ComputerGeeks2GoWeb Hosting Explained
What is a web host?
“Web Host”, “Web Hosting” and “Web Servers” are fancy terms for “the place where my website sits.”
Think of a web host like this: Your friend invites you to a party at her house. She is your host and her house is the space where you’re partying.
When you build a website, the “hosting” company you sign up with is your host and their web server is the space where your site will reside.
Where can I find a web host?
Type the phrase “Web hosting” into Yahoo!, Bing or Google and you’ll have no shortage of sites to choose from. ComputerGeeks2go, Google Sites, and GoDaddy, are examples different hosting companies. Your harder choice will be “What kind of host do I need?”
Free vs. Fee: Which type of hosting do I need?
There are pros and cons to both types, but let’s talk about free hosting first.
Free Web Host Features
In looking at the features provided for one of the more popular free sites out there you get:
- Site building tools – which come in handy if you’re a “do-it-yourselfer” and don’t mind design limitations.
- Bandwidth – 0.5 GB
- 40 MB Web Storage space
- e-Commerce Store Items allowed – Five item limit
However, your site may also get:
- Ads you have no control over splashed across it
- No 24/7 customer support
- Limited design templates
- No free domain names
- No email addresses
- No larger bandwidth and web storage limits
If you don’t want ads splashed all over your site, you need an email address with your business or site name, or your site goes down and you need support you’d have to upgrade to one of per-month hosting packages. And if you’re a business, a free site may not come close to meeting your web space needs.
Paid Web Host Features
For an idea of what a fee-based hosting company can offer you, you can check out our Hosting Package Comparison page. But as an example, our Value Package, which is only $4.99 per month, gets you:
- 200 MB Storage space
- 2 GB bandwidth
- 5 email accounts
- Free website templates (for the “do-it-yourselfer who’s comfortable with HTML code)
- Free site builder (for those who prefer to drag and drop elements into their websites).
- 24/7 customer support
- And more
The biggest draw-back to a paid web host, is, well, you have to pay for it. The adage of “you get what you pay for” certainly applies to web hosting though.
How do you decide between Free vs. Fee?
Deciding on whether or not to pay for hosting all depends on what you plan on doing with your site. If your site will only have a few text-based pages with pictures (like a personal website or blog), a free site like Google Sites or Blogger may be the perfect choice for you.
However, if your site is more complex, like an e-Commerce or business site, a blog that attracts a high amount of traffic, or anything that requires a database, etc. you’ll want to think about paying for space. If that’s the case, shop around and see what’s available to you.
And if you have any questions or need a package designed specifically for your needs, call us at (850) 212-8047 or via Skype. Or you can email us at sales@computergeeks2go.com. We’ll be happy to help you get your new site hosted, up, and running.
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