Reseller Hosting to Improve Business

Once you have learned the ins and outs of web hosting and are able to manage one or more web sites with relative ease, you eventually find certain web hosts and web service providers that you trust and can rely upon. These are typically ones that have little to no maintenance issues, have a respectable up-time, and take care of issues often before you even know that one has risen. The next logical step then is that you share this great find with your colleagues. Web Hosts and other service providers are making it one step easier and have built in a reward system of sorts for doing just that.

Today you will find many different means of monetising your valiant efforts at sharing the "good hosting news". Affiliate programs are at the top of many online marketing gurus’ hit lists. You can make an excellent revenue stream from simply referring your site visitors to a web host and receiving your stipend for each visitor that converts into a sale. If your has high throughput but little retention of the same traffic over and over – this is a perfect plan if you are seeking an alternate/additional revenue source. However if you are building working relationships with your site visitors, or sell other products to your market share, why send them away to someone else? With Reseller you can private label a hosting scheme that is easy to manage – and retain your clients for ultimately billable goods.

Two characteristics of Reseller really stick out. The first is that unlike an affiliate plan, you can receive a percentage or set markup from each and every hosting plan, each and every month. Affiliate plans only pay you for the initial setup, which can be much higher than the monthly revenue you garner in the beginning – but web hosts pay their affiliates based on the expectation that the client will be with them for over a year, and rewards you as such. With Reseller Hosting you set the price, and only have to concern yourself with upgrading accounts, and communication with your clients just to provide solid customer support. Your web host will provide most of the technical support, maintenance and troubleshooting. Often times they will also take care of all the billing – all you do is provide them with another face for their business. You are giving them a personal touch and reach that they may not be able to do.

The second thing that a reseller account can do for you is pay for your personal hosting. The funds that come in from selling web space should almost instantly cover the cost of your own , not to mention that you control the pricing. You are your own best customer, or should be.

Your reseller hosting account can give you the ability to offer all kinds of internet related solutions. Reseller programs by GoDaddy.com for example give you access to , Web Hosting, and much much more – all branded under your own name. Your clients never have to know that you are not housing the servers or performing the maintenance yourself. For anyone trying to make it in the industry – not taking advantage of this is just ludicrous. There is no other way for you to get all the ducks lined up to provide these services yourself, otherwise… unless you built a server closet, made the professional contacts, arrangements and agreements yourself – and became an accredited agency. Reselling services is a – while supporting your reliable infrastructure.

Budget Web Hosting - More Than Cheap Space

Anyone surfing the web today will no doubt understand very quickly that there is a great demand for hosted content, and that there are many suppliers for this service. Much of the and advertising dollars that drive ad campaigns are funded by the web hosts themselves always looking to expand their market share. Since there is a continual incline of new websites and web site owners, there is no obvious sight of about to plateau – in fact the demand for hosting is greater than ever, which has in turn spawned several new kinds of hosting .

When we look at the phrase “Budget Hosting", we see that the two words are pretty broad in meaning. There are budgets of all sizes therefore making the literal term ambiguous, though when we see it generally we think “cheap". And of course hosting can mean any of the many kinds of web hosting available: image hosting, email hosting, even file servers and offsite data hosting. Again what we are referring to here is primarily web site hosting. There is an abundance of cheap hosting, even spilling into free site hosting in many facets. You would be hard pressed to not find a free blog host, for example. Between Blogger, Wordpress, MSN Spaces and Yahoo! You have a veritable cornucopia of choices to find one that best suits your needs there. Typical web site hosting can also be found for free – with a similar structure to the , which requires advertising real estate at the top, bottom, or even in the content of your website space.

Our opinion however is that you would be much better off purchasing inexpensive hosting space from an experienced such as Hostgator or LunarPages. You can easily obtain several gigabytes of disk space and more bandwidth than any normal web site could possibly need for less than $10.00 a month. The efficiency and advancement of server technology is making in general a completely affordable experience. With this information in mind, all you need to do next is decide what kind of web site you need, and what kind of platform you need to have to support your site.

Will you be building an Ecommerce website, or require your information be accessed only after your visitors have subscribed to your site? Membership-based sites are increasing in numbers in an attempt to ward off phishing and Spam trollers. If your web site will be keeping track of visitors, their preferences, or email addresses – you’ll need a host that provides you with access to a database structure where you can save this information and retrieve it quickly. Most web hosts offer a flavor of mySQL or Microsoft SQL Server. Though you may end up paying additional fees for the Microsoft version – in both cases you will have a robust database server to safely store your critical information. Both data storage options support connectivity with PHP, one of the newer standards in interactive web programming – competing passively with Microsoft’s .NET framework.

You will be able to find an abundance of helpful tools and resources with your Budget Web Hosting, including: A Web Control Panel, FTP and Email Access, Dedicated IP Address and Technical Support. Your control panel software which runs in the web browser and hosted by your web host, will give you a window into your server and let you change settings, create accounts for FTP and Email. You will also be able to add sub domains and additional hosted domains, if your account supports multi-domain hosting. You will use your FTP account to move files from your web designer to the spot on the web server for the entire world to see, and your email is of course a staple in any hosting account. Although you are likely on a server with many other web-hosting clients, you will have a dedicated IP address. There are several great reasons for this, one of which is SEO related and we will cover that Choosing a Stats Package topic in our SEO and Marketing pages.

Possibly the most crucial aspect of your web hosting account is the technical support. This is the one feature you hope to never need, but when the time comes, fast acting technicians on the hosting side can mean the difference between site failure and site recovery. Ultimately your site success relies upon you web site staying up and visible, meaning that your web server needs to be properly maintained. Any reliable host will perform software and operating system updates at regular intervals – with little interruption of service. Similarly, you should receive a email with updated expectations of any scheduled down time to properly plan for such an occurrence. In most scenarios your down time, if any, is minimal and are typically performed in the wee hours of the morning, when web site traffic is at its minimum.

Budget Hosting, is it a good thing? Yes, it definitely is.

Ecommerce Hosting Made Simple

Ecommerce hosting takes on many forms in the world of online commerce, as there are many combinations of services and features that typical business require, but not necessarily online or connected to their hosting account. Dealing with a web host and trying to launch a commerce site can be tricky, if you are unprepared for opening shop. Know what you need before you settle with a hosting plan, and have your financial options arranged or planned before setting up your inventory.

First and foremost determine what methods of payments you will allow on your web site and online store. Whether it be personal accounts, bank wires, credit card payments, checks through ACH or PayPal-like services. The more options you allow for opens your doors wider to a larger base of clients, however do not go overboard and select payment types that will cause you trouble down the road. In the same breath, do not limit yourself to too few options. Only accepting PayPal (cash) and neglecting credit card payment options, may work well for a fledgling business – but it is also a sign of infrastructure weakness if it is the only thing you accept and have been in business for more than a year.

Once you have determined what payment options you will accept, you can then proceed to obtain those services from an e-business specialist company. Obtaining these services before you have your site functioning is important for two reasons. Firstly, with your financial obligations lined up you are ready to open your doors as soon as you have tested your site. No waiting on a final application or bank confirmation – wasting time and losing potential sales. Secondly many merchant account providers and payment processors have free shopping cart software or preferred means of processing, which you will need to know about before you launch your web site. Using optional software from your processor may save you money from having to purchase an application add-on from an ecommerce company.

Next you should set up your online store with reliable database and backup system. Testing the procedures for backing up your data, and restoring your information will mean the difference between a few minutes or hours without a functioning register, and a few days of rebuilding your data from paper records. Your inventory management should be updated and current for online customers so that they do not make a purchase that will eventually be refunded. Also keeping your data in an updateable fashion so that your business does not rely solely upon your Internet access from the office. You should try and remove any sole objects that can take down your operations. These obstacles are known as Single Points of Failure, and can ruin business momentum or sales.

Most inventory applications also assist you in maintaining the status of orders placed and shipped, and orders waiting to be shipped. Why is this important when you may have other records as well? If you have an inventory management application that can also tie into your billing, you will be in an ideal situation for keeping clients happy. Educate yourself on product fulfillment and understand both your rights and the rights of your customers. Most product and services websites cannot bill a credit card until the product or service has been shipped – or tendered. This is different in the case of long term care, however you are not allowed to accept money from your customer’s credit cards until you have your product ready to ship.

Another aspect along these same lines is to know how to deal with your credit card processor and host. Most processors have rules regarding credit charge statistics, and beware of the dreaded “charge back". A charge back is when your customer contacts his or her credit card company and disputes a charge. In actuality a customer can dispute a charge for any reason and almost immediately receive a refund from the processor. Your processor then informs you of this refund and gives you an opportunity to resolve the situation or refute the charge back. Your processor is able to make payments on claims using funds already collected from previous transactions that were stored in a special account called a “Reserve". The reserve is a pre-set percentage from each sale that is set aside to be used to help in repaying clients that may be left high and dry if you were to fold up shop and bail on your responsibilities. The Reserve is returned to you,and is not lost revenue – however it is put into a revolving schedule, and each month’s percentage is returned six months after it is collected.

As you can see, there is as much going on outside of your web hosting for ecommerce sites as there is inside the hosting. You also see that they are all intertwined and need to be addressed before you promise the first delivery on your online products and services. Your web host will be able to assist you with many of these aspects, however do your research and find out your exact needs. It will pay off in huge dividends in the future.

Windows Shared Hosting Providers

Web Hosting servers running Microsoft Windows Server is an industry standard in network management and internet services. Until the recent addition of PHP as a scripting standard, if you needed inline server side access from your web pages, you pretty much had to use a Windows Based Server. Active Server Pages (ASP) was the Microsoft favorite, and a viable option to using CGI scripts including Perl. Even with the inclusion of PHP, the Microsoft Windows Hosting Server is still able to hold its own with its inclusion of new .NET services, running its own flavor of PHP and the many varieties of databases usable on other systems as well. Yes, if you want diversity, a Microsoft Windows Server can provide it.

One characteristic of Windows Hosting is the cost. Traditionally Windows Shared Hosting accounts cost a small percentage more than Linux shared hosting accounts. Generally speaking, the additional cost goes towards technical and administrative support. The name Microsoft alone, chased by its trouble riddled Operating Systems in the past, have made it a prime target for hackers and malicious software. Keeping a Windows Server up to date and running smoothly can be a chore, and technicians available for these servers need to be paid – the web hosts pass this savings on to you. Another factor in price is the actual cost of Windows Server Software itself. It is no secret that the cost of the operating system is a sore point with small business, corporations, individuals, and yes, web hosts. Again, this cost is shared by the users of the OS (Hosting Customers).

One of the fantastic characteristics of Windows hosting is the number of choices you have available to you. For instance, databases, there are three types of databases that are almost always available to you in one form or another with a Windows hosting account. Microsoft SQL Server that is used by many large corporations as it is – and transferring or integrating your data can be a snap with import and exporting tools. MySQL, which is an Open Source database structure, is widely used amongst smaller companies and individuals. This database engine is actually available for free (without support) and can be run on a PC. Finally there is the popular Microsoft Access Database – which is portable and can run from a desktop and easily be changed and re-uploaded to a web server to continue online processing. The Access database is not a robust option, but can handle a decent number of simultaneous transactions – a great entry-level database.

With your Windows Shared Hosting Account, you can expect to receive an FTP account and possibly access to a control panel for quick routine tasks. A trouble ticketing system is generally in place, and access to most server-side scripting languages including the most recent .NET framework. ASP is still a widely used application language and is being heavily competed with JSP and the later inclusion of PHP. Each of these languages is equally powerful and some experience is required to program in either set. Windows hosting however is not reliant upon this technology and there are flavors of blog software, forums and site builders that can operate without intimate knowledge. Also don’t forget simple HTML processing and SSI routing for dynamic page or template inclusions.

If you are looking for an industry standard web server or hosting account – you can rely on a reliable host running a Windows Web Server – staffed by knowledgeable server technicians.

Unix and Linux Shared Hosting Providers

Some of the most economical hosting plans available from web hosts is in the form of Unix and Linux web hosting packages. Do to their reliability and less frequent maintenance, compared to their Microsoft Windows counterparts, pricing is unbelievably inexpensive and makes owning web real estate available to all. We will explain to you next what to expect from a web host providing Unix and Linux hosting options, but first lets go over the difference between the two Operating Systems.

There are some major differences between Unix Web Server and Linux servers. The chief differences are in how they react to the hardware as a whole. The differences there are similar to the differences between a Windows PC versus a Macintosh or Apple PC. The Unix OS essentially attaches itself to the server hardware, directly interacting with it. Whereas you will find the Linux OS sitting above the hardware and running things like a manager rather than a part of the server itself. This too is what makes Linux such a popular Operating System for web hosts. As Linux can be installed on almost any kind of server or PC – it is very simple to build a large farm of web servers at a very little cost. Unix server farms are specialized hardware components, though with that specialized hardware comes both integrity and security.

Unix web hosting servers are not as prone to hacker attack as a Linux or Windows hosted web site – which is a great selling point. However with a reliable host you can have similar security with a Linux Hosted Web Site, you just need a reliable host.

You can expect a number of features with your Linux and Unix web hosting account. First of all you can expect a low cost. Generally shared hosting accounts begin at about $6.00 for a decent amount of space and bandwidth. For small increases in monthly fees you can easily increase both your storage and network throughput. There are Linux dedicated servers as well, which we will go over in the Advanced Hosting section for Dedicated Servers. However, unless you are a Linux Administrator or have one on staff, a dedicated Linux server is not as easy to manipulate as a Windows enabled dedicated server. This is due to the lack of a program similar to Terminal Services, making your monitor a window into the Server’s Desktop and hand-to-hand manipulation.

With your Shared Hosting account you can however expect a control panel for easy site maintenance and resources. From there you can create email addresses, access web mail, create directories and ftp accounts, add additional domains and sub domains, and finally install additional web applications like a blog or web forum using an installer like Fantistico. Your account will also come with a handy ticketing system so that if you need assistance, you can submit a trouble ticket and a technical support representative can assess you issue and either direct you to the right department or sales person – or check out your server and get things rolling again.

Hostseeq highly recommends Linux and Unix website hosting providers in general do to the ease of access and infrequent needs for server maintenance. Simply check out your host thoroughly and even ask to check references or testimonials from clients. Your best tool when selecting a new Unix and Linux web host – is the existing and previous customers of any web host.

Top Hosts

#1. InMotion

$6.95 / mo.

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With InMotion Hosting, what really stood out for us was its incredible email package and reliable uptime, two musts for business websites. Add to this the company's 90 day money back guarantee and we were truly impressed.

#2. iPowerweb

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99.5% uptime guaranteed! 30-day, no questions asked, money back guarantee! 24/7 network monitoring! First-class technology!

#3. WebHostingPad

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With their all inclusive hosting plan you can build any site and have plenty of room to grow without worrying about hidden fees. They truly offer one of the best plans for unbelievable low price of $3.96/mo. Free and instant setup. Free domain name for Life, No Hidden fees, Plenty of room to grow.

#4. HostMonster

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High-powered. Reliable. Honest and professional service. One of the best feature sets in the industry. Maximum guaranteed uptime. High-powered service packed with features for remarkable value.

#5. Globat

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Globat's 24/7 customer and technical support make it a great choice for beginners - whereas the feature-rich hosting plans, mammoth amounts of space and transfer are robust enough for corporate sites and media steaming clients.

Perfect Web Hosting Solutions

Chances are you are not a first-time web hosting customer, but are seeking a new host to fulfill your growing web site needs. It is common for companies and personal sites to outgrow a hosting provider – in fact it is the sign of success. When your web hosting provider can not grow with you, or they are unable to meet your needs for the price you can afford, it is time to investigate your options.

Running a small or dynamic-light site will permit you to easily slip into a readily available shared hosting account. General Web Hosting accounts like shared host providers are reliable and sturdy enough to even perform advanced functions and drive shopping cart software and support robust databases of either MySQL or Microsoft’s SQL server. Today’s shared hosting providers offer Unix and Linux hosting plans, in addition to Windows-based Operating Systems. A definite first step toward budget hosting, where budget equates to affordable, and has no bearing on quality of web host support or technical administration.

Your advanced hosting opportunities will expand you capabilities and give you true control over your web site and personal information. With an entire server dedicated to only your traffic or processing – collocation and dedicated server hosting accounts are a favorite choice among developers who can afford the additional cost. With advanced hosting you are chiefly responsible for what happens to your server in general terms, whereas you continue to receive excellent customer support from you web host.

We are proud to bring you local and national providers in all Connectivity fields. Your web host may also offer these services, but you will find he best service providers here within our lists – to find the best internet connection companies and external network coverage. Regardless of your company or location size, a Connectivity expert is available to deliver you the bandwidth and up-time you need to keep you online and working with your web site, and other web related connections.

There are many more aspects of web hosting than just these listed above. The internet and the connectivity that we enjoy as a global community make communication possible on many fronts, including Voice Over IP, and offline file sharing. See the additional primary categories that we highlight just below.

Consulting services come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and most importantly: prices. These are the tricks and tactics you can employ on your own site for enhanced performance and revenue. The operative word here is "you". "You" are empowered to change your web design, perform marketing for your site, choose from a selection of web site templates and even run or maintain a link building campaign. Consulting services are here to assist you and give you advice on how your efforts are converting into increased traffic, and what you can do to enhance your site.

Tips to Decrease Website Server Load

Once you have your website established and running properly it may be time to take a look at your server load and loading times. Over time, websites can start to get bogged down with large images, multiple pieces of Javascript, and hefty CSS files. All of these can contribute to a website that is less than optimized and may run slower and become irritating to the end user. Today, we will have a look at 21 great scripts, tips, and tools you can use to decrease your website's server load.
1. Use YSlow for Firebug
YSlow for Firebug

YSlow is a Firefox add-on that integrates into the firebug web development tool. YSlow grades website performance and download speeds based on a set of rules set by Yahoo Developer team for optimized web sites. YSlow can show you exactly how many resources and downloading times are required for your site, as well as providing tips on how to improve this.
2. Use Smush.it for your images
Smush.it

Smushit.com is a service that goes beyond the limitations of Photoshop, Fireworks & Co. It uses image format specific non-lossy image optimization tools to squeeze the last bytes out of your images - without changing their look or visual quality. You'll get a report of how many bytes you can save by optimizing your images and all the changed images as a single zip for download.

You can use Smush.it as a Firefox add-on, or you can simply go to their site and use the uploader that is provided. Smush.it is a must have plugin if you are a blogger or frequently use images on your website. Rest assured, no quality is lost when decreasing the size.
3. Move your Javascript files to the bottom of your page

Though this isn't always possible to do, it is a good idea to do so if you can. When a browser goes to download CSS, scripts, and images from your site, it usually has a maximum amount of information it can stream at once. By placing the scripts at the bottom of our page, we can allow the essentials to load first and then load the scripts at the end.
4. Compress your Javascript
JS Compressor

This is something that is a great idea to do once you are completely done developing your website. By compressing and removing the whitespace from your scripts, you can greatly reduce their file size, and thus, reduce the overall loading time of your website. There are plenty of online tools to do this for you, such as Javascript Compressor or JSMin.
5. Use CSS sprites

When you use CSS sprites, you combine your background images into one image, and position then using CSS. This means that instead of downloading multiple images for your CSS, only one image file need be loaded. Google is one of the many websites that takes advantage of CSS sprites. You can read more about sprites and how to achieve them in this great article found at A List Apart.
6. Split up your data across different domains

If you are running a larger site that brings in a medium to large amount of visitors, you might consider placing your static information and data (such as images for your posts) on another domain. For instance, you could have all of you main HTML and necessary files of yoursite.com and all of your images and videos on images.yoursite.com. This way, you are maximizing the amount of parallel downloads you can have. Many prefer to use services such as Amazon s3 to host their static content.
7. Use the Google Ajax libraries.
Ajax Libs

Were you aware that you can let Google host certain popular open source libraries for you? Libraries such as jQuery, MooTools, and Prototype are all included. To load jQuery in your page, all you would need to do is link to http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.3.2/jquery.min.js. How does this help us? Well, for one if the user has already been served that script by Google, there is a good chance it will be cached and they won't have to download it at all! Next, you get improved speeds and parallelism because it is hosted on a separate domain.
8. Reduce your HTTP requests

Open up your favorite code editor and have a look at the HEAD section of your page. Are there some scripts you can combine into one? What about all of those CSS files? Is there anyway they could be reduced some? Ask yourself these questions and inspect your website, take a good look at how many different requests your site needs to make for scripts and such and try to reduce this number if possible. We will talk more about tools you can use to analyze your scripts below.
9. Compress your CSS files
CSS Compress

Just as we talked about compressing our Javascript files when the website is completed, it is a good idea to compress your CSS files also. Doing so will strip the whitespace (and strip comments if you wish, you can always keep a backup on our hard drive) and reduce the overall file size. There are many tools to do this for you, one of which is CSS Compressor.
10. Use GET when using AJAX

This is a wonderful tip from the Yahoo developers. They found that when using a POST request and AJAX, that it requires a two step process. GET on the other hand usually transfers the packet all at once. Yahoo! also argues that according to the HTTP specs, GET should be used when requesting data, so it makes sense to use GET when using AJAX. You can read more tips from the Yahoo! developers on their performance page.
11. Do your best to remove any 404s

When a user hits a 404 page not found, it is not only frustrating but it is also a costly HTTP request. This is especially true if Javascript and CSS files cannot be found, in some instances, the browser will try to parse the file looking for anything it can use. Over time, a lot of 404s can really put a dampen on your server.
12. When possible, declare height and width
heightandwidth

This tip comes to us thanks to Daily Blog Tips. When possible, it is best to declare the width and height of your image tags, as this will improve the load speed of your site. If you do not declare them, the browser will figure out the dimensions on its own, taking up valuable time.
13. Mon.itor.us
Mon.itor.us

Part of decreasing your server loads and optimizing your website is knowing what needs to be optimized and dealt with. This is where Mon.itor.us comes in. Completely free, mon.itor.us allows you track CPU, memory, and hard disk usage as well as a plethora of other information. Very useful for finding out what is consuming the most resources.
14. Create a website template
Website Template

Credit to NETTUTS for this wonderful tip. Say you want to create a simple portfolio or small website. It makes sense to create a pre-optimized template with all the scripts and files you will need to get started. This will save you a lot of time considering you won't have to go back and make all kinds of changes. Just take sometime to build a nice optimized template folder and you're good to go!
15. Check out Pylot
Pylot

Pylot is a free open source tool for testing performance and scalability of web services. It runs HTTP load tests, which are useful for capacity planning, benchmarking, analysis, and system tuning.
16. Webload
Webload

Webload is another completely open source load generation engine. Webload is one of the most widely used software products for developers looking to optimize their sites, so it makes sense to mention it here.
17. Online analyzation tools
Analyze Tools

Maybe you don't want to download or work with any external software to monitor your website speed and download times. Luckily, there are plenty of online tools that will give you a good idea of what components of your site need attention. One of such tools is the analyzation tool found at WebsiteOptimization. Simply enter the URL and you're done.
18. Site-Perf
Site-Perf

Another online tool that one may use is by Site-Perf, which allows you to analyze load times as well as set test-points.
19. Choose link over @import

A quick CSS optimization tip is to always link to CSS files instead of using @import, as there are some speed benefits. This allows for what is known as 'progressive rendering' and you can read all about it on the Yahoo! optimization site.
20. Wp Super Cache
Super Cache

Since so many of us seem to use Wordpress or another popular CMS, it makes sense to mention a few plugins that can help decrease the loading time of your site. A wonderful Wordpress plugin called WP-Super Cache takes care of all of the tricky cache work that can really boost a websites speed.
21. Wordpress Gzip Plugin
gzip

Lastly, we will have a look at the WP gzip plugin. This plugin does exactly what it sounds like it does, it allows you to gzip (compress) certain pages on your Wordpress site, thus, allowing faster download speeds.
That'll do it!

Hopefully, you have found some of the above tips, script, or tools helpful for optimizing your website. Are there any tips or tools we didn't mention that you take advantage of? Let us know in the comments!

Web Hosting Plans

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Types of hosting

Internet hosting services can run Web servers; see Internet hosting services.

Hosting services limited to the Web:

Many large companies who are not internet service providers also need a computer permanently connected to the web so they can send email, files, etc. to other sites. They may also use the computer as a website host so they can provide details of their goods and services to anyone interested. Additionally these people may decide to place online orders.

• Free web hosting service: Free web hosting is offered by different companies with limited services, sometimes advertisement-supported web hosting, and is often limited when compared to paid hosting.

• Shared web hosting service: one's Web site is placed on the same server as many other sites, ranging from a few to hundreds or thousands. Typically, all domains may share a common pool of server resources, such as RAM and the CPU. The features available with this type of service can be quite extensive. A shared website may be hosted with a reseller.
• Reseller web hosting: allows clients to become web hosts themselves. Resellers could function, for individual domains, under any combination of these listed types of hosting, depending on who they are affiliated with as a provider. Resellers' accounts may vary tremendously in size: they may have their own virtual dedicated server to a collocated server. Many resellers provide a nearly identical service to their provider's shared hosting plan and provide the technical support themselves.
• Virtual Dedicated Server: also known as a Virtual Private Server (VPS for short) divides server resources into virtual servers, where resources can be allocated in a way that does not directly reflect the underlying hardware. VPS will often be allocated resources based on a one server to many VPSs relationship, however virtualisation may be done for a number of reasons, including the ability to move a VPS container between servers. The users may have root access to their own virtual space. This is also known as a virtual private server or VPS. Customers are sometimes responsible for patching and maintaining the server.
• Dedicated hosting service: the user gets his or her own Web server and gains full control over it (root access for Linux/administrator access for Windows); however, the user typically does not own the server. Another type of Dedicated hosting is Self-Managed or Unmanaged. This is usually the least expensive for Dedicated plans. The user has full administrative access to the box, which means the client is responsible for the security and maintenance of his own dedicated box.
• Managed hosting service: the user gets his or her own Web server but is not allowed full control over it (root access for Linux/administrator access for Windows); however, they are allowed to manage their data via FTP or other remote management tools. The user is disallowed full control so that the provider can guarantee quality of service by not allowing the user to modify the server or potentially create configuration problems. The user typically does not own the server. The server is leased to the client.
• Colocation web hosting service: similar to the dedicated web hosting service, but the user owns the colo server; the hosting company provides physical space that the server takes up and takes care of the server. This is the most powerful and expensive type of the web hosting service. In most cases, the colocation provider may provide little to no support directly for their client's machine, providing only the electrical, Internet access, and storage facilities for the server. In most cases for colo, the client would have his own administrator visit the data center on site to do any hardware upgrades or changes.
• Cloud hosting: is a new type of hosting platform that allows customers powerful, scalable and reliable hosting based on clustered load-balanced servers and utility billing. Removing single-point of failures and allowing customers to pay for only what they use versus what they could use.
• Clustered hosting: having multiple servers hosting the same content for better resource utilization. Clustered Servers are a perfect solution for high-availability dedicated hosting, or creating a scalable web hosting solution. A cluster may separate web serving from database hosting capability.
• Grid hosting: this form of distributed hosting is when a server cluster acts like a grid and is composed of multiple nodes.
• Home server: usually a single machine placed in a private residence can be used to host one or more web sites from a usually consumer-grade broadband connection. These can be purpose-built machines or more commonly old PCs. Some ISPs actively attempt to block home servers by disallowing incoming requests to TCP port 80 of the user's connection and by refusing to provide static IP addresses. A common way to attain a reliable DNS hostname is by creating an account with a dynamic DNS service. A dynamic DNS service will automatically change the IP address that a URL points to when the IP address changes.

Some specific types of hosting provided by web host service providers: