Archive for free web hosting
Critical Factors for Choosing a Web Host
Posted by: | CommentsToday’s global economy demands a web presence in order to be considered a formidable competitor. For small and mid-size companies, navigating web hosting services is often a daunting task, occasionally frustrating. Due in large part to the numerous web host servers readily available to fit your new business needs and budget.
There are several things you should take into consideration when selecting a web hosting service for your new online business including: customer service, price, domain names, and upgrade options.
Efficient Customer Service
Before closing a deal, you should always know your business partner. Whether attempting to contact the interested web host service company via phone, e-mail or learn more about the services each offers reading website information and client testimonials, gauging customer service is an essential component when making a final decision. Thriving business owners realize their key to successfully acquiring and retaining customers is excellent customer service; web hosting services are not immune from the same curiosity.
A respected web host service representative should return messages within 24 hours, answer questions honestly and value your time as a potential client – if not then move on to your next option. If the web host service doesn’t respond in a timely manner, then chances aren’t any better in troubleshooting assistance.
Affordable Pricing
Pricing is another significant aspect to consider when opting for a web host package. Many new online businesses get into financial trouble when purchasing a web host because either they aim too high or too low. Quality service should never be compromised, but neither should it be ridiculously priced. If you’re a small business owner, then you won’t need all of the bells and whistles as those of larger websites. Although starting a website, estimating visitors and bandwidth usage is difficult, consider your current client base.
Free web hosting is tempting for many new online entrepreneurs; however, it’s not always the best option even though being affordable. A free web host typically requires your website to display ads of various products and services. Visitors quickly equate the pop-up ads as annoying and quickly exit left to your nearest competitor’s website. Summary: avoid free web hosting unless you’re testing a specific market or sharpening your web design skills.
Dependable Domain Names
It’s equally important to spend some serious thought and effort into a domain name for your online business. A good web hosting provider will offer you at least one free domain name per hosting account. Of course, receiving the free domain is the easy part. Chances are the first name you choose will already be taken, so consider several different options. A legit domain name should be easy to remember, spelled correctly, and relate to your business. If you opt to use a free web hosting service, be aware that typically your online address requires you to include part of the web host’s address to your domain name.
Despite being affordable, the convoluted web domain name confuses existing customers searching for information online and detracts potential new sale leads. A lengthy web address also wrecks havoc on SEO rankings. When picking a profitable domain name, paying for the convenience of owning a personalized address is a worth-well investment.
Available Upgrade Options
Finally, before settling on a web host, be familiar with the available upgrade options. Initially, your online business endeavors shouldn’t require a fully-loaded web hosting package, however, as your business grows, so will your need to accommodate web visitors. The most common reason small business owners find for upgrading websites is due to an increase in web traffic to your website, which means the demand for more bandwidth. A couple of advanced upgrade options preferred by larger online businesses include Managed Hosting and Unlimited Managed Hosting packages. Upgrade options depend greatly on individual needs and available budgets.
Shared Web Hosting vs Free Web Hosting
Posted by: | CommentsShared web hosting is the cheapest and most common type available, which is one of the reasons it is often compared to other hosting types. Free web hosting on the other hand is often despised by serous webmaster, and many people do not believe it is worthy of any comparison. However, both free and shared web hosting have their applications, and many people use both of them with success on a daily basis. If you’re wondering whether you should spend money on a shared hosting plan, then you may want to consider the following comparison between shared and free web hosting.
Reliability
Many people have problems with the reliability of shared hosting because shared web servers have a tendency to experience server down time. Shared hosting plan are often criticized by experienced webmasters because of the lack of reliability in comparison to VPS and dedicated hosting plans. Free web hosting on the other hand is nearly as reliable as shared hosting, as long as the limitations of the hosting plan are not exceeded. Unfortunately, the limits of free and hared hosting plans differ greatly depending upon the provider and the specific plan.
Limitations
Although each plan is unique, in general shared hosting plans have far less limitations than free web hosting. Free hosting plan are designed for novice webmasters that need a way to get a little bit of hosting experience without spending money on a hosting plan. There are very few web sites on the internet that utilize free web hosting for an extended period of time, simply because there are too many limitations involved with nearly every free web hosting plan. Nonetheless, a lot of personal sites and portfolio sites do utilize free hosting, as it is certainly possible to host several pages on a free hosing account without having any problems.
Choices
In general, shared web hosting provides many more options because there are a wide variety of plans available. However, free web hosting also comes in many forms, as there are many ways to establish a site without ever setting up a hosting account. For example. Web 2.0 sites lie Squidoo and Hubpages give individuals the opportunity to set up their own pages, or as many pages as they’d like. If you are just looking for a way to put your opinion on the internet then web 2.0 is undoubtedly your best option. Most people don’t realize that they are spending money unnecessarily on shared hosting, when in fact they don’t even need a hosting plan. If you do not foresee the need for expansion then you may ant to investigate some of the free options available before purchasing a shared hosting plan.
Conclusion
If you’re planning on using free web hosting then you may want to consider the benefits of setting up a simple web 2.0 property. Shared hosting plans are great options for novice webmasters, and should only be considered by individuals that are planning to operate their we site regularly. Purchasing a shard hosting plan does not make sense if you do not intend to utilize it to its full potential.
I Love Lunarpages Contest – Week 1 & 2 Results
Posted by: | Comments
How Much do you LOVE Lunarpages?
Two weeks ago we launched our I Love Lunarpages Testimonial Contest and we received so many innovative, creative and hilarious entries. One of our staff members submitted a poem just for laughs (of course our staff cannot win any prizes).
“I love Lunarpages” by Brian Furphy
When my website was ready to go online,
I called up Lunarpages, just in time.
They listened very carefully to all my needs.
The best technical support with no extra fees.
I needed email and I didn’t want SPAM,
SEO for my site and a database plan,
a new domain and a dedicated IP,
Lunarpages made this all easy for me.
I love Lunarpages more and more every day,
I love them very much, but, in a platonic way.
It was our task to try and pick our top 3 favorites, which was extremely hard by the way and the results are in.
The first and second week’s winners of 12 months of Basic Web Hosting are:
David Miles
Kalamazoo, MI
www.davidmiles.us
Hosted with Lunarpages for 9 years
I started hosting with Lunarpages probably 9 years ago when I first decided to set up my own website. In that time my website needs may have changed but Lunarpages hasn’t! They have always been reliable, quick to address my issues, easy to use, affordable, expandable, … it should suffice to say that no matter what my web needs I feel confident that Lunarpages will be able to meet them now and in the future. I hope to be hosting with Lunarpages for years to come! Thanks! LP crew!
Michael Hernandez
Loma Linda, ca
www.foto-genic.com
Hosted with Lunarpages for almost 1 year
Easy signup and an incredibly easy to use control panel as well as hosting and domain name registration all in one. Lunarpages Rocks!!!!
Ian Flynn
UK
www.flynnstudio.com
Hosted with Lunarpages for 3 years
I love Lunarpages, my Lambretta loves Lunarpages…so much we rode all the way to the moon to take this photo. Just to show our love.
The second week’s winners of 12 months of Basic Web Hosting are:
Jacqueline Lasahn
California
www.astrospirit.com
Hosted with Lunarpages for 4 years, 3 months
On my behalf, my web designer, Evanne Grate researched for an affordable web hosting service with a top notch reputation. This is part of what she wrote me: “My research included extensive Google Searches for top web hosts, then visiting various web developer forums I belong to including Sitepoint, WebDeveloper, DevShed, WebHosting and detailed searching for feedback regarding web hosts. I also called my top choices to see what the response time was regarding phone support. And finally, I went back to Google and did a search on my top choices using “problems w/” to see what comes up. I also found a couple of good sites that provide user feedback/reviews regarding the web hosts. I also considered other factors such as length of time that a web host has been providing service. I also ensured that I found independent reviews b/c oftentimes some of the ranking sites are sponsored by web hosting companies.” You can easily draw the correct conclusion – Lunarpages rose to the top!
I am a satisfied with my choice. I Love Lunarpages!
Sean McMenemy
Lombard, IL
www.seanfx.com
Hosted with Lunarpages for years and years, I’ve lost count
Lunarpages simply makes it easy for me to do whatever I need to do, to make my website happen. It’s the only service I recommend to anyone!
Gerald Wall
Dacula, GA
www.jerrywalldesigns.com
Hosted with Lunarpages for 6 years
If it weren’t so great I wouldn’t of stayed so long. You make hosting a site so easy.
How do you enter?
Grab your camera, put on a happy face, and send us your best photo that creatively displays not only you, but a sign that says “I Love Lunarpages!” And, back it up with a glowing testimonial!
We have even created a few signs you can download and print out to hold when you take your photo.
Hint: Lunarpages is one word and the p is lower case 
Reminder: It must be a photo of YOU!
Just because your testimonial was not selected this week does not mean you are still not in the running for the grand prize of an iPad or the weekly web hosting prizes, so keep ‘em coming!
A reminder of the prizes:
- Grand prize – one (1) Apple 16GB Wi-Fi iPad (a USD$499.00 value) plus12 months of Free Web Hosting on the Lunarpages Basic Plan
- Weekly prizes – for six (6) weeks we will choose 3 weekly winners to receive 12 months of Free Web Hosting on the Lunarpages Basic Plan
Everyone has a chance to win (providing you are a lunarpages customer and meet the terms and conditions), and the more unique images and testimonials you enter, the more chances you have!
Questions About Free Web Hosting
Posted by: | CommentsThe internet is an ever-growing sea of entrepreneurs and small business owners, and with every passing day new people are joining the gold rush trying to get their piece of the pie. If you are in this situation and you’re trying to make a name for yourself in the online world, then you’ll need a web hosting solution. Simply put, you’re site cannot exist without a web host. A web hosting plan gives your site access to a web server, which stores all of the site’s data and makes this information viewable to the world. Selecting a web hosting plan when you know absolutely nothing about web hosting or site creation can be nearly impossible to do correctly. In fact, you’ll almost always regret your first decision unless you do all of the research necessary before deciding upon a web hosting solution. If you’re having trouble figuring out which hosting plan would be right for you, then you may want to consider a free web hosting solution.
Free Web Hosting Really Exists?
Yes. You can get free web hosting from many different companies, the only set back is you’re not going to be able to build your business with free web hosting. However, you can become acquainted with the web hosting industry and you can learn how to build and operate your site with a basic free web hosting solution. Instead of spending your money on a plan that you’re not sure about, you can opt to test the waters with free web hosting instead. If you are looking for a free web host, just do a web search for the term “free web hosting.”
What Can I Do With Free Web Hosting?
The answer to this question is a broad one, in that you can do pretty much anything you would do with a regular hosting plan, except you are limited by the amount of server resources. Free web hosting provides a sample of what web hosting is like, and it let’s you site up a small site that you could use as a personal profile or a small personal blog. Free web hosting is similar to the food sample you’ll find at the food court in the mall – you can get a taste of what is on offer, but don’t expect to make an entire meal out of it!
Can I Upgrade My Free Web Hosting Plan?
One of the best aspects of free web hosting plans is that most web hosting companies will let you upgrade your free plan to a more inclusive paid plan. Many times upgrading is as simple as sending an email or making a phone call. If you are looking for a way to test the waters before you set your boat a sail, you may want to consider free web hosting with a company that offers the option to upgrade. Since free web hosting is such a limited solution, you are undoubtedly going to have the need for an upgrade in the near future, so you’ll want to leave this option open and make the transition as smooth as possible.
Freehostia – Free and Paid Hosting Company
Posted by: | CommentsOffering web hosting services for over five years now, Freehostia is slightly different from the rest. A new customer can start out with a free web hosting account to try out the services and move up to a paid account accordingly. Sure, there are a few hosting companies out there that offer similar free accounts, but Freehostia does it without forced advertising.
Accounts offered
Freehostia offers five different account levels – Chocolate, Watercircle, Lovebeat, Wildhoney and Supernatural. These plans range in pricing from free to $9.95 a month.
Chocolate – 250 MB in disk space, 6 GB bandwidth, 3 PHP3/IMAP e-mail accounts, 1 MySQL database, 10 MB database space – free
Watercircle – 500 MB in disk space, 12 GB bandwidth, 100 POP3/IMAP e-mail accounts, 2 MySQL databases, 25 MB database space – $2.95 a month
Lovebeat – 12000 MB in disk space, 150 GB bandwidth, 300 PHP3/IMAP e-mail accounts, 8 MySQL databases, 60 MB database space – $4.95 a month
Wildhoney – 35000 MB in disk space, 400 GB bandwidth, free domain name, 15 MySQL databases, 90 MB database space – $7.95 a month
Supernatural – 90000 MB in disk space, 900 GB bandwidth, free domain name, 50 MySQL databases, 120 MB database space – $9.95 a month
1-Click installer
Elefante is offered with all accounts (even the free account). The Elefante installer is a software platform that enables web site owners to quickly install a variety of programs with a single click of the mouse button. Over 40 PHP scripts are offered in categories such as wikis, blogs, CMS, e-commerce and more.
Some of the more popular blog software offerings are Movable Type, WordPress, and b2evolution. The CMS programs within Elefante are a bit more impressive of a list – Drupal, Mambo, Moodle, Joomla and eight other popular CMS programs are available. In the category of e-commerce, Elefante offers osCommRes and osCommerce. All in all, Elefante is a great added feature to all Freehostia accounts.
Support
Freehostia has a customer care department at work 24×7. All hosting customers (with the exception of those using free hosting) can expect to receive an answer within 1 hour of contacting the support department. Free hosting customers are not completely disregarded but aren’t given priority – expected support answer waiting time is 6 hours.
The hosting company offers video tutorials, FAQs, a knowledge base and a ticketing system for support as well. The online contact form is easily found within Freehostia’s support area. While not the most expansive of support areas, Freehostia offers a good solid range of options when one is in need of assistance.
Conclusion
With most free hosting accounts offered by web hosting businesses requiring that advertising be present on all web pages, it’s nice to find a company that not only offers ad-free accounts for no charge but also gives free hosting clients the standard features one would expect from a paid service. Add in the ability to upgrade to accounts that are very economical, Freehostia is a web hosting service worth checking out.
Free Hosting Is Not Always The Best Choice
Posted by: | CommentsWith the economy hitting not only the individual but also businesses, many are looking toward free web hosting services to house their online site. For monetary reasons, this looks great on the surface. But going free is not always the best choice and may, in fact, cost your business money in the long run.
Ads
While a company may offer hosting at no cost, they are by no means not making money off of your site. Nearly all free hosting offers will involve advertising placed on your pages. These will be completely out of your control. Some companies try to gear ads toward being relevant to the site topic but this isn’t always guaranteed. Add in the very real fact that your competition may be placed on your web site and this can equal a loss of revenue for you.
No control
Another downside to hosting for free is a severe lack of control. Most free hosting companies do not offer a control panel or an ftp access account to allow administration of a web site. This means you cannot make page changes on the fly or add in programs that may be needed by your business. If you are a retail business, this means no ability to add in a shopping cart or software that helps you control your inventory. Putting a bit of tracking coding is not an option unless you can have access to the page coding. Even attempting to change the look of your web site can be an issue. Some free hosting sites will give you access to templates and a few will even allow some minor changes made to backgrounds. But, all said, you are very limited to what you can do within your own site.
Support
Support is another problem with free web hosting. You’ll be limited to perhaps some online forum areas to ask your questions but you won’t have numbers to call, ticket support systems or one of many options offered by paid hosting. If your business site isn’t working, this can end up costing you a lot of money.
Affordable solutions
Paid hosting these days really doesn’t put a huge dent in your pocketbook. Some hosting companies run specials on a regular basis and you’re sure to find one that will fit your budget. You can find hosting from as low as $3-$5 a month, depending on what your business web site requires. Many of these companies also give a lot of great features for your money – including unlimited web space, unlimited bandwidth and a huge assortment of easy to install programs to get your site up and running quickly.
What it boils down to
When all is said and done, you need to ensure your business is hosted with a company that you can rely on for support and also one that gives you the needed tools to ensure your online site is a success. This is one time when you do not want to “tighten your belt” or “pinch pennies.” Do a bit of research and find a good, solid hosting company with a price you can afford.