2004-06-10 by  Michael Lynn

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Now that you've probably just spent hundreds of hours and possibly even thousands of dollars to build your web presence, one of the most important decisions you'll make next is where to host your website.

Choosing a Platform
It may be true that Unix tends to be more reliable than NT, but it is even more true that any server when overloaded with sometimes 250+ web sites, like most web hosting companies do, will not be as stable as you need it to be. Don't expect your
site to incur 100% availability if you are on a shared virtual server. There are too many things that can go wrong when 250 different sites are competing for the same resources. If your web host doesn't publish how many sites they put on a single
server, find out from them, they shouldn't have anything to hide. By the way, 255 sites is the maximum that Windows NT will allow per server, and most web hosts take full advantage of that for their lower end solutions.

Web sites running on NT/Windows 2000:
*Rapid application development with scripting languages
such as ASP or Cold Fusion.
*Typically is easier to administer in a shared hosting environment.
*If need ODBC to support database driven a site.
*FrontPage tends to work better on NT

Web sites running UNIX/LINUX:
*Scripting languages such as PERL, PHP or any CGI applications.
*If you only need email or a static site, use Unix/Linux, it's cheaper.
*Tends to be more reliable then NT in a shared hosting
environment.

Web site running on a dedicated server:
*If Uptime, user experience, branding, and site performance are a main concern.
*If you new to hosting, check out the Cobalt RAQ.

Narrowing the Selection:
Price - Its true here like most things, you get what you pay for. Don't expect enterprise class uptime for 20 bucks a month, even if they guarantee it.
Options - Don't skimp on your options, if you need extra email address, get them. Some options are a "must have" depending on your websites functionality. Site traffic reporting tools are extremely useful also.

Support - Most of the top web-hosting providers have 24/7 support. Make certain that your host has a toll free number for support. Waiting for someone to email you back when your site is down and you're losing business is no fun.

Expect to Pay:
$10-15 Basic email, static site, and 25-50 Megs of space.
$25-30 Added features like scripting support, Windows NT, basic
databases, site reporting, and SSL.
$50-150 Will add advanced database support, e-Commerce, and
shopping carts.
$199-375 Dedicated Cobalt Raq server.
$250-Up Dedicated Windows NT, and Unix servers.

Monitor Your Site:
Your newly created web presence needs to be up and running 24/7
in order to be effective. Most top-notch web hosts offer money
back guarantees if your site is up for less than 99% of the time.

That is considerable when:
An avg. uptime of 99.9% is 10 minutes of downtime per week.
An avg. uptime of 99% is 1 ? hours of downtime per week.
An avg. uptime of 98% is 3 ? hours of downtime per week.
An avg. uptime of 95% is 8 ? hours of downtime per week.

This is downtime where your business has effectively closed its doors to potential customers. It is recommended you take dvantage
of web-based site monitoring services. This will allow for accountability between you and your provider. The fact is, you can't be there checking to make sure your site's up at 3am everyday, but a good web site monitoring service will email or even page you when your sites down at anytime with diagnostic data to
help pinpoint the problem. In the end, these services can potentially save you money or even justify you switching providers
completely.

References:
http://www.hostcompare.com - compare web hosts
http://www.cobalt.com - rack optimized servers
http://www.serverpatrol.com - advanced website monitoring

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