Anyone in the world can own and setup a website however there are a few things that you will need before you can host a website on the Internet:

• A Domain Name
• A Website Hosting Package
• Website Files

Domain Names

A domain name is used to allow visitors to find your website. It provides a “point of contact” to which they can be directed. www.iukhost.com is a domain name and that is the address that is entered into a web browser. After you press enter or click go it will take you to the iUKHost home page. You can use this tool to see if the domain name that you want is available > Domain Name Checker!

When you have a domain name the next thing to acquire is a web hosting package. Using DNS (Domain Name Servers) the domain name is linked with the web hosting package. This is what provides a link between the two so when you type in your domain name your website will appear.

Web Hosting

This is a very important step because it involves ensuring that you have all the features that your website will need. After finding a selection of web hosting companies that provide the specifications that you require you then need to decide which is the most reliable. You will need to consider how much disk space, bandwidth and addon features that you need.

Disk Space – This is the amount of web space allocated to store your website files.

Bandwidth – This is the amount of data that you are allowed to transfer across the web.

Databases – The quantity of databases that you can create and run on your web hosting account.

Addon Domain – The total number of domains that you can addon to your account.

Website Development

If you have not done so already, after choosing and ordering a web hosting plan you will need to develop your website. Once you have created your website you can upload it to your web hosting companies web server. Remember to update your website regularly to encourage return visitors.

cPanel is a control panel that comes with most Linux web hosting packages. It provides you with many different files features to help you manage your website successfully. It allows you to generate backups of your website along with the ability to change FTP accounts to grant or revoke privileges to multiple users accessing your web space. cPanel ensures that all your data is secure which is very important if you have confidential information on your hosting account. In this article you will also learn about cPanel file manager which allows you to browse, edit and delete files through the cPanel interface with no HTML editing software required. cPanel also gives you the capability to see how much disk space you are using along with allowing you to upload your website so it can be viewed on the Internet.

cPanel’s facility that allows you to backup your website is very useful. Many web hosting customers rely totally on their host alone to keep and manage backups of their website. Not all web hosts provide this service and even those that do should recommend that you have your own personal backups in case of any corruption or missed data when the backup script is run.

Creating your own backups through cPanel is very easy to do and it means that you will have a backup copy of your website on your local computer. This means should anything go wrong such as a hard disk corruption, you will be able to restore your website from the backup.

File Backups

Backups allow you to download (to your computer) a zipped copy of either you entire site (your home directory, databases, email forwarders configuration, email filters configuration) or one of the previously mentioned parts of your site. These are not automatically scheduled backups. Automatically scheduled backups need to be enabled by the server owner / administrator.

Depending on the type of website that you have, it can be a good idea to backup your site at regular intervals. If your website is just plain text with no interactive features then it will be ok to backup once a month or less. This is because the data in your site files is unlikely to change very often whereas if you have a forum then this is something that will require daily backup to ensure your users posts are not lost.

Backups that are taken by even the most reliable web hosting company could still be faulty at the time of restoration for which there are several reasons. The first is if a cron job is set to run a backup at a specific time and it doesn’t run there would be no backup for the time scheduled. Another reason may be when the backup is taken a file could be copied incorrectly and when it is restored the wrong file will be put back which may cause your website not to function correctly.

cPanel gives you the option to restore backups of your website that you have created; for example you can download a backup of a database at a specific time and then you just upload the downloaded backup if it is needed. It is always wise to check that your entire website has been captured in the backup so that if an error does occur, all of your website is put back.

 Backup Wizard

A Full Backup will allow you to create an archive of all the files and configurations on your website. You can only use this to move your account to another server, or to keep a local copy of your files. You cannot restore Full Backups through your cPanel interface. The backup wizard makes configuring a backup very easy; you simply select the part of the website that you want to backup and then download. This type of backup is designed with moving your hosting account in mind and not restoration. This is why it is recommended to use the standard backup panel.

File Manager

There is a file manager that comes with cPanel to allow you to manage your websites files. You can edit, view and delete files in from the home directory on your account. For your files to be visable to your websites visitors you should upload them to the public_html folder. Many webmasters will use an FTP program to upload their files, however if for some reason you do not have an FTP program or access to port 21 you can upload through the cPanel interface.

The best part about having access to your files through cPanel is it means you do not have to be at home or in the office to update your website. You can do it from any computer with an Internet connection, simply log in to your cPanel and edit from there. Be careful when editing files in cPanel to ensure that you do not delete or change the incorrect file. The ability to view your files through cPanel means you can remove any unwanted or old files to give you more web space.

Legacy File Manager

This was the previous version of cPanel’s file manager before the new one was introduced. It is still included in modern released of cPanel software to ensure that all users are satisfied. Many users of the legacy version may find it harder to adapt to the new one or simply prefer the older. It will be up to cPanel if they decide to leave it in future versions of their products.

Web Disk

The Web Disk allows you to easily drag and drop files to your hosting account. You can create a Web Disk login and access your Web Disk below. Once your Web Disk is configured, you can then drag and drop files to it just like they are part of your home computer. You can also navigate through the files in your hosting account just as you do the files on your local computer.

Disk Space Usage

The cPanel “Disk Usage Viewer” provides a quick way to see the amount of disk space being used by folders. It will not show you individual files located in the folders. If you wish to view the individual files located in these folders where you can delete them you will need to use the file manager.

FTP Accounts

FTP Accounts allow you to access your web site’s files through a protocol called FTP. You will need a third party FTP program to access your files. You can login to a FTP by entering iukhost.com as your FTP host and the username and password of the account you wish to log into.

FTP Session Control

You can use this function to see who is currently logged into your site through FTP. You can also terminate any FTP connections to your site that you feel should not be open. This can be very useful in preventing users from accessing your files without your permission.

If your are completely new to web hosting it may seem a bit daunting at first however it is actually very easy to learn and understand. Before you start to learn try to ensure that you approach the topic with a positive attitude that you can learn and understand it.

This article is designed to give you the very basics to get you started in the world of web hosting.

What is Web Hosting?

Web hosting basically allows you to put a website on the Internet. All of the websites on the Internet use web hosting in one form or another. The websites are stored on PC’s or servers and when they are requested by a user, for example when you enter a web address in a web browser, the website is transferred to the users computer.

What is a Web Host?

A web host is the person or company that manages the servers / PC’s that store the websites. There are two main types of web hosting which are shared web hosting and dedicated web hosting. There are a few different types in between however these two will do for now. Shared web hosting is where many websites are stored and run from one server. This means that all the websites are sharing one servers resources. Dedicated web hosting is where only one website is run from one or more servers which allows that website to have all the servers power.

Technical Web Hosting Talk

Here are some words that you may come across in web hosting:

Disk Space – This is the amount of space allocated a website that is hosted on a web server.

Bandwidth: – This is the amount of data that you are allowed to transfer. (When a user loads your web page a small amount of data is transferred – Larger video files use more bandwidth)

Technical Support- This is the part of the web hosting company that deals with technical support questions and fix issues for customers.

Domain name- There are many different domain name extensions such as .com, .net and .org. A domain name example would be iukhost.com

FTP – FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol and this server allows you to transfer files from your computer to a web server.

HTML – Hyper-text Markup language is the language in which web pages are written.

MySQL - This is a common type of database server used in web hosting along with scripting languages such as PHP.

Control Panel- There are different types of control panel in web hosting however they are all generally used to manage your website. cPanel is a popular control panel software.

SSL – Secure socket layer provides an encrypted connection between you and a web server so that information you submit is protected. This is useful for taking orders over the Internet where payment details are required.

Website Statistics- If you have a website you are going to want to know how many visitors you are getting. Many hosting packages come with web stats  software such as AwStats or Webalizer.

iUKHost would like to wish everybody a very merry Christmas & a happy new year.

Keyword research is a practice carried out by search engine optimization experts and webmasters to find out the keywords and phrases that users enter into search engines. By knowing what users commonly search for in search engines you can adapt your website so it is targetted  by those keywords.

To attract more visitors to your website you need to edit your content to contain more relevant keywords. With unique content and professional SEO techniques you can increase web traffic. Content and keywords help each other when improving website rankings. Undertaking keyword research will help your website rank higher in search engine result pages (SERPs).

File Transfer Protocol is a central part of web hosting since it is the main method of allowing users to upload files to their allocated web space. FTP allows users to update and upload their website content easily from anywhere where FTP is allowed and an Internet connection is present. FTP access is often taken for granted in the modern hosting world, it is assumed that it is available with all hosting packages. In some cases users choose to use the file manage that is provided with the web hosting package control panel.

Up to date web page content is important if to ensure return visitors to a website and FTP is a great tool that allows updates to take place. If you are on the move and need to update your website this can be done if you have for example 3G access on a laptop. You can connect via FTP to your web space and upload the changed pages to your website.

How FTP Works

FTP is a connection from one host such as your computer to another host like a server across a network such as the Internet. The standard port for file transfer protocol is port 21. When the connection is established you can then upload or download files to or from the remote host. If you have an advanced FTP client you will be able to change the permissions on files such as public read and write access.

Advantages of FTP

There are many advantages to using FTP because it is a technology that vastly improves the way website management takes place. It is a solution that allows you to update your website from anywhere with an Internet connection within a matter of seconds. You should ensure that when choosing a web hosting package FTP is available, it is very likely that this will be the case so you then need to check how many accounts you can have.

FTP will be used to upload files to a VPS or dedicated web server as well as shared web hosting packages. When configuring FTP on a VPS or dedicated server it is highly recommended to only provide access to the web directory on which your website files are located. Providing access to the entire server may cause it to be attacked / hacked. Further advantages of FTP include:

• Remote Access – You can access your web space from anywhere using FTP providing that it is not set on the server to only allow access to a specific IP address or you are behind a firewall blocking access to port 21.
• Upload All Files – Unless specified you will likely be able to upload any file type you wish to your web space. You can also attempt to upload any size file you wish as this will only be limited by the amount of disk space available to you.
• File Management – Advanced FTP clients will allow you to modify file permissions and settings.

FTP is one of the best solutions for uploading files to your web space on a web hosting server; once you are setup it can be much faster than having to use an alternative such as a file manger included with your web hosting control panel.

Disadvantages of FTP

There can be disadvantages to FTP especially if you are someone that is new to web hosting. FTP is a free way of making changes to your website files by uploading them across the Internet however unless you are using the file manager included with your control panel you will need to get an FTP client. An FTP client allows you to login, view, upload and download files along with setting permissions. The features of an FTP client will vary depending on which you choose to use. There are free FTP solutions on the Internet that you can download such as Filezilla however depending on your operating system you may need to purchase FTP software that will work on your computer. Some of the disadvantages to FTP are:

• Restrictions - If you have a shared web hosting account then it may be the case the FTP traffic is limited or restricted in some way. You web host will have security in place with regards to FTP to ensure that it is not abused. You may find that if you incorrectly login multiple times or there are an exceeding number of connections from one host that you may be blocked from accessing FTP.
• FTP Client- Windows explorer can be used as an FTP client however this does lack some of the advanced features found in commercial or download-able FTP software.
• Security – If a hacker gains access to an FTP account it can compromise security on a server. It will allow the hacker to upload any file type that they wish which could affect the server or the account causing it not to work.

Many web hosting account users will use FTP to upload files to their website simply because it is fast and efficient. It can allow the user to switch between server / accounts quickly since FTP software can store the login data for each account. If you were to use the file manager it would require you to login to each web site’s account in turn to upload file taking a longer period of time.

Dedicated servers are an ideal web hosting solution for businesses who have large websites which are their primary revenue source and individuals with websites that are veryresource intensive. If your requirements match the above you may not need to buy a dedicated server right away as a result cutting your costs. The cost of a dedicated server is rather high compared to other web hosting solutions. It may appear to be better not to have any other users on your server with all resources dedicated to you with the freedom to make server wide changes however it can be expensive to run such a specification. The alternative if you are unable to afford a dedicated web server is a VPS (Virtual Private Server).

There are many dedicated servers available quite cheaply these days especially if you order from a US web hosting provider. Due to lower costs in the US due to cheaper hardware as a business or individual user you may be able to purchase a lower specification dedicated server within your budget. To decide if you need a dedicated server you need to look at the requirements that you have and the types of web hosting packages that meet these needs.

What Should You Consider?

There are several things that you should consider before committing to buy a dedicated web server. The first thing that you should be aware of is your budget and if you can meet the costs of the server in the future if a subscription is required. You need to ensure what you will be getting from the dedicated server that you buy and the web hosting provider you intend to user ensuring that you receive good value for money. By informing the web hosting provider of your requirements they can examine the specification and see if it can be provided within your budget. Here are a few more things you may consider:

• Website Size – You need to be aware of how much web space you will need for your website so that an appropriate hard drive size can be used. Most web hosting companies will have a range of different sizes and configurations to meet most peoples needs. Should you require more space some servers are capable of holding more than one hard disk.
• Website Usage – You will need to know how busy your website can get especially at peek times so that you are aware of how much bandwidth you are using. You will need a dedicated server that can cater for the amount of web traffic that you will receive monthly. It is usually wise to have more bandwidth allocated that you actually need in case you exceed your expected limits. If this becomes the case on a regular basis you may need to purchase more bandwidth.
• Server Resources – It is important to take note how powerful your server is in terms of CPU and RAM. As your website becomes more popular you may need more resources to handle the traffic. A low specification web server may not be able to handle very large amounts of traffic.

You need to study the requirements you have carefully before you decide to buy a dedicated web server. Include the above points in your analysis so that you can make an informed decision if dedicated web hosting is best for you.

Do I really need a dedicated server?

The answer to this question will be different for every website. If you have a small website that is going very fast and will need lots of power to keep it online then a dedicated server is probably going to be the best solution. If you are unsure if your website needs dedicated hosting then consider a VPS to bridge the gap. This will allow you to see how much power your website needs and if you need more than a VPS can provide you can upgrade to a dedicated server. If you are sure your website needs a dedicated server then you should consider:

• Server Management – Do you have the skills to manage a dedicated web server? You may need to be able to ensure that security is up to date to keep your site secure along with OS upgrades. If you are unable to perform such tasks then managed dedicated hosting may be a solution where all this is managed by the web hosting company.
• Third Party Management – There are companies on the web who can provide server management however it is more secure to use in house technicians.

If you have read the above and considered all the points and decided a dedicated web server is the solution for you then there should be more confidence in your choice to buy.

A permalink is a term used in blogging to describe a permanent web link. A permalink is used to link to a specific blog post or article so that it can be referred to in the future. Without the use of permalinks it would be very hard to find useful information on weblogs. Permalinks give a specific web address to an article that has been posted by the blogger so that posts can be bookmarked. Without such a linking structure, blog posts that have past the first page would be very hard to find. Permanent links are usually visible at the end of posts to make them easy to find.

If another blogger likes the post that you have written, they may use the permalink to link back to your website and the specific post in particular. Due to the purpose of a permalink it is important to ensure that these stay the same throughout the life of your blog. Without this, users wanting to view a specific post may be unable to if the link is dead.

A web hosting billing system will be one of the most important parts of your web hosting company. The system that you choose will be involved in the day to day running of your business which is why is it important to choose a good package. You will use the billing system to carry out tasks and operations very regularly and if it is not functioning correctly this could lead to financial loss. To ensure that your web hosting business is run successfully without the need for you to sat at your PC all of the time you need to select a billing program that will do things for you. An all in one solution that handles billing and support would reduce the cost with not having to purchase a support system. You should select a reliable web hosting billing system to ensure your customers and sent invoices at the correct time.

Depending on the billing system that you select you may be able to automate the create of web hosting accounts which will save you time. This allows you to take orders 24/7 without having to stay awake to process them. There are a variety of web host billing systems on the market each with their own features and advantages. You should take into account the need for any third party integration in your billing system. An example of this is ensuring that the package you choose is compatible with the payment processor so you can accept payments.

Web Host Billing System Advantages

Finding a billing system that is specifically designed with web hosting in mind will allow you to manage your business more effectively. Professionally designed packages will enable you to get statistics, charts and reports which will help when it comes to accounting. Selecting the correct web host billing applicationwill promote a good company image to your customers and allow them to login and make payments online through systems such as Paypal and Google Checkout. Here are some other advantages of web host billing systems:

• Support / Help Desk – Most web host billing systems come complete with a built in support desk where clients can submit ticket requests for help. Having this facility built in means that you do not have to buy any additional third party software.
• Automation- Modern billing systems will be equipped with the ability to create web hosting accounts automatically when payment for the service has been made. This mean that you do not have to be sat around watching your company inbox for orders that need processing.
• Affiliates- Many web host billing systems come with an affiliate section where clients can sign up and refer new customers to you and they will receive a commission. Providing this solution within a billing desk is ideal and means that you will not have to purchase any affiliate software.
• Easy Management – Using a web hosting billing system means that everything is in one place so you can find details easily. You will be able to look at client information and the tickets that they have raised along side invoice data and the services that they have.

By using a web host billing system you will be able to succeed in the web hosting industry. It is common practice to use a billing system in web hosting because it makes it easier for clients and the web hosting company.

Web Host Billing System Disadvantages

There are some disadvantages to a web host billing systems. Depending to the system that you choose you may end up facing difficulties that could affect your business. You should take care to choose the application that is best for your company and will be able to handle growth in the near future. It is best if you can obtain a package where all your needs are met as opposed to purchasing many applications for different tasks. Once you have decided on the application that you want you need to obtain a license to run it on your server. More advanced billing systems will be more expensive however the cost may be worth it for continued development of the product. To ease the cost there are some retailers who resell licenses for a slightly lower cost to you. You may also find licenses that you can rent on a monthly basis to reduce start up costs. Below are some of the disadvantages:

• Costs - The cost of a web host billing package can be quite expensive especially if you are just starting up. You may want to check resellers of the application to see if they can offer you a better deal. You can usually rent on a monthly basis if the cost of a full owned license is a little too high.
• Additional Software – If the billing package that you choose does not meet all your requirements you may need to purchase more applications which will result in more cost.
• Installation - If you are unfamiliar with web hosting and the features it has you may struggle with the installation of the application. If you do not know where to start you could end up paying for the installation to be completed for you. There are cron jobs that may need to be set for automation and invoicing which may require some skill if not well documented.

It is clear that the advantages out weigh the disadvantages making it a sensible choice to use a web host billing application on your hosting site. The disadvantages are mainly a reflection of additional cost which can be avoided by making informed decisions when selecting your software.

CSS or Cascading Style Sheets are a very useful tool that allows you to style your website much more easily than previous methods. CSS is a solution whereby you place all styling for your website in one separate file to a web page and then link to that file. There are a few variations on how you can add CSS to your web page.

CSS can also save on the amount of bandwidth used on your web hosting package because it reduces the code that is needed in your HTML files. By using CSS you can make one change to the style sheet and the affect can be site wide which means there is no need to edit every file. Cascading style sheets are a great way of making your website more accessible to your visitors. It provides more control of how your website looks and can increase your website ranking on search engines due to reduced code in the files. This means that the content of your HTML files can be made high quality and it will not be weighed down by formatting tags.

Another great feature of CSS is that it can provide consistency of design throughout your website. A professional website will have generally the same appearance on all web pages. As great as CSS is be aware that different web browsers read it slightly differently so you may need to check cross browser compatibility.