So, you want to start your own website where people can upload videos of dogs of skateboards? A few years back, this would be nearly impossible. These days though, finding a script that will clone many of the best features a video sharing service like YouTube has is pretty easy.  There are a lot of duds out there though in the world of YouTube clone scripts so I have gone through the trenches to find you the three best scripts for the job.

ClipBucket

ClipBucket is a free open source script that will not only let you get started with creating your own video sharing service, but it also provides a lot of great social networking features too. Customizable templates and plugins are readily available for any ClipBucket powered website.  So this means it should be fairly easy to get a unique template designed and to customize your ClipBucket install to meet your own vision of what you want your video sharing website to be. Check them out at clip-bucket.com to learn more.

PHPmotion

PHPmotion is another great free video sharing script to try. With both video and audio support, this script looks to deliver a lot when it comes to features too. There are a number of great looking themes for PHPmotion that are well worth checking into and a reported user base of 100,000 webmasters – so the support for this script should be phenomenal too. With little to no knowledge required, you can start up your own video sharing website. Go visit phpmotion.com to download it for yourself.

ClipShare

ClipShare promises to be the ultimate video script for starting a highly profitable video sharing community.  While it is not free, it might give you the proverbial “step up” if PHPmotion or ClipBucket do not seem a professional as you would like them to be.  Over 20 video formats are supported in ClipShare, videos are converted on the fly and you get a fully brand-able video player that other people can embed on their websites. The website, clip-share.com is where you want to go to learn more about this amazing premium video sharing script.

Now, this is not to say these are the only three choices out there. These however seem to have the best resources, reviews and simply look the best overall.  I think if you mix a great FFMPEG hosting provider with ClipBucket, PHPmotion or Clipshare you will have great success when it comes to getting your own YouTube-like website off the ground and on the Internet.

What exactly does it mean to be using too many server resources in a shared web hosting environment?  Web sites can often get suspended for using too many server resources, such as RAM or CPU usage.  To put in the simplest terms, your web site might be overloading the server to an extent where no other accounts on the same hosting server can continue to function.

How Many Server Resources Do You Have?

When your web site is hosted on a shared web hosting server, you share certain elements of the web hosting with other people that are on the same server you are on.  The metaphor might be a little old, but think of it as being virtual neighbors with other web hosting clients like yourself. Each neighbor has to share the same amount of the server’s RAM and CPU processing power.

Now the limits on how many sever resources you can use might vary from web host to web host, so check with your web host for the hard numbers and statistics.  Now the next question is, how do these problems happen?

Causes for Server Resource Usage Suspensions

There are many different events that could cause you to use too many server resources.  Here are just a few common examples:

• Hacked or Security Related Issues
• Script or Plugin Vulnerability
• Sudden Burst of Popularity
• Out of Date Script or Plugin
• Badly Written Script or Plugin

Anything that is over working the server could be considered a cause.

I hope that helps to explain what it means to use too many server resources in web hosting.  As long as you are proactive about how much RAM or CPU power your web site is using, you should never run into a big server resource usage problem.  If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 207!
Running Time: 8 minutes | File Size: 3.39 MB

Learn on this week’s podcast how to reduce your impact on the shared hosting server your web site is hosted from and have a little fun.

Has your web site gotten suspended due to you using too of the server’s memory or processing power?  Here’s some of the topics we discussed on today’s show:

Website Using Too Many Server Resources?

Before you can fix a problem, you have to know what the problem is.  So what does it mean to be using too many system or server resources?  We will discuss this in detail, so you know exactly what the problem is your web host is trying to explain to you.

How to Fix a Server Resource Site Suspension

Now that we know what it means to use too much RAM or CPU power of the server, how can we fix the problem?  How long will it be before your web site is back up and running?  I will let you know, from my own experience, how long this might take and what you can do to help lessen your own downtime.

Would also love to hear what you have to say on the topic.  Make sure you leave your comments to let us all know your questions, answers, suggestions or tips when it comes to getting your web site back up and running after being shut down due to a server resource suspension.

So, if I was going to start looking for a web hosting job, where would I turn to?  Well, there are three resources you should keep in mind.  You have the web host themselves, the web hosting forums out there, and special job hunting resources that will list for you spots available with a number of different web hosting companies.

Find Jobs at the Web Host

Some web hosts will look for contracted workers in their own user base, so that is something to keep in mind.  If you want to go work for one specific web host, join their user forums and help out as much as you can.  See if you can become friendly with the current staff, and let them know if there is a spot available, you would like to be the one to fill it. Many web hosts also have “employment” pages up with positions that are open in the company.

Find Jobs on the Web Hosting Forums

Web hosting forums are another place to look for web hosting related jobs.  One of the most popular out there would be the Employment Offers and Requests section over at WebHostingTalk.com.  Other web hosting forums may have equally as helpful resources too, to start looking for a new web hosting job.

Find Jobs on the Web Hosting Employment Resources

Be sure to check out the web sites that specialize in advertising web hosting jobs too.  One of the more popular job boards for web hosting positions is webhostingjobs.com.  Run by the same staff the control TheWHIR.com, they have a lot of jobs listed for local and remote positions.

Don’t get discouraged if you get turned down by the first web host you try to get a job with.  Just go to the next one on the list, or try to ask around at several web host if they have any spots available for you as a local technician or remote contracted worker.

So that, my hosting homies, is the topic of today’s show.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 193!
Running Time: 10 minutes | File Size: 4.67 MB

This week on the podcast we will be covering the top ten reasons why your web site is not working. So without further interruption, let us take a dive into these troubling web site problems.

10. The Tubes Are Broken – It was former senator Ted Stevens who famously said, “the Internet is a series of tubes”. With that in mind, when the tubes are broken, it can cause a massive web site problem.

When you navigate to your web site, your request bounce from this point, to that point, to that point over there until you reach the server your web site is hosted at. Now what if one of the points is having problems? Well then your request gets stuck, and you can’t see your site.

One way to see if this is the issue is to do a trace route to your domain. With each line, you see a different hop your request took to get to the server. If it looks likes stopped, then your, “big truck” as Ted Stevens would call it has come to a halt.

9. Server is Down, Please Try Again! – Sometimes stuff happens on a server, causing it to go bonkers, stops it from serving your web site and makes it think it is a toaster. Any server at any web host can (and probably will) go down for any number of reasons, the trick is to find the one that has done so the least amount of times.

Think of a server as MacGyver on a busy day. Sometimes it gets it’s requests out of order, breaks down, and needs a few fixes here and there to keep it running better, faster, and for a little longer.

8. What, I Need Hosting Too? – It might be a rare occurrence in the web hosting world, but sometimes it happens. You forgot to purchase a domain name with your hosting, or you forgot to purchase a web hosting account with your domain name.

For people new to the web hosting world, they often think, I want a web site, so I am buying one thing, “the ability to have a web site”. Why would this be separated into two major things? Well, it is – so remember to tell people they need both!

7. Somebody is Abusing my Poor Little Server! – If you think of a shared web hosting server, as a community that you live in, and all the other sites hosted there are your neighbors, then it is easier to understand the idea of server resource abuse. Think of the annoying neighbor that keeps playing his music so load, everybody else in the community can’t get any work done.

This can happen in the Online world too.

Say for example, another web site hosted on the same server that your site is hosted on is using up too much of the server’s CPU. Due to this problem, your web site performance has started to slow down or come to a halt.

6. YOU Are the one Abusing That Little Server! – When somebody is found to be abusing a server (for example, by using too many server resources) and that person is you, that too can bring your web site down.

No mater if it is caused by a sudden burst in traffic, or a crazy script that is badly configured – you are using too many resources, and will be shut down so your neighbors (who are playing by the rules) can go back to seeing their web sites again.

5. Using Too Many Server Resources – Now number seven through six are pretty similar, and all mainly have to do with abuse to the server. One major thing you have to watch out for (and get ready to upgrade because of it) is the use of too many server resources.

When you are hosted on a shared server with 100 to 300 other customers, one guy can’t get away with using too large of a percentage of RAM or CPU power. What about disk space and bandwidth? Those can be abused too, but since those two are much cheaper these days – the new thing to really watch out for when it comes to server abuse is the amount of the server’s RAM and CPU you are hording for your own site.

4. You Got DDoS’ed – When a DDoS happens, you can say goodbye to your web site until your web host figures where the attack is coming from, and filters it out.

What is a DDoS?

DDoS stands for distributed denial of service attack and occurs when multiple systems flood the bandwidth or resources of a targeted system or systems. These systems are compromised by attackers using a variety of methods.

3. Disturbing (or Rule Breaking) Content – Every web host out there has a series of rules (often found in the terms of service or acceptable use policy) summing up what you can and can not host there. Some of it is common sense, (like anything that is against the law), however others might deserve checking into at least.

For example, some web hosts allow “adult” content on shared servers, and others require you to upgrade to a virtual private server or better. Also scripts that are known to cause high server usage, like many of the YouTube-clone scripts out there, might also get you in trouble with the rules.

2. Web Site was Hacked – Always make sure you are using the latest version of any script or plugin you install on your web hosting account. Getting your web site hacked is a major problem that is never much fun to deal with. Also, check out folder and file permissions (to make sure files are at least 644 and folder are set to no higher than 755).

Now I could probably do an entire second show on web site security, but one more tip I think is worth mentioning is don’t install a script, say you never used it again, and that is your excuse for not updating it and creating a big hole for any hacker out there to use to get into your web hosting account.

1. PEBKAC – For those of you not in the web hosting support world, the acronym PEBKAC might leave you a little confused. PEBKAC stands for “Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair”. It is nothing to be ashamed of, sometimes a user just configures things incorrectly.

Sometimes they forget to set their domain name to the right name servers. Sometimes they upload their web site, but all the file paths are pointing to locations on the PC. The thing to remember is don’t be ashamed to ask for help, because in this wild and wacky world of web hosting, we are all here to help learn from and teach each other.

I hope you enjoyed this look into the top ten reasons why your web site isn’t working today. If you have any other common errors I might have missed, be sure to leave a comment and share it with the rest of the Web Hosting Show listening audience.

Web Hosting Questions for You

Before you go shopping for your first, next or any type of web hosting plan, you should be ready to answer these questions:

• What type of web site do you want to host?
• Are you going to need any special server side technology?
• Have you ever gotten in trouble for using too many “server resources” (usually RAM or CPU)

Web Hosting Questions for Your Future Web Host

As far as questions that you should ask, I would make sure that you at least ask them these questions.

• What is the price/time period ratio? (sometimes you can get a better deal if you sign up for a longer time)
• Do you have any example web sites or server speed tests?
• Can you handle my needs (be sure to give a full list of what you would want to install or need)
• How can I reach and how responsive is the support team?
• How long is your money back guarantee? (if they have one)

Now, your own list of questions might vary depending on what type of web site you want to host and how complex it will be.

These are just two popular examples of hosting from the clouds.

With cloud hosting you say goodbye to the old idea of renting a server or shared server space.  In its place, cloud hosting provides us with server clustering.  Instead of using the power of one server, you have access to the power of many; linked together through visualization.

An Example of Where Cloud Hosting is Needed

We have all seen the situations where a web site might be under stress because it has had a sudden burst of popularity.  With regular shared hosting we have today – once that web site reaches the limits of the single server it is on, it chokes.  Now with a cloud hosting setup, you would have access to a number of different servers so the web site under stress could still have access to as much bandwidth, RAM, CPU power or any other server side resource that it needed.

Cloud hosting provides computing power, on demand, when you need it.  If you no longer need so much power, you can easily release the resources back into the proverbial “cloud” so that they can be used by others.

Three Reasons Why Cloud Hosting is Good for You

The most important thing to remember is that hardware is no longer your main focus with cloud hosting.  You new main focus is your web site.  Cloud hosting is easy to scale to meet your demand.  Cloud hosting provides computing power when you need it.  Cloud hosting only requires you to pay for what you use.

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.

BuiltWith.com is a perfect companion if you want to do a little spying on how a web site was made and what is running behind it.  From the web site, all you need to do is type in the domain name and hit the “Lookup” button.  For an example, lets spy on thewhir.com to see what it was built with.

Under server information, we can find out it is using IIS 6.0.  So that would tell us they are using a Windows-based server to host from.  For tracking, we can see they use Google Analytics – which is never a bad thing.  Under framework, they are running Adobe ColdFusion and ASP.net.  As you can see – this gets pretty interesting for those of us who are geeky enough to have the desire to see what is going on “under the hood”.

From the BuiltWith.com web site, you can also get quick and easy access two two more tools, AboutUs.org and WebsiteGrader.com.

Kayako Live Response – When it comes to live chat support, Kayako is one of the best.  Not only do they provide the web interface for it, they also have a desktop client to interact with the service too.  Other nice features include desktop sharing, quick responses and a VoIP softphone add-on.

ProvideSupport.com – This tool is one of the cheaper ones out there, but don’t let that fool you.  They too provide some visually appealing tools as well as chat transcripts, multiple chat support, and easy integration into any web hosting site.

LiveZilla – For those web hosts out there on a budget, I do have one free live chat support option for you.  LiveZilla might have a few less frills than the paid for applications, but still deserve consideration.  The fact that it is free gives it a big green check mark in the “good things about it” column too.

What live chat solutions do you use?