Early History of Google

Google began in march 1996 as a research project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, a Ph.D. student at Stanford working on the Stanford Digital Library Project (SDLP). The SDLP's goal was “to develop the enabling technologies for a single, integrated and universal digital library." and was funded through the National Science Foundation among other federal agencies. In search for a dissertation theme, Page considered—among other things—exploring the mathematical properties of the World Wide Web, understanding its link structure as a huge graph. His supervisor Terry Winograd encouraged him to pick this idea (which Page later recalled as "the best advice I ever got and Page focused on the problem of finding out which web pages link to a given page, considering the number and nature of such backlinks to be valuable information about that page (with the role of citations in academic publishing in mind). In his research project, nicknamed "BackRub", he was soon joined by Sergey Brin, a fellow Stanford Ph.D. student supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship. Brin was already a close friend, whom Page had first met in the summer of 1995 in a group of potential new students which Brin had volunteered to show around the campus. Page's web crawler began exploring the web in March 1996, setting out from Page's own Stanford home page as its only starting point. To convert the backlink data that it gathered into a measure of importance for a given web page, Brin and Page developed the PageRank algorithm. Analyzing BackRub's output—which, for a given URL, consisted of a list of backlinks ranked by importance—it occurred to them that a search engine based on PageRank would produce better results than existing techniques (existing search engines at the time essentially ranked results according to how many times the search term appeared on a page). A small search engine called RankDex was already exploring a similar strategy.

Convinced that the pages with the most links to them from other highly relevant Web pages must be the most relevant pages associated with the search, Page and Brin tested their thesis as part of their studies, and laid the foundation for their search engine. By early 1997, the backrub page described the state as follows.

Originally the search engine used the Stanford website with the domain google.stanford.edu. The domain google.com was registered on September 15, 1997. They formally incorporated their company, Google Inc., on September 4, 1998 at a friend's garage in Menlo Park, California.

Both Brin and Page had been against using advertising pop-ups in a search engine, or an "advertising funded search engines" model, and they wrote a research paper in 1998 on the topic while still students. However, they soon changed their minds and early on allowed simple text ads.

The name "Google" originated from a misspelling of "googol," which refers to the number represented by a 1 followed by one-hundred zeros (although Enid Blyton used the word decades earlier in "Google Bun" - Chapter IX, The Magic Faraway Tree). Having found its way increasingly into everyday language, the verb, "google," was added to the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary in 2006, meaning, "to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet.

By the end of 1998, Google had an index of about 60 million pages. The home page was still marked "BETA", but an article in Salon.com already argued that Google's search results were better than those of competitors like Hotbot or Excite.com, and praised it for being more technologically innovative than the overloaded portal sites (like Yahoo!, Excite.com, Lycos, Netscape's Netcenter, AOL.com, Go.com and MSN.com) which at that time, during the growing dot-com bubble, were seen as "the future of the Web", especially by stock market investors.

In March 1999, the company moved into offices at 165 University Avenue in Palo Alto, home to several other noted Silicon Valley technology startups. After quickly outgrowing two other sites, the company leased a complex of buildings in Mountain View at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway from Silicon Graphics (SGI) in 1999. The company has remained at this location ever since, and the complex has since become known as the Googleplex (a play on the word googolplex, a 1 followed by a googol of zeros). In 2006, Google bought the property from SGI for $319 million.

The Google search engine attracted a loyal following among the growing number of Internet users, who liked its simple design. In 2000, Google began selling advertisements associated with search keywords. The ads were text-based to maintain an uncluttered page design and to maximize page loading speed. Keywords were sold based on a combination of price bid and click-throughs, with bidding starting at $.05 per click. This model of selling keyword advertising was pioneered by Goto.com (later renamed Overture Services, before being acquired by Yahoo! and rebranded as Yahoo! Search Marketing). While many of its dot-com rivals failed in the new Internet marketplace, Google quietly rose in stature while generating revenue.

Google's declared code of conduct is "Don't be evil", a phrase which they went so far as to include in their prospectus (aka "red herring" or "S-1") for their IPO, noting, "We believe strongly that in the long term, we will be better served — as shareholders and in all other ways — by a company that does good things for the world even if we forgo some short term gains.

Post your photos with free photo hosting websites

Today with the advent of internet, online communication has gained a major demand. And many people love to communicate through online by messengers and other social networking websites, these websites offer the users with diverse options. They even can host their images on these websites. Apart from this, the free photo hosting/ photo sharing is an online activity that has gained maximum popularity from all corners of the through out these years. These sites offer you to share your personal photographs with the world.
The Free photo hosting websites can be used for free or either can be used by paying a few sum of amount, using the paid photo hosting can provide you with extra added services. However these photo posting websites have their own benefits as they enable you to upload images and you are free to explore them across the world. Many users can view your images.

The major drawback of this photo hosting websites is that, the user will not get a large amount of space for storing his/ her photos and will be restricted to a limit. This proves out to become a problem especially when you start sharing your images on a large basis.
However people who host their image on a regular basis prefer the idea of paid photo hosting services, this is not just solely because of the reason that it provides you with greater storage capacity but also it provides you a platform with some of its amazing features. Some of these features include- the password set-up, this you can apply it on any of your photo album which you like to share only with a few. You can give your album’s password to those few who can view your personal album and by this way you can stay protected. Most of the people prefer this option to serve with in their family and relatives.

The second feature of the photo hosting websites is its customisable skins, these generally are also called as the themes of these hosting pages on which the images are shown. This gives an extra added attractive look to the online photo albums. These often help you to make your album look attractive. These themes do the work of creating an image for your photographs. These are especially used in for blogs to differentiate between your photo album and your blog.
The last and the most common feature of the image hosting website is its increased space for image, this storage feature will enable you to upload maximum number of images even the high-quality ones. These uploading will take less time.
For an initial start for image hosting, free image hosting websites are always recommendable. As they provide you the most basic ladder to connect with world.

Don't Think You Need A Web Host? Top 11 Reasons You Do

You might think you’re saving money and showing good business sense by using the free Web space that comes from your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Alternatively, you may have gotten a friend to give you a subdomain, meaning your URL would like something like "yourname.theirname.com." Perhaps you don’t have a standalone Web site at all, but have drafted your Facebook and/or MySpace pages into service, making them your de facto Web presence.

This doesn’t show good business sense at all. It shows that you are cheap, shortsighted and unimaginative, and those are about the three most unappealing traits anyone could want to project in any business climate-much less a recessionary one that demands first-rate customer service and creative thinking.


Here are 11 of 1001 reasons

There are so many reasons to have your own Web host, custom URL and well-crafted Web pages that it’s hard to pick the "top 11." The following, in no particular order, should be compelling enough to get you moving in the right direction.

#1- You’ll save time.
You might think that using your ISP's cookie-cutter site-building tools save you time by getting down to the basics. Wrong. You will spend a ton of time trying to make those underpowered "click 'n' pick" page builders do what you need. Creating your own pages, with great tools that range from freeware to the gold standard Adobe Dreamweaver, will get you what you really need, and fast.

#2- Prices are low, low, low.
There are dozens of Web hosting companies, and over the last five years we have gotten to the point that $10-a-month hosting accounts have the storage space and bandwidth that $100 accounts did. A full-blown e-commerce site that would have cost hundreds of dollar several years ago gets the same functionality today for a fraction of that amount.

#3- The site will be you, you, you.
The ticky-tacky, "same old thing" appearance of freebie ISP pages will kill any hopes of individuality or flair. With a real Web hosting package, one that allows you to upload whatever kind of pages you like, you project a unique identity. You will look like you, not another clone of a template from a click ‘n ‘ pick site builder.

#4- Choose your own name.
How seriously will your firm be taken with the name "members.myfirm.host.com"? Name your own site by buying your own domain and hosting it with a professional firm. If you’re pressed for time, some firms will handle all of it for you-domain registration, name servers, hosting, e-mail - the whole ten yards.

#5- Mobility and options.

Many professionals rent office space even though they work primarily from home. They do this for the "look" and effect. Today, the first thing most clients and customers are going to see is your Web site, not your office waiting room. You can meet clients for lunch, go to their offices or rent a meeting room if you need to, and save that extra expense.

#6- Help is available.
Your ISP won’t help you with your freebie site beyond posting a FAQ page, if that much. A paid host, on the other hand, is in business to be of service, so if you can’t get your Flash intro page to work, they will actually talk to you and give you advice.

#7- You get great resources, too.
Hosting companies will put everything you need in the way of free tools, plug-ins, how-to articles and even sales/marketing assistance into one central location. You don’t have to hunt all over cyberspace for the answer to your streaming media question. You will find the answer easily.

#8- Easy adaptation to changes.
You can do as much or as little with your space as you like. If you need special functionality, like true e-commerce capabilities or embedded videoconferencing, you can add it quickly. You need as much flexibility and control as you can get, and you don’t get it for free. On the other hand, it doesn’t cost that much now, either.

#9- Ever expanding choice of hosts.
If you start feeling cramped by your host’s plans, you can move elsewhere, quickly and cost-effectively. There is so much competition in this area that you’ll never run out of options. Don’t like the service? Move in minutes.

#10- Stay updated, automatically.
When you use a top-rated host, you know that they will be upgrading their hardware and software continuously. You will always have the latest and greatest infrastructure behind your company. Freebie packages just can’t compete.

#11- It just keeps getting better.
Not only does the infrastructure keep getting better, the deals do, too. You can update and upgrade your hosting plan on an ongoing basis with little effort. Adding up all the foregoing reasons, the fact that it just keeps getting better should be the "cherry on top" and seal the deal. The truth is, there is absolutely no good reason not to have a hosted account, unless you’re just playing around anyway. If you’re in business to succeed, there’s only one way to go, and that’s with a hosted account.

Getting Good Inexpensive web hosting

There are many cheap web hosting options available to those not only looking to create a personal website, but a business website as well. Now of course you may be tempted by the many companies offering cheap web hosting services, but remember a deal is only a deal if you are getting exactly what you need.

There are many reliable and cheap web hosting services available, but your very first priority must be with the customer service they will be providing you with. You want to know that you will be able to get in touch with the host when you need assistance.

Also, it is a good idea to make sure that they offer you enough space for your website and pictures, allowing extra room for expanding your product line and/or services. It is not just about finding a cheap service, but one that is reliable as well.


So what is the best way to find a cheap and reliable web hosting service? This part can be a little more complicated. Checking the track record of the company that you are considering using, is one way to insure that they are doing good business, however, there are many new hosting services that can provide you with decent service. The problem is that if you try them you could wind up paying for it in the long run.

The thing you must remember is that price and features are directly proportionate. As the price drops so do the features in most cases, so it is important to determine exactly what you need from a web hosting service before you buy. If you are a novice however, then you should really make sure that the web host you are using offers a web site builder
, or you may struggle to do things for yourself. Of course, you may be able to purchase these items but if you are paying for the tools you need, you may be better suited just paying a few dollars for the web site hosting itself and getting the tools you need included in the price. Cheap web hosting does exist; just make sure you are getting everything you need in the deal, because it not only needs to be cheap but reliable as well.


You will either get your business helped or stunted by your web hosting service. To get prosperous you want reliable php hosting to get your business going.

beneficial tips for web hosting

Web hosting is highly beneficial to those developing small business into the larger ones. Web hosting is basically an internet technology that helps to move your website containing all the information about your commercial activities. This helps to locate or find you website from any place in the world with the help of right key words. The concept of online business or online marketing is expensive compared to the conventional means of advertisement or marketing. This has proved big blessings for those small and growing businesses that have no big budget to spare for their marketing campaign. Web hosting would allow an opportunity to the small sized business to compete with the bigger ones dealing with the similar products or offering similar services. But as a matter of fact nobody is small or bin here on the internet since everybody is getting equal chance to display their commercial activities. It is up to the potential web viewers which site they prefer to watch to get the information about particular business. You don’t have to make the huge investment to promote your business or products to attract the customers but all these could be done here with the collective efforts. This is one of the basic reasons why more and more business people are attracted to the web hosting. You can also act as the reseller of the web hosting companies as it has led to the creation of many employment chances through the business. Web hosting has acquired a great popularity in current times. It has almost become the necessity for every business. There are many services offered without charging anything. This largely benefits the user by allowing web hosting of web page hosting without incurring any cost. Shared web hosting helps the website to get hosted on same server along with other websites. On the other hand, dedicated server offers better and exclusive services with greater benefits like good performance, higher reliability, security and customized configuration as needed.

With the help of web hosting, you can create several e-mail accounts that’ shows the professionalism and also offers reliability to the customers. While communicating with the customers from your email address would always leave better impression about your company without any further doubts. Web hosting enables to include shopping carts for those e-commerce sites, forums, chat panels and communities. This largely helps to know the views of the customers while communicating with them. A well functioning server also plays an important role for the web sites and web hosting services. The viewers might face to view the websites if the server crashes down. You can even have better server quality with shared web hosting or managed web hosting as it is well supported by the back up server.

Web hosting is highly beneficial to those developing small business into the larger ones. Web hosting is basically an internet technology that helps to move your website containing all the information about your commercial activities. This helps to locate or find you website from any place in the world with the help of right key words. The concept of online business or online marketing is expensive compared to the conventional means of advertisement or marketing. This has proved big blessings for those small and growing businesses that have no big budget to spare for their marketing campaign. Web hosting would allow an opportunity to the small sized business to compete with the bigger ones dealing with the similar products or offering similar services. But as a matter of fact nobody is small or bin here on the internet since everybody is getting equal chance to display their commercial activities. It is up to the potential web viewers which site they prefer to watch to get the information about particular business. You don’t have to make the huge investment to promote your business or products to attract the customers but all these could be done here with the collective efforts. This is one of the basic reasons why more and more business people are attracted to the web hosting. You can also act as the reseller of the web hosting companies as it has led to the creation of many employment chances through the business. Web hosting has acquired a great popularity in current times. It has almost become the necessity for every business. There are many services offered without charging anything. This largely benefits the user by allowing web hosting of web page hosting without incurring any cost. Shared web hosting helps the website to get hosted on same server along with other websites. On the other hand, dedicated server offers better and exclusive services with greater benefits like good performance, higher reliability, security and customized configuration as needed.

With the help of web hosting, you can create several e-mail accounts that’ shows the professionalism and also offers reliability to the customers. While communicating with the customers from your email address would always leave better impression about your company without any further doubts. Web Hostingenables to include shopping carts for those e-commerce sites, forums, chat panels and communities. This largely helps to know the views of the customers while communicating with them. A well functioning server also plays an important role for the web sites and web hosting services. The viewers might face to view the websites if the server crashes down. You can even have better server quality with shared web hosting or managed web hosting as it is well supported by the back up server.

Dynamic Websites with Windows Hosting

Today, individuals and businesses have to invest a lot of time and energy into creating and maintaining dynamic websites that are truly visually effective. Those looking for an easier and more efficient way to deal with their content are increasingly turning to Windows hosting. The availability of Microsoft’s Active Server Pages technology in Windows hosting solutions provides for dynamic web pages that can help give your website the best possible presentation and performance. ASP is a powerful and flexible technology that can provide your site users with a range of interactive page options and functionality that surpasses the norm. When opting for a Windows hosting package equipped with this dynamic programming technology, you will then have the tools needed to gain an edge on the competition. .

The ASP Advantage

There are numerous advantages to building your website with ASP. Perhaps the most obvious is the presence of dynamic elements that will make your site look more appealing to visitors. This is a winning quality for the online business owner who wants to enhance the browsing experience while trying to entice potential customers with their products or services. In fact, more and more businesses are investing in Windows hosting merely because of its ability to help them better engage the consumer and market their products. This is not only made possible from the use of ASP, but several other Microsoft technologies bundled in the Windows Server operating system and IIS web server.

A dynamic, content-rich website is generally easier to maintain, and this is especially true when your pages and applications are powered by ASP. The ASP framework encourages good programming practices, which empowers the knowledgeable developer to work with clean code that produces compliant output. Due to the fact that it is tightly integrated with IIS and the Windows platform, your visitors will be able to enjoy feature loaded web pages in the way they were meant to be viewed regardless of what type of browser they use. ASP makes one of the best options for providing rich, dynamic content that jumps off the screen at your visitors.

Getting the Best ASP Solution

As with any type of solution, there are many factors that must be considering when opting for a Windows host that supports ASP. Any server, regardless of the technology it uses, it is susceptible to downtime and other technical issues. For this reason, you want to seek out a provider that provides a reliable service able to assure you as little downtime as possible. It is also highly recommended that you find a host using the latest version of software applications and dependable hardware. Old software and equipment often have vulnerabilities that can result in security breaches and other problems you don’t need. For this reason, you may also want to consider using ASP.NET as it is the most current of Microsoft’s Active Server Pages technology. Paying attention to these factors will help to ensure that your site stays up and running online and your dynamic can be viewed in the manner it was meant to be.

Web Hosting and Spam Protection

In a modest victory in the effort to rid our inboxes of unsolicited email, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation recently announced successfully shutting down the world's largest spam operation. The spammers were sophisticated both technologically and financially, operating simultaneously from multiple locations around the globe.

According to a report published by the New York Times, the group was sending out ''extraordinary amounts of spam''. Richard Cox, Chief Information Officer at SpamHaus, a nonprofit antispam research group is quoted as saying, ''This is pretty major. At one point these guys delivered up to one third of all spam.''

Think about that for a second - one third of all spam. At one point, authorities estimate that the spammers were sending out 10 billion email messages each day. That's billion with a 'b'. How on earth were these criminals even able to reach that type of spam email volume? By creating a global network of hijacked computers infected with malicious software. These 'zombie' computers were often delivering spam without the knowledge of their owners. According to the authorities the network was as large as 35,000 computers sending spam in concert.

What would motivate a criminal ring to go to all that trouble to send out emails? Money. According to the Federal Trade Commission investigators who investigated the group's finances, the spam ring cleared $400,000 in Visa charges in just one month. The products were herbal supplements including weight loss pills, knock off prescription drugs from India, and products that promised to increase the size of a certain male appendage.

Some estimates attribute spam for up to 90 percent of all emails sent. Throughout the history of the Internet, spam blocking technology has emerged to detect and blog unwanted emails. The spammers, however, have been incredibly resourceful in creating mechanisms to circumvent even the most robust anti spam software. This ever escalating 'arms race' of spam has caught businesses and consumers in the middle. So how best to protect your business and your inbox from spam? Compare Web Hosts asked the experts to weigh in and give us their opinions on how to win the spam battle. Here's what they had to say.

George Roberts, CEO at Interjuncture Corp., which provides the Easy Antispam email protection service suggested these tips on reducing unsolicited email, ''One of the easiest things to do to reduce the amount of spam you receive is to not publish your email address publicly on the web. Many spammers scrape email addresses from websites to include in their database. In my view, it's best to let an email security service provider block all unwanted mail before it even hits your network.''

Regarding emails that look legitimate but may originate from a malicious source Mr. Roberts added, ''The best way to protect yourself against spoof and phishing emails is to not click links directly from emails. It is much better to go directly to the website of the business purportedly sending the email to determine whether the message sent was legitimate.''

Hans Kind, CEO with FlyingServers International added these thoughts, ''Use a good spam filter, either software or hardware based. Protect your e-mail address by not providing an email address on any user forums or other online community sites. If you need to provide a valid email address, either use a non-business email address, or if you are able to create multiple email addresses, create a specific email address for that forum or community.''

Daniel Foster with budget hosting firm 34sp.com had these tips, ''Make sure your antivirus and antispam software is up to date and kept current. You should also have an email package which includes spam and virus filtering from your provider, so that you never end up getting spam in the first place. For unwanted e-mails from known contacts, most e-mail clients support blacklisting. This will allow you to add the sender's address to a list and will stop you receiving any e-mail from them.''

Expert on intrusion detection, network security for web hosting, and email security, Jim Garrity, serves with dedicated server provider HostMySite.com as Director of Infrastructure. Mr. Garrity provided the following tips to consider, ''I would take a two pronged approach to protecting yourself against spam as outlined below.

Step 1.) I would look at commercial Spam filtering services like Google's Postini, Barracuda Spam Firewall, MXLogic's Email Defense, or SpamAssassin. Most of these products focus on content-based email filtering, thereby quarantining suspected content from employee mailboxes. The following contents of an email are analyzed to determine spam likeliness:

Step 2.) Email mailbox filtering

* Only allow email into your inbox from users in your address book (called Whitelisting).

* Turn off any mail preview panes so that mail does not open until you physically open it after verifying that you know the mail sender.

* If you cannot Whitelist your email, take the opposite approach. In combination with your spam filtering service provider, develop a blacklist for senders that are spamming you. Configure your mail client and spam service provider with this information so that the message gets deleted in your inbox or before it reaches your inbox.

It seems likely that spam is a fact of modern online life, and it's here to stay. So take the advice of our experts and protect yourelf and your business from unsolicited emails. After all, you most likely don't need those 'herbal remedies' anyway.

Source : Derek Vaughan

10 Steps How To Move Your Wordpress Blog To New Web Hosting

First, I thought transferring blogs to new hosting will be quite simple, but it required quite a few steps to follow before we can really transfer the blogs. I was having hard time this 2 days, so I would like to share how did I transfer my blogs to Hostgator successfully, so that newbie can be following the guide before moving on too.

Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to transfer blog to new hosting :

1) Upgrading To Latest Wordpress Blog Version
You need to upgrade your wordpress blog to the latest version if you tend to use Fantastico to install the wordpress script in your new web hosting because Fantastico will install the latest version for you. If your wordpress blog has different version, when you upload your old blog folder to the new web hosting, they can’t be matched.

2) Backup Your Files And Folders
You need to backup your old wordpress blog before moving on, usually people will only backup /wp-content folder because they store all the images, plugins, themes, and etc in this folder. If you have any other files or folders, backup it as well. For me, I used to backup the whole blog’s folders in case I missed out any important folder, at least I still have a copy of it.

3) Backup Your Database
I’m just like a newbie in transferring hosting, I just knew the purpose of the database. Database keeps all the settings for your site, posts, themes and etc. Backup your database from your old web hosting’s control panel, under phpMyAdmin, you can read how to backup your database by following the step-by-step tutorial from Wordpress team.

4) Addon Domain In Your New Web Hosting’s Control Panel
So now you need to add an addon domain in your new web hosting’s, so that you’ll have a folder for the blog that you want to transfer. You can do this from your new web hosting’s control panel.

5) Change Domain Name’s Name Servers
You need to change the name servers for your domain name to the new name servers that provided by the new web hosting company by using your domain registrar control panel.

As an example for Hostgator’s name servers, they are “ns1075.hostgator.com” and “ns1076.hostgator.com“. DNS propagation will take some time to complete, it took only few minutes from my experience, if it’s completed then you’ll not be able to access to your blog anymore, or you can clarify this with the new web hosting company, then you can proceed to the next step.

6) Installing New Wordpress Blog In New Web Hosting
Before installing a new wordpress blog in your new web hosting, you need to access to your new FTP server to see whether it’s accessible, if yes then you can start installing a new wordpress blog in your new web hosting by using Fantastico, it takes you few seconds to complete the installation.

7) Upload Files And Folders
Login to the FTP server, upload the old /wp-content folder and re-write the new /wp-content folder. I used to upload the whole blog folders and re-write them, I didn’t face any problem.

8 ) Upload Database
You need to upload your previous database to the new web hosting by using the phpMyAdmin in control panel. Remember that database keeps all the settings of your site, posts, comments, themes and etc, it’s important to keep a copy for your previous database, otherwise you need to do all the setting all over again.

You can only upload database that is not more than 52mb, I had a 12mb database and it took quite long for me to upload, so I request Hostgator to upload it for me. You can contact your web hosting company technical support to see whether they’re willing to import it for you.

9) Connect Your Wordpress To The Database
You need to connect your fresh installed wordpress to the previous database, you need to open wp-config.php in the root folder and change the database name, username and password to the previous database’s details.

10) Completed!
So you’ve completed moving your blog to the new web hosting, if you follow the 9 steps above correctly and your blog should work like usual now.

How to estimate your website hosting needs

I write this article especially for people who are new to web hosting. This is why I will only talk about the basic needs (in a shared hosting environment): space, bandwidth. Most of the people looking for advanced features (scripting, databases) already know what they want/need anyway.

So let's start with the space. Web space (disk space) is the amount of data you can store on the hard disk of the web server. Each web hosting accound comes with a certain amount of space, usually over 50 MB and less than 1000 MB.

Obviously, the amount of needed space depends on the size of the website. Most websites are composed of html (text) pages with a few images (gifs or jpegs) or even a little bit of Flash animation. Text is very economical; it occupies very little space. Images and flash are more expensive; they require a lot of space. If you're new to the web you might think it's great to have a lot of colorful images to make your website really beautiful. Don't make this common mistake!

Your aim should be to say as much as you can on a page while maintaining it's size under 50-60 KB including images. The reason? There are still lots of people using slow dial-up connections of under 56 Kbps. For them a 150 KB will take more that 21 seconds to load. A 60 KB page will take more than 8 seconds to load. That's still a lot of time! A good page size is under 30 KB. A maximum page size is 50-60 KB.

Considering an average page size of 30 KB, you can put approximately 33 pages on 1Mb of space. If you have 10 MB of space available, you could host 330 pages. I only wish I had so many pages to put online. Don't worry, I'm working on it!

The idea is this: unless you run a busy forum your needs for space are likely to be rather modest. Just keep in mind to achieve an average of 30KB/page and you should be more than fine even with 10 MB of web space.

Bandwidth is the amount of data that you're allowed to transfer per month. It includes all uploads and downloads regardless of the protocol used (HTTP, FTP, POP etc.). Bandwidth depends very much on the average page size, but it also depends on the number of visitors your website will have and the average number of pages they visit. For an average page size of 30 KB, 20,000 visitors per month and 3 pages per visitor your website will need about 1800 MB (1.8 GB) of bandwidth per month. Most low cost hosting packages include that amount of bandwidth. Not to mention that 20,000 visitors per month is only a dream for most websites. Most don't even have 2,000 visitors per month.

I took you through all those numbers just to give you an idea how to estimate your needs. If you're just launching your website you will not need neither a huge amount of space, neither a huge amount of bandwidth. For 99% of people a hosting account with 10MB of space and 1Gb is more than enough.

Conclusion: Unless you have reasons to believe that your website will definitely have lots of visitors and unless you'll offer movies or music for download (legally of course ), I see little reason for you to worry about space and bandwidth.

Just make your own calculations and also try to make sure that the host you choose allows account upgrades. That is to make sure you will be able to get more space and/or bandwidth if/when you need it without going through all the trouble of changing hosts.

The Hidden Scary Costs Of Cheap Web Hosting

The very obvious attraction of cheap hosting is that...err it's cheap!

But what is hardly ever discussed are the hidden costs of cheap web hosting which could quite literally drain your pocket dry!

So first and foremost you should learn to differentiate budget hosting from cheap hosting though they both technically fall under the category of cheap web hosting!

Budget hosting classically ranges from $5 - $9 and is generally quite reliable whereas cheap hosting falls within the $2.75 - $3.50 dollar range!

The following list highlights some of the more common problems associated with cheap web hosting:

1. Increased Website Downtime

2. Poor Server Response

3. Very Attractive To Spammers

4. Susceptible To Search Engine Ban

5. Lack of Customer Support

6. Fly-By-Night Risk

7. Exposure To Infections (Viruses, Trojans etc.)

Let me elaborate in a bit more detail about these little discussed hidden costs that almost always invariably plague cheap hosting:

1. Increased Website Downtime

One of the more common problems associated with cheap hosting is the increased frequency of website downtime; in other words the amount of time when your website is not available!

This often occurs with cheap web hosting services because all too commonly there are way too many websites sharing a single server. It doesn't take a genius to figure out the longer your site is down (in other words unavailable) the more business and traffic you lose.

2. Poor Server Response

Another issue common to cheap hosting arises (as mentioned above in point 1) because of the huge number of websites loaded on a single server.

The end result of overloading a particular server with too many websites is that it greatly magnifies the server response time. This happens whenever multiple browser requests are conducted at the same time for a large number of sites hosted on the same server!

The end result of this means that if a person tried to connect to your website they will experience the hanging browser phenomenon (a browser that takes forever to connect to a queried site). Once again you don't have to be a genius to figure out most people will rather abandon their attempt to access your site than wait forever!

3. Cheap Hosting Acts Like A Spammer Magnet!

Cheap hosting is very attractive to spammers for the very obvious reason that it is cheap! You see web spammers make their money by commanding an empire of thousands of sites, each one of which makes some money and though that amount on its own may be insignificant when totaled as a whole becomes quite substantial!

Obviously to increase their profit margin spammers need to keep their expenses as minimal as possible which undoubtedly includes cheap web hosting!

Sharing hosting with spammer sites in and of itself does not necessarily jeopardize your website but if your cheap hosting service happens to host thousands of those spammer sites then sooner than later your website is going to get:

4. Penalized/Banned By The Search Engines (The Bad Neighborhood Phenomenon)

Okay let's consider a situation where your website happens to be sharing the same server as that of thousands of spammer sites. In such a scenario there is a very good chance that somewhere down the line your website will get penalized (or even banned) by Google when invariably those spammer sites with which your site is sharing cheap hosting get involved in search engine malpractice.

You see when your website is hosted on the same server as other sites (shared hosting) you share the same root IP address as those other sites, and when a search engine gets fed up with spamming from a certain IP address it doesn't bother going into details to weed out which specific domain is the culprit, it simply bans the entire IP address. OUCH!

Having your website tossed from the search engines can be a very traumatic experience especially if that website had been ranking well for keywords you had spent time and money optimizing for.

This by the way is not a hypothetical situation and actually happened to me not to mention the thousands others who have had the misfortune of suffering the same experience!

5. Lack Of Customer Support

One of the means with which cheap hosting services keep their prices dirt-cheap low is by cutting corners on essential services like customer support.

If your site happens to be parked on some cheap web hosting server and you get into a jam that needs urgent attention, then the following lists a number of very practical options you can pursue:

a) Cross your fingers and mumble juju to voodoo the problem away (just kidding)

b) Contact customer support and say a prayer while hoping for the best but expecting the worst. The worst in this case being a very, very long wait before you get a reply...if at all!

c) Be prepared to pay a hefty fee to get any help at all; that hefty fee is usually in the region of $20 - $35! Management rightfully figures that if your cheaply-hosted site is doing well and gets a problem, then you'll probably be very willing to shell out a $35 fee to fix that $2.95 per month hosted site of yours!

6. Fly-By-Night Risk

If you have spent any length of time online then I am sure you know how fickle transactions online can be. So it shouldn't come as a big surprise that there are no lack of companies that are here-one-day and gone-the-next.

In the business such companies are called fly-by-night for obvious reasons and the cheap hosting arena is no stranger to this phenomenon. A lot of cheap hosting services fall under the category of fly-by-night not because they are necessarily out to dupe you from the get-go, but because eventually it dawns on them that their profit margins do not make for a viable business model.

What this means to you is that one morning you could wake up to find that your hosting service has simply vanished in thin air! Once again there is no need to point out how painful this can be if your site had started performing well!

Once again this all boils down to sharing the same server as countless other websites managed by a hosting service that cannot afford state-of-the-art defense software! If any one of those thousand of websites on that server gets an infection it can spill over to all the rest including yours, like an unchecked influenza pandemic!

What If Any Benefits Do You Get From Cheap Hosting?

Okay despite the bleak picture I have painted above it's not all bad news as far as cheap hosting is concerned because vast improvements have been made over the past few years. Just so long as you conduct your due diligence (research) there is absolutely no reason why you cannot acquire a good quality cheap hosting plan. It is a well known fact that competition in any business drives down prices and the web hosting arena is no different.

In fact it is actually a mandatory requirement for any web hosting business of today that wishes to grow and continue to be competitive to offer cheap hosting services! Why? Because there is way too much competition to afford to do otherwise!

There Is Cheap Hosting. And Then There Is Cheap Hosting!

If you are going to opt for cheap hosting it obviously makes sense to get your service from a well established and reputable web hosting company that has a proven track record rather than some spotty hosting company that is little known! I mean cummon...does it make sense to go for a $2.75 cheap hosting plan from an unknown web host rather than opt for a slightly more expensive option of $4.95 from a well-known company that you know will still be around in a few months?

Because of their sheer size an established web hosting company is going to be able to provide state-of-the-art services like defense software even for a budget hosting plan, something an upstart web host certainly won't! One final consideration you should take into account when opting for a cheap hosting plan is whether your web host provides a means for you to upgrade your plan seamlessly if the need ever arises.

That need will certainly arise when the traffic volume of your website (bandwidth usage) exceeds the capacity allotted it in your current plan. Ideally you want to be able to upgrade from a shared server to a dedicated server with minimal downtime and as smoothly and painlessly as possible.

Source : http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard

How To Setup Your Own Hosting

helpful tips to increase the chance of finding the best company web hosting

Nowadays, there are many free web hosting services available on the Internet. Sometimes it can be difficult to choose which one is best for you. Everybody wants to find a web hosting company really capable of delivering good and high quality hosting services. With so many web hosting companies around these days - all claiming to have the best of everything - it can be difficult to figure out which company you want to purchase your hosting plan from.

So, what should you look for when choosing a web hosting service?

Well, it's best to consider all aspects and features of web hosting.

Here are some things to look for:

Make sure the host has enough disk space for your site and don't forget about enough bandwidth/disk space for expansion to allow more visitors.

How many email accounts are provided?

Are they Window or Unix based?

Do they have cPanel?

Do they support MySQL databases?

Do they have 24/7 customer support?

These helpful tips will increase the chance of finding the best company that could deliver the hosting services that your website will require.

Pay attention to:

1. Reliability

* Is the web hosting company for a long time in this business?

* Is there a guaranteed high percentage of uptime service?

* Does the company provide a high level security, frequent backups and data transfers?

2. Cost

* Be sure that the cost of service fit your budget!

* Check if there are no "hidden" fees?

* Is the plan offered fit you if your website will grow?

3. Customer Support

* A serious hosting company offers 24/7/365 Live Technical support!

* Be sure to have a technical help if you have any difficulties!

Compare all for and against of different web host providers. Of course, You can have a hard time choosing among the services but examining the advantages and disadvantages of each. Try to browse websites and look for information that contains comparison of web host providers.

Interview with iPhone App Web Hosting Company SwebApps Magaly Chocano

Tell us a little about yourself, what did you do before starting your company?
I was in marketing for many years – from direct sales to finally becoming a broadcast producer in a large Hispanic Advertising Agency in San Antonio. I quickly realized that marketing tools are so inaccessible to the ones that need it most (small and medium businesses) – development costs and media costs alone made it impossible for smaller companies to compete in the market. So I started my company Sweb Development later to create Sweb Apps.

What is SwebApps?
Sweb Apps is the first of its kind in the market – it allows you to build your own iPhone App in minutes. No coding required. You can customize your look, tone and feel. Design your own buttons. And best of all your content can be updated in real time.
Our main business still lies in customizing apps. We have some great projects in hands. You would be amazed at how creative people are! There is room for everyone!

What was the spark that created SwebApps?
We began building iPhone Apps for our web clients and they were loving it. I wanted to give everyone the opportunity to have their own app – give everyone the ability to have their clients at the tip of their fingers. Hence the creation of Sweb Apps.

We talked briefly about adding in app commerce for the iPhone, if the client is hosted with you and you are publishing the app how does the client get paid?
Our shop function allows you to get paid through PayPal.

Can you explain the process that a client will take if they want to use SwebApps to make a application but publish it themselves?
They would have to create their own developer account and we can upload the binary to their account.

You mentioned that the UK market is growing and you will be setting up a localized office, do you see yourself expanding more internationally?
Yes we are excited about our expansion into other markets. We are looking at all possibilities and excited at the limitless possibilities.

Hosting iPhone Apps is a great idea. How did you come up with the price point?
Thank you! Because we are the only BYO app online service company to have a CMS for apps that allows realtime changes in the Apps content – we decided to charge a hosting fee.

Will you be looking to have other hosting companies sell SwebApp hosted services as an addon?
We are open to new ideas and proposals.

What are your thoughts about where the mobile market is heading?
Mobile marketing will be and is the future. Always be at the tip of your clients fingertips. Communicate and market always and at all times. Mobile is an essential part of our lives and as studies show by the end of 2011 their will be more smartphones sold than PC’s. That is a huge indicator.

Finally, where else can you tell us about your future plans?
We will be adding incredible new features to sweb apps and making it even more customizable thank now. We are also going to be launching other mobile platforms in Q1 of 2010 Blackberry, Android and Palm Pre to be exact. We are excited!

Start your own web hosting business

Hosting Overseas

Hosting Overseas – Is It Worth It?

No matter where you are located, businesses seem to clamor to host your website. The top hosting positions among these companies are not only hard to award, but hard to define as well. There are simply too many needs to be met for too many different websites to conclusively have ideal criteria for a hosting website. All top hosting contenders do meet standard requirements for standard hosting services, and overseas companies often will meet these needs for a lower price than US or Europe based competitors, but should hosting be outsourced overseas?

Why the Difference in Price

Foreign web hosting offers the same packages as top hosting companies for considerably less cost in most cases. While some overseas companies may simply be offering low rates as a sales ploy, other offer rates that adequately reflect the cost of living in that country. Overhead costs can be tremendously lower in countries such as India or Pakistan , which means the web hosting services can be offered for less.

This makes it difficult to determine the best route for selecting top hosting companies based solely on price. Low prices can be tempting, but there is always the question of quality. Do the budget services offer the same level of service? Like all things, that answer simply depends on the company. Overall, webmasters should not write off or immediately sign up for foreign hosting companies simply based on rates. There are many other determining factors to consider.

Location, Location, Location

Much like real estate, location matters. The closer your server is to your clients, the faster those clients will be able to access your website. Even in a virtual existence, the physical distance between servers and end users can make a difference. Most internet marketers target United States and European citizens, so by hosting halfway around the globe, website response time for target demographics may be adversely affected.

Customer Service

Many foreign companies are highly trained in customer service and are highly respectful of customers and other individuals. Customer, in this case meaning webmasters, care is a top priority for most of these companies as they realize they must work a bit harder than top hosting companies in the United States to garner the same level of respect and reputation.

Having stated that, hosting in countries with different customs as well as time zones can also be frustrating for webmasters. The same problems that complicate any sort of outsourcing affect web hosting as well. Communication gaps, misunderstandings, and difficulty finding a common time to work together, despite the claims of 24/7 service, can all plague individuals outsourcing hosting. These problems, of course, are not a guaranteed byproduct of overseas hosting, but rather should be determined on an individual basis.

source : (http://webhostinggeeks.com).

Dedicated Servers

If you are currently engaged in any facet of ecommerce, even service sectors, a website makes up a great deal of your business. Therefore, it is a safe assumption that you pay for hosting your website in some fashion. If you do not already have a dedicated server, perhaps you should revisit the decision for the best hosting options for your business.

What is a Dedicated Server?

Most web hosting companies set up accounts or on a shared server. You essentially share the total hard drive and bandwidth allowance with many others. This may not be the best hosting option and can present many problems such as security and traffic bottlenecks. On a dedicated server, the server is completely yours, and there are not other websites utilizing the same machine. The server is dedicated completely to you and your business.

source : (http://webhostinggeeks.com).

Advantages of a Dedicated Server

Several advantages can make a dedicated server the best hosting choice for you. These include:

Server Security –Dedicated servers increase the security of your website tremendously. There are no other webmasters using the same workspace, and simple mistakes or user error that might occur due to shared machines simply no longer existent.

Storage Space – As the entire server is dedicated to a single customer, there is tremendously more storage space available for website pages, images, and features.

Data Transfer – As with storage space, there is a great deal more bandwidth available for data transfer. Traffic to your site no longer competes with traffic for other websites reducing bottlenecks and slow server response time.

Control Panel – Having your own server offers additional opportunities for control. Sharing a server indicates that you have only limited control of server features and functions, but with a dedicated server, webmasters have greater control and access to the day-to-day functions of the host.

Software Options – Dedicated servers also allow more software and script options. The server has greater storage capacity for this information, and there is no need to align coding or features with other users of the same machine.

Disadvantages of a Dedicated Server

The sole disadvantage of a dedicated server is the cost. It is only logical that obtaining an entire server versus a piece of a shared server would be more expensive, but the rate often makes webmasters baulk. It is important to consider the fee as related to the total cost of shared server space when determining if a dedicated server is the best hosting option for you business, despite cost. A single credit card safety incident or an exorbitant bill for bandwidth overage should level the playing field almost immediately.

Am I ready for a Dedicated Server?

Websites grow at different rates, but as the success of a business grows, so does the need for additional hosting capacity. If you are approaching the limits of your current hosting company or have concerns about safety, such as storing credit card information on the same server as others or simply if your current company is the best hosting company for your needs, it is definitely time for a dedicated server.

how to choose the best web hosting service

One of the most crucial decisions that most online businesses have to make is choosing the best web hosting service. With a popular or well known and reliable Internet Service Provider (ISP) you won't face many problems, however with a poor web hosting service provider it can be a nightmare.

Choosing the right kind of web hosting service can be a very daunting task at times as there are some very important features that you need to make sure of. Here you can find below what exactly to look for when choosing the best web hosting service.

Amount of web space: A web hosting service provider would usually assign you a certain amount of space on their server. You need to ensure that does it have the right amount of space for your website and your business requirements. You might want to expand your online business tomorrow and would require much more space. So it's imperative for you that the web hosting company should be able to provide you with ample of space especially if your website is rich in graphics or has video clips.

FTP access: FTP access is very crucial since it provides the ability to upload new pages. Some web hosting service providers allow you to just design your web pages with their own personal web builder. This may be useful for beginners however you need to ensure if they provide you the facility to expand later when you enhance your online business capabilities.

Degree of reliability, security and speed of access: Speed, security and reliability are extremely important for the success of any online business. While choosing a reliable web hosting service you need to ensure that this is taken care of. A site that is not available, not updated on time or is down, will lose many online visitors. If an online visitor finds your site listed on a search engine, and he tries to access it but finds it down, he is sure to move on to the next link and you lose an important customer or visitor. Even slow working websites are very frustrating. So how do you know if a hosting company is reliable or not? By word of mouth or feedback from others! If that's not possible then you can yourself try accessing your site during peak hours and non-peak hours too. Your site has to be secure of intruders at the same time, especially if it's an ecommerce website.

Dependence and support: Does the web hosting service provide 24x7 supports? Do they respond rapidly to your issue? Can you depend on them? If you need 24-hour technical support that larger companies need then expect to pay substantially more. In fact, people are much more expensive than machines.

Pricing plans : Price is also one factor that you should look out for when choosing the best web hosting service. It's not necessarily true that the most expensive hosts are the best. Simply compare prices and services before you finalize one.

Data transfer (Bandwidth): You also need to see if the hosting company provides you with sufficient bandwidth for efficient data transfer. After all it's your website and you need to ensure that you are getting the best services for the money you invest.


source : (http://webhostinggeeks.com).

web hosting instructions

Web domains. Hosting. Content. These are the three top priorities for any webmaster, regardless of how experienced they are. Unfortunately, these three essentials often leave people in the dark, as there are dozens of companies offering the “same” packages for different prices. With an overflow of routes you could take, it can get mind boggling to figure out the appropriate steps. For this reason, instructions are essential if you are looking for a smooth path.

The first thing you should do is make a list of what your current goals are. If you are making a professional site, you'll need a secure and reliable host. For instance, if you know that your website will reach thousands of people within a few months, perhaps you should find a web hosting package that includes extra bandwidth. You need additional space, especially if visitors are constantly going to be accessing your website. On the other hand, if you are just experimenting, you should stick to the free hosting packages. Geocities or Angel Fire certainly provides a basic package, which will leave you satisfied. After all, you do not need bells and whistles if you aren't serious about the website in the long run. If you do end up changing your mind, you can always switch services and transfer your website.

Once you have made your decision, you need to find a reputable service. While searching for hosting companies on Google may seem appropriate, it often stems bad results. It is important to remember that just because it is listed on a search engine, doesn't mean it is 100% safe and legit. Therefore, if you do find a potential company, you should get a second opinion. It is usually smart to join a webmaster related forum like SitePoint to discuss such matters. This way you can hear about other people's experiences and what companies to avoid. Additional references from friends or family would also be ideal.

After picking a host, you will need to provide your credit card information. For many users, 3ix.org is a favorite, as it rarely charges you much. Surprisingly, there are discount coupon codes you can acquire through the internet, to also help you with your initial fee. Due to the fact that you have to include your private information, it is absolutely crucial to make sure you find a legit business. The last thing you want is to lose any money. Therefore, you should google their name and check out the reviews from fellow users. This will most definitely make all of the difference, especially if you find out that they are a fraud.

For website beginners, web hosting doesn't have to be difficult or even too time consuming. As long as you find reputable sources, second opinions, and a great easy to use package, you are well on your way to website success. With these instructions in mind, there should be no frustrations or year long debates on what company to use. It is quite simple, once you get in the webmaster's frame of mind.


Source : (http://webhostinggeeks.com)

Web Hosting Guide

Looking for and buying a reliable web hosting solution is an imperative decision. Whether you are doing online business, providing important information or sharing views online on a common interest, you need a reliable web hosting service that will allow online visitors to browse through your site effortlessly. It is only powerful web hosting that allows your website to be downloaded, browsed and updated in minimal time.

Trying to identify a web host can be a very daunting task especially when there are so many available nowadays and all of them promise one thing or another. Hence, it is crucial that before you jump in, you do your own homework or research for selecting the most appropriate web hosting company for your website.

With the changing trend of technology, web hosts are also changing. Most of them provide various services in addition to their basic ones. Say if you are running an e-commerce website, then of course you need high end security and a medium through which you can manage your web content efficiently. There are many tools that facilitate this, however if your web hosting service is not reliable then you can miss out on serious revenues and prospective clients.

Once you have determined and identified what web hosting services you require for your online business, it is then time to enlist certain web hosting features and options you must consider. You can find below some of the most important aspects of web hosting:

Disk space and bandwidth

You should know how much space your website would need and approximate data it will generate. When we talk about disk space, well, it's actually the amount of storage assigned to you by the web hosting provider. The bandwidth is the amount of traffic that is allowed to access and leave your website. In case your website has a lot of graphics then you would require higher storage area and greater bandwidth.

Programming tools and the OS

You need to be sure that your website is uploaded through secure servers using the latest Operating System. Most web hosts run on a UNIX based operating system, usually Linux or BSD. For the running of various web applications you would require ASP, .NET, MS SQL, SBS and for these you need a Window based host.

Pricing Aspect

You need to compare pricing before you finalize a web hosting service. Some may provide you better services but at low pricing. It's not always true that the best hosting services are always the most expensive. Do your research and then finalize.

Support, Security, Guaranteed uptime and Backups

Security and backups are two very important aspects that you need to consider. You should always choose a web hosting service with reliable telephone support. Some also offer 24/7 support through local or toll-free numbers. In case you are running an ecommerce website then security is one aspect that you just cannot discard. Your web hosting service provider should be such that they can monitor things round the clock and ensure no unwanted intruder can hack your site. After all it's your website and it is really worth looking into this aspect of web hosting.

source : (http://webhostinggeeks.com).

History of web hosting

Webs began in 2001 as Freewebs, just after the dot-com bubble, as a start-up launched by Haroon and Zeki Mokhtarzada after their last year at the University of Maryland, College Park. Their goal was to make the Internet accessible to anyone and to protect user's rights to free speech. Since then, the success of Webs has been growing, as of April 2007, the site counts 18 million unique visitors a month. The company is self-defined as a social media company, and created "social publishing" properties such as Pagii. Freewebs sites can include blogs, forums, wikis, calendars, guestbooks, webstore, photo gallery, links, web forms, widgets, games, puzzles, videos, and hundreds of designer templates. One does not have to pay if not a premium member, but those with the premium account have access to some of the restricted features.

Freewebs changed their name to Webs on November 14, 2008, but is still widely known as Freewebs.

In 2007, Webs developed a widget bank, which made the site more dynamic and contributed to the success of the site.They also integrated with Picnik for photo editing and GetClicky for webstats.

By : Haroon Mokhtarzada