Hosting Plans
Types of Web Hosting Plans
Now it is time to determine what type of hosting plan is best suited for your site. There are
many types of hosting plans and options available. The types we will cover are: Free
Hosting, Virtual Hosting, Dedicated Hosting and Colocation Hosting. We will only explore
Virtual, Dedicated and Colocation plans in depth. Free Hosting is not recommended for
anything other than a site about the family dog. Once we determine which type of plan
is for you, we will explain all the important options available for that specific type.

Now, let us look at the different plan types:

• Free Hosting: Free sites are for people who's sites are small and do not expect
  much traffic. Personal sites about your family or hobbies are perfect for free web
  site hosts. I do not recommend this if you are a business, promoting or selling a
  product, or expect a lot of traffic.
  
  You cannot use a domain name for your site. You must use a domain and site path
  provided by the company. Your site URL could look something like this: http://www.geocities/siliconvalley/community123/~yoursite.htm. This is not
  very professional looking and hard to remember. If you decide to use a domain
  name and go with a virtual hosting option down the road, you will have to change
  all your letterhead, business cards, etc. This can become very expensive quickly.
  
  

  +Pros	-Cons
  It's Free	No usage of domain names
  Great for small, non-business sites	Limited technical support

• Virtual Hosting: This is the most popular, and cost effective, form of hosting. Your
  site is place on a server along with other sites. A typical server houses 100-300 sites.
  Your site can utilize your domain name (virtual hosting is sometimes called domain
  hosting), yourcompany.com, or if you do not have a domain name you can use a sub
  domain of the companies domain, hostingcompany.com/yoursite -
  yoursite.hostingcompany.com.
  
  My recommendation is to purchase a domain name for your site. As I stated above,
  switching to a domain name can end up costing you more money than necessary
  
  

  +Pros	-Cons
  Low cost	Multiple sites on a server
  Great for the average business sites	Limited security due to the large number of sites on 1 server
  Use your own domain name
  Good tech support

• Dedicated Hosting: With a dedicated plan, you have your very own web server.
  This plan is perfect for the web developer who maintains several site, large web sites,
  web sites that use special software, or if you are the type of person who does not like
  to share your toys.
  
  It is also a more secure form of hosting due to the fact that your site will be the only one
  on the server. The hosting company provides you a server, rack space for the server,
  back-up power, Internet connectivity and other options. I would only recommend this
  type of hosting if you are comfortable with networking and have a good knowledge of
  the operating software used.
  
  

  +Pros	-Cons
  Your Very Own Server	Must Have Technical Skills
  Great for Larger Business Sites	Can be Expensive
  Better Security and Reliability	Can get Complicated
  Total Control
  You Can Run Any Software

• Colocation Hosting: Colocation hosting offers the same benefits as dedicated hosting,
  except you provide the server. I only recommend this plan if you can gain physical access
  to the server, or have special server requirements. If you are located in Dublin and the
  server is in Canada, it would be difficult, and expensive, for you to replace a hard drive.
  You can have the hosting provider repair problems, but at a premium cost. Usually
  £100.00 - £300.00/hr with a couple hour minimum.
  
  

  +Pros	-Cons
  Same as Dedicated	Same as Dedicated
  Your own equipment- can have any hardware you like.	Your own equipment - If something fails, you must fix it.