You can sort the dedicated hosting offers by:

• Management
• CPU Type
• Bandwidth
• Memory
• Disk Space
• Platform
• Price

The HostMonk web site was founded by a group of IT professionals who found themselves spending way too much time sifting through hosting plans to find the best deal.  So what did they do, they built a tool that helps you sort dedicated web hosts more easily.

Here is more on why and how they think they are different in comparison with other web host ranking tools:

Choosing a hosting service is a decision that will affect the way you work and impact your customers’ experience. The choice should not be made on the basis of which provider buys the largest banners or spends more money getting your attention. The choice should be made according to the facts.

HostMonk is committed to bringing you a thorough index of the world of hosting services. We present the facts for you to make your decision. What you see is impartial, based on the cold hard facts with nothing added or removed.

The beta web hosting tool currently compares 2,901 different dedicated hosting plans.  Go check it out at HostMonk.com.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 185!
Running Time: 13 minutes | File Size: 5.94 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode:

• What is the nofollow Link All About?
• Find Out Who is Copying Your Content
• Compare Linux Dedicated Servers and Deals
• Best Way to Find Web Hosting Coupons
• First All Virtual Web Hosting Conference is Coming

Here are this week’s web hosting news headlines:

• Credit Cards Compromised in WHT Hack – Dedicating this week’s news segment to more coverage on the webhostingtalk.com hack, the recent announcement that credit cards were compromised and what you need to do to protect yourself.

Trivia Question – The first version of the Apache web server was created by whom? (to find out the answer, be sure to download and listen to this week’s podcast!)

Hope you enjoy this week’s broadcast.  Thank you all for tuning in!

On today’s show I am going to speak with Aplus.net’s CEO Phillip Spencer on what exactly they do and his own views on the web hosting world.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 183!
Running Time: 6 minutes | File Size: 2.55 MB

Here are some of the questions we will cover in today’s interview:

• What is Aplus.net and how long have you been around the hosting industry?
• For those who have not been to your web site, this question might be a little out of the blue, however – who is Jeff?
• Looking back at the past few years, in what ways do you
  see the hosting industry changing?
• You also have a blog. As one of the few hosts that do this, do you feel it has hurt or helped your business?
• If somebody out there is looking for a web host, could you give me a quick reason why they should turn to Aplus.net?

Also here are a few resources you might want to check out after listening to the interview:

• Aplus.net’s Official Web Site
• Aplus.net’s Blog

Many thanks to Phillip for being on today’s show. If you would like to come on and speak to the entire web hosting industry, feel free to contact me at mitch@mitchkeeler.com.

Many thanks to all the great people at Peer 1 for putting together this series of videos, and hopefully we will be seeing many more great ones in the future.  If you are a web host, or you have found a web host that has also been putting videos up online, be sure to let me know at mitch@mitchkeeler.com. 

Disadvantages to Virtual Private Server Hosting

For those of you who are used to paying $5 to $10 a month for web hosting, the jump in price might be considered the biggest disadvantage.  Often VPS hosting accounts go for $40 to $50, which is more than some people wish to pay.  With a VPS hosting plan, you might also need to know a little more about server-side administration.  You will need to become familiar with application installation and maintenance.  Of course you could also hire somebody to do this, or see if the web host has an option for them to do it, but then we get back into discussing price again.

Advantages to Virtual Private Server Hosting

Now where are the advantages of VPS hosting?  With a VPS hosting account, you will have more access to CPU, RAM and other server resources that may have been limited to you with a shared hosting plan.  Also, in comparison with dedicated hosting plans, the VPS hosting is often cheaper.  You would also be sharing that server with a few amount of people, so you will have to be less worried about what your proverbial neighbors are doing with their accounts that could get yourself and the server in trouble.

Most people come to VPS hosting once they have outgrown their shared hosting plan, but are not yet ready for a dedicated hosting server.  Virtual Private Servers are a great choice for those who are wanting to move way from shared hosting, but are not ready to commit themselves to the work that it takes to keep a dedicated plan up and running.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 182!
Running Time: 11 minutes | File Size: 5.01 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode:

• How Payment Processing Works
• Find Available Domain Names – Domain Pigeon
• Virtual Private Server Advantages and Disadvantages
• Faster Domain Search with DomainTyper

Here are this week’s web hosting news headlines:

• Aplus.net Provides Google Webmaster Tools to Clients
• Japan Cybercrime Grows by 15.5 Percent

Welcome to my web hosting school of hard knocks. On this very podcast, week after week, I do my best to help make the wild and wacky world of web hosting make a little more sense for everybody out there.

If your web site goes down, they can give you alerts via e-mail and SMS.  They have multi-protocol support for ping, HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, SSH, SMTP, DNS, POP3, IMAP, MySQL, and any arbitrary services running on TCP/IP.  You can also user their service to automatically send email to your provider during downtime, to request for a reboot or any additional investigation.

Not to sound like a game show host, but really – that is no all.  They also provide:

• Add “Live Status Report” to Your Site
• False Alarm Elimination
• Uptime & Performance Reports
• Maintenance Scheduling

If you want to become your own uptime monitoring service, they also have reselling options for their services too.  Just slap your logo and domain on, and set your prices.

To learn more about HyperSpin’s services, be sure to go check out HyperSpin.com.

What does SSL stand for and what does it do?

SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer, and it is a set of rules uses in exchanging information between two computers (or in web hosting, the visitor’s computer and the web hosting server).  Think of it as the Cone of Silence on the old Get Smart TV show.  You have a secure communication between the server and the client.

What is the job of the SSL certificate?

The best way I know how to describe it is to think of it as an electronic key that the web browser checks for that will encrypt transmissions between two computers, or in the world of web hosting – the connection between the web site visitor and the web hosting server.  The secondary job of the SSL certificate is to confirm that a message that you received actually came from the person identified.  In most cases, SSL certificates are used to protect person information such as passwords, credit card numbers and other personal data, when you are transmitting them over the Web.

What is the difference between the shared SSL certificate my web host provides, and the dedicated SSL certificate they are offering as an additional service?

Most web hosts give you two options when it comes to SSL certificates.  They are often referred to as shared SSL certificates and dedicated SSL certificates.

• Shared SSL Certificates – These are the ones provided by the web host and their server setup.  The use of them is often limited, and when somebody check out the SSL certificate via the browser, they will see your web host’s information and not your own.  That may not seem very professional to people wishing to login to use your services or send their encrypted information to you.  Good thing is it is free with most web hosts.
• Dedicated SSL Certificates – These are SSL certificates that are setup just for you.  Often sold with a dedicated IP address included (or for an extra fee), these will include your own business information, and will be able to be used with more services.  The dedicated SSL certificate is less limited that the shared SSL certificate.  You will need to pay for it though.

So you can used the shared SSL for your web site, if needed.  However, if you want a more professional look and feel, and want to do more with it – you might want to look into getting a dedicated SSL certificate.

It is a server side software library that concerts video and audio files into a preferred audio or video format to play them or embed them from a web site.  YouTube is a good example of this type of technology at work.  In turn, FFmpeg hosting is a term used to cover the assortment of FFmpeg and other server side technologies that help with converting digital video or audio.

So let’s say you go to your web host and tell them you want to start up a YouTube clone.  While there are many web hosts out there that can host your normal web site, only a small amount of web hosts will be willing to accommodate your needs for your YouTube clone script.

The reason this is so, is that these types of scripts can be unfriendly to the server.

They use up a lot of disk space for storing the videos.  They use a lot of bandwidth, with the embedding and streaming of the videos too. Then count in the CPU and RAM usage with converting the videos from one format to another on the server side and you have a real big mess.

The solution, in most situations, is to turn towards Virtual Private Servers (VPS) or dedicated hosting accounts.  Right now, if you want to be any kind of success, shared hosting can not support YouTube clone scripts and everything you need from what was earlier defined as a FFmpeg hosting.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 171!
Running Time: 10 minutes | File Size: 4.26 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode:

• Where is the Good in Clustered Web Hosting?
• An Online Tool to Clean up Your CSS!
• Problem Finding FFmpeg Web Hosts?
• Multi-column CSS Layouts with YAMAL Builder

Here are this week’s web hosting news headlines:

• Global Internet Solutions accused of Hijacking Sites
• News Story on Global Internet Solutions – Video from Fox News

Sorry I missed you last week, but I had a bit of a lingering cold, and didn’t think you’d be able to stand a show I was sniffling all the way through. I promise you this is a sniffle-free zone now!

The Magnificent Fantastico – Episode 168 – From the first time I ever heard about Fantastico, I always thought about the traditional magician pulling rabbits from his hat.  Who would have a clue that a few years later on down the road I would have a chance to speak with one of men behind it.

Web Hosting to Go – Episode 169 – What would I like to have today?  Lets see.  I will have a large data center mashup map, a side of hosting tools (just remember to hold the tomatoes), a HP performance-optimized datacenter and a definition on what domaining is all about?  For here or to go?

Hostfinger – Episode 170 – James Bond’s rival Goldfinger was obsessed with gold. I am a man obsessed with web hosting. So does that make me Hostfinger? I am sure of two things. Yes, there will be a web host by that name soon if there isn’t already and I think I’ll stick with my own name for now.

Hope you enjoyed this past month as much as I did.  Got any ideas on what you’d like to hear about next?  I am all ears!

They offer plans covering the following services:

• Complete Server Solutions
• Server Monitoring and Response
• Per Ticket Plan
• Server Hardening and Setup
• Dedicated Admins
• Hourly Server Administration

To speak for how great their service is, they promise a response in 20 minutes or less and also have a 15 day money back guarantee.  They have been in the support field for over two years too, so they are not a fly by night operation.

If you are looking for another alternative to outsourcing support, you might also check out BobCares.  I did an interview with them a few weeks back on their business and support.  Of course I welcome the CliffSupport team on the show as well if they would like to talk with me too.  To learn more about CliffSupport be sure to go check out CliffSupport.com.

For more information on the race, and to check out some gallery pictures, check out this link: The 24 Hours Of LeMons South 2008 Uber Gallery

Is it all worth it though?

Services You Can’t Provide with Home Hosting

Looking at the services that a datacenter could provide that you may have trouble with, some of the most important aspects of hosting may be missing from your host it from home server.  People like having redundancy.  Are you going to be able to provide backup generator power, diesel generators, redundant routing and multiple carriers?

More Work for YOU!  (and explosive diarrhea)

Now not only are you managing your own hosting company, you are also in charge of keeping that machine updated, secure and running around the clock, 24/7, 365 days a year. Think of it as having to baby sit a child that you can’t take anywhere because it has unpredictable explosive diarrhea.   You never know when it might strike, and as far as taking care of a server goes – you never know when the worst might happen.

Professionalism: Who Would You Rather Do Business With?

The last point I would like to bring up is that people don’t feel comfortable with it, so don’t expect to get many customers to sign onto the deal.  If company A told me they were hosting out of their basement and company B told me they hosted out of a real datacenter.  I’m going with company B, and you know you would too.

The moral of the story is that people often greatly under estimate the time, devotion, costs and more that it takes to get this type or project up and going.  Between server security, updating the server, and administering it too your not going to have much time for anything else.  Best to go out and find a good data center or dedicated hosting partner to help you with that side of the web hosting business.

Have any other interesting hosting videos to share?  Sent ‘em to me at mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll share them with the web hosting world.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 154!
Running Time: 16 minutes | File Size: 7.17 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode of the Web Hosting Show.

• What is Your IP and Why Do You Need It?
• Don’t Backup My Documents on Your Hosting Account!
• Checking Web Popularity with URLmetrix?
• Gawkwire, a new Internet and Hosting News Site Launches!

Podcast Exclusive – Part 2 of Our “How to Purchase a Web Hosting Business” Series with Web Strategist Errett Cord. Download the podcast to check it out!

Ever have one of those periods of time where it seems like nothing is going right?  Two weeks ago my main podcasting powerhouse of a machine was fried and I was still waiting to get it back from HP.  Last weekend, I had no power due to a line of wicked weather.  This week I am knocking on wood and tossing spill salt over my shoulder because thus far, nothing has interupted me.

Now with shared hosting, monitoring is a given. Most people have no clue what is going on. They just know their Joomla install isn’t working and they want it fixed. With dedicated hosting though monitoring becomes more important because the web host you go with may or may not “hold you hand” in this regard.

The basic things you need to keep your eyes peeled on are HTTP, FTP, SMTP, POP3. Then you have other services that are second tier to that and you go down the line service by service.

There are services out there that will monitor for you. SiteUptime.com is one service that comes to mind. Another one that I would highly recommend would be Wormly.com. If you remember I had an interview about Wormly with its founder back on podcast 105. Shared, VPS or Dedicated, if you are not sure how, when, where and why your own web host does server monitoring you might want to ask.

I am a web designer and I have a bunch of little web sites. I’d like to have multiple web site hosting, so I can easily get in and work on my collection of little web sites.

Right now, I have each one hosted on its own account, so I have to ftp to one, do my thing, disconnect, ftp to the next one, do my thing, disconnect, etc. Also, I don’t want to spend a lot of money on the hosting for these little web sites because they are just little tiny web sites. Can you give me any advice on getting this type of web hosting? Thanks for help.

Now as I noted before there are several ways you could tackle this problem.

Shared Hosting with Addon Domains – This would probably be the cheapest route to go. Many web hosts these days are offering hosting plans with the ability to host multiple domains from a single plan. Each site is hosted inside a folder of the main domain so if you wanted easy access to all the files this might be the best way to go.

Reseller Web Hosting – Getting a reseller account would allow you to act as your own little mini-hosting company. From there you could setup each account as you need it, give each it’s own control panel and manage everything from one spot.

VPS or Dedicated – For those with some cash to burn or “resource intensive” web sites going with a virtual private server (VPS) or a dediated hosting plan might also be a good solution. You’ll not only have plenty of disk space and bandwidth. You will also have plenty of of the server’s RAM and CPU to use up too.

Like with most problems that face webmasters with web hosting, there are more than couple of ways to skin the proverbial cat. With the increase in disk space and bandwidth we’ve seen in hosting in the past few years I feel that many more people might also be finding themselves in Diane’s shoes. Best thing would be to do your research on each hosting type and see which one would work best for your situation.

I Want One, What Is It?

So what is a reseller hosting account? If you want a dictionary definition, I would say a type of web hosting in which a person purchases a plan from the hosting company and then resell this plan to other customers.

Where do you find such hosting accounts? There are a lot of web hosts that offer good ones, you’ll just have to shop around. In many cases you will be given a large chunk of hosting space and bandwidth that you can cut up into smaller peices for all the domains you wish to host. You can think of it kind of like a dedicated server – except it is shared, and not so dedicated.

How Does it Work?

Once you have all your peices cut up – you can then turn around and sell this space to Tom, give this section to Molly and save that section over there for yourself. Each section gets its own control panel and acts like your usual shared hosting plan that you are probably more familiar with.

Now some companies take a different route with reseller web hosting. They will give you access to the master account, then you buy littler plans to stuff into your reseller hosting account as needed. If you need five hosting plans for five clients, you would go to them tell them you want a reseller plan with room for five and they will do the dividing up and setting up for you.

The nice thing about reseller hosting plans is if you actually resell to a large enough audience, the hosting plan can pay for itself. Down the line you might even upgrade that reseller account to a dedicated server where you could do all the same things but have more system resources to work with. Who knows, after that you might end up becoming your own web hosting company after all.

What some people don’t realize is it takes a lot of web hosting power to run these titans of the new digital age. A web site like digg.com is not run on a $5.99 a month web hosting account. They probably have a whole farm of servers running that single domain.

Who Will Save the Day?

This is where deditated hosting companies come into play. Places like Rackspace and FastServers.net love this new growth because that means more people have reasons for purchasing more hardcore hosting accounts. So if that is the good news, then what is the bad news?

The bad news is that these web sites need not one person running them, they need a team of dedicated people watching over them to keep them intact. For the would-be webmaster this creates another challenge of staffing and finding people who can work around the clock to make sure that some script kiddies don’t get too hyped up on Jolt cola, start running a DDOS attack on your Web 2.0 masterpiece and bring you to your knees.

If you have the next great web site ready to go, here are somethings you need to put on your shopping list when looking for a dedicated web host.

• Top Notch Uptime and Performance
• Solid Infrastructure and Scalability
• More Than One Way to Access 24/7 Support and Server Updates

So before you say that you would like to have the traffic or popularity of one of the Web’s leaders of the day make sure you know what your getting yourself into.

Now there has been a great debate about Windows on the desktop for years. Should you use it? Should you switch? I would be willing to bet money though that you didn’t know the same fight existed in the web hosting world too. Unlike the desktop PC market, Windows is not on top. Linux really rules the roost in this world of server administration.

Where with a Linux-based server you have reliability, with Windows-based servers you have ease of use. As far as security goes, Linux is on top and with Windows your left patching holes left and right. On the range of price, Linux for the server is often cheap or free while Windows costs much more money than you really have to spend.

With that said your probably wondering, what does Windows hosting provide for the end user?

Well, as I mentioned before they have “easy of use” to hang over Linux’s head. That means that a web host can spend less time trying to train their staff on the ins and outs of how to administer the server. Windows can also support a number of database types, such as: MS Access, Microsoft SQL, MYSQL and Excel. Also you can’t forget about the ASP and ASP.net – Microsoft’s Active Server Pages technology.

When push comes to shove, you really shouldn’t pick the operating system of your server because of who it is. You should be picking it because of what it can do for you. If the scripts, services and technologies you want to use are on Windows – go with a Windows hosting account. If they are not? Then a Linux-based server might be the bets way to go.

So why is this such a confusing topic, and why do so many hosts not want to talk about it? Well, it might not be as taboo ask you might think.

Now as an example of what server resources means to you and me, think of it like your computer. Lets say you have ten programs open and running. You are browsing the Web, checking your E-mail, running a chat client, burning a DVD and more. Now running all those programs at once can be a little taxing to your machine if it is not powerful enough. Power for a computer (and for a server) is often measured by the CPU and RAM it has access to.

Now lets say your DVD burning program starts to go wild, it is using up so many resources that it slows the rest of your programs down to a crawl. What would you do? You’d shut down the DVD burning so your other programs could come back from a near death experience.

Now if you have a Web site that is using too many server resources, you could experience the same effect. On one server you have many Web sites hosted. Each one would be like a program, using it’s share of the server’s resources. If one uses too much, it is usually “turned off” so the other ones are not effected. A Web host can much easily deal with one mad customer. When you have an entire server filled with pissed off people, well – lets just say that is no fun at all.

Now how can you fix this? Well moving up in plan type can often give you more resources to work with (if you can not bring your resource use back down). Going from a shared hosting environment to a dedicated one can give you a fighting chance because a dedicated plan has a smaller amount of Web sites on it. What does that mean for you? It means you have more server resources to work with.

So why don’t Web hosts tell you how many of the server’s resources are available to you? It is because the number in most cases is very low. It isn’t exactly a good selling point, so they are not going to share that information with you.

Also many servers are setup differently.

Server number one might be able to take a little more punishment than server number two. So that makes it really hard for a Web host to give you an exact number. Most scripts and services you would install on a Web hosting account these days are really good at managing your resources for you so they do not get out of hand. Every so often though, you might run into an issue like this – so it is good to know before hand what your situation is so your not yelling at your host saying “Where did my Web site go?”.

Related Podcast Link: Listen to Episode 103!

What is it?

Well, I am sure I will not cover every inch of what a VPS hosting account is, but let me go through the basics so we don’t need a degree to understand what it will and will not give you.
VPS stands for virtual private server. It is sometimes also referred to as a virtual server or a virtual dedicated server. It takes one big server and partitions it off into several smaller servers. Each VPS hosting account can have its own operating system and can be rebooted without effecting the other accounts on the machine.

Now that you know what it is, what is it good for?

These types of hosting accounts are usually used as a stepping stone between your basic shared hosting accounts and dedicated hosting accounts. You get all of the benefits of having your own dedicated machine, but you still have some limitation as to what you can do with it. If shared hosting is a light snack, and dedicated hosting is a three course meal, you can consider VPS hosting a regular sized dinner.

Now where with a dedicated machine, your RAM and CPU usage would be a little less limited, with VPS hosting you are more in the boat with shared hosting. You will be limited by your Web host in disk space, bandwidth, CPU and RAM usage. Now where a VPS is helpful is when you need the benefits of dedicated hosting such as certain types of script setups and account access.

So as I said before, this is a much needed plan in between your shared and dedicated hosting. It allows you a little more flexibility than a shared hosting account, but limits you more than a dedicated account would.

Related Podcast Link: Listen to Episode 102!

To read user reviews and find a linux or Windows VPS host we highly recommend the VPS Hosting section at Web Hosting Unleashed!

Some of the earlier shows were dedicated more to the “Web hosting 101″ topics but it never hurts to have a refresher. Here is what Fred had to say:

Hi Mitch you host the best podcast out there. I am a Web site designer and I wanted to know if you could tell me what are the differences with all these types of hosting. I see dedicated, shared, virtual and my head starts to spin. Please help!

Your right Fred, the Web hosting industry has not exactly made learning all this stuff very easy. Here is a rundown of the basic flavors of Web hosting and what they are all about.

What is Virtual/Shared Web Hosting?

No matter if the Web host says they offer shared or virtual Web hosting, they are both the same thing. This flavor of Web hosting refers to the process of running multiple “virtual” web servers on a single physical host computer. By doing this they can use a single computer or server to run a lot of different Web sites.

This is the kind of hosting account that ninety percent or so of the Internet uses.

What is Reseller Web Hosting?

Usually when I define reseller Web hosting to folks outside of the industry I tell them that it is like having your own little Web hosting company. A reseller Web hosting account is useful when you want to be able to create smaller hosting accounts and sell or give them out to friends.

You can also use this account type to have a better control over your own little empire of Web sites. Instead of having to go here and there to manage everything – you can do it in one spot.

What is Dedicated Web Hosting?

Now a dedicated Web hosting account is the big daddy of them all. This is what the majority of the huge Web sites you visit run under. This is when you have a machine or server that only hosts one or two Web sites. These Web sites need a lot of disk space and a lot of services that are dedicated to just them.

You see with a dedicated Web hosting server, you are made the king of the machine. You might share it with one or two other people, or you might go at it alone. The equipment and connectivity are fully managed by the hosting firm, and you pretty much have to handle the rest.

[Watch Me Describe These on Video!]

Do you have a question to ask me? If so – please drop me an E-mail at mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I will be more than happy to help you out. Just think of me as your own personal Web hosting guru.

+ Check Out the Podcast This Was From! Listen to the Web Hosting Show, Episode 92!

*Update* – If you are reading this, then it means the move was a success! Next week’s show might be delayed due to propagation time – but have no fear, once I make myself at home here on this new server I will be ready to go back into production!

Download the Web Hosting Show, Podcast 77!
Running Time: 11 minutes | File Size: 5.09 MB

Hello, I am Mitch Keeler, the media rock star of the Web hosting industry, and allow me to welcome you to a little podcast I like to call the Web Hosting Show. Episode 77 of the Web Hosting Show is being brought to you by WebHostingChat.com and Ping! Zine.

Now before we get started with today’s show, I almost have an announcement to make. The reason it is just an “almost” for right now, is it won’t be finalized till sometime next week (I hope). Once it is all said and done though, I should be back working inside of the Web hosting industry. The folks over at Lunarpages have been nice enough to offer me a job doing pre-sales chat and forum moderation.

Don’t worry though, nothing about this show or any of my other projects will change. I just need something to make me a little more financially stable. In other words, Mitch needs a little ‘bit of an income.

Anyways though, this isn’t the show where I talk about my employment here and there, this is the number one Web hosting podcast in all the land. So let’s get to business and check out this week’s Web hosting headline.

Web Hosting News

DemoDemo Launches Partner Site

Flash Web hosting tutorials provider DemoDemo announced on Monday it has launched its new partner site OnlineSupport.org, an online support service for webmasters and Web site operators.

Oh goody! A new Web hosting resource Web site! Let’s continue to read here.

“Aside from being a useful free online resource, OLS is now positioned as an extremely targeted venue for Web host advertising,” says DemoDemo.com president Vito Ceniti.”

Ceniti says he is confident that Web hosts will be able to use the site to advertise to niche markets.

Now for those of you who don’t know what DemoDemo does, they do video tutorials for a number of Web hosting scripts and control panels. Over at OnlineSupport.org it looks like they are making use of their own video tutorial work to put together one heck of a nice resource. Along the way, if you just happen to want to buy what you see, you can always click that link to go to DemoDemo.com and do so.

This is a resource worth checking out, because it is both innovative from the outside looking in and the inside looking out. It has a lot to offer.

Web Hosting Site of the Week

Need help generating a sitemap for Google’s sitemap service?

Site Map Builder helps you generate Google SiteMap XML which you can place into your root directory for Google to index your Web site. The sitemap XML follows a certain syntax that Site Map Builder will generate for you. Just copy and save the resulting code as sitemap.xml.gz and upload into your root, then register your sitemap at Google.

Want to check it out and give it a shot? You can do so at SiteMapBuilder.net.

Hot Topic in Web Hosting

So when it comes to dedicated Web hosting, where do you start? To tell you the truth, the last time I had to talk or write about dedicated hosting was way back when I wrote Lockergnome’s Guide to Web Hosting. Dedicated hosting isn’t something we all deal with day to day because it costs a lot of money and gives most people more space than they know what to do with.

You see with a dedicated Web hosting server, you are made the king of the machine. You might share it with one or two other people, or you might go at it alone. The equipment and connectivity are fully managed by the hosting firm, and you pretty much have to handle the rest.

How much does it cost? Well most dedicated servers are anywhere from $100 to $1500 a month, depending on the Web host and the size of the server in question. Now because of that price, these big boys are usually used by people who have a large empire to manage. If you are running a Web site like Amazon.com or Digg.com you might even have to use several dedicated servers for the entire Web site.

So, as you can see a dedicated server is not for everyone. Ninety percent of the time, I would say a virtual Web hosting plan will keep your butt covered. However, if you have a big idea or you are planning a big Web site, dedicated might be the way to go.

Web Hosting Questions and Answers

This week’s question comes from Lou via the ol’ Web Hosting Show E-mail bag. He writes…

Hi Mitch, you put on one of the best podcasts out there. I was wanting to know if you knew of a place that talked more about data centers? I have been wanting to know more, but most hosting forums don’t have big areas dedicated to it. Any recommendation would be welcome.

Well Lou, I have the place for you! DataCenterTalk.com is one of the few forums I know of that is totally dedicated to talking about data center topics of discussion. This would be a great place for you to start learning more about the data center business, ask questions and get answers.

The team that runs Data Center Talk is the same team that runs Web Hosting Chat as well, so I know they are good people.

Final Web Hosting Thoughts

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