2. What are the advantages of web
hosting?
3. What are the costs involved for setting up my own web
in-house server?
4. Won't my website be slow if I don't have a dedicated
server and connections?
5. Can I know how many people are visiting my website,
when and from where?
6. What level of access would I have to the web
server/website?
7. What about backups of my
website?
8. Does the web hosting include registration of my domain
name?
1. What is web hosting?
Web hosting involves
hooking a computer to the Internet using fast connections and storing
the web pages of one or more companies on the computer. Such a computer
is normally referred to as a web server. When it is one
company who has the web pages on the web server, it is often referred to
as a dedicated server, meaning that it is dedicated to
the website and web presence of that company alone. When more than one
company have websites on the computer, the web server that for each
website is often referred to as a virtual server. A
further subdivision of this is virtual hosting. This
subdivision of virtual servers and virtual hosting is the only way that
prices can drop to relatively low levels for a service that would
otherwise cost thousands of dollars. [ Top
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2.
What are the advantages of web hosting?
Most businesses cannot
justify the costs of having a dedicated computer, dedicated Internet
connections and all the hardware that goes with it because the cost is
too high relative to operation and runs into several thousands
of dollars for setup and also on a monthly basis. Web hosting
companies enable such businesses to share the equipment
necessary (and therefore the costs) enabling them to maintain an
impressive web presence at a fraction of the cost of
setting it all up themselves.
Furthermore, businesses need not invest in
in-house expertise and technical staff to deal with all the
installations and troubleshooting associated with computer hardware and
software. Another, often-overlooked advantage is that serious web
hosting companies upgrade their equipment and internet connections as
new technology emerges - this saves businesses the cost and trouble of
having to write off obsolete equipment and also invest in replacements
for it. [ Top
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3.
What are the costs involved for setting up my own web in-house
server?
Having your own
complete set up for connecting to the Internet would require that you
purchase a leased line or frame-relay circuit from your local common
carrier from your office to an Internet Service Provider (ISP);
purchase or lease a high speed CSU/DSU (a device similar to a MODEM)
for your office and maybe a second CSU/DSU for your ISP, purchase
or lease a high speed router (a networking device used for converting
the signal you get from the CSU/DSU into something your server can use)
for your office and, again, maybe for your ISP; purchase Internet
bandwidth from your ISP; purchase an Internet server computer for your
office configured with a good amount of memory, disk storage and a tape
backup system; purchase and install a server operating system (such as
UNIX or Windows NT) for the server; purchase and/or install web server
software, electronic mail software and firewall software for the
Internet server.
Depending on the ISP, speed of the connection,
equipment and software you buy it may cost between US$5,000 to
US$10,000 just to set up a server on the Internet and between
US$1,000 to US$20,000 a MONTH for ISP and common
carrier charges. [ Top
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4.
Won't my website be slow if I don't have a dedicated server and
connections?
If you
choose the right web hosting provider, no this will not be the case. A
serious web hosting provider will not allow websites that hog bandwidth
to be sharing with other websites. A serious provider will respond
quickly to deal with possible problems and will take the necessary steps
to anticipate others. Unfortunately finding a serious hosting provider
is often a painful process involving a few disappointments and
frustration along the way. Carib Media has eliminated this uncertainty
by ensuring that the web hosting service is fast, reliable and comes
with responsive support. [ Top
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5. Can I know how many people are visiting my website,
when and from where?
Yes!
Irrespective of which hosting option you choose, your web server will
generate log files that can be analyzed using off-the-shelf software
designed for the purpose. However, we provide our clients with their own
private [or public] graphical site statistics solution, called SpreeStats.
SpreeStats, provides lots of information in a graphical format that shows
exactly where each visitor is coming from; what page he or she viewed;
what search words were used; what search engine they used; what country they
came from, and so on...
Optionally, you can also use third-party software to analyze your site's
log files, and determine the following information: the number of visitors to the
website, the countries visitors come from and in what quantities, the
most frequently visited pages, the time span visitors spend at the
website, the days and times that are most popular for visits, the types
of organizations that are visiting your site (commercial, government,
educational etc.), the referring websites that will show
where the website traffic is originating from, the most popular
browsers that are used to view the website, the most popular
operating systems that are used by visitors who view the website, the
amount of bytes transferred to and from the server and average response
delay of the web server. [ Top
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6. What level of access would I have to the web
server/website?
This is
entirely up to you. You can have access to your pages and can add
content as you wish. Microsoft FrontPage would be recommended for making
updates to the pages offline and then uploading them to your server. FTP
can also be used. If you have some working knowledge of the server
operating system and would want complete access to the web server,
CGI-BIN etc, and complete configuration for creation and maintenance of
new email accounts, installation of software etc., this is also quite
possible with the options we offer. [ Top
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7. What
about backups of my website?
Part of the
web hosting service includes backups, both on mirrored hard disks for
quick access and also on tape. At any one point there will be up to 10
backed up copies of the website available. It is always wise to keep a
backup of the website on your local hard disk so that you will not lose
any updates that may be in progress. [ Top
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8. Does
the web hosting include registration of my domain
name?
No - it is a
separate payment. We can register your domain name for you, but it is
something that you pay for separately - similar to paying for your
registration with your local Chamber of Commerce. Domain names
are registered with Internic who charge US$70 for the first two years
and US$35 yearly thereafter. You will be billed directly by Internic for
the domain name(s) you register. Normally when you register a domain
name, you need to specify some technical information (DNS) so that it
can be registered.
If you don't know this information because you don't
yet know where you will host the domain name, Internic will charge you
more for parking or reserving your domain name with
them until you find a web hosting service. Spreeweb TechSolution's registration
service will enable you to park the domain until you are ready
to use it, helping you to avoid this charge. See also: How to get a FREE Domain Name!. [ Top
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