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Web hosting alternatives

Once you have registered your domain name, what's next? You have several alternatives such as:

1. Domain Parking
2. Free web hosting + URL forwarding
3. Paid web hosting

1. Domain Parking

In my view, this is a temporary solution. Domain Parking allows you to place your domain name on a web server before you have your website up and running. Many domain registrars will offer this as a free service when you register your domain name through them. You will not be able to upload your website content to a parked domain. When your website is ready, you will need to choose between free or paid web hosting.

2. Free Web Hosting + URL Forwarding 

You can have your domain name forwarded or redirected to any Internet address. So, if you own another website, you can redirect your new domain name to the homepage or to any other page of your existing website or use a free web space from free hosting services. This way, you only need to pay for redirection not web hosting. A word of caution, not all web hosts will allow you to forward another domain name to a website on their server.

Free hosting services

Internet Service Providers (ISP) and specialised free web hosts (eg Geocities) offer free hosting. But, "free" comes with a price. After all, they are not charities but commercial organisations. Free web hosting provides them with an opportunity to display the banners of their paid advertisers or to generate add-on value to their services to attract or retain customers.

The following checklist covers the areas to consider when using free hosting:

1. Type of website permitted (personal, business).
2. Disk space allocation on their server to your account.
3. Bandwidth allowance. How much data (text, images, audio) can be transferred to or from your website in a given time?
4. File type and size permitted.
5. FTP capability: can you upload your files or are you obliged to use the supplied online builder?
6. Speed of access during peak hours.
7. Third party advertising (eg compulsory banners, pop-ups or advertising frame). Can it destroy your professionalism and credibility?

3. Paid Web Hosting

Paid web hosting is available through Internet Service Providers, specialised commercial web hosts and Web developers. What you need depends on the design and size of your website, traffic anticipated, features required and more so, your budget.

©2003 Henriette Martel

Henriette Martel is a website strategist and author of 200 Marketing Ideas for Your Website'. Receive a free ebook when you subscribe to WEBmarketingcues, a free and valuable newsletter with articles, reviews and resources to help you market your own website. http://www.marketingcues.com