| Add-ons, databases etc Which extra do you think you will need? If you’re creating a blog or dynamic website then you will need some type of backend database, will you be sending or receiving lots of emails, then you will need lots of email storage and bandwidth, otherwise you could run into lots of problems. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to add-ons so its something that really need to be planned. Ease of use When deciding which personal website hosting company, how easy to use are the website tools, admin interface etc, how easy is it to create a basic website if your new to web design, use the email interface or FTP upload facilities, this may not sound like such a big thing, but all of this helps and when your creating your website, changing it around, checking emails etc you will be very pleased everything is quick and simple to use. Type Unix or Windows When I first started out of course I went Windows like most people, I just assumed (wrongly) that it would be easier, luckily the ISP was able to move me over to a UNIX based system, from a front end it made no difference, but as I wanted to create a dynamic website one of the easiest routes was the CSS, PHP and MySQL which was not fully supported under windows, which meant I would have to go and use a pay solution. If you want an easy to use solution for your blog or dynamic website choose UNIX, I did and have not looked back. Auto domain & hosting renewal ok so you’ve built your site, then you’ve never quite had the time to do anything else with it, so you just forget all about it, 11 months later you notice a charge on your credit card from the hosting company who have charged you to renew your hosting package with them, but they never contacted you, just charged and renewed. This is a pretty common story as some hosting companies do not give you the option to renew, they have conditions such as you have to contact them around a month before the hosting comes up for renewal, or they are will renew. So if possible make sure you have the option to not auto renew and they should then contact you prior to this. Planning for website growth Ok so you have started your website, everything has been going ok, you wake up one morning check your site, things have gone ballistic, your traffic has multiplied by 1000 over night and your now receiving emails from people complaining that they cannot get onto your site, what is the next step? You contact your hosting company, but they cannot offer any other package that would suit your extra needs. This situation would be a nightmare, you have lots of traffic, great, but your hosting provider cannot handle it, this is why it’s better to check when you first sign up what expansion options are available to you. Which email It never ceases to amaze, the amount of people who setup a website, get free email with this associated to the domain, and yet still choose to use a free email service. Using the service provided by the hosting company not only looks more professional than the free service, but it also offers many other options such as using unique names such as jon@computer-adviser.com, as opposed to jon234234@hotmail.com Which personal website hosting service – more help and tips Why not build your own website? Too difficult, too much to learn, it might be much easier than you think Want unbeatable priced, cheap web hosting deals ? How about a complete website building application with domain name, hosting, email, great support, professional tools to give your site the competitive edge, plus lots more, all for one great price New to website building, selected which personal website hosting company to use? Find out the power of the right or wrong domain name and what a difference it can make to your website in terms of getting ranked, and getting or not getting traffic. Want a website that will generate revenue? – If you want to build a website to generate some type of revenue find out how to make this happen, without the get rich quick schemes. If you have a website or a blog, want more traffic? – Its easy to see why building a site or blog is the easy part, getting the traffic is where the real work and learning begins Want your website listed in Google? Getting your website into Google’s index can actually be pretty quick if you know some simple tips and help on this, more.. Thought of building a website too much – The thought of building a website from scratch is too much for some people, well there is an easier alternative, why not buy a read made website, read our guide on what to look for and avoid, and how to tell the difference. Smart website advertising – Incorrect ads and placement can literally be leaving lots of money on the table, find out more about tips on how to generate more cash with your website. Web statistics and why they are so important - If you don’t have any way to measure your websites statistics you are really running blind, you need to know information such as which pages are doing well, which ads work best, where do your visitors come from, how do they find your site. Without knowing this and more it’s going to be very difficult to make your site a real success. Website optimization – Without any website optimization you could have the greatest looking site in the world, but chances are no one will see it. |