Related Podcast Link: Listen to Episode 118!
Every time I get an e-mail with a hosting question in it, I do my best to get it answered for the folks that ask me stuff. I don’t get paid for it – but hey, I’m a guy who likes to help out where I can. Here are some of the best random questions on and about web hosting that I’ve been asked about this week.
Question – You’ve talked about a lot of file backup web hosting solutions here lately. I have been doing all of my off site backup storage with Carbonite. Do you like them as a choice?
Answer – Yes, the folks at Carbonite do a really good job and the whole online backup solution. Now the reason you might want to go with a solution like this instead of just backing it up to DVD or external hard drive is simple. What if you house explodes, or an army of un-dead midget warriors attack? Your computer would more than likely bite the dust. With your files backup somewhere else though – at least your files will make it out alive.
Question – I want to get into the web site business. Is it better to host a web site with a lot of topics on one domain name or setup different domain names for each topic?
Answer – I would say try to find a niche domain name for each type of web site you wish to host. The “all in one” web sites are really hard to manage and make popular. People want to learn about or deal with places that are based around one topic of discussion.
Question – Why does my server web statistics not match up with my online web statistics when tracking my visitors?
Answer – When using something like Webalizer compared with Google Analytics, the server side solution is going to be looking at everything, robot crawls, people and more as all one thing – traffic. With a off-site web stats solution like Google Analytics, it can’t see (or gain access to) that information, so it’s tracking numbers are based more off of real people.
Do you have a question? Feel free to send it my way and I’ll do my best to help you out too! Who knows, your question might even make it to the podcast too.
Green Hosting Smells Funny
Related Podcast Link: Listen to Episode 118!
A green web host is one that claims they are doing good things for the environment – or something to that effect.
What are Carbon Credits?
The way I understand it these are credits that companies can buy so they can say they are “green”. That would be the simple way of doing things. This way instead of having to make any real changes – they just buy a few of these, equal to how much pollution they put out – and they can say they a “environmentally friendly” company. To me, the logic behind that sounds a little screwy.
Who Are Real Green Hosts?
The whole buying credits so you don’t have to do anything sounds a little wrong to me. So what would make a real green host in my opinion? I would say a web host that makes real changes to the way they do business. They could turn off their monitors after an hour of not being used. They could use more energy efficient servers. There are a lot of ways you can save energy and cause less pollution.
There are even a few web hosts out there that say they run off wind, water or solar energy. I won’t name any names because I have yet to see some real proof of it, but that is another idea out there as well.
So when it is all said and done, I think you need to ask for proof and examples if your really considering going with a “greener” hosting option. There is nothing wrong with helping the environment, but there are a lot of companies using it as more sales jargon than an actual practice.