Ontoweb Media and Information Services provides you with all-in-one solutions for your new website. It includes the following:

Website hosting

You want a website, but your question is how to get it onto the Internet? You need a computer that is part of the Internet. It is called an Internet server. There are millions of Internet servers connected onto the Internet.

Each one of these Internet servers has a unique Internet address, which in technical jargon, is called an IP-address (Internet Protocol address). If you own a website, then that website is associated with the IP-address of the specific Internet server on which your web pages reside

You go into an agreement with the owner of an Internet server to host your web pages. For this you have to pay a certain fee. There are millions of Internet hosts on the World Wide Web and it is rather daunting to read the marketing material of some of these Internet hosts. On the one side of the spectrum you get hosts that will provide you with a free service. On the other side of the spectrum you will find hosts that ask quite a bit for the service. What should you do?

Here are a few points to remember:

Choose a host that has high bandwidth (high speed) access to the Internet. A sluggish reaction time will toll the death bells for your website. You only have a few seconds to capture the visitor before he/she moves away to another website.

Choose a host with a proven reputation. Do a search on the Internet to determine if there are any complaints about the host, especially in user forums.

Try to determine who the host’s clients are. You can feel assured if a number of high profile websites are on the host’s client list.

Could the host guarantee a 99.9% uptime? There is nothing more frustrating than to get a message that the web pages are not available.

Will the host be able to meet new requirements over the long run? Will you be able to upgrade, and if so, what will be the costs involved?

What are the standard options available like email addresses, mailing lists, spam and virus filters, databases, etc?

Why do a host want to provide a free service? At the end of the day you may indirectly pay a high price for a free service. The service could be inferior, or the host may have a bad reputation. You may pay through undesirable and obscene ads on your web pages over which you don't have any control. Your website (and your domain name) may be used without your knowledge for Internet crime. In most cases free hosting is provided by the host to advertise his/her product or service. The service offering is then relatively limited and you will not be able to move your domain name to another host. If you do want to change hosts then you will have to start from scratch, with a new domain name.

Local is not necessarily better. Established international hosts may be able to provide you with a superior service at a high bandwidth and lower fee structure than is available locally.

The bottom line is that you should match your requirements with the service offering of the host. If your website is for your own family’s use only, then it will make sense to choose a host that provides a free service. If, on the other hand, you want to start a business then you have to obtain the services of a reputable host.

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