The web hosting sector has become a huge arena in the past few years
as ever increasing numbers of people are setting up their own websites
and more and more businesses are moving online. However, several myths
about web hosting continue to persist which can lead to web hosting
customers feeling confused about what plans and providers to choose.
You have to be extremely knowledgeable about hosting
This myth may have actually been the case a few years ago; but today
the web hosting business has really become much more accessible to the
general public. Many hosting providers will offer easy to use content
management systems or will utilise simple control panels. You can easily
manage your websiteâEUR(TM)s content, emails, accounts and layout even
if you do not have any previous experience with hosting.
You do not need to know anything about hosting
Though you do not need to have advanced knowledge about hosting, it
can be useful to have a background understanding. Just reading around
the subject and doing a little bit of research can help you to make
informed decisions and can also help you choose between different
hosting plans. You should also bear in mind that though your web hosting
provider is likely to offer support and tutorials, they are there to
host your website, not to tell you how to run it.
You can host anything you like
The internet may seem almost like the wild west of technology, where
anything and everything goes, but this is not actually the case. When
you sign up to a hosting provider you will, in the vast majority of
cases, have to agree to their terms of service. This means that there
are certain things you will not be able to host on your website as they
break the terms of service agreement. Adult content or illegal material
will often be disallowed, but each hosting provider will have a
different set of rules regarding what you can and canâEUR(TM)t host.
Equally, posting copyrighted material may result in your website getting
complaints or takedown notices.
Your site will always be online
Many web hosting providers will offer extremely competitive levels of
uptime to try and stand out from the competition. Unfortunately a
number of companies will be unable to follow through with their promise
of 99.9999% uptime. Very few websites will be able to reach uptime
levels of 100%, there is too much margin for human error, power failures
or server problems for it to be achievable. You cannot expect your
website to be online at all times and you should not be taken in by web
hosting providers offering 100% uptime. Do your research and compare a
number of companies to find the most reliable one for you.
You donâEUR(TM)t need to spend money to have a successful website
Free hosting can be very useful but its use generally only extends to
those just starting out. Free hosting can be appropriate for personal
blogs or small websites, but if you are aiming for your website to be a
success and to start bringing in money it is likely you will have to
spend a little to make this happen. Larger, more successful websites
will need more features than free hosting can offer; they may need more
bandwidth or storage space in order to function for a larger audience.