Dreamweaver 8 Design and Construction (OReilly Digital Studio)

2.1. Choosing a Web Host

The first step in securing the publishing space for your site is choosing a web host. A web host owns or rents the computer that serves the files of your web site to your visitors when they come calling; and the first step in choosing a web host is checking with your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Many ISPs offer hosting space as part of their overall membership packages. If you're experimenting with web building for the first time, your personal ISP hosting is ideal, because you don't have to spend any more per month than you're already paying for your Internet connection. Even for more experienced web heads, ISP hosting is great for testing new ideas.

Having said that, ISP hosting is less than desirable in many circumstances. Your ISP doesn't usually let you choose your own domain name, or the web address of your site (http://yoursite.com/). Instead, it assigns you a generic domain name, usually something like http://yourisp.com/your-email-name/ or http://yourisp.com/your-account-login/, and you either like it or you don't. While this may be fine for a personal home page or hobby site, it doesn't make sense for most businesses or organizations. The domain name is very important as a marketing tool, as you'll see in "What's in a Name?" later in this chapter.

Furthermore, your ISP's computers host the sites of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of customers like you. The more traffic a hosting computer receives, the slower it runs. Again, this may be fine for your home page, but it's the kiss of death for commercial sites. Customers shop the Web for convenience and speed. Make your visitors wait too long for pages to load, and they won't stick around.

It's also possible that your ISP will tack advertisements or their corporate branding onto the pages of your site without your permission. You might be able to live with this for your personal home page, but you definitely don't want it on any kind of site for your business or organization, where you need precise control over the advertising policy and your site's graphical look and feel.

Finally, your ISP usually gives you sufficient web space for a typical home page or modest web site. For larger sites, especially those that include multimedia files like MP3s, you can quickly exceed the amount of space that your ISP allots you.

Since you're just starting the process of building your site, you might not know how much web space you need, and it's not always easy to guess. At this stage, just find out how much space comes with your Internet account and refer to Table 2-1 for a rough guide. The important thing to remember is that your web host doesn't have to be your life partner. If at any point you discover that you need more room for your site, you can very easily hire a new web host. In the event of a host change, recalibrating Dreamweaver takes no more than a few simple clicks.

If your ISP doesn't offer hosting space or if you need to find a better web host for your commercial site, your next stop is your favorite search engine. Type in "web hosting," and watch the results pile up. Google gives you tens of millions! How do you sort through the static? A little research goes a long way. Check out the first few pages of results, and visit any web host that jumps out at you. Maybe you recognize the name, or maybe the service deal appeals to you, or the host's home page might strike you as particularly well done or professionala good sign that the service shares similar standards of quality.

When you have maybe five to ten possibilities, type each host name into your search engine, and see what comes up. You're looking specifically for independent reviews. Quality web hosts often generate positive talk, but don't be discouraged if you come across negative reviews here and there. Nobody's perfect, after all, and negative press is a sign that the host has some experience in the business. Be more concerned if the Web is strangely silent about your host of choice. An experienced host who has weathered a few hits in the customer-service department is generally more desirable than a rookie host with little experience in handling the irate customer.

You can divide non-ISP web hosts into two categories: free and pay services. Free web hosts have an obvious advantage in that they're freeyou don't have to pay an additional monthly charge to publish your site to the Web. However, the same provisos that apply to your ISP apply doubly or trebly so to free web hosts. Free services don't usually let you choose your own domain name. Their computers are crowded and therefore slowmuch slower than your ISP'sand they almost always load your page with involuntary advertising. Choose a free web host for a personal page, but steer well clear of them for commercial sites.

Pay services for web hosting may elicit a grumble from your wallet, because you're shelling out an additional monthly charge on top of what you already spend on your Internet connection. But for professional sites or serious personal pages and hobby sites, a pay service is the only way to go. At least you get a few nice premiums for your money: your choice of domain names, faster performance, larger amounts of hosting space, and control over advertising. If your pay service doesn't offer these benefits, find one that does.

Here are a few general criteria for choosing a good web host:

Reasonable monthly charge

Expect to pay about $10$25 per month for a typical personal or small-business site. Pay less, and your web host is probably making up the difference with reduced features, spotty service, or advertising. Pay more, and you're probably buying more than you need. But definitely shop around and see what competitors are offering.

Reasonable (or no) setup charge

Some perfectly reputable web hosts charge a one-time setup fee when you first sign on. This isn't just soak money. The host does have to do a little extra labor to get a new account up and running. At the same time, many perfectly reputable web hosts don't charge a setup fee at all. The bottom line is, if you really like a particular web host, don't shy away from it just because of the setup fee. Some non-fee web hosts make up the difference at your expense. Your best bet is to catch a fee-charging host during one of its "fee waived" promotional periods. And don't pay more than $35 in any case.

Domain name registration (preferably free)

Some web hosts will register your site's domain name on your behalf, and some will even front you the standard annual $35 registration fee if you agree to stay with them for the entire year. As you will see in "Reserving Your Domain" later in this chapter, you don't have to use your web host's registration service if you don't want it or need it, but going with your web host helps to smooth over some of the technical minutiae.

Upgradeable service plans

A good web host offers several different plans at decent price points, maybe 10 MB of server space at the entry level to 10 GB or more for the premium package. While you can always switch web hosts at any time, why change when you can upgrade instead? Start with the cheapest plan, and as your site grows, you can simply graduate to the next rung of service.

Reliable customer support by phone

Round-the-clock support by email is fine, as are online knowledge bases and web pages for frequently asked questions, but you need phone support, period. You need to be able to call your web host and talk to a live human being. If you can't get 24-hour support by phone and a toll-free number at the price you're willing to pay, you can comfortably settle for a help line during normal business hours. You may only use that phone number once or twice in your entire relationship with the host, but you'll be glad you have the option of calling if something goes wrong.

Site reports

You want a web host that provides you with detailed information about your visitors: where they're from, what browsers they're using, which pages they're visiting, and especially which pages they seem to be missing. These breakdowns are essential to helping you fine-tune your site. If everyone seems to be missing a key area, you can juggle the organization of your site in Dreamweaver and compare traffic levels in the next report.