In part one I mentioned PHP, MySql and Apache. Please, to avoid headaches and disappointment later make sure that the servers are updated with latest versions of this software. Even if they supply a one click install of WordPress, it’s up to you to install any plugins that you could get for it. Some of these plugins might only work if you have the latest PHP or Apache installed. So just because the platform(I.E. WordPress)that you want to use for blogging will work, it doesn’t mean that all addons or plugins will.
Most providers will include some sort of admin panel so that you could access all of the features that you are getting like one click installs and PHP/Apache/MySql and database management. The most popular is cPanel with Plesk probably the next most popular and then some providers have their own versions of an admin panel. Make sure that you have one of these. It makes life a lot easier when it comes to administering your databases or accessing your PHP or Apache settings. Most providers also offer something called Fanatastico which does the one click installation of many different scripts. (Programs such as WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, phpBB3 and many others are called scripts). So don’t get confused if you see the word scripts substituted for programs. Fantastico unfortunately does not keep up with the latest versions of these scripts as well as some others. In my experience Fantastico lags behind by as much as a few months. Another one click installer that some providers offer is called SimpleScripts, and SimpleScripts is updated weekly even daily sometimes. In the past 6 weeks WordPress released the beta versions of the next full release. SimpleScripts offered these for download on the day that the different versions were released. And today WordPress 2.7 is available for installation. As of this writing Fantastico is still only offering WordPress 2.6.5. Some providers offer their own versions of these panels and one click installers and from what I have seen some are outstanding. The ‘but’ here is that these providers are the most expensive ‘but’, they offer some of the best services and performance.
My recommendation is this. If this is your first time venturing into the world of web development and your not even sure what your going to do with it, then I recommend getting the least expensive provider that you can with the features I mentioned above. I use Hostmonster and I have been very happy with the services that they provide. Tech support is excellent and thus far there has been no down time. Two others you might want to take a look at are DreamHost and MediaTemple. Both have very good reputations and are in the top 5 lists of some reputable reviews.
Which ever host you choose, I wish you all the best and hope that you have a very successful venture. Check back often as I will be publishing a series of articles and tutorials on building and designing websites and blogs. Subscribe to my feed to stay up to date and I will be offering a newsletter shortly.
Happy blogging!
How To Choose A Webhost
Before you can start building your website you need to choose a hosting provider. There are a few things that you need to be aware of. First of all if you start doing research you will no doubt find Host provider reviews. You have to be very careful of these so called reviews. Many of these are nothing more than an advertising scheme disguised as a review. You’ll see nice and fancy medals and banners declaring “No.1″“Top Provider”, “Winner of so and so” and many more. The best way is to do side by side comparisons and read everything very carefully.
Some things to look for: Does the provider backup the system for you? Some do most do not, however the better providers that do not, offer you the ability through you control panel to do the backups your self. Does the provider have a redundant array so that if a problem occurs they can go to their backup? What kind of processors are they using? Some of the cheaper providers use slower processors and less memory to keep costs down. A good top of the line server is very expensive, so many of these companies choose a lesser system so that they can keep prices down. Does the provider give you full access to your database and PHP, Apache and MySql configurations? There may come a time when you might have to change the configuration of your server software. If you do not have access then will tech support make these changes for you?
This is a good time to talk about tech support. This is something you have to be very careful with and you should be extremely vigilant in making sure that you get the type of support that you will need. Many providers outsource there support overseas. Believe me when I tell you, you DO NOT want to get involved with a provider like that. There is nothing that is more frustrating than having to have to explain yourself half a dozen or dozen times before they understand exactly what you are talking about. So you definitely want to make sure that the providers help desk is here in the states or at the most Canada. The other thing you want to make sure you have is Live telephone tech support. Some companies will advertise 24/7 tech support, but what they don’t tell you until you find out the hard way, is that the only way that you can get tech support 24/7 is by using a ticketing system. What that means is simply this. You fill out a form online with the problem that you are having and submit it through your cPanel or the customer are of their website. Now imagine that you have to sit there and wait for them to get back to you! Now when they do get back to you, you in turn have to send them a reply clarifying or adding additional information. And you do this back and forth a number of times, all the while your site is down or inaccessible. So make sure that you get live telephone tech support. But you have to also understand that even live tech support will not always help you if you are having a problem with an installation of a particular script (A script is the software that you will be using such as WordPress or Joomla). Tech support will be happy to help you with any server problem but in many cases no more than that. However, the better providers will go out of their way to help when you need help with something other than what their policy states.
One of the things you will see is the long list of “Extras” that a lot of providers advertise. Things like unlimited disk space and unlimited bandwidth, unlimited email accounts, unlimited databases, unlimited websites on one account and so on. Don’t be blinded by the “Unlimited” stuff they give you. There are a couple of these that you do want like unlimited databases, parked or addon domains and websites. As far as disk space goes, the chances that you will use more than 50 GB is very slim, unless you build 50 websites and offer downloads or videos and so on. Please do not misunderstand me. I am not telling you to get a small account, just keep things in perspective that’s all. PHP, MySql amd Apache are indispencable . These 3 things you need to be able to build your site with software like WordPress and Joomla and many many other software scripts.