Posts Tagged cheap website hosting

Best Cross-Platform FTP Client/Server

Due to my recent web site development work, I’ve been in need of good FTP client for Windows. In the past, I used SmartFTP but it was a free trial or it may have actually been freeware at one time. I liked it, but it’s hard to make a bad FTP client for Windows. Pretty much all FTP clients have the same features these days anyway.

So I thought it’d be a good time to find a free open source FTP client for Windows. It didn’t take long for me to dig up Filezilla. I have to say, I like it. It’s not spectacular or amazing. I really don’t see why an FTP client should be. It is lightweight and works as expected. That’s all one should expect from an FTP client. I like programs that keep it simple and Filezilla does that well.

Another advantage to FileZilla is that it is available on all platforms. I prefer it to anything I’ve ever tried on OS X. For some reason a lot of Mac lovers like some program with a duck in it. The name escapes me. I should take the time to google it but I just don’t have the time at the moment. File Duck or Ducky….Something like that. At any rate, that program has a very Mac feel to it but I don’t like that I have to use it with finder. I think a lot of that comes from the fact that I’ve been using FTP clients for quite some time and it’s just not intuitive to me.

FileZilla is available on Linux, Windows, and OS X. I’m pretty sure it’s available on BSD as well. Once one is familiar with it on one platform, it’s the same on any other.

I’ve limited experience with the server version of FileZilla. From what little experience (from XAMPP) I have with FileZilla server, it seems pretty good. I personally don’t have a need for an FTP server in Windows, and if I did, I would probably use the built-in FTP server in IIS, since I run Windows Server 2008. But if all one needs is an FTP server, Filezilla appears to be an excellent choice.

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Tips for Finding Cheap Website Hosting

Starting a website isn’t hard. It’s much easier than one may imagine. There are many things to know before starting, however. By asking key questions like how the site will be used, who will be accessing it, and what features it will need, will make the task much easier.

Websites start out as an idea the anatomy of paystubs. There are three main types of website. Personal websites normally are used to display family photos, communicate with relatives, or display a personal interest. These websites have been very useful for many to get more familiar with building websites. They are the modern scrapbook. However, they are becoming less common these days due to another form of website. The community (Web2.0) sites have been taking the place of many personal sites. These online communities try to replicate real-world socialization. The final type of website is the business website. These are used as store fronts or to display related information about a company. They can also be used as portals for business employees. Knowing which of these types of one wishes to create is the first step in finding appropriate hosting like thisĀ  professional wordpress hosting service.

For personal sites, a small hosting package is normally good enough. Minimal money will be spent on this type of site. If one plans to set up a community-based website or a business website, other more expensive hosting options will be needed. No matter which type of site is being built, the first thing that will be needed is a domain name. You should also look into how making use of a crm can help your business grow.

The very best place to grab a domain name is GoDaddy. For around the price of lunch, a domain name can be purchased for a year. So, it’s cheap to buy a piece of the web. The hard part is finding the domain name. The big three top level domains are .COM, .NET, and .ORG. Finding a domain name within these three TLDs is the best, but very difficult. There are many people called “squatters” who buy up domain names just to resale later. Try to think of something clever and catchy that is related to what your site is going to be about. Limit the length of the name as much as possible. It’ll be essential that visitor be able to remember the name for later. Godaddy has a great tool for checking the availability of a domain name and suggesting ideas for other names related to your search.

Once the domain name is found and purchased, it’s necessary to have a hosting service. Godaddy also offers hosting, however hosting is a very competitive market and it’s easy to find unlimited shared hosting for very little. For instance, here are some examples of very cheap unlimited website hosting on eBay. If one needs good support it would probably be better to go with a company like HostGator. While the eBay hosting packages will cost around $10 per year or (in some cases) for life, HostGator will cost around $10 per month. It can not be stressed enough, however, that HostGator is a reputable company that will deliver the best product. “You get what you pay for” is very correct in this case. The HostGator plan also allows one to host as many sites as they want all for the same month price. Omnis Network also offers great deals on domain names and hosting plans.

This hosting is great for any of the three types of websites, but if the site has potential to receive a lot of traffic, it would be best to go with either dedicated servers, colocation servers, or VPS.

Dedicated servers and colocation servers are the most powerful of the lot. These are real servers that the user has full control over. They are, of course, more expensive. Dedicated servers are basically servers one can rent that are in a data center on a dedicated internet connection. Co-locations, “Colo” for short, are dedicated servers that are owned by the customer and placed in a data center like those used by the dedicated servers.

VPS is just alphabet soup meaning Virtual Private Server. It’s a dedicated server in a virtual environment. VPS is usually cheaper than true dedicated servers, but offer many of the same features. The customer is the owner of the server. They have full admin rights and can do whatever they want with it.

VPS, dedicated, and colocation servers are typically harder to maintain. They require more technical know-how than shared hosting or managed hosting. The customer is the administrator on the server and with the complete control comes complete responsibility. Unlike shared hosts however, dedicated servers and colo servers are completely dedicated to a single customer. There is always potential, while using a shared host, that the server will become slow due to heavy load from all the many sites it is hosting. Proper load balancing usually takes care of this but it could still happen.

So in conclusion, if someone wanted a small site for personal or small business use, the cost could be as little as $20 bucks for the domain name and hosting for a year, using Godaddy and eBay. For best results, however, it’s recommended to buy hosting from a reputable company like HostGator or Omnis. One hosting account will allow for as many websites as one wishes.

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