Is Your Webmaster Charging You Too Much Money?

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Is Your Webmaster Charging You Too Much Money? - By: , Posted on: 2008-03-01

Webmasters and web hosting companies around the world may be overcharging you, and you don't even know it. They say ignorance is bliss, but for you, it is likely a money pit.

In the next few minutes, you'll learn what you need to know about web hosting so you'll be better equipped for your online business. And be sure to read to the end so you can get a free gift which will reveal even more web hosting secrets to you.

How Is A Web Host Different From A Website?
A web host is a company anywhere in the world that stores people's websites on servers - special computers designed to work with the internet. The web hosting company typically has dozens of servers (some have hundreds), each with dozens of accounts connected to the web at the same time.

Think of a web hosting company like a small town. Each town (web host) has several neighborhoods (servers), each with several houses (websites).

Just like there are great places to live, and real dives that you would hate to raise your family in, you have to be careful about which web hosting company you decide to partner with.

This decision is reversible - but it's always better to get it right the first time to avoid potential headaches down the road.

Learn Why Free Hosting Services Cost You In The Long Run
The old adage, "You get what you pay for" is very true when it comes to web hosting.

Free web hosting services like GeoCities are great for setting up a family website, or getting the hang of making your own pages online. But the free services often come at an "unadvertised" cost that you shouldn't be paying as a business owner: advertising other people's stuff.

Most free services make their money by advertising on YOUR website. In exchange for providing you with space (often very little), you agree to let the company advertise on your site without paying you.

Since you are in business, the only advertising you should have on your site should be ads that pay you.

Also, with many of the free website services, their site building templates can be very confusing. But more importantly, when you try to transfer your website to another host later, you'll usually find complications.

When your business is growing, the last thing you want to worry about is complications with your website.

Learn How You Can Reduce How Much You Pay For Webhosting
Your online business will require regular investment. Web hosting is no exception to this. However, with such a wide range of prices out there, you should know a few things to avoid paying too much.

First, look for a web hosting company that allows you to have at least 10 domains on one hosting account. Even better - use those that provide unlimited domains.

This feature is even more important than unlimited bandwidth (how much traffic you can handle) or high storage space (how many files your site holds), because with unlimited domains you only pay one monthly fee.

Some hosting companies try to charge you a separate hosting fee for each domain you register. Even at $5/month, that can really add up.

As for space and bandwidth, it is very unlikely that you will come close to filling up the space or using all the bandwidth the hosting companies provide you. Plus, you can always upgrade to bigger servers when the time comes.

All of my websites are either PoweredByHostgator or PoweredByKiosk.

Never Register Your Domain With Your Hosting Company

This may seem confusing at first. However, to maintain control of your website for the life of your business, you should register your website's domain name (the address you get on the internet) from a separate registrar. This is because if you have your website hosted and registered at one company, and something happens to that company, you may lose everything.

Additionally, most hosting companies will charge more to register your domain than you should pay. Shylar's Quest and Namecheap are the top online services for serious marketers to register a domain for under $10.

Be sure to make a note of your web hosting company's "DNS", which you will need to enter in your domain registrar's dashboard. If you do not connect these together, no one will ever find you on the internet.

Learn The Main Web Hosting Tasks You Should Know How To Do
You should be comfortable doing the main jobs needed to run your websites, even if you want to outsource them to someone else. If you learn these skills, you'll avoid paying too much to any person or service provider either now or when you decide to outsource later because you will understand just how much time each of these things take (hint: each of these can be done in less than 15 minutes!).

* Create and manage your own email account
* Registering your own domains
* Set up your web hosting account properly
* Upload and manage your website files and images
* Redirect users to different URLs
* Install a blog, forum, Wiki's and more, with Fantastico
* Customize your 404 Error Pages
* Create and manage SQL Databases
* Add on multiple domains within one hosting account
* Protect your directories from unauthorized snoopers
* Create and manage Subdomains
* Track your site visitors and errors with Statistics
* How to set up and manage Resell Rights products and sales pages for maximum profit
* Installing a PHP/MySQL Script properly

This list of tasks may seem very daunting to you. However, once you learn them, you'll save a ton of money. And if your web hosting company uses cPanel(R), then these tasks become even easier.

So there you have it, the core basics of web hosting you need to understand in order to save money and have more control over your internet business.

With this information under your belt, you should be well under $25/month for your web hosting needs. More importantly, you'll be less likely to be taken to the cleaners by unscrupulous webmasters.

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

Bob Jenkins is an internet marketing teacher. He has recorded a video to help you with registering your domain and setting up hosting. Learn more from Bob at AskBobTheTeacher.com.