Hi all,

 

I am looking into starting a web design venture and have got my first customer. I have built the website with HTML and CSS on a wysiwyg editor. It is not huge, only 5 pages with a few pictures in a gallery page. I am not expecting this to be my only website that I will need to host. I am looking into designing websites with dreamweaver and hope that I can create some more interesting ones.

 

I don't know where to start with hosting packages. I am unsure on the terminolgy but basically want to be able to have about 5 webpages (at the moment) that I will control, hosted. My personal one is using the free one with my broadband provider and I know this isn't acceptable for customers. Can anyone explain in layman's terms what kind of thing I am after. I wasn't sure if those companies like Peartree/Wesh/Tagadab/123 are suitable for people like me or not?. Do the basic packages allow me to host different domain names? Are all these companies reliable, or what should I be looking for with regards to reliability, cost effectiveness etd?

 

Sorry for asking probably the most basic of things but thanks in advance for any advice.

Hi Beth,

 

There are a few options available:

 

1. You recommend a host to your clients (possibly with an affiliate scheme to earn a little for each referral), your client then orders the domain/hosting package. This allows you to do what you do best (design websites!) and us (the hosts) look after your clients hosting.

 

2. Multi-Domain Hosting Package - this is basically a shared hosting package which allows you to host more than 1 domain name inside the same hosting account, you would add your clients domain, create their mail accounts, upload their websites and so on. You would be responsible for supporting your clients with any hosting issues, with option 1 your client could contact the host directly for assistance.

 

3. Reseller Hosting Package - in my experience this is the most popular option for web designers which is a reseller hosting package, this is very similar to option 2 however it allows you as the reseller to brand the service to your business, create your own hosting plans with your own allocated disk space/mail accounts etc and give your clients control panel access to manage their domain(s). A reseller hosting package also generally come with generous limit allocations (hosted domains, disk space etc). Again with this option you are responsible for supporting your clients.

 

The options 1/2 are you going to be able to support your clients? Who is going to look after them when you go on holiday or if you are ill and they have a critical issue? I should add you can contact the host yourself for assistance when your clients asks a question you are unsure of, but it is your responsibility as the account holder/reseller to support your clients. I suspect the type of clients you have will not have mission critical websites or require a massive amount of support so in theory a multi-domain or reseller package should be fine to start with.

 

Hope this helps, sorry I've went on a little...

Thank you that is really helpful, and please go on for as long as you want it all helps

 

Are there often problems with hosting and issues that need sorting out. I haven't ever had any problems with my personal site with the hosting side of things, I always seem to be able to access the control panel (I enter the ftp address, enter my password and then choose 'open ftp site in windows explorer') and I can always view the website.

 

Thanks

Any user is bound to encounter a problem at one point or another - its inevitable.

 

Its the job of the hosting provider to make life as simple as possible and when there is a problem its our job to fix it in as quick a time as possible.

 

The biggest issue people have with hosting is the setup when it needn't be. Its a simple three step process - order, set dns, upload files... done.

 

However were human and everybody gets confused thats why you need to go with a hosting provider who has the patience to listen to your problems and give the answer

Thank you that is really helpful, and please go on for as long as you want it all helps

 

Are there often problems with hosting and issues that need sorting out. I haven't ever had any problems with my personal site with the hosting side of things, I always seem to be able to access the control panel (I enter the ftp address, enter my password and then choose 'open ftp site in windows explorer') and I can always view the website.

 

Thanks

 

Problems sadly do happen at times with hosting and as Rob said people are always going to have a question to ask. As long as you have the time to support your clients or make it clear to them that support is provided on a "best effort" basis and you aren't available 24/7 365 days a year (Yes, we provide support on Christmas day! ) option 2/3 should be fine

Only 365 days a year

 

We do it 365.242199 on a normal year and 366 on a leap year

Only 365 days a year

 

We do it 365.242199 on a normal year and 366 on a leap year

 

There is always one...

Hi all,

 

I am looking into starting a web design venture and have got my first customer. I have built the website with HTML and CSS on a wysiwyg editor. It is not huge, only 5 pages with a few pictures in a gallery page. I am not expecting this to be my only website that I will need to host. I am looking into designing websites with dreamweaver and hope that I can create some more interesting ones.

 

I don't know where to start with hosting packages. I am unsure on the terminolgy but basically want to be able to have about 5 webpages (at the moment) that I will control, hosted. My personal one is using the free one with my broadband provider and I know this isn't acceptable for customers. Can anyone explain in layman's terms what kind of thing I am after. I wasn't sure if those companies like Peartree/Wesh/Tagadab/123 are suitable for people like me or not?. Do the basic packages allow me to host different domain names? Are all these companies reliable, or what should I be looking for with regards to reliability, cost effectiveness etd?

 

Sorry for asking probably the most basic of things but thanks in advance for any advice.

 

You will do best with a basic shared package. It looks like you're just starting out so look for companies that offer free upgrades so if you need more resources down the line you can simply upgrade to a higher package. Do not go for a higher package from the get go thinking you will need the resources, chances are you won't. You can also try a reseller account which is more expensive, but I would recommend starting with a shared, and if that doesnt fit your needs upgrade to a reseller. There are many hosts that offer great reliable hosting at an affordable cost, so I would recommend you checkout webhostingtalk.com's shared hosting offers section for a variety of options.

Yes there is nothing stopping you starting on a basic shared hosting package and then upgrading to a higher package or a reseller package in the future. The upgrade process should be simple with no downtime or loss of data

Thank you for those suggestions. Could you tell me the difference between Windows v Linux web hosting, is one more reliable than the other?

Thank you for those suggestions. Could you tell me the difference between Windows v Linux web hosting, is one more reliable than the other?

 

What type of scripting technologies do you intend to develop in? i.e. PHP, ASP, ASP.net, plain HTML etc?

 

If you are just offering plain HTML websites either Windows or Linux hosting will be fine, however you will find Linux Hosting is the more affordable option.

• Windows Hosting - for websites developed in ASP/ASP.net/MS-SQL
• Linux Hosting - for websites developed in PHP/Perl/Python/Ruby/MySQL

However PHP, Perl and MySQL do run perfectly well on Windows.

 

Both platforms are just as powerful, however you will often find people saying "Windows sucks" when they don't have any experience in managing Windows based servers.

Linux is more popular and reliable for the average user than Windows hosting.

Linux is more popular and reliable for the average user than Windows hosting.

 

Popular? possibly...

 

Reliable? Not at all...

Thank you. At the moment I think it will be quite plain. I've only just started teaching myself Dreamweaver CS3 as all my other websites are very flat with just html/css.

Thank you. At the moment I think it will be quite plain. I've only just started teaching myself Dreamweaver CS3 as all my other websites are very flat with just html/css.

 

You would be best going with Linux Hosting then

Unless you need windows scripting then you don't need windows hosting (unless you really want it) :-)