After getting a lot of happy folks E-mailing me back and thanking me for addressing some of their frequently asked questions, I figured we would do it again. This time around we have different questions, because answering the same questions each week would just get a little dull.

Why will my host not let me backup my personal backup files to my Web hosting account?

Some Web hosts might but most will not let you store personal backups of your photos or documents. This is because they just are not in that sort of business. There are plenty of places that are though and I would recommend going with them.

What are some Online hosting backup solutions?

My favorite from all the ones I have personally reviewed would be Box.net. Another popular choice out there is Carbonite.

I am a Web host and I keep getting bad press and reviews. What should I do?

I say turn that negative press into inspiration to make yourself better. Peoples’ opinions count and you should listen to as many as you can - then do your best with the most popular requests and thoughts you get.

I would like to find somebody to back my Online project. How do I find a Web host who would do that for free?

Find somebody out there (or maybe a few) and just ask them if they can help. You might get a few Web hosts laugh at you and your idea - but eventually you’ll run into that Web hosting business that will want to help you out.

When was the date of your very first Web hosting podcast and where can I find it?

The very first Web Hosting Show podcast as recorded February 14th, 2005. You can find it by searching WebHostingShow.com or by clicking the “All Archives” link on any of the Web Hosting Show’s Web pages.

Related Podcast Link: Listen to Episode 101!

Some people might say that this Web hosting podcast is sort of like one big list of FAQs. I get a lot of frequently asked questions on or about the Web hosting industry so in the next few weeks I want to share with you some of the most common questions I get - and give you all the answers you seem to be looking for.

Who is the best Web host out there today?

Can’t say that I have a favorite, because I am trying to do my best to stay fair and balanced here. I would say shop for what you need and find the host that matches your budget.

Where is the best place to buy new domain names?

Well with this one I will be willing to say that GoDaddy.com has been pretty reliable for me in this department. I don’t know if I would buy anything else from them - but as far as domain names go you should be in good hands.

Why do some Web hosts offer unlimited services?

It is a gimmick to sell more Web hosting accounts. I have said it before and I will say it again. There is no such thing as unlimited in Web hosting. Every server has its limits.

Why would I want to get a dedicated or semi-dedicated Web hosting plan?

Well if you find yourself needing more of the server’s resources, such as RAM or CPU usage then a dedicated plan would be a good way to go. This way you have a little more room to stretch your legs and you can work the server a little harder as well.

Why do all Web hosts seem to like to put pictures of servers on their home page?

Maybe they think there are some sick freaks out there that get turned on by all the metal and hard working server action? For the most part I think they just want everybody to know they do hosting and hey, thats what a server looks like.

Related Podcast Link: Listen to Episode 100!

It is question and answer time. This time around I got an E-mail from Jeffery who wants to know why his password protected folder is not working.

Here is what he had to say.

I love your netcast show and hope I might be able to ask you a question to help resolve a problem I have been hitting lately. I make a small website for my nursing class and have been getting really frustrated trying to get passwords on folders to work with my host, GoDaddy.

He goes on a describes what he has done thus far, and after looking through his E-mail I can not really see where he might be messing the process up. Now for those of you who might want to manually check up on how to do this, I have found a good link giving you the basics here:

+ How To Create a Password Protected Directory

Now since GoDaddy kind of has a heavy hand with these types of services on the hosting accounts, it might try some trial and tribulation to figure things out. Another thing you might check is to see if there is a way to go this via the control panel they provide to you. Since they use their own “GoDaddy” flavored control panel it has been a while since I checked it out, so I am not that familiar with it.

I also ran across this note from GoDaddy themselves - although not sure if it will deliver you what you need.

Last but not least, you could always go with a more “password protected folder” friendly hosting provider. I am surprised the support team wouldn’t at least point you in the right direction on how to do this - that is pretty crummy indeed.

I know I didn’t give you an exact answer but I really do hope this helps!

Related Podcast Link: Listen to the Web Hosting Show, Episode 97!

Now I am a little ashamed to admit this, because it is the first time it has happened to me. We are all friends here though, amigos all around - right? I got an E-mail from a guy who wanted to know if I knew of a good place to do a little podcast hosting.

The problem? While going through my inbox - I lost his E-mail so I did not get the chance to reply. I am sorry for that - deeply sorry. I will let you know my thoughts though on this matter.

Now, as it is with any Web host shopping that you do, you need to find a Web host that delivers what you want and what you need. With podcasts, you are going to be dealing with a lot of large audio files, so disk space and bandwidth are a big “must have”.

You will also need a place that will support the posting back end that you wish to use. Now I would suggest WordPress myself - but there are a lot of CMS and blogging software suits to choose from out there.

The folks at libsyn.com have been a big force since day one and I would suggest you give them a shot as well. They specialize in podcast hosting and they have been doing it well almost since the whole podcasting revolution started out.

One thing I like that they do is the price model is based on what you need. If you aren’t very popular yet - you don’t pay much. The more you grow in popularity though - the bigger your bills will get.

This gives folks who are not sure about the whole podcasting experience a chance to get their feet wet without putting down too much for a Web hosting account.

+ Check Out the Podcast This Was From! Listen to the Web Hosting Show, Episode 96!

I noticed a thread about this very topic not too long ago on WebHostingChat.com. The poster wanted to know if anybody thought that the world Web hosting would die. Now most people might read that and think the guy was crazy, bonkers, nuts even. If you look at it with an open mind though you have to at least thing that it might happen.

What if the phrase Web hosting was replaced by another term? What would that term be? Now I am not exactly the best forecaster of the future, but what if we started to refer to Web hosting as “Online storage”? Would it mean the same thing to you and me?

I think no matter what you call it, Web hosting is still going to confuse people. When I walk up to a guy or gal on the street and tell them I am in the Web hosting business, I usually get them scratching their heads and saying, “hu?” at me. No new words or candy coating is going to help that.

It is even worse if you tell people that you work “Online”. When that term comes out of your mouth it seems like folks automatically assume that you either spam people or work in the adult industry. Sometimes your lucky and you get that confused aunt or uncle that think you do both.

People just want to know how to get a Web site and us folks inside of the hosting industry are going to have to live with that. We might not be celebrities or high-class socialites, but we will continue to keep the Web running.

+ Check Out the Podcast This Was From! Listen to the Web Hosting Show, Episode 95!

Well after last week’s release of the Web Hosting Show’s Ecommerce Web Hosting Guide, I got a lot of E-mail from you. I figured I could spend a few minutes here answering some of the most frequently asked questions about it that I got in the past week. This first question comes from Barry.

Hey Mitch, I want to start an Online store but I am not sure which route I should go down. I only have a few products to be sold and I think going for a shopping cart might be too much too soon. Is there an easier alternative than installing a shopping cart script? Thanks! Love the podcast!

Yes, after getting your first E-mail and we talked back and forth a few times, I think I have a good idea of what you are looking to do. I think you would be alright with just using Paypal buttons for now. Just list your products via a regular old Web page and put the Paypal payment buttons under each product. This is the quickest and easiest way to turn yourself into an ecommerce Web site.

Later on down the road you might want to invest the time and money into getting a shopping cart - but no reason to do that right now, especially if you aren’t sure how the business will pan out in the long run.

Now Gene wants to know about easier ecommerce solutions.

Mitch I really enjoyed your podcast special last week. My problem is I don’t want to be bothered with doing all of this. I would just like a few branded items and an easy way to produce them. Any thoughts?

Sure, I mean honestly you don’t have to do any of the stuff I suggested last week if you want somebody else to do all of the virtual heavy lifting.

Check out CafePress.com and get yourself a store setup there. From there you can upload your own images to be placed on mugs, shirts, mouse pads and more. I have used it before and I can vouch for their professionalism. Everything I have ordered through there has made it here and is made of quality goods.

Have any other ecommerce, Web development or Web hosting questions to ask? Get them sent to me with your name and URL and you might get yourself featured on the Web Hosting Show podcast.

+ Check Out the Podcast This Was From! Listen to the Web Hosting Show, Episode 94!

I got an E-mail from Pat last week, and I have to say that Pat had a question that I get from a lot of listeners here lately - so I am going to give me thoughts on the matter. Here is what Pat had to say.

Mitch, love the show but I have a question. I have a Web hosting company, UnidoxHosting.com, and I have bought a few seo programs but still my Web site isn’t in the top hundred for the Google keyword “hosting”. Is AdWords the only resort I have left? Thanks!

So the question really is, should you pay to get your search engine optimization done? No matter if it is a program or a person, a lot of these things are nothing but false promises. Now don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of SEO folks that really know what they are doing - but I would say around eighty percent of them are snake oil salesmen.

So what is a Webmaster to do? Learn how to optimize your Web site on your own. There are dozens of good resources out there on learning more about search engine optimization. One of the “good guys” in SEO and a good place to learn more about it would be SEOmoz.org. You could also just do a search on Google for “SEO Help” or “SEO Tutorial” and you will find a lot of good content to learn from as well.

My quick tips on better search engine optimization would be:

1. Write Better “Keyword Rich” Headlines
2. Have Good Keyword Filled and Relative Content
3. Get Links Back from Other Web sites Like Yours

Is Google AdWords a good alternative as well? I would say yes, but I have never had much experience with using it so I could not tell you how well it works. I would trust it though (if you have the cash) over some of the other rank building strategies that stay on the darker side of the Web.

So as you can see already there is no “one stop spot” or quick and easy fix to get to the top of any search engine. It will take some tweaking, some learning and some time.

+ Check Out the Podcast This Was From! Listen to the Web Hosting Show, Episode 90!