Here are the top seven dirty web hosting words (and phrases) that every hosting customer should know or be able to define.

1.  Server Resources - This is often the limitation you don’t hear about until you have reached it.  Many people might call it the, “Haha, got you now!” clause, but if you stop and think about it, it does make sense.  You can only do so many things on your computer before you begin to have performance problems, and the same could be said for a hosting server.  If one script, service or person is taking up all the RAM and CPU up for themselves, they have to be taken out of the picture to help everyone else who may be hosted on that server.

2.  Database Connections - Depending on who the web host is, and how they have their servers setup, you may only have available to you so many connections to a database.  For example, Joe hears that his database connection limit is 25 simultaneous connections.  What Joe doesn’t stop to think about is what the word simultaneous actually means.  For him to go over his limit, he would need 25 connections in roughly the same few seconds to get in trouble.  Since most scripts only connect for a second, this is not something most of us need to worry about.

3.  E-mail Sending Limits - Yes, you are limited on the number of e-mails you can send out.  This is a pretty new limitation that web hosts have been putting on their customers, mostly to curb spamming in any form.  If you are doing any sending of newsletters or something that goes out to a great amount of people via e-mail, you might want to look at scripts that will spread the wealth sending around.  That way instead of sending your newsletter to 10,000 people at once, you will be able to send it to maybe 2,000 people per hour through the day.  Both DadaMail and phpList will allow you to do this.

4.  Unlimited - There is no such thing as unlimited in web hosting.  It is a marketing word though that is bound to bring people in.  People like to get something for nothing and the chance to be able to grow their web site and brand to unlimited boundaries is a dream we can all be excited by.  Now, why does this word not really bug me that much anymore?  Well, even if you are sold by the word unlimited, chances are you aren’t even going to use enough of your unlimited disk space or bandwidth to hurt the server.  In most cases, it doesn’t do any harm.

5.  Uptime and Downtime - The one thing you see asked about by people who like to think they know a thing or two about web hosting is, “How is the uptime?” or “How much downtime have you had?”.  These are kind-of important questions, but I wouldn’t put too much weight into their answers.  Like I have said before, you are not going to find a web host who is perfect and has not even the smallest single flaw.  You will need to find an example of the problems they have had, and see how they have dealt with them.  That is how you can really tell how great a web host is.

6.  Overselling – In the world of web hosting, overselling is the term used to describe be hosts who put more customers on a server than the server can really support.  Most big name web hosts won’t have a problem with this, but some of the smaller to mid-range web hosts do.  The problem is that they can’t afford to bring more servers online, or they are packing you in like sardines into a can to save on costs.  It is something to try to be aware of, but chances are you won’t know about it till it is too late.

7.  The Comparison Box – I hate the comparison box of features you see web hosts use.  We have all seen them.  You have the features listed down the side, the different plans listed across the top and the thing that bugs me is every plan has every feature.  Why do a comparison chart, if every stinking plan has the same features?  The comparison chart should be use to compare the differences.  Most of the time, the only difference might be the disk space, bandwidth and price.  Give me a shorter comparison box, and just give me those three items if that is the case.  One more smaller item that bugs me about these boxes too is when they list stupid features that even your 98 year old grandmother knows are there.  For example, I am looking at a web host who does this, the comparison chart is as cheesy as ever and what is one of the features each plan has?  “support”.  As if in some bizarro world, there would be a web hosting plan that doesn’t come with “support”.

Know of another dirty web hosting word that didn’t make it onto the list?  Drop me an e-mail at mitch@mitchkeeler.com or leave a comment and we’ll see if we can find at least seven more amongst us all.

So if you want to know more about this company and the tools they provide, stay tuned – because this will be your kind of podcast.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 167!
Running Time: 9 minutes | File Size: 3.82 MB

On today’s podcast I am lucky enough to have the Vice President of Business Operations of SmarterTools Inc, Jeff Hardy.  From going through their services to ask him why he thinks these tools would be helpful to your web hosting or small business, I promise to leave you at least knowing more about this excellent web services company.

SmarterTools defines itself as an information technology management software company.  They build applications to simplify, automate, and really just make our lives easier.  Founded in 2003, the company is (in at least my opinion) one of the top web hosting script and service companies too.

How can I say that?  Well, thankfully I don’t have to.  Their services do the talking for them.  Here are their main products.

• SmarterMail - SmarterMail Windows mail server is the cost-effective Microsoft Exchange alternative. SmarterMail provides antispam/antivirus out-of-the-box, reporting, events/notifications, throttling, email archiving, and more.
• SmarterTrack – SmarterTrack brings all the functionality of a Help Desk, a Ticket System, Live Chat, WhosOn, Cost Analysis, Data Mining, Reporting, and a Knowledge Base in one software application—delivered through one elegant Web interface.
• SmarterStats – SmarterStats log analytics delivers detailed website statistics for a single website or up to thirty thousand websites across a distributed network.

To find out more about the company, what they do and how they can help you, check out SmarterTools.com.

With both paid and free versions, Site24×7.com looks to be a great web site monitoring package.  They do monitoring of uptime and performance of your web sites, online services and servers.  They also promise to deliver instant alerts the moment something goes wrong.

You can set the monitoring tools to check the web site in question you wish to monitor in intervals ranging from 5 to 60 minutes or above.

If the worst might happen, and you need to be told, here are the various ways they can alert you to trouble:

• E-mail
• RSS
• SMS Messages

For those of you just wanting to beta test the service; when you first sign up, you are given a fully functional, 15-day trial account. At the end of 15 days, your account will be downgraded to free unless you upgrade to either Standard or Premium account.

Check out the screenshots, then give them a shot at Site24×7.com.

First thing you must do is login to the Gmail web site, and then Click Settings at the top of any Gmail page, and open the Accounts tab.

Now on the Account web page, scroll down to the Get mail from other accounts section, click Add another mail account. Now Gmail will walk you though a wizard (like with any other e-mail client) to gather information about your e-mail account.

Now personally, I would make sure you check not to keep your messages on the server.  This way all your messages are sent to Gmail and stored there, and you don’t have to worry about cleaning out your server side mail from time to time.

Once you have finished with the wizard, hit click Add Account.  Now you can use your e-mail from your web hosting account with Gmail.  If you are a fan of Gmail, this will keep you from having to jump from client to client to get your e-mail all checked.

It is a collaboration suit the provides cool features such as searching, tagging and RSS feeds they they say will make your life easier.

The purpose and point here is to have a one place stop for a team of people to meet together and post their work and ideas Online in the same spot.  Here is a little more about the product from Joyent’s web site:

The Connect app ties everything together. It’s a place where items from any of the other parts of the system — mail messages, contacts, events, files — can be collected into related groups. Smart groups in the Connect app pull in items from any of the other apps on the system, from any users, allowing you to easily manage the items related to a project.

They do provide a free service if you want to just try things out, and then they go up from there in features.  The set of tools they provide is well worth checking out for any team of people who want to collaborate online.

Honestly, for me as long as the Online support (either via e-mail, a help desk system or both) is great I could live without the ability to dial them up to make the same complaint.  Chances are your not going to get a quick fix for your complicated issues over the phone any ways.  What will the phone tech representative do?  They will put in a ticket for you.

For smaller web hosts who don’t have a lot of funds, having a toll-free number can become rather expensive with little or no payoff in the end.  By not having phone support you can also avoid those people (you know who you are) who call in about everything and anything that might be wrong with the web site they have.  So which side of the fence do you come down on?

Now this might be a little different depending on the cPanel skin you are using, but it should work generally for any and all.

Step one would be to login to cPanel and go to your mail settings (usually you can just click on the “Mail” icon to get you there. Next you will want to go to:

Add/Remove/Manage Accounts

This is your Mail Account Maintenance page. Here you can see all the e-mail accounts you have created. If you have not yet created one go to “Add Account” to do so. Here you can fill in the name you want to use (the thing that going before @yourdomain.com), your password and the Quota. By default the setting should be 10 Meg. This stands for 10 Megabytes.

Now it is time for some math. To make things easy, let us say you wanted to bump your e-mail quota to 5 GB of storage.

1 gigabytes = 1,024 megabytes

Using Google, you can do the conversions quicker. Just type into Google “5 GB to MB“. The answer you need to type into cPanel’s quota box would be “5120” which is 5,120 MB. If all goes well you should see the message:

The e-mail account (your e-mail address) with the login (your login) and password (your password) with a quota of 5120 Megabytes was successfully created.

To change that later on, just go back into your Mail Account Maintenance screen, find your e-mail account and click on “Quota”. See, now you know you don’t need a Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail in your life to have a larger online inbox.

As I test this new way of creating video content for the podcast here, I thought I would go with a question that gets asked an awful lot. How do you create an e-mail account from within the most popular of the control panels out there – cPanel.

Click to Open the Video Tutorial in a New Window!

DemoWolf.com is proud to team up with the Web Hosting Show to bring you these hosting support tutorials. Help your customers help themselves, and at the same time, significantly reduce your support costs! To find out how to get DemoWolf flash tutorials on your website, visit DemoWolf.com.

Click to Open the Video Tutorial in a New Window!

DemoWolf.com is proud to team up with the Web Hosting Show to bring you these hosting support tutorials. Help your customers help themselves, and at the same time, significantly reduce your support costs! To find out how to get DemoWolf flash tutorials on your website, visit DemoWolf.com.

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Running Time: 3 minutes | File Size: 768 KB

Well that was then, and this is now. The new quick way to keep up to date with your Web hosting ways is Web Mail. Web mail is an a way to check your E-mail without ever leaving your browser of choice. Looking much like Hotmail, Yahoo Mail or Gmail, Web Mail is usually offered as a part of your Web hosting package at purchase of a Web hosting plan.

Some Web hosting companies may offer several different programs to choose from. The most popular Web mail clients are: Horde, SquirrelMail, and NeoMail. All three have what you could expect from your basic interface and look much like the Hotmail or Yahoo Mail systems. You will have your inbox, sent messages, drafts and any of the other standard folders as well. It is worth mentioning though that these programs do not work well together. Just because you create a folder inside Horde that does not mean NeoMail can see it. The best thing to do is find which one you like the best, and stick with it.

How can you tell if your Web hosting plan has a Web mail account? That it easy. Login to your control panel your Web host offered you, then look under your mail settings. For my control panel (cPanel) it is located on the first page under “E-Mail”. Depending on your control panel or Web host it might be located somewhere different. You might also ask your Web host if they provide it, if you are not sure where to look.

What are the advantages of using Web mail? Well now you can check your mail on the go. If you happen to be at a friend’s house you can get on his computer and check for new messages in just a few seconds. Also, there’s no need to install any new programs or software yourself. The beauty of Web mail is it can be run from anywhere with an Internet connection and a standard Web browser.

Just drop me an E-mail to mitch@mitchkeeler.com and give me your feedback. How can I make things better for you?

Download the Web Hosting Show!

Running Time: 7 minutes | File Size: 1.64 MB

Our first question comes from Dominick via Hotmail:

Great show! I was wondering what you thought about ads on Web sites. I want to start up my own site but don’t know if I should put ads or not. Please, let me know your thoughts.

Well Dominick, even though this isn’t really a Web hosting question, I’ll be happy to share my thoughts on it.

Now if you are talking about the ads that have my punch a monkey for a free Playstation Portable, I hate those. I hate flash ads, I hate ads with sound, I hate annoying ads. However, in the last few months I have become a big fan of Google’s AdSense ads.

Why? Well because unlike the “punch a monkey” ads, they are usually relevant to the content on the Web site and they usually lead to real Web sites. Not Web sites that ask me for $20 and a referral to five friends before I can see the Web site in question.

So in my opinion, if you want to play with ads, give Google’s AdSence a try.

Our next question comes from Bobby via Hotmail as well:

Mitch, my web host has an affiliate program, should I sign up for it? I’m not sure what it is for, but I do like my host so I would like to get more people to sign up there. Thanks.

Well Bobby, first let me give a little description about what an affiliate program is.

When a Web host or any company has an affiliate program, that usually means that they are looking for their clients to refer folks (using ads) back to the Web host itself. In return, you might get paid money or some other reward for doing so. I think from both the Web host’s point of view and the Web hosting client’s point of view, this is a great idea.

If you like your Web host, you want to tell others to use them. So you are getting rewarded in one way or another just for spreading the word. I would say make sure you read all the legal stipulations first, and then if it still sounds good, then give it a shot. If an affiliate program still kind of seems scary to you, then you might just put a link on your Web site back to your Web host yourself. Maybe a small text link at the bottom of the Web page. Either way your Web host should be happy.

Our last E-mail question comes from Hunter via GMail:

Dude, you need a cohost or something man. You can’t talk right by yourself and the sound of your voice gets annoying after a while. Get somebody else to host the show and I will listen again.

Well Hunter, thank you for your opinion…

Every so often I get an E-mail like this, and I have to answer it. I make a promise to answer all the mail I get, so this one.. just like the other two, deserves an answer as well.

When I first start this podcast, I heard a lot of comments like this. Not everybody, but a good amount of folks thought I should bring somebody else in to co-host or host the show. Now I’ll give my answer one more time.

Unless somebody offers me millions of dollars to buy out my show, or I am unable to do a show because of one reason or another, you will never hear anybody else hosting this show. Jimmy down the block isn’t the voice of the Web hosting world. Bob down the street isn’t the voice of the Web hosting world. That title falls on my shoulders and my shoulders alone.

As long as there are people out there with questions about the way the Web hosting world works, I’ll be here. As long as there are folks who want to know what I think about Web hosting. I’ll be here. As long as at least one person is listening to this show each and every week, I will be here. I make it my promise to each and every one of you listening to this right now that I will always be here to help you with the way the Web hosting world works.

Well that’s it for this special E-mail edition of the Web Hosting Show. Have a question or a comment you’d like to make? Make sure you send it to me at mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll be more than happy to answer it for you right here on the show. I am Mitch Keeler, and you have been listening to a special edition of the Web Hosting Show, the voice of the Web hosting world.

Download the Web Hosting Show!

Running Time: 21 minutes | File Size: 4.92 MB

Hello, I am Mitch Keeler and welcome to the Web Hosting Show, the one and only voice of the Web hosting world. The Web Hosting Show is brought to you each and every week by the fine folks over at Web Hosting Chat. Web Hosting Chat is your number one place for Web hosting discussions.

One amazing thing I saw this week was a Web server, you know one of those large metal boxes you see in a data center, the size of a head of a match. It is called the IPic and it really does have to be seen to be believed.

IPic – A Match Head Sized Web-Server

Here is what they have to say about it on the Web site:

The single chip computer in the above picture runs the IPic web-server, the world’s tiniest implementation of a TCP/IP stack and a HTTP web-server. The chip above is a complete micro-computer, and it includes all components of a complete computer on a single tiny micro-chip (this includes the CPU (central processing unit), memory, serial port interface circuitry, and clock oscillator).

So is this a sign from the future? Instead of having massive data centers that have rows and rows of servers, will we be able to store a server under our desk? I’d love to hear your thoughts good or bad on the matter. Send them in to mitch@mitchkeeler.com and if I get enough of them, I might read the best ones on next week’s edition of the Web Hosting Show.

Why are we here though? This is a Web hosting podcast, a Web hosting radio show, it doesn’t really matter what you call it. What does matter is that you listen.

Web Hosting Headlines

The Web hosting news and headlines are brought to you by The Web Host Industry Review. The Web Host Industry Review is the place to go to get all the latest Web hosting news from around the globe.

Hosting.com Adds Advanced Backup Tool

Web hosting provider Hosting.com announced on Monday it is now offering an advanced online backup solution that enables users to proactively prepare for data emergencies.

Mitch’s Take: There is nothing more important than keeping a good backup of your Web site or server no mater the size. Bad things can happen anytime, and it is nice to know if they do, you are ready to get yourself back Online in no time flat.

Go Daddy Giving Away Free Email Accounts

Domain registrar and Web hosting provider Go Daddy announced on Tuesday that it would give away a free Economy Email account for free with any domain name purchased, transferred or renewed.

Mitch’s Take: This is called taking the rug out from under your competition and beating them over the head with it. Yet another extra service you can get when getting your domain name at Go Daddy.

BitTorrent Picks 365 Main Web Hosting

Data center provider 365 Main announced on Wednesday that content distribution company BitTorrent has selected 365 Main’s data center to host its company infrastructure.

Mitch’s Take: Congrats to 365 Main for picking up this big account. I’m a big fan of BitTorrent. It just makes it so much easier to download content out there. Now you do have some people out there using it for “bad purposes”, but if used right then there is nothing scary about BitTorrent feeds.

Do you have some Web hosting news? Make sure you send it to mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll try to get it on the next episode of the Web Hosting Show.

Web Hosting Tip of the Week

Every so often you just need a quick nugget of Web hosting knowledge. The Web hosting tip of the week is brought to you by Mitchelaneous. Mitchelaneous is my own tech news and views Web site, where I tell you what I think about some of the new things coming out of the technology world.

This week’s tip is more of a tease than anything. The newest edition of the Web Host Industry Review magazine is out. Have you gotten your copy yet? Click here to subscribe for free!

In this issue the main topic looks to be “Hosting from the Beach”. The idea that wireless communications technology enables Web hosts to work from just about anywhere. This is totally true these days. Thanks to Wi-Fi, Web hosting workers and Web hosts can do their work just about anywhere. Now I don’t know if I would tell any clients I was answering their help desk ticket while on the toilet, but it is possible.

So make sure you subscribe to the Web Host Industry Review, it is totally free, packed full of information and worth checking out!

Do you have a Web hosting tip you’d like to share? Make sure you send it to mitch@mitchkeeler.com and who knows? It could be included on the very next edition of the Web Hosting Show.

Web Hosting Thoughts, Views and Ideas

All of my Web hosting thoughts, views and ideas are brought to you by Data Center Talk. Data Center Talk is the best set of forums on the Earth about the world of Web hosting data centers.

AIT CEO Gives Out His Phone Number

It looks like AIT has rolled out a new list of features this week. That isn’t the only thing they have been making public though. They have also listed on their Web site the CEO’s phone number and E-mail address. Now is this just another public relations stunt? Maybe.

I don’t care though if it is a PR stunt or not. There is nothing better than seeing a CEO or owner of a Web hosting company getting down and dirty with the “grunt work”. They have as much to lose or gain with a good or bad job done. So why shouldn’t they get in there and do a little work?

Those Web hosting owners that just sit back and watch the worker ants run your business, you should be ashamed of yourself. I would enjoy being hosted more by the CEO who works rather than the CEO who spends his day playing golf and watching the money roll in.

To test this out, I’m going to E-mail Clarence E. Briggs, the CEO of AIT myself to see how quickly he can respond. Maybe I can even get him to come onto the Web Hosting Show? We will see.

Run Your Own DSL/Cable Web Server

I know we have all had the dream to run our own Web server right? Well, maybe not everybody, but I do know there are a few server geeks out there. Check out dslwebserver.com for everything you need to know about getting started, up and running.

They have a great list of introduction material, requirements and a step by step process to check when you are getting things set up. There are also forums, articles, links, and more. So feeling a little geeky today? Check out the site and let me know what you think.

Host Legal Launches New Legal Protection Site

The folks at Host Legal launched a new Web site this week.

The Web site, hostlegal.net promises to provided the hosting industry with help on legal forms and documents. I’ve talked before on the Web Hosting Show about how great of a service the folks at Host Legal provide, and these new additions promise to further that great service. If you want more information, please check out hostlegal.net, send them an E-mail to sales@hostlegal.com or call them up at (313) 527-7480. When you do, make sure you tell them that you heard about them on the Web Hosting Show.

Web Hosting Show T-Shirts

The Web Hosting Show store was launched this week. Now you too can own your very own Web Hosting Show t-shirt, mouse pad or mug! The link to the store can be found on the Web Hosting Show’s Web site. While you’re there check out the photo of me modeling one of the t-shirts myself. See, even I stand behind my products.

Web Hosting Show Online Store

Do you have a Web hosting topic of discussion you would like to hear me cover on the Web Hosting Show? Then make sure you send it to mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll try to get it on the next episode of the Web Hosting Show.

Web Site Design Help

All of the Web Hosting Show’s design help is sponsored by BrowseHosts. BrowseHosts is the most comprehensive Web hosting directory out there today.

This week’s Web site that needs some help is Wm-home.com.

As a place for Web masters to come and discuss various topics, I’m not sure if I get that impression from the front page. You have the standard form layout, which is good.. but there is no extra features that are screaming at me to check out. At the top of the forums, I’d do a better description of what the forums are about and who do you expect to post there.

Remember with every Web site that is out there today, you are in a fight. You are in a fight with millions of other Web sites. A fight for not just viewership, but for constant eyeballs. You want people to come back, discuss and love being on your forums.

Other than that, it is a good start and I wish you all the luck in the future with your Web master discussions.

Do you need some help with your Web site design? Would you like me to just let you know what it is you could do to make your Web presence that much better? Make sure you contact me at mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll try to get your questions answered and your Web site reviewed on the next episode of the Web Hosting Show.

Web Hosting Web Site of the Week

The Web hosting Web site of the week is brought to you by Banners World. Banners World is the number one place to visit to get all your Web site graphics, banners and designs done.

This week’s Web hosting Web site of the week is Web Host Magazine.

Web Host Magazine is yet another one of those “catch-all” Web hosting Web sites. They have monthly awards, they have editors picks, they have directories, they have just about everything you would ever need or want from the wild and wacky world of Web hosting.

One of my favorite features is the Editor’s Choice award. You can find a plethora of new and exciting Web sites to help you out listed there. The down side of that is that they have yet to give the Web Hosting Show an award! I think we deserve it, if nothing else.

So check out Web Host Magazine and when you do, let them know that the Web Hosting Show sent you there.

Do you have a Web site that deserves to be the next Web hosting Web site of the week? Make sure you send it to mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll try to get it on the next episode of The Web Hosting Show.

Final Web Hosting Thoughts

That is it for this week’s show! Make sure you send me your feedback, thoughts, suggestions and ideas via:

Skype: mitchkeeler

E-mail: mitch@mitchkeeler.com

Forums: Web Hosting Show Fan Forums.

Next week we will be doing more of the same! I am Mitch Keeler and you have been listening to the Web Hosting Show, the voice of the Web hosting world.

For more technology podcasts, be sure to check out TechPodcasts.com!

This special “all E-mail” edition of The Web Hosting Show is brought to you by Web Hosting Chat. Web Hosting Chat is your number one place for Web hosting discussions. Who am I? Why I am the capped Web hosting crusader himself, Mitch Keeler.

+ Download The Web Hosting Show!

Today I have for you six questions I have been asked over the past week about the Web hosting world. I promise they are not ranked in any way, just randomly shuffled into a podcast. Why should we start worrying about being professionals here?

We are all close friends right? So take off your pants, get comfortable and who know? Maybe I’ll be answering a question you had!

Can You Buy Web Hosting Customers on EBay?

The first E-mail comes from Sam. Sam writes:

“Hi Mitch, love the show! I am constantly seeing sellers on ebay market their so-called “ability” to sell existing web hosting customers or to acquire new customers in large volume. Is this a scam or not? If not, what are they doing right that we are not?”

Unfortunately it looks like Ebay isn’t doing much to stop this type of selling of customers from one company to another. In my opinion, I wouldn’t trust anybody who was trying to sell the company they built themselves on Ebay. If there are any Web hosts who think they might go after one of these, let me give you a little advice. Stay away. With all the legal jargon and other issues that might get in the way of this, I think it deserves a little more professional setting than an Online auction Web site. A lot of these types of deal are really shady at best as well.

If you do go forward with something like this, make sure you have a lawyer ready to go at all times. This isn’t like just getting rid of some junk in your garage. These are folks who have signed a contract with a company to get Web hosting. In all honesty, I just would not and could not feel comfortable doing this myself.

How Do I Shop for a Dedicated Server?

The second E-mail comes from Glen.

Glen, one of my fellow writers over at Lockergnome has been E-mailing me back and forth this week wanting to know how to shop for a dedicated server. Shopping for a dedicated server is a little harder than shopping for regular Web hosting. Think of it as shopping for an apartment in comparison to shopping for a house. A house is a much larger and long term purchase than an apartment. It also take a lot more work and is not for everybody. Now with that said, I can share some of what I told Glen this week.

The first place I directed him to was a few different Web hosting forums. Once you have a Web hosting company in mind that you want to buy the dedicated server from, you need to learn a little more about the history of the company. Doing a search on any of the Web hosting forums out there should give you a good idea of how many issues they have. Now you will have to weed out the folks that are just there to complain or make the company look bad. What you want to see are good or bad reasons for signing up with them, and then the reasons why. Also make sure in the threads you are checking out, they give good proof of what they are saying.

What if you do not know which Web hosting company to go with? That is when places like Find My Hosting and BrowseHosts come in. After doing a little searching at either of these Web sites, you should be able to narrow down your search to just a few companies. After that, find the ones that have what you are looking for then just follow the regular Web hosting shopping rules. Contact the support team to see how responsive they are. Take a look around and make sure you ask them plenty of questions about the service.

Is Google’s New Web Accelerator a Hosting Security Threat?

Tom writes:

“Hi Mitch, I just seen that Google has a new accelerator out there for download. Should I turn it off when I am logged into my Web hosting account or just keep it running. Thanks.”

Well Tom, since this is a new service out there from Google it is really hard to say. I have seen folk who have said it is the best thing since sliced bread and others who say to stay far away from it. There have been some security issues raised about it. It seems like a few forums out there will bring up somebody else’s cached version of the Web site. You see how it runs, you are pretty much working from “Google’s version” of the Internet. So yes, if they wanted to they could track every single thing you are doing.

As for my personal relationship with Google Web Accelerator? I had it for around an hour, didn’t notice much of a change so I got rid of it. The best rule of thumb here is that if you don’t feel comfortable running it, then get rid of it. Since there aren’t any cases out there of it allowing folks to view cached versions of your control panel or anything like that, I can’t kick Google while they are down. The best thing I can tell you to do right now is read up on the issue and make a decision on your own. I’ll link to an article I recently wrote on the topic so you have a good place to start your research from.

Mitchelaneous article on Google Web Accelerator

Why Shouldn’t I Buy a Domain Name and Web Hosting from the Same Place?

Salley writes:

“You are always so hard on people who are buying domain names and hosting from the same place. What is the big deal really? What if they are happy with having every thing at one spot.”

Salley, I could not agree with you more. I seem to ride on this topic a lot because I have been burned by keeping all my eggs in one basket. I really went in depth on this issue last week as for the reasons I am against the idea of getting your domain names and Web hosting from the some provider. Some people out there are happy with doing so. I know Matt Hartley, from Lockergnome, was talking the other day about having his Web hosting and domain names registered with Go Daddy.

Web hosting is like a pair of personally made shoes. One pair of shoes doesn’t exactly fit everybody. You have to shop around and find the right provider and the right plan for you. Not every Web site is the same and not every Web hosting plan is the same either. So as long as you are happy, I have no beef for you.

On the other hand if there is anybody shopping for Web hosting or domain names out there, I would still suggest not to get all your eggs in one basket. In the show notes for this episode of The Web Hosting Show I’ll be sure to include a link to my segment last week so folks can see both sides of the issue.

Last Week’s Edition of The Web Hosting Show

Who Owns My Domain Name?

Bob writes:

“How come when I do I search on my domain name it shows that my web hosting company is the owner and admin contact for it? Help!”

Bob, I am afraid to say there might be little you can do to resolve this issue. This is just one more reason I say to shop for your Web hosting and domain name at two separate companies. I am guessing that with your account they said they would, “Give you a free domain name with purchase”. Well, the problem with that is that they take the liberty of registering your domain name for you and they do it in their name. This is another good reason why you should read the Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy as well. I would bet, if the company is smart they make mention of this somewhere in paragraph five in the smallest print you could find.

What can you do to resolve the issue? Well some Web hosts might be nice and give you the right to your domain name back. Others might be jerks. If the domain name is apart of any trademark that you own, then you might be able to take them to court. It all really depends on how much of a fight you are ready for. I wish you the best of luck Bob, and I hope you let me know how this all gets resolved for you.

How Can I Get into The Web Hosting Support Business?

Carly writes:

How can I break into the web hosting business? I’d like to do support or answer questions but I don’t know where to start in.”

Carly, you could ask one hundred people this question and I could promise you they’d give one hundred different answers. Everybody that is in the Web hosting business right now probably broke into it a different way. Here are a few ideas though from how I got into the wild and wacky world of Web hosting.

• Does your current Web host have any forums? If so, you could try to impress a few folks by answering questions from there that people might have. Make sure all your answers are complete but to the point.
• Contact one of the support folks and just ask them what you’d have to do to become a member of the team. If they are hiring folks that are not at the location of the Web hosting business, they should be able to point you in the right direction.
• Read all you can about the Web hosting world. Go visit Web hosting news Web sites. Visit Web hosting forums and get to know a few folks inside the Web hosting world that way. You never know when you might meet the right friend who is looking for somebody to work hard for them.

If there is anybody else out there who’d like to share how they got into the Web hosting world, just send me an e-mail at mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll share your tips as well. There are just so many different ways you could go with this one. It is hard to say follow steps a,b,c, and d then you are in. It just doesn’t work that way.

Final Web Hosting Thoughts

That is it for this week’s show! Make sure you send me your feedback, thoughts, suggestions and ideas to mitch@mitchkeeler.com or stop by The Web Hosting Show Fan Forums. Next week we will be back to the normal layout of the show. I am Mitch Keeler and you have been listening to The Web Hosting Show, the voice of the Web hosting world.