Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Three Ideas for Multiple Domain Hosting

Establishing a presence online is easier that it has ever been before. This is primarily because the price for both domain names and web hosting services are at an all-time low. When choosing a good web host, they provide you with virtually everything you need to build your site and make it accessible on the web in a relatively short amount of time. However, this is not always the case. For example, some only allow you to host one domain, which essentially means that you can only run a single website. For many people, this is not a problem. On the other hand, if your goals require more than one site, such a hosting arrangement would not be ideal for your needs. Traditionally, if you wanted to accomplish this you were forced to purchase separate hosting accounts from different providers. The market has changed in recent times and thanks to multiple domain hosting solutions, you can now conveniently run a multitude of sites from one account.

1.) Friends and Family

There is a lot you can do with multiple domain hosting at your disposal and one of them is creating a fun personal site for friends and family. Today’s web hosting plans are loaded with great features, many of which can be used to help you set up an appealing website. With all the free software programs that often come included in a hosting package, you can easily incorporate interactive features such as polls, surveys and beautiful photo galleries complete with high resolution images.

2.) Social Networking

MySpace, Facebook and Twitter are more popular examples, but a multiple domain hosting plan gives you the ability to implement a social networking platform right next to your personal site. You have so many options here for connecting with your audience and significantly expanding your web presence. A powerful web hosting solution will give you the tools needed to create a blog, community forum or an informative portal where you keep readers up to date with the latest news. With all the open-source CMS products on the market, you have what it takes to actually build your own social network that rivals some of the biggest commercial sites.

3.) Online Business

The types of users reaping the most benefits from multiple domain hosting is online business owners. The power and potential of the internet has been proven and because of this, every company should strongly consider moving their business online. Hosting plans on the market are very business friendly with features such as multiple email accounts, fully integrated mailing lists, FTP access and several other tools that can be very useful for your business endeavors. And thanks to all the free shopping carts available, you can set up an online storefront and truly making an impact in e-commerce.

Conclusion

There is so much that can be accomplished by have the having the freedom to run multiple domains and these are just a few ideas. It is a cost effective arrangement that can help you kill two, or in this case, at least three birds with one stone.

The Key Aspects of Domain Management

Registering a domain name is a very easy process that can be done by almost anyone. For the most part, all you have to do is find a registrar, select the name, enter some information, submit the payment and the domain is all yours. It is really as simple as that. However, some people start to experience problems after the registration process has concluded and the time comes to manage the domain. This is when you encounter foreign terms such as name servers, domain forwarding and others that lead to utter confusion. Rest easy. The situation is not as perplexing as you might think. In fact, once you understand the aspects that go into it, managing a domain can be just as simple as registering one. In this article we will go over some of the most important elements you need to make yourself familiar with when managing your domain.

Name Servers

You will learn to embrace name servers shortly after registering your domain with the registrar. The company you purchased a web hosting service from will notify you that these name servers much be changed and pointed to them in order for the domain to function properly with your website. So, what exactly is a name server? In non technical terms, it is simply the name of the server you domain and site will be hosted on. When logging into your domain account to make the adjustments, the host will ask you to enter text that looks something like this: NS1.YOURHOST.COM and NS2.YOURHOST.COM The purpose they serve is to let the DNS know where the files for your website are located. This way, when a user types your URL into their browser, the DNS knows exactly where to direct them to, which is normally your homepage.

Domain Forwarding

Also referred to as domain redirecting, domain forwarding is the process of pointing a domain to another existing website. This method can be very useful as it gives you the ability to have multiple domains for a single website. For instance, you can take a .net domain and point it to the same website designated for your .com extension. By doing this, you can make the most of your domain investments and expand your presence without having to spend money for an additional website.

Domain Locking

Once you register a domain, it is critical to understand whether the name is locked or unlocked. If the name is not locked, then it is at the mercy of domain thieves and hackers looking to steal your precious internet identity. The most savvy criminals can access your account, manipulate the system and gain total control of your domain. Therefore, unless you are requesting a transfer, your domain name should be locked all times.

Conclusion

It may take some getting used to, but you will find that managing your domain name is a piece of cake. This is specially true if you start out with more than one. Even if you get lost, a reputable hosting provider and registrar will be more than happy to walk you through the process.

Do You Need WHOIS Privacy?

Many people do not realize that you when register a domain name, personal details such as your name, residential address and email address is often made freely available to anyone who wants to access it. This means that personally identifiable information that you would probably like to keep confidential is exposed to virtually anyone with internet access. Unfortunately, the ICANN, the global regulatory body for the domain name industry, has a policy stating that each and every registrar is required to maintain a WHOIS database that contains publicly accessible contact information for all names that have been registered. Even worse, if you do not submit correct or complete information, your domain name is subject to being deleted from the registry. If more people knew that they could be put in such a bind, they would probably think twice about registering a domain name.

Privacy and Protection

There is good news in all this, and that is WHOIS privacy services that make sure your personal information remains confidential and protected from the public. This type of service can help keep you and your domain safe from a variety of situations, including spam, data mining, fraud or identity theft, stalkers and more. These services are quite similar to having your number unlisted in the local phone book as it prevents strangers from viewing your telephone number, home address and other private details you do not want to openly share with the world.

Benefits of WhOIS Protection

Whether it is provided by a web host or another service, WHOIS privacy can turn out to be an invaluable feature that keeps you protected from bothersome third-parties. Here are some of the benefits:

Shields Private Information

A reliable service ensures that your private information is never exposed to anyone else as it is securely maintained at all times. This type of service can provide you with the utmost security against cons looking to commit fraud or identity theft.

Spam Protection

Whois privacy can also dramatically reduce the amount of spam that makes it to your inbox. Spammers are infamously known for harvesting email addresses from the WHOIS database, often selling that personal information to third-party marketing firms or using it to aid in their own spam campaigns. In fact, these spammers can have your email address floating on the market for years once they get a hold of it. A protection service can limit your exposure to spam by creating a randomly generated email address for your domain, deterring the attempts of unscrupulous individuals who try to harvest from the database. At the same time, your primary email remains active so you continue to receive vital updates regarding your domain.

Complete Control

Perhaps the best thing about WHOIS privacy services is that you retain complete ownership and control of your domain name. This mean you can renew, transfer or sell it just as you would be able to do before. The major difference is that you receive a level of protection that cannot be obtained from simply purchasing a domain with the basic features.

What is Domain Slamming?

Back in the 1980s, many consumers were faced with a problem known as telephone slamming. This term refers to an illegal practice that involved altering the subscriber’s phone service without their authorization or consent. The issue of telephone slamming became more evident once the telecommunications industry was deregulated in the mid 80s, particularly following the brutal wars over prices among the major providers. Once the millennium rolled around and the internet rose to prominence, a similar practice called domain slamming began to rear its ugly head.

Domain slamming involves a third-party company sending a domain owner a notification, typically via fax or email, that appears to be a renewal notice, but is actually a solicitation to purchase something from the sender. Let’s say you receive a notification indicating that it is time to pay a bill to renew your domain name. If you are someone who is busy or simply wants to protect their online identity, you just may go ahead and comply to get it out of the way. What you did not notice is the somewhat cryptic writing in the contract you signed that essentially authorized the company to charge you for its products or services. This is a common scenario that has occurred a countless number of times.

Types of Domain Slamming

For the most part, domain slamming happen is conducted in three ways. These types are as follows:

Misleading Invoices- Some of the more unscrupulous registrars commit domain slamming just to obtain new customers. They send you a bill that appears to come from your existing provider, but it is indeed and order form that once completed, switches you over to their service.

Wrong TLD – Perhaps your domain is registered with .com TLD, but you are receiving renewal invoices for .biz., .net and a host of other extensions. This should raise a red flag immediately. If you do require domains in these extensions, purchase them directly from your current registrar and don’t fall for the bait in the email.

Additional Services - In this scenario, the bill actually has the correct domain listed, but is aggressively marketing services that could supposedly benefit you. Since the proposal is likely originating via spam, this company probably does not qualify as the best option for your needs. If you are interested in what hey have to offer, perform an online search and find a reputable service that can provide the same thing without running the risk of being duped into purchasing something you do not want.

More Warning Signs

By now, most of us realize that registering a domain name should only cost about $10 per year. However, the fees charged by domain slammers are usually considerably higher. Prices like this should instantly trigger a red flag. Another obvious sign is receiving notification via fax or snailmail. Virtually every registrar on the market will only send information regarding your domain name by email. You are probably approached in this manner quite frequently, but it is all about knowing how to recognize the tricks and having the smarts to avoid them.

Targeting Specific Demographics With Domain Names

Most people automatically assume that a .com or .net domain is the best way to get the most traffic and to reach their targeted audience. Of course, this is not necessarily false, as both of these domain extensions add a sense of credibility to your website. However, even though a .com or .net domain extension is generally optimal, there are some situations where using a region-specific domain extension would be more beneficial . Using region-specific domain extensions is especially useful when trying to target a particular demographic. For example, if your target audience is in Canada, then you may want to use a .ca domain. The following are several reasons why one would consider using region-specific domain extensions.

Easily Targeting a Specific Audience

As mentioned above, using a region specific domain will allow you to target a particular demographic or region. Using region-specific domain extensions will make it easier for you to offer products or services that are specifically targeted towards customers in a particular region. Doing this will increase your sales conversions, as your visitors will be more likely to be interested in your product.

Increasing Your Potential Customer’s Trust

Many people are more comfortable shopping with merchants that are local or at least within the country. It gives them the assurance that they will receive fast shipping, and personalized service. Of course, many people do not mind shopping globally, but there is a large group of people that are more willing to purchase goods or services from local merchants.

Enhancing Search Engine Optimization

In some cases a domain with a region-specific extension will receive a higher search engine ranking. One such case would be if someone from China is performing a search for: “web hosting company in china,” a site named webhostingcompanies.cn will often rank higher than a website with a .com extension. There are also directories that people use to find certain products or services in their area. Your site will appear in these directories if you have a domain extension that is specific to that region.

Maximizing Your Marketing

If you want to maximize the potential and outreach of your business, then you may want to consider registering a .com extension and a region specific domain. Doing this will make your business viewable to international and national users. Domain names are relatively inexpensive, yet they are an excellent opportunity to diversify your income stream. Making the right decision in regards to your domain name and extension is crucial, as it will represent your brand and your company online.

How to Find the Best Multiple Domain Hosting Plan

If establishing your web presence calls for more than one website, multiple domain hosting is an option you need to consider. As the title indicates, multiple domain hosting is a type of arrangement that permits you to run numerous domains from one account. Though widespread now, this option was not always available as past times required that you obtain a separate account for each individual domain. As you can imagine, this was rather costly, inconvenient and just plain inefficient. The old way made it difficult for a webmaster to keep up with all of their sites while severely deducting from their bottom line. These days, there are a large number of companies that offer the ultimate in convenience by allowing to maintain all your sites in an easy and efficient manner.

Storage and Activity

There are a number of obvious reasons to choose a plan that offers multiple domain hosting. The key is knowing what to look for in a host. One of the first features you need to consider is your options for disk space. Since you will require a higher capacity to store the files for your websites, you may also be required to pay a little extra every month. Keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need a tremendous amount of storage to run multiple domains. However, you don’t want to sell yourself short either. If you only need a few small sites, a couple of gigs should suit you just fine. On the other hand, if you intend on building large sites with a lot of files, high resolution photos and video, you will obviously require a greater capacity.

Bandwidth is another critical feature that must be taken into account. If you feel that you will be generating a high volume of traffic amongst of your sites, or a have a need to incorporate streaming audio and video, you will need an adequate supply to make sure everything functions smoothly. This is very critical as media files tend to eat up a lot of bandwidth. When it comes to disk space and bandwidth, it is important to come up with some estimates in regard to how much you need. Without enough space, you will not be able to store any files. Once you exceed your bandwidth limits, your site will become completely inaccessible. It is much better to have more than enough of both as this will provide your websites with the room they need to grow.

Easy Access and Control

As with any type of hosting plan, the control panel for a multiple domain solution should play a key role in your decision. This piece of software is the central office for your web presence so having something that is functional and easy to use is very essential. There are many types of control panels on the market, but applications like cPanel and Plesk are ideal for multiple domains because they make it simple to maintain all of your sites from a centralized area.

Conclusion

Finding a host that allows you to run multiple domains is rather standard these days. What you have to do is find one that offers the features and can provide the level of reliability you need to keep each and every one of them up and running.

Multiple Domain Hosting for Niche Marketers

Online business owners who have a multitude of websites to accommodate their niches often run into problems with substantially high web hosting fees. Whether you are paying on a monthly or yearly basis, the cost for hosting can add up pretty quickly when trying to run more than one website. Fortunately, there is a solution that can help you dramatically reduce the costs. By opting for multiple domain hosting, you can host all of your niche websites under a single account and literally save hundreds of dollars each year.

Multiple domain name hosting is not to be confused with domain forwarding, which lets you direct different domains to one particular website. For example, let’s say you have a domain and create content for a website at yoursite.com. You then purchase similar domains but instead, use extensions such as .net, .org and .biz. Domain forwarding allows you to take these domains and point them to the original domain at yoursite.com. This way, whenever some types in yoursite.net, yoursite.org or yoursite.biz, they are still taken to a location that displays the content from yoursite.com. Multiple domain hosting does not operate in this fashion. Instead of being forwarded or redirected to the same website, this type of arrangement allows you to have a number of different sites that contain their own specific content.

Multiple Domain Hosting in Action

As an example, let’s assume that you have targeted a total of five niches to make money online. Your existing domain is myserversite.com, which you transfer to a provider that offers multiple domain hosting. After uploading the content and composing your main website, you then add on the four additional domains to your account. During this process, the system creates a folder for the add on domains, which will actually look a lot like sub-domains. For instance, when adding mysoftware.com to your primary domain, the system might create a “software” folder, thus resulting in a sub-domain that reads something like mysoftware.myserversite.com. The key factor to remember is that when a user types in the mysoftware.com URL, they will be taken to an entire website rather than a sub-domain. In simple terms, these sub-domains end up taking the form of top level domains for your add on domains.

Maximizing the Potential of Multiple Domains

There are quite a few ways multiple domain hosting can help you save money apart from the obvious. Aside from directly cutting the cost of web hosting by more than half, there is a wide variety of features and options that typically come included free in hosting packages that will ultimately allow you to save even more. These offerings generally include powerful e-commerce tools, marketing services, free online advertising credits and pre-installed software scripts to name a few. While these features have become standard on the market, they still are not guaranteed, so finding a host that bundles them in a multiple domain hosting plan could result in a steal for you.

Multiple Domains and Search Engines

There are several website owners who are making inappropriate use of multiple domain hosting. Unfortunately for them, they are also crippling their very own search engine rankings by blatantly violating the guidelines established by the search engines that matter the most. Site owners today choose to register multiple domains for various reasons, including the following:

- They want to secure a brand name or trademark from competitors.

- They want to expand their web presence across different niche markets.

- Domain names are incredibly affordable.

Some people also register more than one domain for misguided reasons, including the belief that pointing multiple domains to the same location will result in higher search engine rankings. What many do not understand is that search engines despise duplicate content and the automated programs they send out to index your pages cannot determine whether you fall under the category of innocent and uninformed, or deliberate and blatantly manipulative. Those websites that ride this line should expect to be treated equally and to your disadvantage, you can be heavily penalized or even banned from the search engines for not knowing right from wrong.

Understanding the Guidelines

As someone trying to promote a website, you should know that search engines do not openly publish their guidelines as they do not want to give away too much information. However, there are a few rules that have been established which are directly related to multiple domains. These guidelines are quite simple: do not try to manipulate the index through sneaky redirects and cloaking and do not create multiple pages or domains that contain overwhelming duplicate content. So, what does this mean to you? Well, it should at least you know that there are some notable disadvantages to having multiple domains, especially if you do not remain cautious of duplicate content. Should you make the mistake of having the exact same content on multiple domains on the same server, you could be in serious violation of search engine guidelines. When this occurs, it does not matter what your intentions were, because you could still find yourself banned from the index. This not a great way to starting building your web presence at all.

Check Your Content

When it comes to questionable SEO practices, not knowing about the search engine guidelines is no excuse. Sadly, an alarming number of web hosting firms and designers are not aware of how to properly use multiple domains. This results in numerous website owners who unknowingly hinder their site’s ability to be indexed and placed in the rankings. Our advice to anyone who has more than one domain is to investigate and find out how they have been set up. If you have two similar but slightly different domains showing the same content, you could have a problem on your hands. In the end, your quest to maintain visitors could prevent you from leveraging some of the most significant potential traffic of all – the millions of web surfers that find what they need via the search engines.

Archive for the 'Multiple Domain Hosting' Category Reasons For Using Multiple Domain Hosting

Multiple domain hosting refers to a form of web hosting that allows you to control several domains on one hosting account. Hosting multiple domains on a single hosting account allows you to save time and money, because instead of paying for multiple hosting services, you can have all of your hosting needs met by one company. Multiple domain hosting is also seen as a highly convenient option, as you can administer the services and features of each domain within one centralized control panel.

The Advantages of Multiple Domain Hosting

There are many benefits involved with using multiple domain hosting. The most notable advantage is that multiple domain hosting allows you to expand your web presence, thereby increasing your visibility allowing you to reach more clients with ease. With control over multiple domains, you have the ability to stretch your investments into multiple niches, thereby diversifying your income through various revenue streams. When used in conjunction with the ever-expanding online arsenal of website applications and plugins, multiple domain hosting gives you the ultimate ability to express yourself, or your business, by creating blogs, photo galleries, forums, and even support sites. The sky is the limit with multiple domain hosting, as you are no longer restricted by the confines of a single web site. Multiple domain hosting captures the essence of what it means to be entrepreneurial.

The Value of Multiple Domain Hosting

Due to the large and varied number of companies offering multiple domain hosting, it is now very easy to find affordable deals on multiple domain hosting. In fact, even though you have control over multiple domains in one control panel, the prices are in the same area as other hosting packages. There may be a little extra cost involved, but it is well worth it to be able to expand your online business with multiple web sites. Keep in mind that choosing a reliable hosting company will ensure that your investment is worth every penny, even if it costs you a bit more than using a “cheaper” web hosting service. The old saying “you get what you pay for” is still valid, especially in the world of online business.

The Ease of Multiple Domain Hosting

While multiple domain hosting may cost a few extra dollars more per month, the domain names themselves are extremely easy to acquire, and they are also highly affordable. You can buy a $5 domain from a site like Godaddy, and then use this new domain with your multiple domain hosting package by pointing your site to your hosting provider’s servers. This is a very simple process that can be done with the help of the hosting company within your website’s control panel interface. After you’ve made the necessary changes and your new domains are active, you can log into your multiple domain hosting account and manage them as you see fit. Most web hosts will also offer the features needed to set up additional services such as FTP accounts, email accounts, subdirectories and databases for each individual domain.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Are One-Click Hosting Services Safe?

Upload With a Click

The way these services work involves the user visiting the provider's site and with one click you upload a file to the host's server free of charge. The provider gives the user a URL that can be shared with people who need or want to access the file and presto - free file sharing. Perhaps you're on vacation and you want to share your photos with friends before you return, or you're on the road for your company and you want your secretary to access your expense reports from a secure site - these services can be the answer. They avoid the problem of having large files rejected by e-mail providers or of sending a large file and clogging up the recipient's e-mail account.

There are many companies offering such free services, which they support through selling advertising on their sites and on your messages. They also offer premium service for those who want to send large files on a regular basis.

Two-Day to Lifetime Memberships

One of the providers, megaupload.com, offers a two-day premium membership for $4.99, a one-month membership for $9.99, six months for $39.99, one year for $59.99 and a lifetime membership for $99.99. The paid service returns the highest download speed available, the download starts instantly, the maximum upload size per file is 2 GB (compared to 250 MB for the free service), files can be password protected, and can be sent to more than 1,000 recipients. In addition, Megaupload also has a reward program that pays cash to uploaders. The more popular your files are, the more money you make. The provider earns revenue by having more visits to his site, with more people seeing the ads and more clicking through on them.

Collocate Your Own Server for Maximum Control

Collocation hosting is an economical web solution for medium-sized and large businesses. What you do is look for a Collocation service provider near your place of business and forget the hassles of having to maintain your own secure web environment with dedicated lines

Some Providers Have Multiple Centers

Some providers have multiple data centers across the United States, located in strategic geographic markets, so you can probably find a collocation web host near you.

What you get is a climate-controlled environment, 24-hour connectivity, uninterruptible power with a backup generator system, fire detection systems, building security, backup systems and your provider's IT support. The difference between complete out-sourcing is that you are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of your servers.

It also may give you some services that a regular hosting package does not, such as VPN, bandwidth management per individual server, and access to firewall protection.

Variety of Cabinets and Cages

Server Collocation facilities provide a variety of collocation cabinets and cages that provide a secure environment for your servers. They provide a 24x7 network operating center team that manages the network to ensure high-quality service. Their networks provide scalability and reliability.

The customer pays according to the amount or rack space his servers take up, measured in rack units, with 1U = 1.75 inches. Tower units cost more to colocate and of course there are upgrades in bandwidth and other optional services to consider. You will also want to take out an insurance policy on your servers.

Typical Package

A typical Collocation server hosting package connects your servers to the Internet through a 100mb Ethernet connection. Normally you do not have to provide your own switch or hub when you connect your servers or network equipment. Your servers will be connected to the service provider's switches. Customers can choose to provide their own switches or firewalls if they want multi-tiered server environments.

Servers are transported to the provider by courier. If there is a problem with your server at the provider's Collocation facility, you can work on it yourself or have the provider fix the problem.

Pay for Only What You Need: Managed Hosting Solutions

If you're in the market for managed hosting solutions you will find a host of services on the Internet. But before you start looking, make sure you know the most important aspect.

There are numerous providers. A top-rated managed hosting company, 1&1 Hosting, has a beginner package for $2.24 a month. It includes one domain name, 5 GB of web space and 250 GB of bandwidth. It's a perfect starter package that includes email, a free domain name and free phone support. It also includes 1&1 Website Builder, 1&1 Blog, 1&1 Photo Gallery, virus and spam guard and search engine tools.

Two Domain Names for $3.74

The next step up is the 1&1 home package for $3.74 that has two domain names, 50 GB of web space, a thousand email accounts and 500 GB of bandwidth. It also includes everything in the beginner package plus 1&1 WebStatistics, 1&1 Dynamic Content Catalog and CGI Library.

The company's business package at $7.49 offers three domain names, 100 GB of web space, two thousand email addresses and 1,000 GB of bandwidth. It's an easy way to build a professional web presence and includes all the tools from the home package plus 1&1 Form Builder, 1&1 Newsletter Tool, In2site Live Dialogue and MySQL Database.

The developer package is $14.99 and includes five domain names, 150 GB of web space, three thousand email addresses, and 1,500 GB of bandwidth. It is designed for companies requiring the latest in Internet technologies for their powerful web applications. The package includes everything in the business package plus advanced scripting tools and GeoTrust Dedicated SSL Certificate.

Get Down to Business! Ecommerce Web Hosting

You have a product you think people will buy and you want to get into the booming world of ecommerce. You find shopping cart software intimidating and you're looking for ecommerce solutions because you know an online stores business opportunity when you see one. So you decide to go with an ecommerce hosting company. A custom site will be the expensive way to go, as each component has to be developed and installed separately. It gives you more control, more storage space and more bandwidth, however. It's the way to go if you're expecting a large client base, but bear in mind you will have to hire a web designer and it won't be cheap.

Prefab Site is Cheaper

A prefabricated site is much cheaper than a custom site and is perfect for a small client base. The "store in a box" package usually comes with credit card processing and shopping carts and provides search engine placement tools.

Before you buy you need to know the scalability of the package, just in case your product takes off like gang-busters and your web traffic is off the charts. If you decide on the prefab route there are a number of ecommerce provider solutions.

One is easystorecreator.com No programming is required, you get a point and click interface, you have nothing to download or install and you get online help, free support and free upgrades. They will start you out on your ecommerce online store with a no-risk 45-day money back guarantee, a low monthly fee and no setup fees. You don't need a contract and hosting, e-mail and site builder is included with the package.

Many Options Available

You have the option of completely customizing your site, choosing a design, making your own, or have them design it for you. They have hundreds of options available and you can add on to your existing site, or create a new one altogether.

EasyStoreCreator includes all the tools for your online store, such as the best shopping cart software, site builder, design tools, newsletter management, inventory management, customer and order management, automated e-mail notifications, shipping tracking, and e-commerce web hosting. Its price is $67 a month, with a 25 per cent discount if you pay for a year.

Should I Deal with a Middle Man? Reseller Hosting

The system works by the web hosting company splitting its hard drive and bandwidth and reselling the capacity to other customers. In some arrangements, you, as the reseller, act as an agent for the web hosting company. In other cases you as the reseller appear to be a web hosting company in your own right.

The advantage in setting up a reselling hosting service rather than running your own server and starting your own web hosting business is that you instantly have the support and resources of a firm that is experienced and established. You don't have the capital outlay necessary to buy servers and bandwidth and to operate them in a secure and controlled environment. Rather than start from the ground up, you benefit from selling and possibly managing a portion of an already successful company.

If you act as the web hosting company's agent you have links and advertisements on your sites that take potential customers directly to the web hosting company's site. The customer buys a hosting service from the provider and you get a percentage.

Earn Free Hosting

Its referral program is for existing iPower customers. If you refer three clients for a web hosting package you get your web hosting free for a year. Its affiliate program is set up for you to drive traffic to their site, with you receiving $100 for every new customer who signs up through a link or ad on one of your sites.

Its third cheap reseller hosting program is called the power reseller program and offers recurring revenue by you offering website hosting to your clients, friends and family members.

StartLogic at www.startlogic.com is rated number two and offers similar packages. Its affiliate program offers $100 for every sale and its referral program gives you free web hosting for a year if you refer three new clients. Its third program is a private label reseller program, where it appears you are the web hosting company.

Lunar Pages at www.lunarpages.com is the third-ranked provider and it offers an affiliate program that pays $65 per referral.

Host Gator at www.hostgator.com has a reseller hosting program that allows you to keep the money you collect. Like the others, it is anonymous, meaning that your customers don't know they are buying from another host company unless you tell them.

Domain Name Registering Tips

Registering a Domain name is an important initial step in gaining an online presence. Well chosen domain names can make your website a success in many ways, especially when it comes to being found on the search engines. It can also provides brand consistency if you match it directly to your business name or service.

Below are five considerations to think about when choosing a domain name:

Domain extension:

The most popular domain extension is the .com. Many people having been very familiar with this extension for a long time and associate the .com extension as the standard extension for a business. It is often a tendency for users to search for the .com version of a website, even if it does not exist before checking for other extensions. The .com domain extension is one of the most sought after extensions when it comes to aftermarket sales where owners privately sell domains for inflated prices.

Views on domain extensions have been changing in recent times with less emphasis being placed on the extension and more on the words used before the extension i.e. 'yourcompany' .com, 'mycompany' .com because this can have bigger impact on brand consistency and search rankings to a certain level rather than the extension itself.

There are now many other domain extensions to choose from including .co.uk, .net, .org, .biz, .me, .tv, .eu, .tel and many more. Most domain extensions today are just as likely to be indexed by search engines as any other domain.

Considering name protection by registering your chosen name in multiple extensions is also recommended. Some of the most popular extensions are .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz and .co.uk. If you do want to protect your domain then it would be worth checking it is available in these extensions as well.

Keywords

Choosing keywords for domain hosting is an important aspect to consider when choosing your domain name. Where possible you should attempt to embed a main keyword or phrase into a domain name. This keyword or phrase could be your company name, a service you offer and should be relevant to the focus of the website.

Hyphenated Domain Names

Hyphenated domain names can sometimes be difficult to remember and communicate effectively. There is potential to forget the hyphen or put it in the wrong place when information is passed on by word of mouth and therefore it is wise to avoid them. This is mainly a communication issue so, if there is no choice but to choose the hyphenated version then don't let it put you off.

Short and Memorable

Choose a domain name that is short, memorable, and easy to pronounce if possible. A shorter domain is usually easier to remember than a larger domain name. Word of mouth advertising is considered to be one of the most popular forms of advertising in a business therefore a short, memorable domain is ideal for people to remember your site and pass the word around. Ensure your domain name registration is topically relevant, whether it be brand or service related.

Trademarks and copyrights - Avoid other company trademarks and copyrights when choosing your domain name. Legislation has been passed making "CyberSquating" illegal. Be ethical in your domain registrations to avoid any possible legal problems.

And finally, treat your domain name as an asset and keep all your domain name passwords and all other details safe.

Monday, December 14, 2009

THINGS TO REMEMBER B4 SWITCHING TO ANOTHER WEBHOST

If you wish to shift from one web host to another one, you need to follow a number of tracks so that you don?t face any difficulty.

Some tips are discussed here, so that you can guide yourself properly and can shun the potentials pitfalls. Firstly, you should check whether the new web hosting plan can provide you with more storage capabilities or not. If your present website is of 50mb you need to go for a new one that can provide the same or more than what the existing one provides with. Secondly, you should check how your existing web host decides your storage amount used for. You should find out what your present new host comprises of in your plan?s storage amount. Along with this you should also see whether your new web host has the storage capacity e mails and log files or only the web files are counted.

In addition, you should see on what operating system your existing hosting plan uses as if your existing hosting plan is on Windows and your new hosting plan is on UNIX, then it will be a great complexity for you to work on UNIX as ASP is a Windows based programming language. With this you should also see whether you will have a Windows or UNIX server and your new host chains your current Front page or not.

Additionally, you should also see that your new host can provide you with the same amount of bandwidth as your existing host is supplying you with and can provide you with the same amount of e mail accounts, auto responders and mail forwards or not. And with this your new host should support you with your existing script if any. So, these are some of the tracks that you should follow while shifting to a new web host.

WEB HOSTING AND TYPES OF WEBHOSTING

Internet hosting services that assist organizations and individuals to create their own websites accessible through World Wide Web is termed as web hosting. Web hosts are referred as the companies that offer space on the server for the clientele or for themselves along with the data center and Internet connection. Through the web hosts files can be uploaded using File Transfer Protocol which is later on distributed to the web. Various web hosting solutions are provided complementary to the users but they were controlled by the advertisements so now charge is involved which is reasonable.

?There are various types of web hosting services available like:

  • Shared web hosting service where one web site is positioned on the same server along with the other websites and the domains share a common server like CPU and RAM for resources.
  • Complementary web hosting service includes the services offered free of cost and generally controlled by the advertisements.
  • Dedicated hosting service involves the usage of own web server where the power of control is handled by the administrator like the sole maintenance and responsibility for the security will be on the hands of the clients.
  • Reseller Web hosting supports clients to develop into web hosts themselves and function for any individual domain as they have fundamental dedicate server.
  • Managed Hosting service includes the managing of data through File Transfer Protocol with one?s own web server.
  • Virtual Dedicated server includes sharing one server with many users.
  • Clustered Hosting comprises of multiple servers featuring the same content for improved operation of resources.
  • Grid hosting is considered as the most newly launched web hosting services. It is a sort of distributed hosting where the server acts like a grid which is comprises of multiple nodes for stable network.
  • Collocation Web hosting service where the users possess the colo server and to take care of the server the company offers the space.