Server Security

Server security is an important aspect of a web host. Some of the common network attacks are DDoS attacks. Its distributed denial or service attack that won’t let your website process any forms on web page. It can affect a single or multiple websites across the web server.

A web hosting company must have an appliance to prevent such network attacks. This device is expensive and needs to be connected to the server to prevent DDoS attacks. Many small scale web hosting providers might not have this appliances, so it is necessary to ask the company if they have any preventive measures set up for DDoS or network related attacks.

Invisible iFrame attacks

Invisible iFrame attacks are when your website starts shifting down and a white empty space keeps adding at the top. When you see the source of the web page you find an iFrame getting added on top of the page. Even if you remove the code, upload the new file again it will keep adding there. As time goes this space will keep increasing and your website will keep shifting down. This had happened to be with my previous web host.

Invisible iFrame attacks have got nothing to do with any web hosting provider or the server. But these attacks are normally caused when a rogue automated script or a hacker happens to know our FTP password. I was told by the web hosting provider to change the FTP password and those attacks stopped happening.

Website Up-time

No one can guarantee you 100% up time but most of the big websites are up and running just fine 100% of the time at any given time. There are some established and successful web hosting providers that have worst up time reports.

You can always use free site up time monitoring services to check your website up time. It might be possible that your site is down when you are sleeping.

Get Reviews

Search for reviews about a web hosting company on internet. Read other people experiences to get an idea if it is the right server for you. You might not know about an issue unless you face it.

You need to be very careful while finding and reading reviews because i have read negative reviews about some of the fully established companies like Go Daddy too.

Hidden Features and limitations

Some of the web hosts i worked in past had hidden features and limitations not mentioned by them in public on their list of features page. For example, i was able to send only 400 emails per hour. I never knew it unless i started getting ‘mail not sent’ errors. I was later told that i am not allowed to send any more than 400 mails per hour.

Join Discussion Boards and Forums

Join forums related to web hosting talk and start a discussion about a web host you want to open an account with. It is a good way to get reviews about it and to find about other people experiences with it.

Web Hosting Talk

Type of website and server configuration

If you have a website that needs a lot of server resources, then you might want to go for dedicated web server. Suppose if you have a file sharing, photo sharing or videos related website that can consume a lot of server resources, then make sure you have enough bandwidth. On dedicated servers you have enough but limited bandwidth, you should be aware of your bandwidth limits and usage to prevent site getting off due to over usage.

• InmotionHosting
• HostGator
• midPhase

Covering the basics

In weighing up the pros and cons of the various web hosting companies available, there were a few non-negotiable criteria that needed to be met by each. Each of the three service providers selected:

1. Guarantee at least 99.9% uptime
2. Provide easily accessible support systems that include Email support, Phone Support and Live Chat Support
3. A long-standing reputation for providing excellent service and high levels of customer support
4. Have a range of web hosting solutions such as shared web hosting, VPS hosting and dedicated hosting. This allows you to upgrade your hosting plan quickly and easily, should your business experience rapid growth

Prices and packages

Basic web hosting packages for each of the three companies in this review include:

• Unlimited space
• Unlimited transfer
• Unlimited emailbox

InmotionHosting has a basic package priced at $7.95, making it the cheapest of the three. Its advanced options include 1 free domain; host up to 6 domains; complete data backup; e-commerce features.

midPhase provides a basic package costing $8.95. Advanced options for this web hosting service include the ability to host unlimited domains; nightly back up; one dedicated IP address.

HostGator has packages starting at $12.95. It contains advanced features that include the option of hosting unlimited domains; instant backup; one dedicated IP address.

What they offer

InmotionHosting focus on delivering professional solutions to their clients. They have the greatest customer satisfaction in the industry and fantastic reviews. In particular, InmotionHosting users appreciate its fast connect, the reliability associated with the system, world class customer support and the simple-to-use control panel.

midPhase is amongst the top players within the web hosting industry. It is geared primarily toward small business website hosting and open source application hosting (such as Drupal, Joomla, etc), but will suit the needs of larger businesses as well. They provide you will all the tools necessary to start hosting your business website, without charging exorbitant fees. Hosting packages are set up to make it easy to upgrade your hosting subscription, should your needs change.

HostGator, and award-winning web hosting service, caters to millions of clients around the globe. They boast very fast connections that span all continents, thus allowing your small business web site to respond quickly to global traffic (not just traffic from the US). The instant backup features allow you to backup all of your files, protecting your website and your business.