ISP - How Do I Choose?

Choosing the right hosting provider can be an extremely difficult task. Many users make mistakes right from the start. They make these mistakes because they don't have a clue what they need.

If you want the ability to fully optimize a Website then you will need the following hosting options. We realize many of you do not wish to have this level of responsibility and instead wish to use a template based hosting solution because they may seem easy, but this may or may not limit the level of SEO you can apply to your Website. Most hosting providers give you the ability to upgrade and when you do, the following is what we recommend as minimum.

The Number One Hosting Option You Need!

No matter what hosting provider you choose, you MUST have one feature. That feature is called FTP.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a network protocol used to transfer files from one computer (your computer) to another computer (your Web server) through a network (your Internet connection).

FTP is a file transfer protocol for exchanging and manipulating files over any TCP-based computer network. A FTP client may connect to a FTP server to manipulate files on that server. As there are many FTP client and server programs available for different operating systems, FTP is a popular choice (the only choice) for exchanging files from your computer to your Website.

Why is FTP So Important?

Well, this little feature is what allows you to transfer files from your computer to your Web server. As you learn more about SEO you'll soon realize that FTP will make everything that much easier.

Most hosting providers should provide FTP as a standard hosting feature. Even many $5.00 a month hosting plans include this feature. However, there are also many hosting providers who do not provide this much needed feature and it is those we strongly suggest you stay away from.

All This FTP, TCP And Protocol Jargon is Confusing!

Don't worry, FTP isn't difficult at all. FTP works similar to any other program you have on your desktop computer. In fact, it's probably easier than most since it only does one thing, transfer files.

How Do I Get Started With FTP?

The first thing you need to know is whether or not your hosting provider includes FTP (most do). Then all you need to know is the username and password you use to access your Web server via FTP. Once you have this information you now need an FTP program.  There are many good FREE and a few good PAY FTP programs out there.  We provide download links to Filezilla a nice powerful FREE FTP tool.  The best PAY version we can recommend is CuteFTP.  It really is worth trying out.  There is a free trial version at CUTEFTP.

Once you've downloaded and installed your new FTP program. Open and learn the application. It should be quite easy to figure out. Basically you need to enter your username and password and the IP address or domain name for FTP access to your Web server. That's basically all there is to it. After that, it's as easy as selecting the file you want to place on your Web server and clicking upload.

What Else Do I Need?

That's the million dollar question. The answer depends on what you want to do with your Website. Instead of answering that question, we'll instead list some of the hosting options that are generally offered and let you know each feature might be used for. Then you can decide what services you need for the site you want to build.

1. The ability to upgrade at NO additional upgrade cost (other than the new service) is a feature you must consider.
2. Disk Space - Do you know how much space you need? In most cases this is something a hosting company can easily upgrade later.
3. Data Transfer - This depends on how much traffic you currently have and how large the files are you are going to serve. Again, this is something that is usually easily upgraded later.
4. # of POP Email Accounts - Think about possible email accounts you might want (sales@yourdomain.com, support@yourdomain.com).
5. Multiple Domains - How many domain names can you have? You may want (yourdomain.com, yourdomain.net, yourdomain.org).
6. Virtual Host or Dedicated - Virtual hosting means you share the Web server with others. Dedicated means only you are on the server. To start with a virtual hosting solution will usually work fine.
7. Dedicated IP Addresses - We highly recommend you have a dedicated IP address. This means that ONLY your domain name shares this IP rather than being shared with many.
8. Migration Services - Will they help you in the migration from one hosting plan to another. If so, is there a cost and how much.
9. Control Panel - Many hosting companies provide some kind of Web based server/site management system. This is something you will probably need.
10. DNS Management - Not something you probably need to start with, but make sure you have some control over your domain name. In fact, we highly suggest you do your own domain name registration rather than going through a hosting company. The reason we say this is we've seen many users find out later they don't even own their domain name. Instead their hosting company owns it. Be careful here.
11. POP3 and SMTP - POP3 is so you can access your email from your desktop computer (outlook) and SMTP is so you can send email from your desktop computer. Make sure you can do both.
12. Spam, Virus & Fraud Protection - With all the spam, viruses and worms, this might be a nice feature to have.
13. Web based email - Highly suggested. This will allow you to access your email from any Web browser.
14. Website templates - We have mixed feelings about using templates. The more templates you use, the harder it will be for you to move to a different hosting provider. We STRONGLY suggest you build your Web pages on your local computer using any software you want. This way you have everything you need to move to a different hosting provider. In many cases templates do not provide you with enough flexibility to make the necessary changes for SEO. Don't get stuck!
15. File Manager - Not nearly as important as FTP. If they don't have FTP access you don't want to host with them anyway.
16. Form Mail Scripts - You might wish to place a form on your site so people can contact you without you putting your email address all over your Website.
17. Frontpage Extensions - Are you going to use FrontPage to build your site? If so, you need this feature.
18. Unlimited FTP Access - ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!
19. Logfile Access - Another one of those things we suggest. Without having access to your logs, how will you know where your traffic is coming from and what pages they are interested in most?
20. Website Builder - This can be a knife in your back. Many hosting providers include this and try their best to get you hooked into using it. They do this in an effort to make it virtually impossible for you to ever leave them. By providing proprietary software to create your Website, it will be difficult for you to go somewhere else. Reason, because these are templates which often use special codes that is only understood by their software. This software then generates Web pages based on these special codes. Please create your own site using something where you have a little more control than this.
21. Site Search Engine - If you're going to have a large site this might make it easier for people to find what they are looking for.
22. Telnet Access & SSH - This is usually a special hosting option and often only provided in a dedicated hosting plan. Telnet is rarely if ever used these days. Instead SSH (Secure Shell) is a much safer and secure solution. SSH is similar to your DOS prompt and requires you to use the command line. This would be used by system administrators. For small sites this is rarely if ever needed.
23. Website Statistics - Absolutely!
24. Full CGI-Bin Access - This is an area where you can run scripts (programs). Formail, forums, blogs and so on rely on scripting languages.
25. Perl & PHP - Two of probably the most common scripting languages used on Web servers. If you want to create or use your own programs you'll need this.
26. Hosting Platforms Windows, MAC and Linux - These are the most common OS platforms used today. We are bias and will say Linux. After all, how often have you seen the blue screen of death on your Windows machine? Doesn't it lock up daily? OK that's not the only reason. One reason would be how well it is supported. Linux is everywhere and is very well supported. It is a solid OS. In fact, we have servers in our data center that have been up-and-running for years without a reboot. This is a personal choice so go with your own feelings.
27. Flash - We don't know why some hosting providers show this as an option, but it seems some do. Flash should work anywhere and doesn't require any special Web server or configuration. Flash can be a great way to create a tutorial or sales presentation.
28. Blogging - If you want to spend your days blogging OR you feel this would be a good way for you to communicate with the public, make sure you have this ability and make sure your blogs are transferable if you decide to leave.
29. MySQL Database - Probably the most popular SQL server on the Net. Many blogging and shopping cart softwares rely on MySQL.
30. E-Commerce - Planning on selling something? You need a way to do it. E-commerce is likely what you need. Custom E-commerce solutions can cost thousands.
31. Secure Certificates - If you want to sell something you need a secure area for users to make the purchase. This means you need SSL (secure socket layers) which means you can have "http" (non secure) and "https" (secure).
32. Backup Service - Do you need it? If you have everything on your computer you probably don't need this service.
33. Shopping Cart - Could be something you need.
34. Merchant Account / Gateway - If they offer a shopping cart you need a way to collect the money. This is where a merchant account is necessary. This allows you to interface your Web server with credit card processing.
35. Access to Web server config files - If you want to do something outside the box, you'll need to have access and the ability to edit your Web server config files. Not usually something a new user needs to worry about.

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