Free Web Hosting

Looking for a free web hosting solution is an imperative decision. Try to identify a reliable web host can be a daunting task especially with so many service providers and options available nowadays. Throw in the feature sheets and promises, the task can be that much more intimidating.

But it doesn't have to be. Let's take a look at some of the most common features a good free web hosting provider should offer:

Disk Space and Bandwidth

Disk space refers to the amount of storage space assigned to you by the free web hosting provider. This space will be used to store your web site files, including text, images, audio, etc. files you use for your website.

Bandwidth refers to the amount of traffic that is allowed to access and leave your website. Access means every time a visitor types in your website name in their browser. Leave means every time a visitor receives something from your website, whether it be viewing a photo, listening to an audio clip or downloading a file.

For example, if your website has a lot of graphics (ie. photographs) then you will require higher storage and greater bandwidth.

Website Creator and FTP

If this is your first website and you have limited or no scripting experience, then look for a free web hosting provider that offers a free website creating application where you can create your website simply by choosing a template and adding in your own text and images.

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is the protocol for transferring your website files from your computer to your free web hosting server, or vice versa. This allows you to upload your finished website files (including images and other multimedia files) from your computer to your service provider's server. It also allows you to download your files from your web hosting server back to your computer. A good free web hosting provider should offer 24/7 unrestricted FTP access.

Email

Yes, your free web hosting provider should provide you with email services - so that you can setup @yourdomain.com email accounts. In addition to a webmail interface (so you can login and manage your emails using your web browser), the email service should also include POP3 and SMTP access so you can setup and access your @yourdomain.com emails using your mobile devices.

Support and Uptime

You should always choose a free web hosting service with free, reliable telephone and email support.

While no host can offer a 100% guaranteed uptime (think problems out of their control, ie. city power outage), they should provide "just-in-case" measures to limit website and email downtime to a minimal. These measures may include 24/7 server and network monitoring, redundant hardware and network configurations, and onsite backup power supply. While you might not completely understand the technicalities of these, look to see if your free web hosting provider has these listed somewhere on their website. If not, ask them about it.

Pricing

If you're looking for a free web hosting provider, then you should expect to pay absolutely nothing for all the basic features listed above. You shoudn't have to compromise pricing with banner ads. Any free web hosting providers that forces ads on your website is a no-no.

What is PHP Hosting?

PHP is a popular scripting language that is designed to produce dynamic web pages (e.g. login pages, shopping carts).

PHP code is embedded into the html source of a website, and is run on the web hosting server rather than on the browser. So, if you look at the source code of a PHP web page, the code that you see is just plain HTML. Since PHP is a universal scripting language, websites created with PHP are fully compatible with popular mobile devices like iPhone and iPad. A large number popular websites, including Facebook and Wikipedia, are written in PHP.

WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla are the most commonly-used open source content management systems written in PHP. A lot of webmasters choose these three platforms to build their websites because of their flexibility. There are a lot of themes and plugins created for these three platforms and webmasters can create professional looking websites based on these systems with just a few clicks. Also, their themes are customizable, so webmasters can change the coding to fit their needs.

PHP and Web Hosting

As mentioned before, PHP is decoded on the web hosting server side. Therefore, if the website is written in PHP, it needs to be hosted on a server that has PHP processor module. It is important to check with your web hosting provider if the hosting plan you are using supports PHP.

http://www.dpbolvw.net/5e103gv30v2IMMNKRNNIKJNJRNQQ?sid=buz

Choosing the Right Web Host

1. Understand the differing types of hosts

shared, collocated, unmanaged dedicated, and managed dedicated. Is your site brand new with little traffic? In the event your site is a newer domain, you won't need the raw power of a dedicated server unless your site is resource intensive which can include: streaming, video's, proxies and even linking to videos as well can cause a high load on Apache and the CPU(s). 

 

2. Go for stability, not just size

Just because the host if offering you unmetered and unlimited space, doesn't mean you should soley base your decision on that. What good is that account to you when your site is down or the server is overloaded? Research how long the hosting business has been in operation. See if they have recently changed ownership, and if they show positive cash flow.

 

3. The possession of fully redundant data centers

If you are considering doing business with a smaller hosting vendor, ensure that they have adequate power and connectivity capabilities. Inquire as to the number of lines the facility has. Do they possess an on-site generator? Does the generator receive regular checks and maintenance? What is the average utilization of the connections available? 

http://www.dpbolvw.net/5e103gv30v2IMMNKRNNIKJNJRNQQ?sid=buz

Unlimited Green Web Hosting

Unlimited Web Hosting $3.96/m

Web Hosting made EASY and AFFORDABLE!

• UNLIMITED Disk Space
• UNLIMITED Bandwidth
• FREE SiteBuilder (Try Demo)
• EASY Control Panel (Try Demo)
• 1-CLICK Script Installs

• 4,500 Free Website Templates
• 99.9% Uptime Guarantee
• 45 Day Money Back Guarantee
• 24/7/365 Technical Support
• $100 Google AdWords Credit

 

 

 

 http://www.dpbolvw.net/5e103gv30v2IMMNKRNNIKJNJRNQQ?sid=buz

Reseller Hosting                         $19.96/m

 

Make money with your own web hosting business!

 VPS Hosting                                $15.96/m

Get dedicated functionality without the expense!

 Dedicated Servers                     $139.96/m

Feel the power and flexibility of a HostGator dedicated server! 

Unlimited Green energy web hosting

Unlimited Web Hosting  

/mo

96*

$3.

Web Hosting made EASY and AFFORDABLE!

• UNLIMITED Disk Space
• UNLIMITED Bandwidth
• FREE SiteBuilder (Try Demo)
• EASY Control Panel (Try Demo)
• 1-CLICK Script Installs

• 4,500 Free Website Templates
• 99.9% Uptime Guarantee
• 45 Day Money Back Guarantee
• 24/7/365 Technical Support
• $100 Google AdWords Credit

 

 

 

 

Reseller Hosting

Make money with your own web hosting business!

STARTING AT

/mo

96*

$19.

VPS Hosting

Get dedicated functionality without the expense!

STARTING AT

96*

$15.

First Month

Dedicated Servers

Feel the power and flexibility of a HostGator dedicated server!

STARTING AT

*

$139

First Month

What is Green Hosting

100% Powered by Certified Green Renewable Energy Sources

Yes, it's true! Our energy is certified by the following sources:

HostPapa has taken the initiative of going green by purchasing 100% green renewable energy to power our data centres, web servers, office computers, laptops and office space. These energy sources supply HostPapa's entire equivalent energy consumption into the power-grid with certified 100% renewable green energy sources, such as wind and solar-powered energy.

 http://www.anrdoezrs.net/dg103vpyvpxCGGHELHHCEDLDFMHL?sid=buz

Host Papa web hosting review of Special offer expires March 3rd

Host Papa review

A Canadian, United States and United Kingdom web hosting provider that has taken the unique approach of going green! They are our first hosting review of a provider who is 100% powered by Certified Green Renewable Energy Sources. Host Papa accomplishes this by buying energy certificates from green energy producers like wind turbines and solar power. These certificates ensure that 100% equivalent green energy gets put back into the power grid.

The review of HostPapa for all 3 countries has been wrapped up into one review since the service is virtually identical. The one main difference is, the location of the servers are located in their specific country. The benefit of this for us the consumer is, we get to choose what country we want our web sites hosted in. If you are from the UK and your target market is the UK, then host in the UK. If your target market is the USA, then choose HostPapa.com. The reason for this is (here is a free SEO tip), search engines like Google take into account where the website IP address is located. In most cases IP addresses from a particular country, rank higher in Google for that country, than other IP addresses from other countries.

HostPapa

One of the best thing about HostPapa for Canadians is, they now have the option of going with a Canadian hosting provider which offers the same excellent services, features and low prices of there major American competitors. Plus, they pay in Canadian funds. This means Canadians do not have to worry about exchange rates and the fees associated with purchases made in US funds.

Current Special Offer: Shared web hosting starting at: $5.95 per month for Canada, $5.95 for the United States and £2.95 for the United Kingdom Receive an additional $10.00 off of your shared hosting plan by entering this promotional code:

YTHB

This coupon offer is valid for the month of February and it expires March 3rd, 2011. It is valid for HostPapa Canada. We hope to get a US and UK coupon soon.

Hosting Plans & Features
Host Papa offers Shared Hosting in a Linux/Unix environment. There is only one Host Papa Plan but, you can choose from 1, 2, or 3 year terms. All plans come with 1 free domain name for life and the ability to host unlimited domains and unlimited subdomains on one account. There are 2 guarantees, a 30 day money back guarantee and a Maximum Uptime guarantee. The uptime guarantee includes both servers and the network at 99.9%.

Here is a table of Host Papa's main feature set.

Host Papa CA and Host Papa US
OS Type Linux
Setup Fee Canada & US - None
UK - £10.00 for 1 and 3 Months terms only, others are Free.
Monthly Fee* $5.95 to $7.95 CDN
$5.95 to $6.95 USD
£2.95 to £8.99 UK
Data Transfer Unlimited
Web Space Unlimited
Control Panel cPanel
Database MySQL
Scripting PHP
Perl
SSI
Frontpage Extensions
Free Domain Regs 1
Domain Hosting Unlimited

* Chart last checked July 01, 2009. All prices in either Canadian or US Funds or Pounds. Always confirm pricing, etc. before you sign up.
Custom Cron Jobs are supported along with the ability to use SSL Encryption. If needed you can password protect directories or use .htaccess. Web statistics can be gathered with access to the raw log files or through Webalizer. Many different types of scripts can be automatically installed via Fantastico. These 40+ scripts include web applications like forums, galleries, blogs and many more. E-commerce is also not left out. Host Papa accounts are Papal Merchant compatible and also support multiple shopping cart scripts like ZenCart and CubeCart.

Other Related Services Offered
Besides shared web hosting, Host Papa also performs domain name registration as well as web site design. You may also purchase additional features with web hosting, like a dedicated IP Address.

Cost & Value

This hosting provider offers a good value for the cost and is comparable to other hosting companies. While being strong in reliability and support the feature set for Host Papa's hosting plan is only average. There are other hosting companies which offers customers more options in regards to scripting languages. Host Papa only offers the most popular ones but, this is still perfect for 80% of the hosted sites out there.

Reliability & Performance

HostPapa.ca hosting servers are located in Toronto's premier data center. This data center is equipped with UPS and diesel backup power, climate control systems, fire suppression systems and multiple bandwidth providers. This Cisco network is also behind a triple redundant firewall. The site is monitored 24/7 by both software and live techs and security guards. Hosting plans also come with automated backup and the backup data facilities are located off site in a number of other data centers in Canada and the United States. With these precautions in place, your web site and data will always be safe and secure with Host Papa.

All of the equipment used for hosting is brand named and the infrastructure is built with multi-homed OC48 and Gigabit fiber connections. This keeps downtime to a minimal.

Customer Support

Host Papa realizes customer support is very important too its clients. All customers have 24/7 toll free phone support and email support. Live chat is also available along with and in-depth knowledge base and video tutorials. Earlier this year HostPapa.ca launched support forums. Here you are able to not only bounce ideas off or ask question of the support team but also of other Host Papa customers.

Conclusion
It's all about customer satisfaction with Host Papa. From reliable servers to prompt customer support Host Papa understands what makes a good web host provider. Plus in today's rising climate crisis, Host Papa is looking towards the future by being certified with having 100% green energy sources. My only major complaint would be not having a month by month pay as you go hosting plan term, the minimum contract length is 1 year. Of course Host Papa does have a 30 day money back guarantee so if you are not satisfied, you will get your money back minus any domain fees. To conclude, being backed by two guarantees and being able to pay in either Canadian Dollars, makes Host Papa your best choice for shared hosting in Canada.

 

Tag: web hosts, host papa, linux, shared hosting, canadian, united states, united kingdom,canada