Web hosting shopping cart

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Many people jump the gun when choosing which shopping cart will fit their needs.

Don’t start with a comparison of features of the shopping carts

The first thing that most people look for are the features that they want.  However, if you take the time and do a thorough search, you will always be able to find the features that you want.

Since features are easy to find, or integrate, they should also be the last factor when determining which shopping cart fits your needs.  This is not to say that features aren’t critical, but rather that they should be the last criteria used to narrow down your list.

There is nothing worse than finding the perfectly-featured shopping cart, only to find out that it isn’t compatible with your servers operating system.  It is even worse to find out that it is self-hosted, and you want a 3rd party web hosting shopping cart.

The first thing that you must decide is whether or not you want a self hosted option or 3rd party web hosting shopping cart.  Here are some important facts to consider when deciding where you want to host your shopping cart.

1.    Security

When you choose a 3rd party web hosting shopping cart, they will handle all of the security issues.  This is because your customers will actually be checking out through their website.

With a self hosted shopping cart, you will need to ensure your customers security yourself.  While this isn’t inherently difficult, it is an additional factor that needs to be taken into consideration because it will cost time, money, and ongoing maintenance.

2.    Maintenance Level

With 3rd party web hosting shopping carts, there is very little maintenance on your end.  Once your products are set up, your website is good to go.

With a self-hosted shopping cart, you will continually be working to maintain it.  Your maintenance could be security one day and software upgrades the next.

3.    Control

3rd party web hosting shopping carts only allow for a comparatively small amount of personalization and control, whereas self hosted carts give you infinite control.  You have the ability to modify and control the entire check out process as well as what everything looks like.

There are a number of factors that must be weighed in order to choose the perfect shopping cart to fit your needs.

However, the most important decision that you need to make is whether or not you want to host it yourself, or use a 3rd party web hosting shopping cart.  This decision will have a huge impact on what is available to you and what you will be able to modify to fit your needs.

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Web Hosting FTP

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FTP web hosting can seem a bit overwhelming if you do not understand what FTP is or how it works.  Once you understand it; however, it can quickly become your best friend.

Here is a quick overview of FTP web hosting so that you have a solid foundation to build upon as you learn.

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol and allows files to be transferred to and from one computer system to another.

It was originally designed to compliment HTTP, which can format and deliver web pages but cannot transfer files.  This symbiotic connection makes web hosting FTP invaluable.

FTP also makes it easy for multiple people to work together and share projects easier.

The Fundamentals of Web Hosting FTP

The server of a web hosting service stores all of the files and information in a centralized location.  Anyone who knows how to access the server can upload and download the files using FTP.

FTP web hosting also makes it easy to arrange and manage the files into directories and sub-directories, as well as change their accessibility.  Unique usernames and passwords are almost always required to ensure the security of the server.

Web hosting FTP can be easily broken down into two basic components: The Server and The Client

The server is where all of the files are actively stored.  How much data the server can hold is based upon the web hosting package that is chosen by the client. It could be shared with hundreds of other people, or dedicated to only one person.

The FTP client is the interface that is used to upload and download in a fashion that is considered to be user-friendly.  The FTP client also creates an extra layer of security through usernames and passwords, as well as simplifies the whole process.

Because using FTP is critical as well as a way to simplify file transfers, it is important to find a web hosting service that offer web hosting FTP.

It is also important to make sure that the FTP client is easy to use.  Using a web hosting service without FTP will quickly become frustrating, and will likely send you scrambling to a different web hosting service that offers FTP.

Web hosting FTP can be easily broken down into two basic components: The Server and The Client

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Web hosting affiliate

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Web hosting affiliate programs are some of the most popular online affiliate programs.  It shouldn’t come as a surprise because it seems like everyone who works or plays online has a website.

At the same time, it is important to keep in mind that these arena of affiliate programs is considered to be one of the most competitive, especially if you want web hosting affiliate programs to be the backbone of your affiliate empire.

Some people use web hosting affiliate programs as a form of residual passive income.  They will have web hosting banners on their website and may passively promote them, but they are more of a bonus conversion rather than the focal point.

Regardless of what you want to use your web hosting affiliate program for, it is important to choose which programs that you want to promote wisely.  Here are some quick tips to help you decide which web hosting affiliate program is right for you.

1.    What Will You Get Paid For?

The terms of every web hosting affiliate program is a little different, and it is important for you to understand what you will get paid for.

Some will only pay you if your referral signs up for website hosting, while others will also pay out affiliate commissions if the customer orders other products such as SSL certificates or buys a domain name.

Referral length is another factor that will directly relate to how much money you can make with the affiliate program.  The referral length is the amount of time that your customer remains your customer.

The first is how long your referral ID will be attached to their account.  Some last 30 or 60 days, while others last forever.

This is important because if your program has a 30 day referral length, then you will not get paid if the customer signs up 31 days after visiting your website.  The longer the referral length, the better.

2.    Do They Work With an Affiliate Network?

It is important to leverage the power of an affiliate network whenever possible.  Affiliate networks not only ensure that you get paid what you have earned, but also offer valuable tools and information that you may not be able to get elsewhere.

Affiliate networks often have additional or unique banners, prewritten scripts for blogs, articles, etc  They also give you more accurate statistics regarding conversion rates as well as a better idea of how well the program is working out for others.

There are a lot variables that can go into choosing the best web hosting affiliate program for you, but these two simple tips can help you refine your search and get the information that you need to make the best decision.

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Unlimited Domain Hosting

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Unlimited Domain Hosting has become a priority feature and web hosting providers have responded in an overwhelming fashion.  Almost every hosting service offers unlimited domain hosting.

While being able to host unlimited domains is critical, there are other features that must not be overlooked based upon what you are doing.

There are two main reasons that unlimited domain hosting was sought after.

The first is because domain/website sellers/resellers need to be able to display their domains and websites in order to make sales.

The other reason why many people need unlimited domain hosting is because they will be working on building multiple websites at once.  They are improving promising websites, and selling the others.

Regardless of why you need to host a large number of domains, let’s take a look at some other important features that are critical to keep in mind.

1.    Disk Space

It won’t matter that you can host 100 domains if there is not enough disk space to support your websites.  If you lack disk space, you can upgrade your package to get more space, but it is even more ideal to have enough disk space regardless of how many domains you are hosting.

Many unlimited domain hosting services also offer unlimited space, but be sure to read the fine print.

While you may have “unlimited space” in the perfect world, there is often a limit on how quickly you can use up your disk space.

In actuality, it is up to the hosting company to give you the additional space as it is needed.  This will rarely be a problem if you grow your portfolio slowly. It can be an issue if you plan on transferring 100 full-fledged websites at once.

2.    Bandwidth

Just because your unlimited domain hosting company will let you host as many domains as you want, that doesn’t mean that you will be given the bandwidth all of your websites need.

Additionally, many hosting companies will charge you extra if you use up more than your allotted bandwidth on a monthly basis.  Even worse, if you do not have enough bandwidth, your websites will load extremely slowly and even dedicated users may start to fall off the bandwagon.

Unlimited domain hosting has become a critical feature, but it is important to keep the disk space that you are allotted, and the bandwidth that you can use.  If either of these two features fall short, not just one of your domains will be affected, but potentially all of them.

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Streaming Video Hosting

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Streaming video has taken over the internet with the emergence of both free and paid streaming video hosting services.

However, as this phenomenon continues to grow, many webmasters are left wondering about where they should house their videos.  Some people prefer to host the videos on their own server, while others prefer using a streaming video hosting service.

Regardless of which option you choose, there are some important facets that need to be kept in mind.

There are potential drawbacks wherever your decide to house your videos. The key is choosing which drawbacks may apply to your situation and avoid them.

Free Streaming Video Hosting

Free streaming video hosting through websites like YouTube have grown extremely popular; however, there are some potential drawbacks that may affect your website.

The first is that YouTube will provide links to related videos near your video.  If your competition has a related video, then it is possible to lose your customer to them.

However, if you are adding the video to your website as well, this could be minimized, especially if the video is product-specific.

YouTube also has a tendency to make videos look a little grainy.  This is because they reformat your video so that it takes up less space.  If it is reformatted poorly, there is very little that you will be able to do.

Commercial Streaming Video Hosting

The primary drawback to commercial hosting is that it can be outside the range of many new businesses budgets, and even beyond their needs.

It is important to decide if paying a commercial streaming video hosting provider is actually worth the cost.

Additionally, if you choose an unreliable commercial provider, there is a chance that your videos will not be available when someone visits your website.

Hosting Streaming Videos Yourself

It can be argued that hosting streaming videos on your own server will eat up your bandwidth as well as your disk space.

However, if you need less than 1000 total minutes of play-time a day, then hosting it yourself may not be a bad option.  Unfortunately, once your website grows, you may need to get more server space as well as more bandwidth.

Streaming video hosting has become essential to many websites.  While the importance of video isn’t doubted, the problem lies in where to host the videos.  All three options have their potential drawbacks, but at least one option will fit your needs.

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Streaming Audio Hosting

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Streaming audio hosting has surged in popularity over the last half decade, and it will continue to get more popular.  This increase in use has cause a number of new technologies to be designed and recording and sharing audio online is easier than ever before.

Steaming audio hosting has become utilized by everyone from unknown garage bands to big businesses.

Streaming audio hosting is now a common business tool that is used by individuals, businesses, and organizations for a variety of purposes.

This hosting is a great tool that is used for sharing recording of almost everything from a Sunday sermon to political speeches.  It is utilized to hold more than just big audio files.  It is also used to hold small recordings like the background music that you find on many sites.

When you choose your next streaming audio hosting service, it is important to keep a couple things in mind.

Since your streaming audio needs to be played as soon as it is called upon, you need to make sure that your host is reliable.  If your streaming audio host is unreliable, then you will never know if your audio is going to be accessible or not.

This is especially true when choosing a free streaming audio host.  If your free host flops, then you will lose your audio files.

If you have a lot incoming audio files and lose them because your host stops providing their service, it could take days or even weeks to get all of your links changed and audio files reloaded onto a new server.

You also need to consider how much space and bandwidth you have.

If your audios are accessed extremely often, then there is a chance that you could max out the bandwidth or storage space that your streaming audio host provided for you.  When this happens, you will either be charged additional overage fees or if you are using a free service, they may just cancel your account.

Streaming audio hosting will be around for as long as audio files need to be stored.  Some people choose to use their own website, free hosting service, or commercial streaming audio hosting.

Regardless of which method you choose, it is important to make sure that it is reliable and has enough storage and bandwidth to fit your needs.

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SQL hosting

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It can be a tough choice for first-time web developers when they are trying to decide between SQL hosting and MySQL hosting.  There are a number of questions surrounding issues like reliability, features, and simply which one is better.

Many people feel that SQL is the better choice, although there is a large amount of debate. While they both are utilized to manage and store data through a user interface, they have some stark differences that has made SQL  the preferred option.

Both SQL  and MySQL hosting gives you access to data through standard based protocols and they both support all of the major protocols.

The programming language that is used to communicate with the database is known as tSQL or Transact SQL.  This allows users to modify data by deleting, inserting, and updating.

tSQL follows ANSI (American National Standards Institute) guidelines, which is where some concerns about MySQL are raised.  MySQL does not completely follow the ANSI guidelines and standards.

The tools that accompany both SQL  and MySQL are different as well.  MySQL focuses more on selecting, displaying, updating, and saving data; however, falls short when it comes to deleting and inserting data.

If you are designing a medium to large database or are involved in commerce than SQL hosting stands far above MySQL.

A SQL server also has a number of additional standard features as well.  It supports User Defined Functions, Triggers, full Import/Export, Cursor Support, Store Procedures, Transaction Support, and Full Join capabilities.

SQL servers also give you full control over your database.  Administrators can abstract database designs by utilizing SQL VIEWS.

Another great tool that puts you in control are UDF’s or User Defined Functions.  User Defined Functions allow you to create complex code and store it into a simple interface.

All of these SQL tools are in addition to the features that are also on MySQL.

While there are good arguments on both sides of the table, SQL seems to have the edge. It has all of the features that MySQL as well as many others.  It is also fully standardized based on the ANSI guidelines and offers a more simplified yet complete way to create and manage your databases.

If you are still trying to decide for yourself if SQL hosting is right for you, then there are a number of intense and informative forums discussions about this very issue.

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Secure Web Hosting

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Security should always be a primary concern when choosing your web hosting provider.  A secure web hosting provider will give you the tools that you need to ensure that your website is always safe.

Many people shy away from shared hosting because it is unreliable, but in all reality, it is as safe as any other type of hosting.  Remember, making sure that your information is secure will be just as much your responsibility as your hosts.

Let’s take a look at some of the tools that a secure web hosting company should provide for you.

1.    SSL, SSH, Secure FTP, and POP3

These four features are critical to create a secure web hosting environment.  They will allow you to manage your website without exposing your confidential data.

All of them help to encrypt data that is being sent between your computer and your website when doing thing like transferring files, entering usernames and passwords, and using your email.

Keep an eye out for SSL certificates.  It is important to double check and make sure that you get an SSL certificate.  Many hosts advertise that SSL is included, however, they really mean that they are SSL ready and you have to purchase it yourself.

Most hosts will not provide SSL to every client, but if they do, you will immediately know that they are a secure web hosting company.

2.    Denial of Service

Denial of service is a tactic that hackers use to attack your website.  It makes your website unavailable to your visitors.  When this happens, you will not only lose business, but they will often redirect your traffic to something that they can profit from such as pornography or a website that will load them up with malware.

An Anti-Dos solution is important to have.

3.    cPanel

cPanel is often considered to the most secure hosting control panel available.  Not everyone uses cPanel, but it is definitely a great addition that any secure web hosting company will provide.

4.    2X Anti (Anti-Virus and Anti-Spam)

2X Anti (Anti-Virus and Anti-Spam) solutions are absolutely critical for every webmaster.  Spam is everywhere and can do more than just waste your time, it can be potentially very dangerous.

Viruses and other malware can find its way onto your webspace, so make sure that you have an anti-virus tool at your disposal.

Secure web hosting is a critical issue, but remember it is both your responsibility and the responsibility of your hosting provider to create a secure environment.

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Message Board Hosting

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When it comes to message board hosting, there are two fundamental options: self hosted or 3rd party hosting.

Message board, also known as forums, are becoming an increasingly popular method of expanding conversations that are started elsewhere or just a great place to get questions answered.

The first decision that has to be made once you have decided to start a forum is where to host it.  There are benefits and drawbacks to both self hosting and 3rd party message board hosting.

Here is a quick comparison of common trade-offs that need to be considered.

Flexibility vs. Effort

One of the primary reasons that people choose to self host their message board is that they have complete and total control over their forum.  This allows for maximum flexibility to do anything that the owner wants.

While 3rd party message board hosting offers much less flexibility, it does allow someone to start a message board within minutes and the overall level of effort needed to maintain the message board is drastically less.

The fundamental question is, “Would you prefer complete flexibility and control over your website (which means more time and effort) or a standardized message board that can still be modified but has limitations on control and flexibility (but will be much easier to maintain)”.

Cost vs Profit

The second trade-off is cost vs. profit.

Self hosted message boards will cost some money to maintain (hosting fees) and often necessitate initially purchasing your preferred message board software (but free message board software exists as well).

3rd party message board hosting companies are almost all free.  This means that you will never pay a cent for your message board.

Self hosted message boards can be monetized however you want, which can lead to larger, long term profits.

3rd party message board hosting often means that whoever is hosting the message board will place their own ads on your message board (which how they cover their own costs).

Fundamentally, this conflict boils down to: self hosting has more costs, but more potential profits vs. 3rd party hosting is free, but rarely profitable.

Both self hosted message boards and 3rd party message board hosting offer excellent solutions, however only one of them will be right for your needs.

If you are trying to start a profitable message board, then self hosting is probably right for you.  However, if you are creating a message board solely for entertainment and enjoyment, then 3rd party message board hosting may be what you want.

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Managed Dedicated Hosting

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Many people become hesitant when it is finally time to get a dedicated hosting plan.  This is often because they do not have the technical knowledge that is necessary to update and maintain their own server.

Fortunately, there is an option that gives you all of the benefits of dedicated hosting without the burden of taking care of it yourself.

Managed dedicated hosting has proven to be the best solution for a growing number of webmasters that need the resources of an entire server, but little technical knowledge.

Benefits of Managed Dedicated Hosting

Here are a few reasons why you might consider getting managed dedicated hosting for your business.

1.    Excellent Management

Managed dedicated hosting gives you the support that you need to ensure that your server is always ready to go.

Instead of having to take care of everything yourself, the hosting company will manage the upkeep and maintenance of your server for you.  They will often take care of issues like security monitoring, server backups, server configuration, firewall configuration, as well as regular software updates.

2.    Cost-Effective

Many people would argue that dedicated hosting is always the most expensive option.  While dedicated hosting always will have the highest annual fees, utilizing managed dedicated hosting can save you money over the long term.

By having the service provide manage your server means that you will not have to hire someone to do it for you or spend countless days, weeks, or months trying to master the fine art of maintaining a server.

If you need the enough resources to warrant a dedicated server, then you might as well let professionals manage it for you.

3.    Full Time Monitoring

Since your server will be under the watchful eye of your hosting provider, you can rest assured that your website is always online and your server is always running smoothly.  It is all of the benefits of shared hosting only with a lot more resources and flexibility.

4.    Reliable

Most people that are not technically savvy will still try their hand at managing their own server.  This will almost always lead to a large amount of down-time due to technical issues.

With managed hosting, you get full support from your hosting providers support staff whenever you need it.

If dedicated hosting is a must, then managed dedicated hosting solutions will prove to be the best option for a majority of webmasters.  It is a more efficient choice because it is cost-effective, monitored around the clock, and extremely reliable.

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