Hosting multiple domains on a Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a great way to establish a web presence. If you only intend on having one website then this point is moot, but if you are bent on becoming a web guru, you will likely need more than one website to do this.

A disadvantage when it comes to shared server sites is that you would need to pay for additional domain names as well as the additional server space. The advantage to VPS hosting is you can purchase one virtual private server and outfit it to meet your web hosting needs. Again, the domain names will need to be purchased but they will be considerably less in this option.

When dealing with multiple domains on VPS you are offered the utmost in efficiency and convenience. You are able to handle all of your domain names using one control panel which is another convenient feature. Multiple domain hosting through your VPS offers you a greater web visibility.

Your web presence can be expanded and you can bring people your own points of view in many different ways. You can set up a news content site, a web directory, an e-commerce store. You could also set up a site to promote your pay per click earnings. Using the Fantastico application you can make use of your multiple domain sites and you can add your own words of wisdom through blogging, forums, photo or video galleries, or support centers for those who need them. Using multiple domains can allow you really expand your presence online.

As far as cost goes, your multiple domain names should not cost you any more than what it would if you bought them with shared servers. You can purchase domain names through the hosting company who uses established companies to bring more traffic to your site.

Once you have these multiple names and your domains become active you can manage them easily through the control panel of your VPS. Depending on your VPS host you can set up email accounts, FTP accounts, databases and sub directories for each domain.

There are many affordable packages available online, it only takes a little research to find them. The prices for VPS and multiple domains should be only a little higher than shared server hosting plans. Finding the right service provider for your domains could mean the difference between you being just another internet blogger and you becoming the next online sensation.

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Bandwidth in its simplest terms refers to the amount of data that flows across a network wire in a given time period. For most web hosting providers, that time period is measured in a month. Web hosting providers are charged a certain amount per month or per year for an allocated amount of bandwidth from backbone providers and wholesale data centers. That cost is then passed on to the consumer in the form of web hosting plans.

How much bandwidth will my website use?

With so much variation among web hosting companies, it can sometimes be difficult to know how much bandwidth your website will need. So, how much is a gigabyte of bandwidth anyway? Let's put it in perspective. If an average web page, images and all is 50 kilobytes in size, your website could be viewed 20,000 times! For the average hobby website, that is more than enough. Let's further put that 20,000 in perspective. If each visitor to your website viewed an average of 4 pages per month, it would still represent over 5,000 unique visitors to your website every month.

Beware of bandwidth usage when offering file downloads

While offering simple web pages doesn't use up much bandwidth, the same can't be said about downloading files. If you plan on allowing people to download music files, pdf files, flash files, or video files, you can eat up bandwidth in a hurry even with a relatively small number of people visiting your website. If your website offers an adobe .pdf file that is 1 megabyte in size, with one gigabyte of bandwidth, you will only be able to serve up one thousand downloads. This does not including the html needed to get people to download the pdf in the first place.

Video files eat up even more space. A one megabyte video file represents only seconds of video. For a half hour presentation, your video file could easily be over two hundred megabytes in size! At that size, one gigabyte would only allow you to offer five downloads to your visitors. What you plan to do with your website most definitely will affect how much monthly bandwidth you anticipate needing.

Overselling bandwidth is common in the web hosting industry

Because more people use only a fraction of their allotted bandwidth per month, most web hosting providers price their plans knowing that most people will only use a fraction of the resources available to them. In fact, with most companies, if you did use the maximum bandwidth available to you each month, you would most likely be shut down. If you go with a shared hosting account, your website can be hosted with hundreds or thousands of other websites. If your website starts to use a significant portion of the server's resources, you may find them pulling the plug on your website. If you know your website is going to need significant resources, you should probably consider getting yourself a dedicated server.

Knowing what you plan to do will allow you to know how much you need

By knowing what you plan to do with your hosting account, you can have a pretty good idea of how much bandwidth you're going to need. If you anticipate that you will be needing to serve lots of multimedia including video, music and large amounts of flash powered pages, you may need to consider going with a dedicated server. If your website is just starting out and you have little money and no real idea of how much bandwidth you're going to need, pick a company that gives you more than you think you'll need at a reasonable price. Make sure you also find out how much they will charge you for any bandwidth you use above and beyond what comes in your hosting package. If it is one dollar per megabyte and you've already exceeded a twenty gigabyte bandwidth limit, changes are, you'll get one hefty bill at the end of the month. When shopping around and looking at bandwidth, keep the overage cost in mind as well and you'll do fine.

Web Hosts

As explained before, hosting implies a computer, somehow similar to the one you have at home, connected to the Internet, where your website's files reside. This way, people who surf the Internet can access your website. So, if we were to give a definition for a web hosting company, it will be:

Web Host = A service provider with a computer or a network of computers, connected to the Internet, where you can place your web site. A web host basically rents out its computers space and connection to you, so that you can make your web site available on the Internet. Web hosts are responsible for keeping the server (and your website) online, and also maintaining and upgrading it.

Web Hosts usually don't have just one computer or a dozen; they have hundreds of them. A web host's network of computers in a specific location is called a data center. Data centers have fast connections to the Internet, 24/7 monitoring for secure access, UPS and battery back-ups in case of power failures, controlled temperature and humidity and so on, providing an optimal environment for the hardware systems located in the facility.

Depending on your budget and your needs, you can rent from the web host a whole server, you can share the rent on a server with others or you can even buy the server and pay only for the connection and the maintenance. So, when we talk about hosting, we talk about three types of hosting: dedicated hosting, shared hosting and collocated hosting.

Dedicated Hosting.

You have a dedicated server where you can store your website(s). You have remote access on the computer and you can install and update on it any software you want or need. This kind of hosting is suitable for big sites with lot of traffic (and income) because the costs are a little bit higher than, for example, shared hosting.

Shared Hosting.

It means that your website resides on a server along side with other websites. The total space on the computer's hard drive is divided into smaller amounts and you get an amount of that disk space. So, for your website a set amount of disk space and data transfer (bandwidth) will be allocated. Your website will also share the computer's hardware and software resources (the memory, the CPU, the database server, etc.), but rest assured, your information will remain confidential. No user/website can access the files of another user/website residing on the same server. This type of hosting is the cheapest of the three types presented, but it's good enough for almost 95% of the people looking for a web host.

Collocated hosting.

It's similar to dedicated hosting with the difference that you actually own the server, so, beside software upgrades, you can buy hardware upgrades too (more memory, larger hard drives, etc.). The advantage is that the server stays in protected environment, with optimal connections to the Internet, rather than staying in an office or at home.

Bogdan Enache, the author, is the webmaster of HostingProfs.com, a website dedicated to providing free information about web hosting in general and how to choose a hosting plan in particular. He also blogs on WebDev77.com about Web Hosting, SEO techniques, Web development concepts and Internet marketing trends

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bogdan_Enache

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Front page web hosting is a server plat form that has the ability to support this popular scripting software from Microsoft.

If you are keen to know about the platform that supports a FrontPage, let us make you aware of the fact that any web hosting provider that is reputable, should Be able to support Microsoft front page well.

However it is always better to check out within the provider to make sure whether Microsoft front page is supported by a particular web hosting service, most of the providers often list the scripting software that are supported by their hosting plans.

The list is often listed on their web sites. If you cannot find the list, there is nothing to be worried about. Your queries will be answered over a phone or email enquiry. Front page web hosting will often also support other support other software and tools such as ASP, ASP, NET, PHS and MYSQL data base programming.

The important thing to observe is that the hosting plat form is for Microsoft and not UNIX technologies. Plat forms will either support one or the other, but most of today's popular competitively priced hosting packages are Microsoft oriented. But we would like to worn you again that you should always check to make sure you know what exactly you are getting the front page software is quite popular with the web site builders and designers as it is quite reasonable and user friendly.

It is equipped with pre made templates for quick and easy website launching.

There are also some more complicated e-commerce templates for heavier dusty shopping.

Their dynamic software also features ASP add-ins, which provides visitors with an exciting interactive experience through new groups.

Surveys, audio/video and interactive chats, a Web creator can utilize these technologies to enhance his/ creativity and build web sites that are more user friendly and good to view.

If you are vying for the best in front page web hosting, you should settle for nothing less than a Microsoft certification. This certificate authenticates the fact that the host company is a Microsoft - registered provider of front page hosting platforms.

The company is also support to offer FrontPage server extensions in its hosting plans. You are also guaranteed a 30 days money back guarantee if they don't meet or offer you the standard.