Web Hosting Tutorial Series

Video #3: What’s the difference between shared, dedicated, and other types of hosting?

This video tutorial will teach you about the different types of hosting so that you can determine what type of service might be right your web site.

In our first video, we briefly touched on the different types of web hosting that are available on the market today. If you are just getting started, more than likely you’ll want a shared hosting provider for your website.

Shared hosting means that your website is hosted on a server that is shared by other customers and that your web hosting provider is the one responsible for managing and monitoring your site. Inexpensive and popular, shared hosting is the easiest and cheapest way to get started with hosting your website online.

However, if your account frequently uses up a lot of server resources – for example if your website draws incredibly high amounts of traffic or uses a lot of video – your hosting provider will probably require you to upgrade to something more suited to accommodate your website’s needs:

Reseller hosting. One option is another type of “shared” hosting called reseller hosting. This basically allows you to sell shared hosting accounts to other people. Sometimes a reseller server will be less crowded and better suited to websites with high resource usage.

Dedicated servers. A dedicate server is the most expensive form of web hosting, costing anywhere from $40-100 a month. However, unless you know how to manage the server yourself, a dedicated server is probably not a smart option. If you don’t know a thing about server administration, you would probably need an entry level managed server, which is even more expensive.

Managed dedicated servers. A managed dedicated server leaves the hardest parts of operating a server to experienced technicians, allowing you to focus more on your websites, less on the technology. Typically an entry level managed dedicated server will cost around $200 a month.

Virtual dedicated server. On a slightly smaller scale is the virtual dedicated server (VDS), also known as virtual private server (VPS). In this situation, a hosting company divides a very powerful dedicated server up into separate “virtual” servers using virtualization software. Each virtual server gets its own operating system, and acts almost exactly like a real dedicated server. How powerful a VDS truly is can vary depending on the hosting provider and the plan you choose.

How can you tell which one is right for you? It all depends on what your website requires. Shared hosting is well-suited for personal websites and small businesses. A dedicated server is more appropriate for larger hosting needs, yet is considerably more expensive. By knowing your site requirements, you can determine which is solution is right for you.

Up Next:

Now that you are clear on the types of different hosting, let’s talk about the software that allows you to manage your website, the control panel.

Web Hosting Tutorial Series

Video #9: Tips on reselling your web hosting space

This web hosting video provides some advice on reselling. It’s a popular money making idea but certain steps have to be taken in order to be successful.

Hosting space is something a large population make use of on the internet. There are a lot of things one can do with this space, but is reselling the space an option? While the thought of making money off of your hosting space may be intriguing, be cautious of this as most providers will not allow it.

Typically, web hosting providers do not allow customers with shared hosting accounts to resell hosting space. Of course, it never hurts to ask as there are some providers that allow reselling to other website owners. The place to look is with support or in the terms of service and other legal agreements as you can quickly determine if it is legal or not.

In case you are unaware of reselling, what this consists of is providing space to others online for money. Think of it as a small hosting company as you are profiting off of a shared hosting account. This is precisely why most hosting companies look down on this and feel as if they are being ripped off.

One option that you may run by is the hosting company requiring you to upgrade to a designated reseller plan if you intend to offer others space. This tends to be a win-win for everyone as the hosting company will make a little more money, your customers will have a better experience as they have their own hosting control panel, and you will be making money yourself.

If reselling web hosting space is something you are interested in, upgrading to a reseller account is certainly worth looking into. Just beware of any clauses or terms of agreement that limit exactly what you are allowed to do. Some will limit you from making your account, web space, email accounts, storage space, bandwidth and so on available to any third party.

If you are going to jump into an opportunity like this, you want to make sure there is nothing holding you back. There should be no limits whatsoever as to what you can and cannot do. The more freedom you have the more enjoyable the overall experience in the small business of reselling.

So while most web hosting companies will not allow you to resell hosting space, there are those few that do allow it. And even more promising is finding the companies that offer a reseller plan. But always look at the fine print before agreeing to any reseller plan or similar option as many hosting companies are out to get the best of you.

Up Next:

Can I host more than one website per web hosting account?