Building a Website Starts with your Host

So you have finally started to think about that website as more of a need and not just a want. You may be thinking your first step is to think of your own URL and go buy it from the that company you saw on the latest TV Commercial. You would be wrong. Although getting your URL is important, it is just as important to having the right host for your website. A URL can be transfered/pointed to any web enabled server and URL’s are cheap, around $10 for a year, what you are really paying for is the host, the space on a server where your website’s data is stored. Hosts can come up in all shapes and account types, but first you have to understand how your host effects how quickly you come up in searches.

Now to keep this non-technical and to help everyone better understand your host puts your information on to a computer called a server. That server is given an address on the Internet, also known as an IP address; most of the addresses as of this article are IPv4 addresses. This address is kind of like a street address for an office building. That address only gets you to the building but not to the individual companies at that location. So just like with any office building the more tenants in the building, the longer it takes to find the company you are looking for. If only one company is located in the building they are easy to find. However, it costs a lot of money to own a skyscraper all to yourself, so most hosts charge extra for your to be in your own building/server IP address, instead they combine a bunch of Offices into that Building, making it harder to find your business, but you only incur the cost of the space you rent, and not the whole building.

So in hosting terms this means that one IP address for one website is expensive, but Google or Bing will find you faster. This is important if you are a large company competing with other large companies to come in above other companies that may also be on their own IP address. If you are using most hosting companies out there, then your website is in a skyscraper with possibly hundreds of other companies at the same IP address, this will slow down visits to your site, slightly, but will allow you to pay for hosting at $100 or less per year and not $3000+ per year. Most hosting companies will allow you to buy space on the server limiting the number of other companies on the same IP as you as well which can save money for your company from having a full hosting cost but gaining some of the benefits.

Now you have figured out what server you want to be on, now what amenities do you want in your web office? Do you want just a website and URL, or do you want to add email, scripting, ftp capabilities, storage, unlimited bandwidth? These are all good things you will need to decide if you are going to pinch pennies or if your want an all inclusive package. I recommend to most of my first time clients to go with an all inclusive package on a simple low cost hosting package like those offered at HostMonster*. This is a great jumping off point. We are able to get your site going, install simple scripts for WordPress, Drupal or other CMS systems, allow you to have your own email addresses and have unlimited bandwidth without any worries as your site is built. A we move forward we may find that going to different group may be necessary but is easy to do as your online business grows.

Picking a host is important and setting up your first website the first time makes it even more important. Please, don’t just go out an buy that $10 URL and have nothing behind it to help run your webpage. Consult with a professional and spend the time setting your site up right from the beginning to save yourself lots of headaches in the future.