Your website has become successful and at last you are getting the sort of traffic you have been dreaming of. Then you get the dreaded email, your web host informs you that the high traffic is monopolizing the server and your account may be terminated (often without a refund) for breaking its terms of service.
So what are your options now? How can your website grow without the fear of your site being terminated?

Well you will be pleased to know that there are several different options available to you! This article will cover each one, so that you can be sure you choose the option that is most suitable for your individual business needs.
Premium Hosting Benefits: –
Premium hosting is very similar to shared hosting except the packages have far more bandwidth (traffic) allowance and they are guaranteed to have a maximum number of accounts on each server.
The benefit of premium hosting is the fact that you are sharing the server with far less accounts (normally just 30-70); therefore your website can have high traffic without affecting the server speed or causing downtime.
The other great thing about premium hosting is that is requires no extra technical knowledge and of course you still have peace of mind knowing that you still have 24 hour technical support (of course this depends on the host you choose).
The last benefit of premium hosting is the fact there are several different packages to choose from, this means you only have to pay for the resources that you need at a given time. As soon as your website grows even further it is very easy to upgrade with only a slight increase in cost, which means your costs are always kept to a minimum.
Reseller Hosting Benefits
Reseller hosting is designed for individuals who wish to split up the resources allocated in their plan and resell each of these parts individually.
Resellers are normally web designers, or customers that have many websites or entrepreneurs who wish to start their own web host company. (Reseller hosting is also not suitable for audio, video downloading or video streaming websites and free/email providers for the same reason as above)
With reseller hosting you can host unlimited domains, so you decided how many accounts you want to create and you decide the price you want to resell them for.
Each of the reseller customers has their own control panel, personalized email and FTP accounts, fantastic scripts. The reseller can even have their own name servers which make them look very professional. The other benefit of reselling is that although it requires slightly more knowledge of the industry, there is always technical support close at hand.
The great thing about reseller packages is the fact that the web host will continue to provide the technical support to these customers anonymously, which means you don’t have to worry about getting your own staff.
Dedicated Hosting Benefits
In a dedicated hosting service, you are the only user of that server. The price depends on the quality of the server and whether it is a ‘managed’ or unmanaged one. (Always be sure that the server you get is from a reputable company).
An unmanaged Server is generally cheaper, however you must know first hand how to run your server (or hire a system administrator that does) as you will be responsible for all the server side problems and configurations.
With a dedicated server you have
– Full root access so you can modify the configuration of the server to
whatever suits you best.
– You can also install any software or scripts that you choose (all of which are
not possible with shared hosting.
– Better reliability. If you are the sole user, no worries about other domains
affecting your server speed or security.
The second option is a managed server. Although this option still requires technical knowledge, you have peace of mind knowing that your web host will always have technicians there to assist you, which means you do not need to hire your own administrator.
When considering an upgrade to your existing e-Commerce hosting service, these are the key options to consider. While certainly not an exhaustive listing of everything you need to consider this should get you on the right path to narrow your choices down to at least three or four services.

Article Source: http://www.articledestination.com

The author has done his masters in computer science and presently he is assisting serverplex.com. For more information please visit us at www.serverplex.com

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Your new website is ready to upload, and now you need a web host. Or perhaps you already have a web host, but uptime and support are lacking. Of the thousands of web hosts to choose from, how do you find one that you can depend on? Know what can go wrong and what to watch out for, and research prospective web hosts carefully.

What can go wrong with web hosting

Too much downtime

Problems happen, and even when they don’t, server maintenance results in a minimal amount of downtime. A dependable web host not only maintains servers well, but also monitors the servers and fixes problems immediately. With the type of web host you want to avoid, however, your site may be down for days.

Features that don’t work

When your email doesn’t work, your business shuts down. Problems with databases and other features can also slow down or stop your business. Most web hosts understand this, but some don’t place a high priority on keeping not only your site online but everything working as well.

Poor support

Dependable web hosts answer tech support questions within hours. Other web hosts, however, have been known to take days. And when those responses come, sometimes they’re canned responses that don’t address the issue.

Poor communication

Support people with good communication skills help keep problems from becoming bigger problems. Being told, “Everything looks fine here, so the problem is solved,” leads to frustration. So is having your site shut down because it used too many resources rather than the web host contacting you about the problem first.

Billing problems

Even after you cancel your account, problems may continue. Some less-than-dependable web hosts don’t honor their refund policy. Others don’t stop automatic billing after the account is cancelled.

What to watch out for

When you see the following at web host websites, consider them red flags to warn you of possible problems.

Unsustainable pricing

If the pricing looks too good to be true, it probably is. Is it enough to pay for server maintenance and tech support? You get what you pay for.

Unlimited bandwidth

Nothing is really unlimited. If you sign up for an account offering unlimited bandwidth and then use a lot of bandwidth, expect to have the plug pulled on your site. The web host may find another explanation for discontinuing your account, but “unlimited” typically means “as long as you don’t use a lot.”

An unprofessional-looking website

Consider how much effort the web host put into providing a usable website with informative content. Does it give you confidence in the web host, or is it full of unsubstantiated statements and grammar and spelling mistakes? A web host doesn’t need to be a spelling expert, of course. But if the company hasn’t put much effort into telling you about their services, will they be conscientious about meeting clients’ needs?

How to research web hosts

Finding web hosts is easy enough. Search engines can take you to the websites of thousands of web hosts. But after you’ve narrowed down your list by features and price, how do you find out which web hosts are dependable?

Read web host package details and TOS

If the hosting packages offer huge amounts of disk space and bandwidth for very low prices, consider yourself warned. Don’t expect the company to have enough money for maintenance and support.

If you want to be sure that you can get a refund if you want one, check what the Terms of Service (TOS) says about refunds.

Read the web host forum

What is the ambience in the forum? Are clients’ questions answered satisfactorily? Don’t be concerned if you see problems; instead, be concerned if you don’t see any problems. Some web hosts remove posts that don’t show their company in a positive light. If posts about problems remain in the forum, you can observe how the host handles problems.

Read web host reviews

Client feedback at the web host’s site may or may not be valid. It’s possible for hosts to make up feedback, and some have even copied feedback from other sites. Look for feedback with links to the clients’ sites, and check via Whois Source to see if the particular web host actually hosts that site.

Numerous forums allow people to post web host reviews. When you read reviews, consider the poster’s credibility. Some people bash their hosts just because they’re unhappy about something. If the host posts in response to a problem, observe how the host tries to resolve it.

Check the company background

The “About Us” or “Company Background” page at the web host’s site should answer these questions.

How long has the company been in business? A new company may be excellent, but it’s good to keep in mind that a lot of businesses fail within the first year.

Does the company publish a privacy policy? Does this policy clearly protect clients’ privacy?

Where are the servers located? Ideally, they should be in a datacenter, and not in someone’s basement.

What are the server uptime statistics? If the web host doesn’t publish a link to a server uptime monitor, ask for a link to one. Uptime of about 99.7 percent or higher is generally considered good.

Does the company publish an address? You may never need it, but when you’re placing your company website in another company’s hands, you want to know that the company is legitimate and accessible.

Email pre-sales questions

Answers to your pre-sales questions tell you a lot about the web host. You’ll see how fast the company responds and how well they communicate. Ask questions about any of the above points as well as questions specific to your needs.

Finding a dependable web host takes time, but dealing with problems and moving your site takes more time. The time spent looking for a dependable web host is a worthwhile investment.

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