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FAQ'S - Web Hosting Frequently Asked Questions
What is Web Hosting?
Web Hosting is the term for publishing the files that form your web site so that it is available to the world on the internet. Every Web Hosting account comes with a certain amount of web space or storage, and you save your web site to this space – it is then available for users of the Internet. You can design your own website but you will always need someone to Host it – a web hosting provider, to provide you with the space that you will put your website on for the world to see. Web hosting accounts also have a bandwidth limit – essentially, the amount of web traffic to and from your web space that your Host will allow.
What is a domain name?
A domain name is a sequence of letters and numbers which determine the address of your website. This web site's domain name is "besttenhosting.com." You need to register a domain name before your web site becomes accessible at this address.
What are PHP, SQL, Java, IP, etc.?
Those acronyms refer to various features such as programming languages, databases, etc. that might be available with a hosting plan. PHP is an free, open-source server-side scripting language. PHP code can be embedded in HTML. PHP files usually have extensions like .php or .php3. PHP language style is similar to C and Java. Here is the PHP group web site. Other popular server-side scripting languages are ASP, Perl, ColdFusion, TCL, Python, and JSP. SQL - Structured Query Language. Limited programming language used for updating and performing queries on relational databases. All databases share a common subset of SQL. Most popular SQL databases available with hosting plans are MySQL and MS SQL. Java-Sun's popular programming language. Java is a platform-independent (at least in theory), crash-protected, object-oriented language that can be used to write applets that run in a browser, servlets that run server-side, or independent programs. Java's syntax is similar to that of C++. JavaScript- Simple, client-side programming language created by Sun and Netscape. JavaScript can be embedded in HTML pages to create interactive effects and do tasks like validate form data. JavaScript is a separate language from Java. All popular modern browsers support JavaScript. A few hosts support server-side JavaScript. IP- (Internet Protocol) is tha main protocol used on the Internet. IP Address- Internet Protocol Address. A unique number identifying all devices connected to the Internet. This number is usually shown in groups of numbers, separated by periods, for example 2xx.3x.2xx.2xx.
What is shared (virtual) web hosting?
Shared (or virtual) web hosting is the most fitting way of hosting for 99% of web sites. It means that a web hosting company will have one or more servers (computers constantly connected to the Internet that run a web server software such as Apache or IIS) that will be running multiple web sites (it will be shared). Unless a web site is exceptionally busy or requires a lot of bandwidth, this is the least expensive way to get a real web site. You can still have your own IP address with virtual hosting and the site won't look any different to users. Other options are dedicated, co-location, or doing it yourself web hosting. In those options you have the whole computer to yourself and you can do things like install your own software.VPS hosting/Virtual Private Servers
Can I keep my domain name when I change a web host?
Yes. We recommend that you register your domain name with a separate registrar before getting a web hosting plan. Then, when you need to move to another web hosting provider, you just need to point your domain's name servers to this new web hosting provider. If you registered your domain name with a web hosting provider and now you want to move, you should find your registration records or contact this web host and ask them how to control your domain name. If you have a problem, you can usually see the name of the registrar by performing a "Whois" query on your domain name and contact them.
Does it make a difference what type of desktop computer I use?
No. This will only make a difference if you develop scripts that you want to use without changes on your web site. FrontPage extensions can also be done on Unix (or Linux) servers.
Will I have forced advertising on my web site etc.?
It's a good question to ask before paying a web hosting provider. Free web hosting or very inexpensive web hosting sometimes force advertising. In fact on most web sites you can put your own ads if you'd like.
What is domain parking?
Domain parking lets you cheaply reserve a domain name for future use and display an "under construction" default page on it. You can register a domain and not park it anywhere but then your website will simply be inaccessible until you get a web host. Some registrar let you park your domain for free.
What is full-service web hosting?
"Full-service" can refer to a variety of services offered in addition to providing web space, transfer, and emails for a website. For example, it could be 24/7 toll free phone support, web design services, or web site content maintenance services.
What are the numbers listed under "space" and "transfer"?
Space is the amount of "stuff" you can put on your web site. Available space is usually listed in megabytes (MB, millions of bytes). Single letter takes up one byte. HTML files are usually rather small (this file is about 25,000 bytes) but pictures and programs can get quite big. Your scripts, emails and stats will also take up space on your host.
Transfer is the amount of "stuff" that visitors to your site can download before you reach your monthly limit. Transfer is usually listed in gigabytes (billions of bytes). After the transfer limit is reached for the month, you will need to pay extra for additional transfer at higher rates. For example, if an average visitor to your site views 3 HTML pages of 20 KB (thousands of bytes) each and 8 small embedded pictures of 10 KB each, and you get 500 visitors per day, you will require at least (3 * 20 + 8 * 10) * 500 * 30 = 2,100,000 KB = 2.1 GB of transfer per month.
How do I pay for web hosting?
The methods of payment which are accepted depend on each individual hosting provider. Almost everybody accepts credit cards such as Visa and MasterCard. Vast majority of plans require periodic (usually monthly up to yearly) payments.
How do I upload my web site?
The main method of uploading files to your web site's account is by using FTP. When you sign up with a web hosting provider, you will probably get an FTP account that lets you access files in your account (usually ftp.yoursitename.com, your main account name and password). Then you can use a built-in Windows or Internet Explorer FTP client, or some other software that supports FTP such as CuteFTP, WS_FTP, or Total Commander, to transfer files from your hard drive to your account. If you don't get an FTP account or if you prefer a Web interface, you can use your account control panel's File Manager instead. Yet another method is to use an SSH or telnet client software, such as SecureCRT, to upload using Zmodem protocol (sz and rz commands).
All these methods will work fine, but we recommend using dedicated FTP programs as the preferred solution because these programs have the best user interfaces and support advanced options like setting file permissions and resuming aborted file transfers.
What is uptime?
Uptime is the percentage of time that a web site is working. For example, if some web hosting provider has an uptime average of 99.86%, this means that your site will be down for a total about 1 hour each month. Some web hosts also offer "uptime guarantees" but this is not as valuable as it might appear.
Can I use Java applets, JavaScript, and Flash pages on my site?
Yes. Those are client-side technologies, so the web host doesn't have to do anything to support or enable them. Any browser (such as Internet Explorer or Netscape) that supports them is enough, so any web hosting provider will do. It doesn't matter whether Java or Flash are listed among the plan's features, they are supported by default.
