writing unique content and manually submitting it to hundreds of article directories can be a very time consuming process. Save yourself a lot of time and effort by letting software do a lot of the work for you.
  9. Massive Amounts of Web Site Traffic for Only $0.01 per visitor! - Learn the internet marketing secret on how to get targeted website traffic for only $0.01 (1 Cent) per visitor that can convert into sales commissions of $100+.

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WebsiteHostingReviews

Ethan is an expert webmaster and internet marketer with over 15 years of experience. Find out what Ethan has to say about small business web hosting s... more »

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