There are several webmasters who wants to start their own web hosting company. The first thing one needs to do is he should know that from where he should start. The next important question, which arises in the mind of the user, is from which source he will get the required information. This article will present the basic things that one requires in order to become a successful web-hosting provider.

Before starting, user should be very sure that becoming a successful web host is not possible by just reading the books rather it needs practical experience. It really sounds easy to run servers but actually running it is a damn difficult job. In many cases people who have taken good precautions while choosing an experienced server but still they should know by their own how to deal with security threats, downtime and fixing program errors, then only they can work properly else they have to face big problems.

Starting ones own hosting services is not an easy task rather it is very challenging and some times even irritating. One option to think about is reseller-hosting plans. There are many good web hosting companies offering paid reseller hosting and relieving user form wasting time in maintaining servers. One may consider this option to get a customer base going.

One can rent, lease or buy the servers, if he decides to buy the servers, he should get it custom made according to his specific needs, if user is having sufficient money, he can try to get a server that best fits into his plans. He will need a place to keep the server. He can find local building to do this or he can also keep it at home. But utmost care is required if user chooses the option to keep server as home as else it can lead to problem which one even cant imagine.

After crossing all these steps its time to choose the operating system. Now the next question that arises in one’s mind is-which operating system to be used i.e. Windows, Unix, etc., the next step is to opt the control panel like Cpanel, Plesk, etc., which security to use and many more. All these steps should be followed by proper research and care should be taken before finalizing anything. User should also keep in mind that if everything is going according to his requirements or not. User must also consider that there is several programming languages that can only run on certain operating systems, most web site owners want programming languages such as PHP or PERL.

There are many actions that should compulsorily be performed by the user and one of them is he should always keep his servers up to date with the latest security patches. He will need a good firewall; the firewall is first protection one has and most probably the best one. It’s also very important to monitor the servers full time for any errors, hackers or virus, one slight carelessness can lead to hacking of one’s server and result can be loosing all customers.

If any one desires to get the highest possible server uptime then he will require multiple Internet connections. Depending on the area in which one resides, it may be tough to find an Internet connection provider. One will need a fixed IP address, that won’t change after each use. All providers don’t offer this; so it is the responsibility of the users to check before he chooses.

Another point to consider is the pricing issue i.e. what are the charges one should ask for his web hosting services? If he is charging too high people will leave as being expensive, at the same time if the charges are quite low then too people will leave thinking servers are overcrowded with another web sites and that the services offered will be terrible. Now the question is what kind of plans to offer? Shared, reseller or dedicated hosting or maybe all of them.

When anyone really thinks about all these points, then he knows how difficult it is to become a successful web host and then the option which he considers best is to go with a reseller hosting plan, this will at least give one the taste of what he needs to do and help build him building a customer database



By: Blue Host

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ost only made it to our #3 spot and here is exactly why.

In our Review we list everything you really need to know. The Good, Bad and the Ugly!

Our review criteria is simple. What is it that you really need from a web hosting company? You need:

1.A Great Price.

2.Uptime and Reliability so good that you never need to waste your valuable time calling customer service.

3. Great Customer Service, because if you do have to get on the phone with them you want to get someone who can actually do their job without transferring you 10 times.

4. Easy to Use, you desperately need a web host with an easy to navigate and easy to use site. Nothing will drive you crazy faster than trying to use a site that looks like it was built by a guy who needs an hour and a half to watch the TV show 60 minutes.

5. Value, sure we all want the best price we can get. But is it worth it to save 50 cents a month if your site crashes all the time and customer service is in some foreign country?

6. What’s the Down Side, every company has things they could do better, that’s for sure. But what are the challenges, are they deal breakers and how much if any do they affect you?

The Review. So, how does Just Host stack up to our criteria?

Price: (4.95 out of 5.00 possible).

Why? Well, at only $3.95 for unlimited disk space and unlimited sites for a small start up package they are almost unbeatable. You will be hard pressed to find a better offer anywhere no matter where you look. But, is that really all there is to it? Read the rest of their review and find out.

Uptime and Reliability: (4.75 out of 5.00 possible).

Why? They say they have 99.9% uptime just like everyone, heck they even make it one of their guarantees. But I come from a town so small that if you were running low you could always bum a dip of chewing tobacco off your Mom. And in a town that small as you know the motto is “show me”.

Well, they don’t have a third party listed anywhere on their site that independently certifies they make good on their claims. But as you will find there are very few companies have this stat actually certified. However this is what justifies the rating of 4.75 any company that does have it independently certified from a highly reputable 3rd party would get at least a 4.95 out of us.

Great Customer Service: (4.60 out of 5.00 possible).

Why? Once again we did our best to call with the most stupid and absurd questions imaginable. I mean stuff like “but if I do get a megabyte shouldn’t I call a doctor?” and “A Router, Oh yeah, a New York intersection traffic Cop with those little white gloves and the whistle, right?”

Of course these were all part of a much larger conversation and not completely out of the blue. This can be a load of fun if you can keep a straight face. Did we mention we like our job?

But in their case one customer service rep did get a little testy. And from then on was pretty helpful but a little curt. One rep asked if this was being recorded ect.. You can imagine some of the responses.

No, we don’t just ask them stupid stuff we also ask really techie questions like “can I create a static home page with random back pages on a word press blog if its hosted on a sub domain?” The answer is absolutely yes by the way, if you know the right WP settings or have the correct sticky plugin.

Well, for the techie stuff they did great, but they were not all able to maintain their composure. Hey, we like to have fun with our research to bring you the absolute best reviews and grilling their service department is just one of our many review points

Easy to Use: (4.60 out of 5.00 possible).

Why? They have the normal C Panel set up but their access to it can lead you astray pretty easily. Other than that not really that much to report on their interface. Pretty strait forward stuff and really basic if your used to the normal C panel Icons.

But as mentioned just a little too easy to find yourself in an area where you have to hit the back button five times to figure out just where in the heck you are.

Value: (4.65 out of 5.00 possible).

Why? They have a fantastic price for what they are offering. We didn’t find a truly better deal on an apples to apples offer out there anywhere.

However you must take into consideration that if your new to hosting your site(s) on the world wide web you’re going to need some hand holding. Don’t be embarrassed by it you should have seen me when I first started. You remember those really ridiculous questions I listed above? Well, when I was green to the web I would have wondered if those weren’t actually real questions.

Don’t sweat it, you’re going to have to ask how to you FTP 5 times before it sinks in. Don’t worry about it, ask the questions. But you may want to weigh price, service and ease of interface carefully if you are new.

What’s the Down Side: If you search the web long enough you can find someone who doesn’t like any topic you pick. Don’t think its true! Go Google “Puppies suck” or “Butterfly’s suck” and you will come up with a few people who have no more valuable use of their time than to write that stupid stuff. So, no matter which host you pick you will always find someone who has a bone to pick with them or usually just themselves.

The only real downside to Just Host is that if you are new to web mastering you may want to go with someone like Hostgator who is pretty easy to work with. If you’re a veteran and price is a major factor then these guys would be very, very hard to beat.

By: Patrick Shelley

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