Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Hosting : Ton of quesionts about hosting.

[Pockets808]

I've got a ton of questions. And you're help would be appreciated. Thank you.

What is new in webhosting? Any trends going on?
How much should the types of hosting cost?
Who are the major players in hosting?
Are there more resellers than anything else? It seems like there are alot of them.
What about hosting locally, should it matter to my business?
How do you know your host is not some guy with a basement full of servers?
Is all hosting so cost driven?
Is it just about Ram space? or should I look for security and CISP financial certification if I own a business?

Thanks guys. Any help would be great.

[Pockets808]

I'm sorry guys. My internet was moving slow. Just reply here.

[zogmo_dave]

As far a having hosting locally, you will only really need to worry about that if you are goign to do colocation hosting ( as in you provide the hardware and maintain most of this hardware yourself ). That would definately require you to make your way to the Data Center of choice ona somewhat regular basis, or at least have a partner/employee who could.

There are tons of resellers out there and many of them will personally offer you the ability to come and tour their facilitys. This really is a major concern of any of us and as always it's always good business to have a transparent host. I would highly suggest finding a very transparent host as you will definately have less problems down the line.

[Pockets808]

What do you mean by transparent host?

thanks for your help.

[TechnoBound]

I think he means a host that appears honest and is open about how they operate, etc.

[zogmo_dave]

Originally Posted by TechnoBound

I think he means a host that appears honest and is open about how they operate, etc.

Indeed. I have worked for a few companys that would do very dishonerable things to clients. Things like sell non-avilable bandwidth, lie about power redundancy, etc. As soon as I could leave, have always left those companys.

This business does not have to be personal, but it should be based on good merit. A transparent host is definately one that will provide you any information you ask for, and answer any question you have without exception. Thats good business.

[cywkevin]

Originally Posted by zogmo_dave

Indeed. I have worked for a few companys that would do very dishonerable things to clients. Things like sell non-avilable bandwidth, lie about power redundancy, etc. As soon as I could leave, have always left those companys.

This business does not have to be personal, but it should be based on good merit. A transparent host is definately one that will provide you any information you ask for, and answer any question you have without exception. Thats good business.

You know except the names and addresses of clients and other sensitive information.

[icestorm]

Originally Posted by Pockets808

I've got a ton of questions. And you're help would be appreciated. Thank you.

I'll take a stab at answering some of your questions.

What is new in webhosting? Any trends going on?

As for trends, I see web hosting companies continuing to implement new site builder software to their packages. I remember several years ago, when having a "control panel" in a web hosting account was like a luxury item. Now it's a must have. Today, site builder technology is not taken too seriously yet, however it's just a matter of time where a site builder becomes a 'must have' component for a web hosting account, just like control panels are today. Companies like Soholaunch.com are really pushing the envelope as far as creating an all-out site building solution.

Who are the major players in hosting?

I suppose you can simply type 'web hosting' in Google, and the first 10 hosts you will see would be considered a 'major' player. However, in web hosting there are so many niche markets or different sub-industries. It's not just shared hosting or dedicated hosting. There's reseller hosting, e-commerce hosting, windows hosting, vps hosting, and you name it. I'm guessing there are 'thousands' of major players in the web hosting industry.

Are there more resellers than anything else? It seems like there are alot of them.

Exact numbers are always tough to assess, but I'm sure resellers make up the bulk of the web hosting industry. I personally believe resellers are what's truly driving the industry forward.

What about hosting locally, should it matter to my business?

Of course. Especially if you are just starting out reselling hosting services, targetting the local market, and hosting local clients is a must.

Is it just about Ram space? or should I look for security and CISP financial certification if I own a business?

Well, it doesn't hurt to get 'certifications.' However, it's totally unnecessary. You can gain a good wealth of knowledge by just visiting your local bookstore or researching online.

[PunchM6]

I'll give answering your questions a go. Hopefully this will help you a little.

What is new in webhosting? Any trends going on?
Well, more and more features for less and less money seems to be a continuing trend, and it will probably continue indefinately as technology becomes cheaper and demands become higher. Things like free domain names, lots of bandwidth etc. are all common place.

How much should the types of hosting cost?
Kind of a difficult question. It really depends on what features you require. For an entry level package, around 2GB web space, look to pay $5 or less. Bigger packages get more expensive from there.

Who are the major players in hosting?
It's fluctuant. Names come and go quickly as the "top dog" of webhosting.

Are there more resellers than anything else? It seems like there are alot of them.
There are a lot of resellers out there. A lot of the smaller hosts are resellers. Their services aren't always of a low standard just because they are resellers, though.

What about hosting locally, should it matter to my business?
Local hosting probably isn't terribly important unless, as has already been mentioned, you need physical access to the hosting facility. Otherwise as long as the host has good uptime and a fast connection (ping their servers and see what sort of response you get) it probably doesn't much matter where they are.

How do you know your host is not some guy with a basement full of servers?
That's difficult to find out. Take a look through their website and see if they have any "about us" information that is of use. Sometimes there might be photos of the office etc, or a description of their infrastructure. See what sort of support they offer, if they have a large variety and 24 hour access to it then they're more likely to be a larger, more legitimate company.

That being said, it's easy enough for companies to fake their size. Just be careful I guess.

Is all hosting so cost driven?
I'm not entirely sure what you mean, but clients are always looking for the cheapest hosting. Even the most client-oriented web hosting company has to try hard to keep their prices low and features abundant in order to stay in business. Customers tend to always be looking for the cheapest deals, so Web Hosts have to keep their prices as low as possible while still trying to provide the human element that they want to give their clients.

Is it just about Ram space? or should I look for security and CISP financial certification if I own a business?
If you're running a business on your webspace then you should most definately be interested in more than just the superficial features of the hosting package. Your livelihood depends on the underlying infrastructure of the hosting company.