Domain Hosting - Best Domain Web Hosting (2009

A domain hosting company does just that: hosts your domain name on its servers so Internet users anywhere can type in your URL and access your Website by domain name. In most cases, domain hosting and Web hosting are the same thing.

A domain name actually provides a shortcut to help users access your Website. Every site-hosting server in the world has its own unique Internet Protocol, or IP, address. Rather than having to type in a complex IP address like 208.97.191.15, though, DNS (for Domain Name System) allows you to type in an easy-to-remember URL like www.webhostingreport.com and access the Website you want that way.

Windows Hosting - Best Windows Web Hosting (2009)

Windows-based Web hosting provider uses Microsoft's Windows software to drive its servers. The operating system allows Windows hosts to offer their customers Microsoft-licensed applications and technology like ASP, .NET, Visual Basic, Visual Interdev and ColdFusion.

Windows hosting ensures straightforward support for Websites developed with Microsoft FrontPage. With a Unix-/Linux-based host, on the other hand, you need to make sure the company supports the FrontPage extensions you're using for your site. Other Microsoft applications aren’t supported at all by Unix-/Linux-based hosting providers.

Windows hosting also provides a familiar environment for administering and managing your Website. If you're comfortable using Windows on your home or work computer, you'll find it relatively easy to begin maintaining your site via a Windows-based server.

Windows hosting is the obvious choice if you plan to develop or use a lot of Windows-based applications on your Website. It’s also the better option if you plan to integrate your site with an Access database; you would have to convert your Access database – which isn’t quick or easy – to run on a Unix-/Linux-based server.

Besides supporting your Windows-based application requirements, a good Windows host should also be able to offer other features you might need, including adequate disk space and bandwidth, email accounts, databases, a Web-based control panel, WebMail, FTP access, ecommerce, Windows-compatible scripts and support for applications like Weblogs, discussion forums, live chat, photo galleries and more. A Windows host should also be able to provide you with 24/7 technical help, FAQs and other types of support to help you make the most of your Website.

Virtual Hosting - Best Virtual Web Hosting (2009)

Virtual hosting lets a single server accommodate multiple Websites, with each each site getting its own "slice" of server space. By partitioning a server into several smaller "virtual" servers, a hosting company can make the most of its server resources and minimize costs for each individual customer on the server.

Virtual hosting, though, doesn't mean that customers on the same server can access each other's Websites. Customers can manage only their own section of the server, usually by using a Web-based control panel. Control over the server itself remains with the hosting provider.

Because it uses only part of a server's resources, virtual hosting is cheaper than dedicated hosting. The Web-based control panel typically makes virtual hosting easier as well.

Also known as shared hosting, virtual hosting is common among budget and entry-level hosting plans. It usually provides enough disk space, bandwidth and functionality for most personal, hobby or small-business Websites, and is available for both the Unix/Linux and Windows operating systems. Many virtual hosting plans even offer the option of a shared SSL certificate for secure online transactions. A virtual hosting account usually comes with many features, including a file manager, email accounts, WebMail, email forwarding and autoresponders, FTP access, password-protected directories, database, Server Side Includes and site statistics. Many virtual hosting providers also offer additional features like a site design wizard, search engine submission services, shopping carts and scripts for Weblogging, discussion forums, form generation, content management and more.

If you’re considering a virtual hosting provider, look for a company that can also provide 24/7 customer service, how-to guides or FAQs. And if you expect your Website needs to change over time, you might also want to seek out a host that offers add-on services such as additional disk space and bandwidth.

Virtual hosting is usually the best and most cost-effective choice for basic hosting needs.

Static (Dedicated) IP Address

A unique and unchanging IP address. The opposite of dynamic IP addressing, in which a Web site's IP address is different with each connection to the server. With dynamic IP addressing, several domains can use 1 IP address. With static IP addressing, your Web site gets an unchanging IP address that is not shared with other sites and can be called up in place of your usual www.domain.com.

Secure Sockets Layer

Secure Sockets Layer. Allows encrypted, authenticated communications over the Web. SSL provides security in online commerce. URL's starting with "https://" indicate the utilization of SSL.

SSI

Server Side Incudes. Often used by Web developers in order to facilitate in updating content on Web sites. An SSI is a variable value that a web server can dynamically add to an otherwise static Web page. SSI-enabled Web pages will often be found with .shtml extensions.

SQL

Structured Query Language. A database query and programming language used for accessing, updating, and managing data in a relational database system.

SMTP

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. A protocol for sending email.

PHP Hosting - Best PHP Web Hosting (2009)

PHP hosting lets your Website take advantage of all the features of the open-source PHP scripting language. PHP scripts are embedded in HTML and are executed by the host's servers to generate dynamic content on your site. Because of its popularity, PHP is supported by many different operating systems and platforms, with a common setup being the LAMP (for Linux operating system, Apache server software, MySQL database and PHP) structure.

The most recent versions of PHP are PHP 4 and PHP 5. PHP script behavior can also be customized using a php.ini configuration file; if you’re looking for that option, be sure your PHP host supports custom php.ini files.

PHP helps drive the MySQL database, which explains why so many dynamic and data-rich sites like Wikipedia, Facebook and Yahoo! take advantage of PHP scripts.

Other popular PHP-based applications include the phpBB message forum, the WordPress Weblogging script, the GBook guestbook, X7 Chat, the osCommerce and CubeCart shopping carts, phpForms for form creation, PHPlist mailing list management system, WebCalendar, and the PHP-Nuke and Mambo content management systems.

PHP Hosting is not an option for Website owners who want to use Active Server Pages or Visual Basic, both of which require a server running Windows. However, it an effective option if you're planning to use CGI, Perl, PHP or other open-source and Unix-based applications.

In addition to meeting your scripting needs, make sure your PHP host can also offer any other features you might want, including adequate disk space and bandwidth, email accounts, databases, a Web-based control panel, WebMail, FTP access, ecommerce and support for applications like Weblogs, discussion forums, live chat, photo galleries and more

Ecommerce Hosting - Best Ecommerce Web Hosting (2009)

Ecommerce hosting provides you with the features you need to run a fully functional and secure online store. The right ecommerce host can help you protect sensitive customer data, effectively manage product searches and orders, and deliver an online shopping experience that will keep your customers coming back again and again.

An ecommerce host will be able to provide you with all the basics needed for any Website: ample disk space and bandwidth, email accounts, email forwarding and autoresponders, databases and support for mailing lists, discussion forums, Weblogging, content management and other applications. In addition, though, an ecommerce host offers features specifically for conducting secure and customer-friendly transactions online.

Those features typically include one or several shopping cart applications, SSL (Secure Socket Layer), digital certificates and support for online security and PayPal integration. An ecommerce hosting plan might also include a number of scripts to help you deliver customer-friendly service via live chat, customer polling, guestbooks, email marketing and customer feedback.

To help you actually conduct financial transactions online, you'll also need a merchant account. This will allow you to process credit-card payments either on the Web or by phone. Depending on the type of shopping carts your host provides, your merchant account provider might be able to automatically process customer payments as they are made in real time. However, some shopping carts will require you to manually process each order as it comes in ... not a viable option for a very large or busy ecommerce site.

While you can in theory install and operate freeware or shareware scripts to conduct business online, a true ecommerce hostingshared or dedicated plan is usually a better bet for both you and your customers. A good ecommerce host can help you set up your online store quickly and start taking orders securely right away without all the headaches of do-it-yourself script installing, maintenance and order management.

Domain Name

Domain Name is an easy-to-remember address that can be translated by DNS into server's IP address. Domain names are hierarchical. Domain's suffix indicates which TLD (top level domain) it belongs to, for example .com, .gov, .org, .net, or .jp. Recently ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) added several new TLDs, like .biz, .pro., and .museum.

Disk Space (Storage Space)

The storage capacity for images, HTML files, audio files, video files, graphics, etc. A Web site planning to have a large amount of pages and/or planning to use a lot of images (or other large files) will need a greater amount of disk space.

Dedicated Servers (Dedicated Hosting)

The opposite of Shared Web hosting. Servers that are owned by a Web hosting company but rented out and used by a single customer. Web sites in need of a lot of disk space and/or data transfer and/or Web sites that have very specific software needs may opt to rent a dedicated server. Shared Web hosting is usually sufficient for most small and medium sized businesses.

Data Transfer (Bandwidth)

The amount of data that you are allowed to transfer (usually monthly). Data = images, text, audio files, video files and everything else that a server transfers to a user's web browser. Approximately 40,000 page views = 1 GB of data transfer. Web sites that get a lot of visitors (and page views) need larger amounts of data transfer (or bandwidth). Also, graphics-heavy sites will need more data transfer than more basic sites.

Database

A collection organized records of information that can facilitate searching, sorting, and recombination of data.

Control Panel

An online interface often used to facilitate Web site management and editing. Control panels often allow hosting customers to perform basic functions (make changes, check data, etc.) without contacting customer service.

CGI Library

Certain hosts will provide a collection of pre-made CGI scripts (as a convenience) that can be used to add numerous interactive elements to your Web site.

CGI-BIN

A directory on a server where CGI programs are stored. CGI scripting can add numerous interactive elements to a Web site.

CGI

Common Gateway Interface. A program that translates data from a web server and then displays that data on a web page or in an email. CGI scripting can add numerous interactive elements to a Web site.

Bandwidth (Data Transfer)

The amount of data that you are allowed to transfer (usually monthly). Data = images, text, audio files, video files and everything else that a server transfers to a user's web browser. Approximately 40,000 page views = 1 GB of data transfer. Web sites that get a lot of visitors (and page views) need larger amounts of data transfer (or bandwidth).

Auto responder

An email address that is set up to automatically reply to the sender with a previously prepared response.

ASP Hosting

ASP hosting lets your Website take advantage of Microsoft's Active Server Pages (ASP) technology, which uses server-side scripting with HTML to generate dynamic Webpages.

ASP

Active Server Pages. A commonly used Microsoft scripting language that enables the use of online databases.

Anonymous FTP

Anonymous File Transfer Protocol. Allows the public to log into an FTP server with a common login, avoiding the need to assign passwords to anyone who wants to download files from your Web site. This is unnecessary unless you plan on providing downloadable files to the public.

Web Hosting Definitions 2

Adobe DreamWeaver: is a web development application originally created by Allaire Systems, which was acquired approximately 1998 by Macromedia and is now owned by Adobe Systems, which acquired Macromedia in 2005. Dreamweaver is available for both Mac and Windows operating systems. Recent versions have incorporated support for web technologies such as CSS, JavaScript, and various server-side scripting languages and frameworks including ASP.NET, ColdFusion, JavaServer Pages, and PHP

Definitions of web hosting

1. Web hosting is the housing, serving, and maintaining files for Web sites on a dedicated server with direct access to the Internet.

2. The service of hosting a site on the Internet making it viewable for other users on the net

3. A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to provide their own website accessible via the World Wide Web. .

4. An Internet web hosting service rendered by Provider that includes the installation, maintenance, repair, and the 24 hour Internet connection of one or more shared or physical computers for use by Customer.