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DDGraphics
WebMedia
affordable & personalized
web development services.
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Web Hosting - What's it all about?
A web host is a computer that is connected to the internet through telephone wires. The web host has a fixed electronic or internet protocol address that is registered with an international service bureau. When you register your web sites name, its domain name, the web hosts address is associated with your web sites name so that all of the computers on the internet can find your web site.
All of your web pages, pictures, sounds, etc. are stored on the web host so they can be transmitted or served to the visitors to your web site. Your web developer must transmit your pages from your web host to their computer to make changes to your web pages and then transmit them back to the web host.
There are two things that you can get more or less of that will determine how much you pay for web hosting services.
- The number of concurrent users or bandwidth. For most small businesses a band width of 10 billion bits per second (gigabits) is more than enough. If the number of visitors to your web site starts to approach several hundred per hour then you might consider increasing your bandwidth.
- Disk capacity measures the number of pictures, video, and audio files that can be stored as part of your web site. 300 megabytes is equivalent to a little less than a CD or 1000+ pictures. This is more than adequate for most web sites. A typical web ready picture is 20 to 300 kilobytes depending on its size. Audio and video files are significantly larger. If you are a musician looking to sell downloadable songs, you will probably need more disk space.
Some other features that you may require will also influence how much you pay for your web hosting services.
- Secure transactions. If your web site will be gathering personal information
about your customers from forms or shopping carts using credit cards, you will
need a secure web service called a Secure Sockets Layer or SSL. This will encrypt
the information that is transmitted between your customers computer and your web
server so that someone tapping the phone lines won't be able to read the information.
Some web hosts will let you use their secure certificates, some will make you
buy your own SSL certificate. The downside of using the web host's SSL certificate
is that the address at the top of your browser will show the web hosts name on
your secure pages and not your web site name. The upside is that you save several
hundred dollars per year.
- Email accounts. 50 email accounts is generally more that enough to give one
to each of your employees and set up some special accounts such as info@yourdomain.com
or sales@yourdomain.com. All of these email accounts can be set up to automatically
forward email to the email account you are currently using so you don't have to
check for email in various places.
- Outgoing mail server. If it is important to you that email that you send to your customers shows an origination address of you@yourdomain.com or sales@yourdomain.com instead of your current email address, then you should consider adding this feature.
Web developers generally don't have the time to maintain the expertise required to keep up with both web hosting technology and web development technology. They either don't offer web hosting, or buy web hosting services from one of the large web hosting companies, or resell web hosting services from one of the many smaller companies. The large web hosting companies may offer very attractive rates, but your web developer or you will have to work through their help desk to get answers that are not always forthcoming. Those web developers who have taken the time to get to know a reputable and knowledgeable web hosting provider are your best bet.
DDGraphics WebMedia is a reseller of web hosting services. We work with a local web hosting company that provides reliable and reasonable priced services. The owner is extremely knowledgeable and is always available to us by phone or email to answer questions or solve problems quickly.
DDGraphicsWebMedia Web Hosting Pricing
| Package #1 | Package #2 | Package #3 | Package #4 | |
| Disk Space | 300 MB | 600 MB | 1500 MB | 3000 MB |
| Setup Fee | $39.95 | $39.95 | $39.95 | $39.95 |
| Monthly Cost | $9.95 | $19.95 | $29.95 | $39.95 |
| E-mail Accounts | 50 POP3 E-mail Accounts | 100 POP3 E-mail Accounts | 200 POP3 E-mail Accounts | 500 POP3 E-mail Accounts |
| Data Transfer (Bandwidth) | 10 GIG | 20 GIG | 40 GIG | 80 GIG |
| Outgoing Mail Server | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Anonymous FTP | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SSL Capable | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mailing List | 2 | 4 | 8 | 16 |
| Domain Name Renewal /Registration | Your own .com, .net, .org domain name for only $30.00 for 2 years. | |||
| Domain Parking | $5.00 | |||
| Subdomain | $3.00/month | |||
| CGI-BIN Supports | Unlimited Auto responders, mailing lists, search scripts, order forms, guest books, bulletin boards, and more. | |||
| Business SSL Certificate | $175.00/year(order & install) $30.00/year(install only) |
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| PHP, MySQL | MySQL database and PHP server side scripting for dynamic web sites. SSI Server Side includes scripting for dynamic web sites. | |||
| Support | 24 hours, 7 days a week E-mail Support. Thirty (30) day money back guarantee. | |||
| Specifications | Dual Pentium II and III Linux Servers, Multiple T-3 Connection, 99.9% Uptime, Diesel Generator and UPS Power Protection. | |||