Web Hosting Intro and Tips

This is a completed article I began writing about three years ago. It’s actually quite amazing how little I had to edit; the basics never change.

If owning and operating a web hosting account is a new experience for you, then this article is just for you. The tips and instructions outlined here do not apply to any one particular web hosting company; they are “good practice” instructions and general in nature.

For starters, a domain name is different than web hosting. The two are independent but are usually used in conjunction with each other. A domain name is what you type into the address bar in your internet browser. Web hosting is the service where a domain name’s pages, images, and such are stored on servers. Many web hosts offer domain name registrations services; some even offer free domain names with their service. If your host is one of those, it is imperative to ensure that you actually own the domain name and not the host. Personally, I like to keep my domain names and web hosting at separate companies — the “all your eggs in one basket” concept.

Next, it is important for businesses, organizations, and individuals to understand that account ownership is a very important thing. When an employee signs up for a web hosting account under their name and credit card, they own the account — not the company. Most web hosts will require some sort account verification to prove ownership such as the last four digits of the credit card on file or possibly security questions (mother’s maiden name, etc.). If said employee leaves the company, the company will need to be able to verify ownership. If the company cannot, they are in a bind and the web host’s hands are essentially tied. The same goes for an individual paying someone to be their webmaster. That individual should open the web hosting account and purchase their domain name(s) and simply give their webmaster the access that is needed. This ensures that the rightful person retains ownership if the webmaster skips town or an argument/disagreement occurs between the two parties.

I am surely going to get flamed for this next tidbit, but I am an honest person. One of the most important concepts to keep in mind, as a customer, is to be realistic. Hosting a mission-critical website on shared hosting is not realistic. Paying $5 a month for web hosting for an online business/store that generates $4,000 of revenue a month is not realistic. Obviously all web hosts strive for 100% uptime availability; however, as a client you have to remain realistic. Complaining to your webhost that the 30 minutes your server was down cost you $3,000 in sales makes you look idiotic.

As in most cases, when you have a complaint, maintain your composure. Raising your voice, typing in all caps, using inappropriate language, etc. are all sure-fire ways of quickly invalidating any and all of your comments — no matter how true and valid they actually may be. Remain professional throughout the process and better results will come of it for everyone involved.

When signing up for a new web hosting account, be sure to use an email address not a domain you plan on hosting with that company. I suggest using a gmail or yahoo address for simplicity’s sake, but it can be any other email address. If/when your server goes down, you will probably want to contact the web host’s support department. But if your server is down, so is your email. Additionally, if there is a billing problem and your account gets suspended, you will lose access to your account and therefore your email. Depending on the web host’s support setup, it may be email-based. It just makes sense to use an alternate email address.

That’s the basics as I see them. This is by no means the end-all-be-all introduction to web hosting, but it at least gives some information and reasoning.