Module 2: Choosing a Hosting Company

Free

Cost: Free

When you get something free, you often get what you pay for. There are “free” website hosting offers out there. Unfortunately they often consist of individuals who are selling space on their server. The problem with this type of hosting is there is always a catch. Most often you will be required to place advertising on your site so the owner can make back the cost of hosting. In some cases these are unscrupulous people trying to mask revenue or illegal activity. You also have no guarantee that this person will continue to provide hosing which could shut your site down at any time. If you are serious about your business online then steer clear of “free” hosting.

Shared (Recommended)

Cost: $3.00 -$6.00/month

For Blogging on a Budget, shared hosting is THE RECOMMENDED type of hosting. Shared hosting is the most popular type of hosting for beginners and small business owners. This is the most affordable and simplest way to get started with your own website.

In this type of plan the hosting provider sells shared pace on the same server. In doing so, the provider can offer a much more affordable option for hosting. The drawback to shared hosting is that there are restrictions on usage. Some plans will say you have unlimited usage however there is no such thing as unlimited. If you have too many large sites on the same server there will be negative effects on the performance of those sites.

When your usage increases to certain levels hosting providers will often ask you to upgrade your account. As your site grows there are definite advantages to looking at upgrading your account.

VPS

Cost: $20-$60/month

A Virtual Private Server or VPS refers to a physical server that is divided into multiple virtual servers. With a VPS, while you are sharing a physical machine with a few others, you will have a system very similar to a dedicated server. You will be able to run whatever server software you want.

VPS hosting is great for medium sized sites, intermediate users and developers. You will need some technical knowledge with a VPS. If you do not then you should consider a managed VPS account and the provider will perform system upgrades and give you assistance when needed.

StarkNakedMarketing.com runs on a VPS Hosting account which allows us to scalability to service our clients.

Dedicated

Cost: $80-$200/mo.

A dedicated server is a physical machine that you lease from a hosting provider. Dedicated servers are often the fastest and most powerful choice available for hosting. This type of hosting allows you 100% control over the server. They can be completely customized in terns of the software that it runs. While some VPS providers allow you to customize it is usually to a limited extent.

Dedicated servers are the top of the hosting food chain and are priced accordingly. They are best suited for extremely high traffic sites.

Like VPS hosting you will need some technical know-how to run a dedicated server. If you are not extremely comfortable with that then you need a managed hosting plan.

Some companies make it very easy to install and set up WordPress. Others… make it a little bit more of an adventure.

The 3 companies that I recommend are:
Lunarpages
Bluehost
HostGator