http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/ Learn more about web hosting, domain names,  seo, webmaster tools, and other general web development. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:07:49 -0800 HostCMS http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/general/how-to-set-up-an-effective-blogging-site/ The technologies behind blogging have gotten better overtime, too. It’s now easier than ever to create your own blogging space, and though the steps might seem complicated at first, we promise it’s much easier than it once was. With that in mind, may we humbly present you now with our in-depth guide to creating a blog from the ground-up. Feel free to use the guide as a checklist, knocking your way through point-by-point, or filling them out as needed. What? you might be asking. A blog? But didn’t those die out sometime in the late double naught years? Haven’t we progressed past all the solipsistic rambling and blathering about our personal lives? On one hand, we have! But not necessarily in the way you think. Sure, we’ve mostly moved beyond the Xanga and MySpace days, thanks to new inventions like Facebook and Twitter. But blogging itself has matured exponentially: Heck, you’re looking at a site that features one now! A blog is no longer just a personal space for . . . well, blogging about your life. Instead, it’s a fully functional mini-press with an infinite potential for money making and name establishing. Likewise, the technologies behind blogging have gotten better overtime, too. It’s now easier than ever to create your own blogging space, and though the steps might seem complicated at first, we promise it’s much easier than it once was. With that in mind, may we humbly present you now with our in-depth guide to creating a blog from the ground-up. Feel free to use the guide as a checklist, knocking your way through point-by-point, or filling them out as needed. That’s enough blabbering from us, so without further ado, let’s dive right in! 1.  Pick the Host: Before you can do anything else with your blog, you’re going to need to decide on a web host. This could be a complicated affair, or it could be incredibly easy. The amount of work you put into this step largely depends on your previous experience in the field, as well as how much you already understand about the industry and its technologies. However, if you don’t know much at all, or are looking for a refresher, we’ll walk you through a few of the basic items you’ll need for a blogging website that only your new host can provide. First and foremost, you’ll likely want support for features like WordPress or Drupal. These are content management systems designed to make blogging simple and incredibly fluid to manage. We’ll talk more about the CMS aspect of your blog in a second, but all good blogging hosts will offer these softwares with a one-click guaranteed install. Look for this, as it’s likely very important. Next, you’re going to want a site that’s fairly quick—all of those blog posts, as well as the content inside them tend to bog down the works. With that in mind, just do some review checking to see how quick your potential host really is. A few minutes with sites like ours, or Google, can save you a lot of headaches down the road. And lastly, with your new host, be sure they offer quality technical support. If you’re new to the world of web hosting, you’ll very likely have questions, and you’ll want speedy answers. There’s nothing worse than downtime, especially when your hosting provider is not around to help you get out of it. 2.  Pick the Software: There are other ways to create and manage a blog without using a content management system, but between you and us, you really don’t want to fool with them. Systems like WordPress and Drupal have made life infinitely easier than it once was, especially where SEO optimization and plug-ins are concerned. However, if you don’t know anything about these two software suites, you’ll likely want a little more information about both before making a decision. Most web hosts offer both, so the choice is really yours to make. Firstly, WordPress is by and far the most popular CMS in existence. In fact, something like 30% of sites currently in use on the Internet are powered by WordPress. Why is this? Well, for a number of reasons. The software comes with a lot of quality themes, for one, and because it’s wildly popular in the field, it also comes with an hefty number of plug-ins. These plug-ins can do just about anything under the sun, making WordPress an unbelievably powerful utility. Additionally, WordPress is a very visual piece of software, which means you’ll likely never have to touch a piece of code to get it working. This is a tremendous boon for the new web master, and can save you a lot of pain at the computer if you do it right. Drupal is very similar to WordPress, but is slightly less focused on the code-less user. In fact, as one of the only open source CMS utilities around, the platform is quite technically oriented. It’s about as user friendly as WordPress, with one important distinction: As an open-source utility, you’re free to pop the bonnet at any point in time and poke your head into the engine. Any changes you’d like to make can be made, allowing for a lot more creative potential, assuming you know what you’re doing with the software. All in all, this one might be slightly more advanced than you’re looking to use right now, but it might be a nice station to end up at in the near future. 3.  Fill Her Up If you’ve stuck with us this far, you’ve selected an host to store all of your data, as well as a software to manage and create it. However, up until now we have not talked about the creation itself: Now that all the hard stuff is out out of the way, it’s time to get cracking on the material itself! At this point, decide if you’ll be creating the content of your blog yourself, or if you’ll be outsourcing the work to a firm to lighten your work load. Likewise, will you be designing the theme of your blog yourself, or would you like to hire a designer to get the job done? We highly suggest the latter, as designing and coding a website can be a real pain in the derriere if you have no formal training in it. Aside from that, if you’ve followed the procedure, your blog should be up and running in no time! Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:26:33 -0800 General http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/general/how-to-set-up-an-effective-blogging-site/ http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/general/top-ways-to-speed-up-your-website/ Two seconds: According to competent studies made by such massive companies as Yahoo and Google, that’s the time difference between a user returning often to your website, and a user never coming back at all. With such a low margin of error, it’s absolutely vital that you preserve the speed and efficiency of your website down to the tiniest molecule. Two seconds: According to competent studies made by such massive companies as Yahoo and Google, that’s the time difference between a user returning often to your website, and a user never coming back at all. With such a low margin of error, it’s absolutely vital that you preserve the speed and efficiency of your website down to the tiniest molecule. Think you’ve done everything you possibly can to speed that bad boy up? Then we’d like to ask you this: Even with all of the improvements you’ve already added to your system, would you really be willing to leave your Internet livelihood alone, as it is, from here until the end of your business’ lifetime? What if there were even the faintest possibility you could speed it up even more? What if there were a tremendous possibility you could do so? That’s what we figured. The steps we’ve outlined below are far from a perfect pitch, but if you follow them to the T, we guarantee you’ll see a marked improvement in your site’s overall speed and performance. And, of course, feel free to double check the additions you’ve already made with our material: Use only what you like, and forget the rest. So without further ado, may we proudly present our top ways to speed up your website and improve performance! 1.  Combine CSS and JavaScript Files At the core of your website optimization is a single principle. Essentially, you’re going to want to reduce or remove as many HTTP requests as possible. These are the requests your browser makes when it queries a server for a piece of data. This could be anything from a single image to an entirely complex, live-streaming movie. But at the core of every element on a website, you’re really looking at an HTTP request. Sadly, these server stabs can really soak up your load time, producing a heck of a lot of lag. With the following steps, you’re really going to make an effort to reduce the number of requests, saving your end-user an extremely long wait. One of the best ways to do this is through the reduction and combination of your CSS and JavaScript files. Doing so dramatically lowers the number of requests, and thankfully, just isn’t that hard to do. Accomplishing this step manually shouldn't’ take you long at all, but if you’re looking for a little more assistance, we’d suggest you check out Minify. The tool will make it simple and quick to combine your various resources into one, neat package. 2.  Replace Images with CSS3 Browsers, barring the dreaded Internet Explorer, are a lot smarter than they used to be. What we mean is, most browsers now come with support for languages and platforms that would have been far outside the realm of possibility even just a few years ago. One of those supported areas is CSS3, which can be used to optimize your site’s images. If you’re looking to get slightly wiggy with your web design, replacing all of your image files with CSS3 equivalents can greatly reduce the number of requests your system produces, as well as the overall browser rendering experience. There are several resources out there to help you do this, but ideally you’re looking to replace box-shadows, linear-gradients, and border-radiuses. Our top tools for this procedure include: CSS3Pie, Modernizr, and CSS3 Please. 3.  Reduce Media Queries Before CSS2.1, managing the various screen sizes supported by mobile platforms was a nightmare. After the updates release, we at least had the option to target specific devices through “media types,” allowing for a fair amount of support for specified screens. However, with the advent of CSS3, we can now go one step further: Rather than creating custom stylesheets to match a limited number of media, we can now use one stylesheet combined with media queries to match an unlimited number of screens. This is the technology you have to thank for the automatic resizing of mobile sites. It’s brilliant stuff, and if you’re looking to create a mobile edition of any project, it’s the best way to go. Top resources for this conversion include: W3Schools Media Queries, A List Apart. 4.  Cache Your Data Another great way to reduce HTTP requests is to allow the static components of your website (this would be your images, stylesheets, JavaScript files, etc.) to default to a cached state. You can do this easily enough by setting an expiration header (that’s an expiry date) that’s very far in the future. What this means is, essentially, this: When a browser goes to your website, provided it has already downloaded and cached the media it needs, the expiration header will inform the browser to use that cached data instead of polling for another HTTP request. This, of course, is all performed locally, which means your new website viewers will experience no change in load time, but those who have already come and gone will have a vastly superior performance the second time around. Keep in mind, though, that any changes to your file names will also incur a change to the file header. Another factor you should consider when creating a caching system is that most mobile platforms don’t support as high a caching rate as a desktop browser. For example, an iPhone won’t cache any assets that clock in at over 25kb. Considering a 3G connection is already massively slower than a cable connection, you’re going to want to ensure your caches are optimized for mobile use. Improving the mobile experience is vital to the health of your website, and provides for a much more pleasant end-user experience. In other words, please keep your caches under 25 kilobytes, and the world will get along much nicer for it. If you’re needing some resources to help you improve the quality of your page, we’d suggest taking a look at Ask Apache Cache Control Headers, Mat Wright’s Apache Cache Control, and YUI iPhone Cachability. Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:33:51 -0800 General http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/general/top-ways-to-speed-up-your-website/ http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/general/top-5-questions-to-ask-your-new-web-host/ We’ve compiled a few thoughts below on exactly what you should ask your new web hosting provider the minute you consider signing up. If you’re extra careful to cover all the bases, we guarantee you’ll be making the best possible decision for your personal website or your business. Let’s face it: Most web hosting providers can be a bit like used car salesmen. They already know what’s wrong with the product they’re selling, but unless you poke and prod relentlessly, they aren’t likely to tell you what it is. What this means for you, as the end-user, is compromised performance and potentially extensive downtime. Worse, you might even find yourself locked into a terrible contract from now until the end of your five year plan. All of these could potentially be hazardous to the health of your blog or company. And if you aren’t ready to back out of a contract at the expense of many hours spent on the telephone with tech-support, you might find yourself stuck. Understandably, you’ll want to avoid this kind of detrimental and brain-damaging experience. As such, we’ve compiled a few thoughts below on exactly what you should ask your new web hosting provider the minute you consider signing up. If you’re extra careful to cover all the bases, we guarantee you’ll be making the best possible decision for your personal website or your business. So with that preamble, let’s dive right into the meat and potatoes of what exactly you should ask a new web hosting provider before signing on the dotted line! 1.  What are the Storage Options? Before you ask anything else, you’re going to want to know exactly how much storage you’re looking at. Ask the provider if they offer unlimited disc space, of if they have a metered plan that charges you for the space you use on a monthly basis. If the latter, you may potentially have a problem, unless they’re willing to offer you a specific chunk of space to work with over the span of your contract. You never know when you’re going to need a drastically expanded website, and if your web host is unwilling to help you expand, you’ll quickly find yourself in a pickle. 2.  What are the Hidden Fees? Hidden fees are the absolute worst. There’s nothing we hate more than a fee that’s never mentioned, but creeps up all the same on your first bill. Phone companies are world renowned for doing this, but believe it or not, web hosting companies can be just as bad. Be sure to ask your new hosting provider if there are any fees that haven’t been mentioned, as these could potentially bite you in the derriere later. Typically, those sites that charge a dramatically low cost (Something in the neighborhood of $1.95 a month, etc.) make up the difference by charging “handling” or “persistence” fees on the down low. Obviously, this wrecks the value of that carefully selected budget hosting plan, and will even more certainly wreck your afternoon the day the bill arrives. Save yourself some headaches, and simply ask on the front end what’s going on. 3.  How Long is the Contract, and How Drastic are the Change Fees? Like signing a lease for an apartment, typically an hosting provider will lock you into a contract or agreement for a specified length of time. Also like a rental, this time limit is usually somewhere between six and twelve months, though it could potentially be as high as four years. As such, you’ll want to clearly understand exactly how long the contract will endure for. Also, be sure to ask if changing any of your service plans will count as a cancelation or breach of your contract. Another method hosting provider’s use is charging you for a change in service through a contract extension. Be sure to check about these factors, and above all else, asking about cancelation fees. Certain web hosting companies will charge you to close the door, or may not even let you back out. If you need to carry over your domain name, this is obviously a tremendous drag, and should be avoided where possible. 4.  What Software do they Support? Let’s say you’re planning to build an entirely WordPress-powered blog, and have carefully constructed an entire scheme around the popular CMS. However, how tragic would it be if you signed yourself into a contract with Web Host X, only to discover that they offer no support whatsoever for complex softwares like WordPress or Drupal? To us, it’d be a darn shame, and one we’d like to help you avoid! On the front-end, be sure to always ask what kind of software the provider supports. You’ll want to check for basic things like WordPress and Joomla, but also for more in-depth support for PHP4, HTML5, Ajax, and MySQL. You may say you don’t need these things now, but we guarantee you if your blog or website takes off, you’ll quickly find your fingers dipping into the codier stuff in no time. At that time, it’d be a shame if your budget web host doesn’t offer complex development support. 5.  What Kind of Tech Support Do They Offer? Lastly, you’re going to want to check with the web hosting provider to see exactly what kind of technical support they offer. You may think things won’t go wrong with your website—you built it after all!—but we can guarantee you: If you haven’t had a server-side problem within the first two weeks of your service, you haven’t been doing something right. It’s simple math, but if you’re doing anything technologically advanced with your server, you’ll have issues to be ironed out. At this point, you’d benefit greatly from having a web hosting provider that supports 24/7 assistance, preferably via phone or live chat. Email support is great, but there’s no guarantee you’ll get a response anytime before Christmas. Use a live support function, and ensure your new web hosting provider has one before signing anything. When talking to a real person, you’ll get a response: Though how helpful it may be is up for grabs, depending on the web host. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:55:21 -0800 General http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/general/top-5-questions-to-ask-your-new-web-host/ http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/dedicated-servers/the-what-how-and-why-of-a-dedicated-server/ If you’re new to the world of web hosting especially, you may quickly find yourself in over your head where dedicated or managed servers are concerned. However, just because you’ve got a lot to learn does not mean your company will have to go without superior Web performance! If you’re ready to upgrade to a full-on dedicated server hardware system, we’re here to make the process as painless as possible. When it comes to dedicated servers, we know that a lot of what’s involved may come across as confusing. If you’re new to the world of web hosting especially, you may quickly find yourself in over your head where dedicated or managed servers are concerned. However, just because you’ve got a lot to learn does not mean your company will have to go without superior Web performance! If you’re ready to upgrade to a full-on dedicated server hardware system, we’re here to make the process as painless as possible. No matter what you’re looking to accomplish with your new server system, we’ve got the information and the know how to help you find the perfect option, as well as maintain it once you’ve secured it. So without further ado, let’s jump directly into your new dedicated server adventure, starting with: What is a Dedicated Server, and Why Do I Need It? First of all, if you’re in desperate need of a dedicated server, but have only been told you need one, you might like a better explanation of what the technology actually is. Understandably, this might be somewhat confusing, so we’ll try to keep this as basic as we know how: We’ll use a metaphor. Up until now, you’ve likely been using shared hosting to host your company’s website. In this arrangement, you’ve essentially been renting what amounts to an Internet-ready apartment: You’ve been paying a monthly fee for a space that’s technically a part of a much larger whole. You share this space with potentially hundreds of other tenants, though obviously, they aren’t directly on top of your space. However, if you aren’t careful, you may quickly find your neighbors being noisy, or perhaps more selfish than you’d like. In less abstract terms, this means shared hosting will inevitably lead to less processing power, as well as less storage space for you. It’s a nasty scenario, especially if your business is growing, and growing a lot. So what’s the solution? A dedicated server. In comparison to shared hosting, a dedicated server is like renting an entire house, rather than just an apartment space. You have your own space, just as before, but the floor plan has gotten a lot bigger. Likewise, there’s ample room between you and the neighbors, guaranteeing an increase in safety, as well as performance. In essence, purchasing a dedicated server plan is making the decision to rent an entire server, rather than just a portion of a server shared by many other users. You have full access to all the available processor power, as well as all the disc space. In a sense, it’s like taking the training wheels off your Internet bike and upgrading to a Harley. But when do you need this kind of performance? A dedicated server is really only a good idea when your company or Web traffic has grown to a much larger size than before. If you’re pulling in thousands upon thousands of viewers a day, your shared hosting account will ultimately clog up, and then crash. Your small chunk of the server simply cannot keep up with your demand. To remedy this, a dedicated server is a great idea, as it allows for a lot more processing power, as well as much more disc space. This translates to better traffic management, as well as even more potential to grow as time goes on. How to Maintain Your New Dedicated Server However, most of that can still be found somewhere else on Google. So let’s assume that you’ve already taken the first steps, and that you’ve gone ahead and secured a dedicated server to put your name to. When doing so, you’ve really got two unique options. If you’ve chosen managed dedicated hosting, your job is done. The company you’ve purchased the space from will handle all the extraneous maintenance, leaving you free to worry about the site’s creation, management, etc. However, if you haven’t opted for a managed server, all of this is now up to you. Of course, if your budget allows you could hire an IT professional to handle the matter for you. But if you’re more of the gung-ho type, you can use the tips below to ensure your new, shiny toy stays running just as well as the day you signed the lease. Starting with: 1.  Use a Solid Operating System: When setting up a dedicated server, you’ll have the control to choose a specific operating system to run your website upon. With this arrangement, we’d highly suggest you choose a Linux or UNIX-based operating system for your server. Linux is by far a more stable platform, and with a vastly huger uptime and performance level than Windows, it’s easily your best bet for uniquely impressive Website quality. 2.  Use the Automatic Updater: Once you’ve selected your preferred operating system, we also strongly suggest you keep the box updated regularly. All major server operating systems come with some flavor of automatic updater. When you can, simply open the thing up and check to see what’s new. All security and firmware updates should be installed as soon as possible, while smaller things might could be put off a bit longer. Still, an up-to-date system is a solid one, and if you’re looking to run high-intensity code on your server, you’ll want the latest support for languages like CSS, jQuery, etc. 3.  Keep Redundancies: If you can, talk to your dedicated hosting provider about daily backups. All good providers should offer this kind of service, and ensuring your data is stored elsewhere is really the best way to maintain your server in general. This prevents any disasters from being too devastating, and also keeps you secure from viruses and other malware. Additionally, always keep a copy of your website stored elsewhere away from your provider, preferably on a cloud-based server. This, combined with a backup of your entire server, keeps you safeguarded against a large downtime in the event of unwanted disasters. Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:54:37 -0800 Dedicated Servers http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/dedicated-servers/the-what-how-and-why-of-a-dedicated-server/ http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/general/web-design-what-to-outsource-and-what-to-do-yourself/ When it comes to your Internet livelihood, it’s almost imperative that you understand what services you can provide yourself, as well as which ones you should instead outsource to another professional. Don’t believe us? Let’s take a quick plug at the topic with an handy metaphor we happen to have laying about. We know web masters: Most of us are the typical, geeky DIY style individual, the kind of guy who’s willing at a moment’s notice to roll up his sleeves, dive into a textbook, and emerge with some kind of finished product. However, this isn’t always a good thing. In fact, if left unchecked this kind of digital tendency can lead to any number of malaises with your Web content and server. When it comes to your Internet livelihood, it’s almost imperative that you understand what services you can provide yourself, as well as which ones you should instead outsource to another professional. Don’t believe us? Let’s take a quick plug at the topic with an handy metaphor we happen to have laying about. In Which We Talk About Construction: Let’s imagine building a website and hosting it is somewhat like building a house. As such, you’re the owner of the property (that’d be the website) but you still need a way for viewers to come and truly appreciate what you’ve got lying around. As such, you build a house. If you’re feeling gung-ho about it, you could do all of the work yourself, putting up the foundation, drywall, fixtures, electricity, etc. But unless you’re super freaking smart (Not saying you aren’t, mate) it’s likely you’ll encounter some element of the design process you’re unfamiliar with. You could potentially do a little research and emerge a more proficient practitioner, but unless you have years of experience with the construction, you may later encounter many hundreds of tiny headaches caused by your unknown blunders. If you don’t build the frame right, the house might come crashing down like thunder. Likewise, maybe the easement is too short, and you end up pissing off the neighbors. Then again, you might do just fine, and the house never experiences so much as a crack. It’s a pot-luck, which is why we’ve compiled our thoughts below on what you should take on yourself, and what you should instead hand off to someone more knowledgeable. And, of course, take it all with a grain of salt, as only you truly know what you’re capable of, as well as what you’re not quite able at. So without further ado, may we present the things we feel you’re up to tackling, as well as the things we have a feeling you’re probably not where web design is concerned: What You Can Do Yourself: 1.  Content Creation: Let’s face it: If you can hold a pen and write with a decency fitting that of an High School student, you can create your website’s own copy: That is, all of the text and various other bits of prose that detail what you or your company are all about. In fact, you’re much better off doing this stuff yourself, instead of hiring your graphic designer to get the job done. You know your products, services, and history best, and if you’re the one behind the keyboard on this front, you’ll end up with a much better basket than not. Even if you’re running a blog about something as foreign as knitting jackets for kittens, a quick Google search will tell you just about everything you’ll ever need to know. In other words, don’t be lazy—do the writing yourself, and if you must have someone else involved, get a copy editor to give the finished product a hard looking over. Grammar may not be your strong point, but your website isn’t up for a Pulitzer. Write the thing yourself. 2.  Hosting: No, we do not mean you should go out and purchase a Mac Mini with OS X Server Edition loaded onto its tiny little brain to host your website home-brew style. What we do mean is that you can find this avenue yourself, no sweat. With even the barest of Google searches, you should be fully capable of deciding what kind of hosting you need, as well as picking a contender (that’d be a web host) that can meet your needs. Sure, you may need to poll around and get a feel for things, but there’s no reason in the world you should pay someone to set this up for you. Hell, if you have the money, hire a technician to set up a data center in your own building. No matter what, though, do it yourself. What You Probably Can’t Do Yourself: 1.  Graphic Design: Don’t do it: We’re really quite serious about this. Graphic designers spend years learning all the ins and outs of the latest illustration software, and as such, they’re a bit like surgeons—capable of doing incredibly cool things at incredible speeds. Sure, you could do a few tutorials on the Internet and gain a decent competency at Photoshop, but we guarantee you that nine times out of ten you’ll come up short where quality is concerned. There’s nothing like a trained eye, and we beg of you: Even if you just hire a designer to look over your samples, we guarantee he’ll find about half a dozen things that could be improved. On another note, a designer also knows exactly what can and cannot be spliced with ease. That is, he’ll know what can be coded in a breeze, or what will give your web developer fits. Trust the professional where this is concerned, and just hire the dang designer. 2. Coding and Splicing: On a similar note, it’s likely best that you not try to do the web coding yourself, unless you have a serious background in popular coding languages like Javascript, CSS, HTML, PHP5, etc. The reason behind this is simple: You’ll frustrate the hell out of yourself and waste too much time. For not too large a hit on your budget, you can hire a developer to produce a fully functioning website from the ashes of your design, and he’ll do it in roughly a quarter of the time it would take you to learn the ropes. People get degrees in this: Leave it alone and outsource the work. Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:30:34 -0800 General http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/general/web-design-what-to-outsource-and-what-to-do-yourself/ http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/general/why-you-should-consider-os-x-server/ You may think we’re absolutely nuts: No one is seriously considers using Mac OS X Server edition for professional unless they’re crackers, bananas, or straight-up mad, right? If you’ve never thought about using the platform to manage your business or home network, you might be cutting yourself short. You may think we’re absolutely nuts: No one is seriously considers using Mac OS X Server edition for professional unless they’re crackers, bananas, or straight-up mad, right? If you’ve never thought about using the platform to manage your business or home network, you might be cutting yourself short. Macintosh is a powerful platform, and though it’s certainly not for everyone, it comes with a thousand benefits and (in our eyes) only a few downsides. Will it replace Linux in shared hosting or Windows in the corporate world? Heck no—we aren’t even thinking about it. Still, we feel it’s about high-time someone mentioned the useful advantages of a Max OS X Server in the workplace, and as such, we’re going to do just that. If you’re staring at the Linux vs. Windows debate (and are jonesing for just one more option) keep reading, Pilgrim: The promise land does await, though it comes with some caveats. What is a Mac OS X Server, and How Should I Use It? First and foremost, we feel it might be best to mention what in the bloody heck of things an OS X Server actually is. For the uninitiated, Macintosh Operating System X is the latest and greatest, UNIX-based kernel and graphical front-end behind each and every one of Apple’s computers. In fact, OS X is even at the core of the company's mobile suite, iOS. In all practical terms, it’s an offshoot from the early UNIX days, and it bears a lot of similarities to such platforms as Debian, Fedora, and to an extent, Ubuntu. However, Apple is a for-profit venture, and has had decades to refine the graphical and performance front-end until it shines with a unique polish. Of course, right now we’re just talking about Apple’s personal operating system, the sort of thing you’d see on a Mac you might have in your library at home. So what’s OS X Server? Essentially, OS X Server is a repackaging of the personal software suite with a server emphasis: That likely sounded trite, so we’ll explain. Apple has taken the same UNIX core that’s at the heart of Mac OS X, redone a lot of the software and architectures to be better suited for server traffic, and then shipped it out for web masters to use as a central hub. OS X Server behaves like and is comparable to any Linux Server distro, or Windows Server edition. However, because of the way it’s engineered, we don’t see too many people using OS X Server for shared hosting, or large-scale data-center management. Instead, we see a lot more OS X Server in the home as a personal server, or within small businesses for local management. All in all, this makes OS X Server brilliant for specific uses, though perhaps not so much for others. So how do you know when you need OS X Server? Let’s take a closer look at some of the benefits to get at the creamy nugget at the center. 1.  The Hardware is Self Contained: Let’s say you have one grand to about three thousand you’re willing to spend on a new server. However, you’d rather not purchase a complex Windows box that’s daisy-chained to multiple servers, and requires extensive maintenance. Instead, you can purchase a Mac Mini or Mac Pro that’s entirely self-contained, optimized for OS X Server, and built to handle any and all local requests you need of it. Assuming you’re Internet connection is steady, you can use this single box to manage all of your Web needs with a fluidity you never thought possible. And as mentioned, the operating system is built from the ground-up to work with the hardware. This means you’re getting the most umph for your buck, just as a car that’s designed to run on petrol works best with petrol, instead of diesel. 2.  It’s Easy: One of the largest selling points of Windows Server edition is that it’s quite simple to manage. If you’ve ever been near a Windows personal operating system, you’ve got a fair handle on how to manage the server packaging. Likewise, only more so, OS X Server is exactly as fluid and smooth as the personal front-end, but with a Web emphasis. Creating an eMail server, managing user accounts, and even adding a calendar database can be done with the click of a button. Apple has gone to great lengths to optimize and simplify the included software to make it a breeze to manipulate. Just like their mobile device the iPhone, almost anyone can operate a server with OS X Server. Each aspect of the process comes with a UI-based application that’s powerful enough to modify and create services on a whim. A good way to think about this is through cooking: If you’re competent, you can use the oven, burners, toaster, griddle, etc. to do just about anything. This is Windows and Linux. On the other hand, OS X Server is a robot that’s capable of managing all these hot items for you. All it requires is an initial direction and it handles the rest. 3.  It’s Cheap(er): Lastly, OS X Server edition will cost you much less than Windows Server. In fact, we’re talking about a magnitude of about three: 10 licenses for Windows Server 2008 will cost you about $1500. In comparison, OS X Server at the same volume will only run you $500. That’s a bargain to us, and though it’s not as cheap as a free Linux distro, you’re getting superior performance—remember that hardware optimization—technical assistance at the drop of a hat, UNIX style performance, and ease of use the likes of which you’ve never seen before in a personal server system. All in all, if you’re looking for a quality way to host your website, manage an email server, set up a calendar platform, or just about anything else sever related, consider OS X Server for the home or office next time you’re in the market. We guarantee you’ll find that Apple’s right: The thing just works. Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:48:27 -0800 General http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/general/why-you-should-consider-os-x-server/ http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/reseller-web-hosting/how-to-make-your-reseller-business-unique/ If you take some immediate steps right bloody now, we have a feeling you’ll be able to do a fair bit better than you’re thinking. It’s going to be an uphill battle, and you’re going to need to be open about this: Leave all of your misconceptions at the door, Look, we’re not going to kid you here: There’s almost no way you’ll be able to make your reseller business entirely unique from all the thousands of other businesses out there. With so much competition, you’ll be lucky to even get a break in terms of tenants. However, that doesn’t mean your newfound source of income is a lost cause. In fact, if you take some immediate steps right bloody now, we have a feeling you’ll be able to do a fair bit better than you’re thinking. It’s going to be an uphill battle, and you’re going to need to be open about this: Leave all of your misconceptions at the door, and understand that without potentially rebranding your business, you may find your door flooded in red tape. That being said, if you still feel you’re up to the challenge, it’s time to pony up, Cowboy—your bootcamp lesson in reseller hosting marketing and branding starts now! What is Reseller Hosting? In case you’re not quite on board with what we’re talking about, let’s go ahead and quickly define what we even mean by reseller hosting. Reseller hosting is any kind of hosting that involves you (a consumer) purchasing dedicated server space from a web host—usually it’s a fairly large and noted one, like HostGator or GoDaddy, etc.—and then repackaging it under a different name and brand to other web masters. For example, you might purchase X number of gigabytes in storage, Y amount of processors and speed from Generic WebHost, and then sell that chunk in 15 subsidized packets to 15 new customers under your own name: We’ll call it Newer HostMax. It’s a quick way to make a few extra dollars each year, especially if you deal with clients on a daily basis that require web hosting and would prefer to do it through you. However, you’re not the first person to see dollar signs in this kind of arrangement. In fact, we’d be willing to bet hundreds of thousands of web hosts out there are really resellers in disguise. This is added onto the massive number of existing web hosting providers, too. All in all, you’re looking at quite a climb to fill all fifteen slots. However, it ain’t all bad. First off, you’ll need to: 1.  Carve Out That Niche! As with all businesses that are swamped by competition, you’ll need to establish a unique tone for you and your business. Think about the connections you have, and decide if you’ve got any kind of unique angle on any specific businesses. Are you a graphic designer? Do you create websites for users on a daily basis, but have to turn them away because you’ve got no server space to attach them to? In this scenario, don’t even bother marketing your reseller services to those outside your network: You’ve got enough clients to fill the slots, and have found your niche. If you haven’t got any connections like this, take a second to ask yourself who you do have access to. Is there a certain market you feel you can adequately market your facilities to? Do you have any overt knowledge that might make you more appealing to a certain audience over another? If so, create everything about your business to reflect that from the ground-up. If you’re going to sell web hosting space to construction workers (Why the heck not?) be sure to only mark up the advantages of your web hosting as it pertains to that market. It’s a basic business principle, but in this overflowing market, you’re going to need to be extremely careful. 2.  Be (Kind Of) Pricy: Additionally, don’t you worry your pretty head about being cheap. If your clients were looking for extremely cheap web hosting with no regards to quality or performance, they’ve easily got about five thousand and seven other options to choose from. Besides, there’s no way you can compete with prices like $1.97 a month for web hosting—and yes, we have seen prices that low flying around. Rather than cutting all profits out of your new venture, instead opt for the exact opposite. By choosing to be slightly above market cost (We’re thinking more along the lines of $10 a month for a basic, no frills hosting account) you’ll be able to gain a lot more traction. Believe it or not, people are actually more willing to pay for quality than they are to save a buck. If you’ve adequately carved out your market as stipulated above, you should have no problem charging slightly more than you’re thinking with no extreme losses in clientele. This also ensures you gain a sufficient profit from your expenses. And we very much hope you know that’s the idea behind all this. 3.  Be So Personal It Hurts: Let’s talk sheer numbers for a second: If you’ve got a web hosting company comprised of only fifteen possible shared hosting spots, you should theoretically be able to provide a much better customer support experience than a host with thousands upon thousands of users. This is one of your company’s biggest strengths, and you should play that note until it goes so out of tune it’s sour. Answer all questions promptly, and wherever possible, call the client yourself. People really respect this kind of support, especially in the modern age of call centers and long waiting times. A real human voice with a caring tone is a vital part of the experience, and if you’re willing to charge slightly higher than the market average, it’s a great way to make the additional expenses look cheap. 4.  Set a Unique Tone: Lastly, a great way to differentiate yourself from the pack is to wear a different hat. Have a unique logo, or a copy tone that suggests you’re unique from all those other web hosts out there. You have the chance to carve something personal out of all the competition, and it’s your job to correctly expound upon the concept, delivering a service that’s loaded with personality. Be that awesome girl at the pub: Come on strong but personable. Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:33:27 -0800 Reseller Web Hosting http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/reseller-web-hosting/how-to-make-your-reseller-business-unique/ http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/shared-hosting/top-alternatives-to-shared-web-hosting/ We feel we owe those among you who desire a quality, low-priced, and efficient way to host your website a few choice venues, such avenues do exist. In a previous post, we devled deeply into the chinks in shared hostings armor. We included reasons, but to be fair, we mostly complained without offering specific solutions. As such, we feel we owe those among you who desire a quality, low-priced, and efficient way to host your website a few choice venues, venues that do not in any way include room for shared hosting. Such avenues do exist, and if you’ll kindly read on below the break, we’ll dive into a few of the top alternatives to shared web hosting, as well as a bit about how each works. Starting with: 1.  The Dedicated Server If you know much about dedicated servers, we have a feeling you’re cringing in your seat, feeling a sharp pain in the pit of your wallet. To be fair, it’s not an uncommon reaction: Dedicated servers are typically pricier than most other hosting methods, and with good reason. When you’re paying for a unique, dedicated bit of hardware to manage your entire Web presence and identity, with the utmost in control and responsiveness, it’s likely going to cost you a pretty penny. For the uninitiated among you, though, simply saying that may not be enough. As such, here’s a fairly accurate—if somewhat fanciful—metaphor to explain how a dedicated server works, as well as how it can blow shared hosting out of the water any day. In our previous post, we described shared web hosting as a very large house in which potentially thousands of residents live together, each in their own separate room. Each of these rooms represents a unique server space dedicated entirely to that user’s data, while the house itself is, of course, the server. Because of the limitations of this arrangement, users will very quickly begin rubbing elbows, competing for house resources, potentially damaging others’ property, and generally finding boundaries and boundaries a plenty. If dedicated hosting were stretched across the same metaphor, it would be like ditching the individual room to instead own the whole house. Hiring a dedicated server grants you unrestricted access to every room in the whole mansion, without any other users, save those you invite in. As such, you’re given an unbelievable amount of power and performance, as well as completely unmitigated resources. You’re the boss, and with no one else around to tell you otherwise, the place is yours to do what you want with. Obviously, though, owning the whole house—or server—will cost a fair bit more than simply sharing it with thousands of other people. Dedicated servers are pricy, but if you need unparalleled performance on the Web, there is no other option. 2.  Virtual Private Servers So what if you aren’t quite ready to bite the bullet on a full-on dedicated server? What if you’d like similar performance and control, but only at half the cost, or potentially even less? If so, acquiring a virtual private server is your best bet. The technology allows users to experience their website and server access as if they owned the whole hardware, when in fact, they still share it with a handful of other users. Each individual virtualization is given its own amount of resources that cannot be taken away, nor can any other part of the server crash another virtualization. It’s a nearly full-proof method, and if you’re looking for truly middle of the road performance with a middle-ground price tag, it’s a solid option. Again, let’s return to the house metaphor to explain how this works. If the house is still the sever, let’s imagine you live in the house with only about five or six people. Rather than sectioning off individual rooms, however, the people in the home have decided to erect walls, carve out doors, and add new structures so that the house appears to be a total of five or six other houses on the inside. Each mini-house comes with its own, un-shared space, as well as its own resources: Food, water, furniture, etc. In much the same way, a virtualization creates an image of a real server on the server itself. This image acts as if its a freestanding unit, though in all actuality, it’s simply a partition on the larger server. Several of these can exist in tandem, but as they’re partitioned from each other, there’s no hope of interaction: This is a good thing, as each partition comes with its own available disc space, RAM, and performance, all of which can not be altered by changes elsewhere on the server. It’s a brilliant system, and if you’re not quite feeling up to owning the whole house, perhaps fashioning your own functional copy will do instead! 3.  Cloud Hosting Lastly, we have cloud hosting. This one is tricker to explain, so we’ll start with the metaphor and then work backwards from there. Instead of having a house, let’s assume you instead have a closet at a friend’s house. Then multiply this by a thousand, meaning you now own a thousand closets at a thousand other friends’ houses, each of which is available for you to save copies of your items in. Should you need that item, you simply go to the nearest friend’s closet, and retrieve it. This is, in an abstract fashion, cloud hosting. Cloud hosting takes your data, copies it, and then places it on potentially thousands of other computers and servers around the world. In essence, your data is being shared with even more users than in traditional shared hosting, but with benefits. Because your data can be found at thousands of unique points, when it is needed, it can be delivered from thousands of locations. There’s no server drain, no load, and no need to worry about other users hogging your bandwidth. If your site experiences peak hours, simply more connections are opened, and your content is delivered with an increased performance. It’s that simple, and it’s relatively cheap, too: Making shared hosting look absolutely foolish in a modern age where peer-to-peer connections can power the Internet. Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:35:22 -0800 Shared Hosting http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/shared-hosting/top-alternatives-to-shared-web-hosting/ http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/shared-hosting/top-reasons-to-ditch-shared-hosting/ You can check below beyond the break to see our full and un-edited reasons to leave shared hosting in the cold for something just plain better In our time as industry analysts, we’ve seen a heck of a lot of bologna out there. Namely, we’ve seen a lot of web hosting providers making unbelievable claims that no one in their right mind could believe, nor want the consequences of. More specifically—if we’re to stop beating around the bush—we’ve had just about enough of shared web hosting in our daily lives. In fact, we’re so tired of seeing our friends, clients, and coworkers shafted by the various unprofessional claims and services touted by industry leading companies, that we felt it was time to step-up, and create this public service announcement. So for the last time: If you’re using traditional, shared web hosting,there are reasons to consider an upgrade. If you’re still clinging to that web hosting provider though, we’re prepared to put our money where our mouth is. With that in mind, you can check below beyond the break to see our full and un-edited reasons to leave shared hosting in the cold for something just plain better. Starting, of course, with: The Performance Can be Terrible: To back ourselves up, we have not tried personally and used on a daily basis every single hosting provider that offers some form of shared hosting. That being said, we’ve used a heck of a lot of companies in our time, and we’ve had enough experiences to get a general feel for the way things work. And, typically, they can tend to work sluggish. In fact, we have yet to find a shared hosting experience that doesn’t occasionally leave our server space lagged-out, unusable, or potentially gone from the map. Nothing infuriates us more than finding out a client couldn’t find our services because of an absent web page: Not even yet another Dick Clark New Years Eve can make us this angry. But in case you’re feeling a bit of bias here, let’s present the facts. 1.  You’re Sharing Room and Board with Other Energy Hogs: Firstly, with a shared web hosting set-up, you’re essentially bunking up with potentially thousands of other users, relying on their needs to not soak up all of the bandwidth or disk space so you in turn can do exactly that. It’s a maddeningly strange system, in which a serve is split into hundreds of miniature pieces, and then expected to run at maximum performance, granting you industry competitive power and lag. To be honest, it just can’t happen, or at least not in the volume and magnitude that other methods of hosting can provide. Granted, we can’t rightly blame the hosting provider for this, as the system itself is at fault. But no matter how you slice it, shared hosting is an inevitable compromise of your site’s performance favor of a cut in budget. 2.  Optimization is Out of the Picture: Secondly, it’s very unlikely that your shared hosting provider will allow you the kind of root access needed to fully tweak-out your server, maximizing its performance for the software you’re running. In fact, because you’re essentially living in only a doorframe of a much larger house (shared by thousands of other doorframe sitters) you have little to no control over the house itself. As such, you have no ability to maximize the infrastructure, repaint the walls, or raise the roof slightly to meet your needs. To put things short, the server cannot run at its maximum unless you are at the helm. Security? What Security (Reliability)? Another notch in the armor shared web hosting is sporting is its near often lack of security. Let’s think about it this way: We’ll use that house metaphor from earlier, only instead of just a doorframe, let’s re-imagine shared web hosting as an experience in which thousands of people are all living in one giant house together, like the world’s largest commune. As such, you have your own room, in which you can do just about anything you want, save strip the walls and rebuild the frame. However, what’s to keep the person in the next room over from punching a hole in the drywall, peeping directly into your personal bubble? In computer terms, it’s no less difficult for someone nearby to hack into the shell of your server space, and potentially wreck or steal your data. In fact, they don’t even have to be nearby! Anyone on the server could potentially serve up the other users as one giant security risk, rendering shared web hosting one of the most insecure systems we have ever seen. And on the subject of reliability, we feel the concept is best visualized—again—using that house metaphor. Let’s say your neighbor does something incredibly stupid, like smoke in bed. If the mattress starts to burn, and the whole room goes, there’s a fair likelihood your space is up in smoke as well. In much the same way, a nearby denizen on the shared server could potentially do something to the root of the server itself, and if the oops is oops-ish enough, you and everyone else tied to the server experiences a black-out. This means your site is gone, at least until the web hosting provider can crack open the sever’s shell and correct the damage caused. This kind of unprotected security risk is a real gamble with your sites’ reliability. Worst of all, the way shared hosting is arranged simply doesn’t allow for much else. Again, it’s the system—not the hosting provider—that’s at fault here. Is it Really That Cheap? We do understand the need to meet budgets. But when a comprehensive and powerful virtual private server is available for only slightly more than a traditional shared host, isn’t the additional security and performance worth the additional bucks? Even if you’re not ready for a pricy dedicated server, there’s no reason in the world to compromise your Web presence and livelihood by choosing shared hosting. Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:40:50 -0800 Shared Hosting http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/shared-hosting/top-reasons-to-ditch-shared-hosting/ http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/general/top-reasons-to-use-a-content-delivery-network/ We’re about to dive into our top reasons why you need a content delivery network backing your data. But first, how about a short description of the technology itself, in case you’re a little confused? If you’re like us, you’ve probably heard opinions from so-called “Web Professionals” that run the gambit and back where content delivery networks are concerned. Sure, you could make the argument that they’re a total waste of time, and expenses, sapping your vital web budget for an infinitesimal gain in performance. Of course, there’s also the evangelists out there that claim a content delivery network can provide you with a dozen miracles for every dime. So where does the truth actually lie? To be fair, somewhere in the middle. However, there are definite benefits to owning a content delivery network, or having one attached to your media. In fact, we’d go so far as to say every industry-leading webmaster should have one associated with their Internet content. Why would we dare to be so bold? Well, pony up, Cowboy: We’re about to dive into our top reasons why you need a content delivery network backing your data. But first, how about a short description of the technology itself, in case you’re a little confused? So What is a Content Delivery Network? Web hosting should first be thought of like this: Typically, all of your server data is stored on a single server somewhere, whether that’s in your company’s basement, or potentially elsewhere in the country on your hosting provider’s network. Either way, all of your data is located at a single, central point, and all of your user’s must call to this point to access your data. It’s a bit like having only one Starbucks, say the original one in Seattle. Everyone that wants Starbucks has to travel to Seattle to get it. This is, more or less, how traditional web hosting works. Content delivery networks, on the other hand, are the expansion of the original Starbucks store. A content delivery network takes all of your data, copies its format, and then spreads it out to potentially hundreds, or even thousands, of other points all around the globe. If we’re sticking to the coffee shop metaphor, it’s the new Starbucks on every corner. Now, when your users want your media, they travel to the nearest server (or coffee shop) receiving their desired content with far less of a wait. Best of all, unlike our Starbucks metaphor your users don’t have to think about which server their accessing. Your content delivery provider handles all of this for you, using intelligent IP routing. All in all, just remember that content delivery systems work by copying your data, sharing it to thousands of other servers, and then routing your customers to those servers in a smart way. But what are the actual benefits of this kind of set-up? 1.  Quick Delivery: By and far the largest benefit touted by content delivery providers is the speed at which your content will be delivered to your consumers. After all, the whole idea behind content delivery systems is locating your media closer to the original point of content request, shortening the physical distance between the two points, and guaranteeing a shorter load time. As such, all of your media will arrive at the end-user’s door much faster than if you were still only using one server located at a central point. That being said, the actual time benefits from this are somewhat negotiable. For your users within the continental United States (let’s say in Illinois) a server in Chicago will not necessarily deliver your media faster than a server in the Silicon Valley. However, for a user in Sri Lanka, a server in nearby Dubai will provide a performance level several times greater than a server located in California. In essence, those who have truly expanded to mammoth proportions across a global scale will benefit most from a content delivery network’s speed increase, but even the smallest of users will still gain something. 2.  Scalability: However, speed isn’t the only reason we recommend you have a content delivery network: In fact, it’s only one of many. One of our favorite reasons to use a CDN is the scalability such a service offers. With a content delivery provider backing your data, and storing it on thousands of servers around the world, you’ll be able to benefit from a monumental amount of scalability. This means that, even during peak hours, your content will be delivered just as quickly as a non-peak hour. Let’s go back to our Starbucks metaphor to explain this: Let’s say there’s still just one outlet in Seattle, and all of a sudden, there’s a lunch rush. That single store (which in this example is your hosting provider’s server) will be overloaded with customers, and might potentially shut down. However, with thousands of branches open nationwide, users can still rush to their coffee at noon, but the load has been diminished almost to the point of invisibility. In much the same way, by directing your users to the closest server, a content delivery network allows you to scale up performance when its needed, but also scale it back when it isn’t. This is dynamic, energy-efficient, and could potentially save you some down-time. On that note— 3.  Goodbye Downtime: With a content delivery network, you will never again have to worry about down-time. Because your data has been stored on servers all around the world, you will never have to worry about your content disappearing. Even if a single server should vanish temporarily, or experience some seriously disastrous problems, there are still hundreds of other nearby branches waiting to handle your consumers’ requests. This is, in our eyes, one of the best reasons to use a content delivery provider: Having the peace of mind to know that your content is always around can be a real stress reliever, especially if your business relies on a constant Web presence to be successful. All in all, that’s the real message behind our recommending a CDN. If you’re looking for peace of mind and a little business harmony, there’s really no better way to achieve it than through a content delivery network. Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:18:31 -0800 General http://webhostingrating.com/hosting-guide/general/top-reasons-to-use-a-content-delivery-network/