If you are taking the step into heading onto the World Wide Web for the first time, hosting a website for a business or perhaps you wish to impart your knowledge with the world, there are many things to be aware of. The World Wide Web has seen a huge surge in demand in recent years and it is impossible to contemplate running a business without having an online presence. There are so many things that a firm must have in place when they try to develop a new business and they include the infrastructure, sales and promotional and marketing activities. It is quite common for a new firm to have an extremely tight budget and this forces a firm to create and hot their own websites that provide value for money and great efficiency.
There is no doubt that the website of a firm has a large part to play in generating interest in potential customers, announcing the power of the company to the world, generate traffic to the site and place itself firmly in front of a specialized market. Of course, if your firm is only based on the internet then it is imperative that there is a priority to place your website on the internet.
There are many web hosting companies that offer special packages for the startups. The web hosting packages offered by them are designed keeping in mind the requirements of a new business and of those wanting to share knowledge. The SEO experts of these companies are specially to provide you with potentially strong techniques to drive traffic into your website
Steps for Web Hosting for startups:
It can be a little tricky to host a website for the first time. Following some of the basic steps that are listed here will enable any new user to make the best decision about what web hosting company is best for them and their needs:
* The initial task should be to search the internet and try to obtain quotes from a number of web hosting companies who specialize in providing services for startup companies.
* Make a choice depending on what level of budget you have available and one hist best suits your business requirements. Make an observation about the range of support, facilities and services that are offered by the web hosting company and compare the prices and products that rival firms offer.
* Having chosen your firm, sign up online. Go through the join up process and offer up the details that they request, which may include name, address ad credit card details.
After applying, wait for the approval which may take a day or two.
* Wait for the official confirmation and having a hosting account set up for you and then go about hosting your very own website on the World Wide Web.
What goes into a Startup package provided by Web Hosts?
For firms who are looking to enter the internet for the first time, there is a great deal of companies to choose from who offer tailored web hosting startup packages. There are many reasons to start a website and it can include blogging or sharing information and knowledge with other people. It is quite common for new firms to have low needs and casual demands for their site and this is matched by having a limited budget. These are the constraints that web host providers will work round to offer special packages to new companies.
Features in a Web Hosting Startup package:
Here are some of the general features that you must look for in any startup Web Hosting package. However the below mentioned features may differ slightly from company to company:
* Web Management system – Any reasonable web management system should have at least 20MB to 50MB of disk storage space available, with regards to data transfer per month10GB should be offered and various FTP access should be offered. These can include full FTP Access and Anonymous FTP. This is in addition to Static IP Address and Secure Server (SSL) Transaction Encryption facilities.
Email Features – This is an important feature in any web hosting package. Startup packages have around 10 Email (POP/Web) Accounts, Email Aliases & Forwarding, PGP Email Encryption, Personal SMTP Mail Server and Email AutoResponders
* E-Commerce – If you are looking to provide a shopping facility on your site, the following features will be vital. Having Password Protected Directories and Service Side Includes (SSI) can make your life much easier. As can having access to PHP4 Server-side Scripting and SSH-Secure Shell.
* Technical Support – The vast majority of web host ompanies offer around the clock 24 hour ticket support for any troubles, in addition to guaranteeing uptime for 99.9% of the year.
* Website Monitoring – Some of these packages include Wusage 7.0 Graphical Statistics, Raw Access Logs which can be downloaded and DailyData Backups.
Additional Software – The package may also include some additional software like Enhanced Support for FrontPage Extensions and Web Based Control Panel.
* Hardware & Network – There are many products that can come with these startup packages with a selection being Dual- 1 Ghz Pentium IV Servers, Custom Red Hat Server OS and Apache Server Software. There are also other products offered and these can include 10-T1, 5-DS3, and 1-OC3 Network Connectivity and Uninterruptible Power.
Advanced Features – Many of the startup package these days come with the advanced features which includes CGI Bin, Custom MIME Types, Unix Shells: bash, csh, tsh, Perl, C, C++, Java JDK, Python & TCL Compilers, Emacs 20.4, Pine, vi, elm, Joe, Pico & Cron Tab, .htaccess, Custom Error Documents and 30-day Money Back Service Guarantee.
Important tips for the Startups:
Before embarking on anything new, people should be aware of what goals they want to achieve and this is true for those starting a new business and who are looking to create a website. There is only the possibility to store and archive so much on their website so people must be aware of what they want to do in advance. Having a pre-advances clarification of their aims is vitally important to anyone looking to create a website. The following tips will be able to help someone focus their mind on what they want their website to do.
The attention span of a user is very short and hence the website for start-ups should look attractive and must be able to grab the attention of the readers. Ask self targeted questions like what will bring people to the website?
* Good use of search engine optimization facilities can be vital for any startup website and these should compliment the existing content on the site.
* You should have an idea of how you want your site, company or products to be promoted on the internet.
The website must be search engine friendly but also ensure that it is interactive and engages the user into the contents of the website.
With so many internet-based businesses sprouting throughout the world, ensure that your website is not just one among the crowd.
* If you need a guaranteed performance from your web host then do not go for a shared web host service as they cannot offer performance guarantees.
* Fast connections are important to your site so make sure that the web host company is able to provide them.
* Determine if your web host company has a Plan Bin case there is a power outage.
Test the customer support service
* If you need a secure server for order processing, ensure this is offered by your firm. Also enquire if they have an online Web Site Manager or do they provide an online support manual.
Like all walks of life, creating a new website has many difficulties that need to be avoided. Having a structured website and utilizing search engine optimization techniques can bring growth and custom. As there are a number of web hosts out there, seek their advice about what you need and what services will best suit your requirements.
