What is Hosting?
A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their own website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own or lease for use by their clients as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center. Web hosts can also provide data center space and connectivity to the Internet for servers they do not own to be located in their data center, called colocation.
The scope of hosting services varies widely. The most basic is web page and small-scale file hosting, where files can be uploaded via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or a Web interface. The files are usually delivered to the Web "as is" or with little processing. Many Internet service providers (ISPs) offer this service free to their subscribers. People can also obtain Web page hosting from other, alternative service providers. Personal web site hosting is typically free, advertisement-sponsored, or inexpensive. Business web site hosting often has a higher expense.
Single page hosting is generally sufficient only for personal web pages. A complex site calls for a more comprehensive package that provides database support and application development platforms (e.g. PHP, Java, Ruby on Rails, ColdFusion, and ASP.NET). These facilities allow the customers to write or install scripts for applications like forums and content management. For e-commerce, SSL is also highly recommended.
The host may also provide an interface or control panel for managing the Web server and installing scripts as well as other services like e-mail. Some hosts specialize in certain software or services (e.g. e-commerce). They are commonly used by larger companies to outsource network infrastructure to a hosting company.
Why HostGator Hosting?
As an internet marketer, it is important to choose a great web hosting company for your sites. There's nothing worse than paying for traffic to a site that is currently down. I've tried several different webhosting companies, and the host I recommend to most people is Hostgator. Hostgator is extremely reliable, cost effective, and they offer great support. In this Hostgator review, I'm going to share with you why Hostgator is so popular among internet marketers.
Hostgator offers all the standard hosting plans that everyone else does, including shared hosting, reseller hosting, VPS and dedicated hosting services. I started with the Hostgator shared hosting plan about 1 year ago and I now host about 10 of my sites on their servers. In all that time, I can only think of one or two times where I've experienced any downtime at all. Hostgator boats a 99.9% uptime guarantee and I definitely believe it. It is very rare with hosting companies to experience their advertised uptime, but Hostgator manages to do that.
For managing your web hosting accounts, Hostgator uses CPanel. CPanel is very easy to use, and it allows you to easily add any new domains to your server, setup email address, and setup 3rd party software via Fantastico. I mainly install WordPress for my sites, and Fantastico makes it a very simple process to do. As an internet marketer, I install a variety of different scripts on my Hostgator account and they always work out of the box. Hostgator usually has the latest version of PHP so everything runs smoothly.
Hostgator CPanel
Speaking of support, Hostgator support is fantastic. They offer 24/7 web hosting support and they are very fast and responsive. You always get to speak to a live person on the phone, or you can just use their live chat on the website to get answers as well. I've had to contact Hostgator numerous times for various issues, and I've always come away impressed after talking to their support people. They are knowledgeable and patient, and they've been able to answer all of the questions I have had.
While Hostgator is certainly not the cheapest webhost in existence, they are quite competitive in price as well. You can find a variety of Hostgator coupons around the net that can save you money. For example, use the coupon code HGC25 to get $9.94 off your first month of hosting. If you get the Hostgator Baby plan, that means you can get your first month for just 1 penny! There are also $25 and 20% off Hostgator coupon codes that are available if you are interested in more higher-end hosting plans. Couple with their 45 day money back guarantee and really there is no reason not to try Hostgator.
Hostgator is probably the most recommended web host by internet marketers, and for good reason. It's fast, reliable, and offers exceptional support. That's really all you need from your hosting company. So if you are in the market for a web host, be sure to check them out.
