Ritty in the City©
print media, internet development, marketing studio

The subject of domains, registrars, and web hosting can be confusing for most. We try to explain it
here as simply as possible to empower people to educate themselves to be smarter consumers when
shopping around for internet services.

We can tell you as much as you want to know
about the whole process so that you can do it
yourself, or we can put together a package so that
you wont have to do anything.

A Registrar is a company that allows individuals
or companies to register a domain name. The
customer first requests the domain name. The Registrar then checks with the central registry for
the domain to make sure it's available. If the domain name is available, the Registrar will then ask for the required details from the customer and begin to process the order to register that specific domain.

There are a number of Registrars that will do the
same thing for you. What you want to look for is:

•Dependability and reliability of the registrar
•Services offered and the ease of accessing your account
•The quality of their customer service
•Pricing

Do your homework:
Often times Registrars will overcharge you for your domain registration, and not offer you the kind of service you should expect.

We found 1and1 to be the best value for the money. Their customer service is very strong, they include loads of services that other companies charge for, and their prices are very reasonable.

Mysteries of Web Hosting
Many people often confuse domain with web
hosting. These are actually 2 different things. The domain is just your your business name without
a storefront. For a web site to be made available
on the Internet, it has to be hosted on a web server. This is where web hosting comes in. It's just like
renting property for a storefront. There are plenty of companies that will rent you space on a web server. The wide range of services start from free hosting to buying a server for your sole use. Deciding what's
right for you depends on your individual needs.

Listed below are the different types of
hostings available to you:

Virtual Hosting
Virtual web hosting is the most common hosting type.
It allows you to host your web site using a domain
name of your choice ex: www.yourname.com. You
will be given a certain amount of emails, web space, and bandwidth all measured usually in Mb on a
server you share with other people. This gives a professional image and will allow you to change
hosts with minimum hassle.

The advantage of this type of hosting is that the hosting company maintains and backs up the
servers on a regular basis. What this means to you
is minimal administration, especially if you are not
web savvy.

Dedicated Server Hosting
A dedicated server is one whereby you rent the
use of a whole machine. This can be used to host
one or more of your web sites. Because you are
renting the use of a machine, you have increased control over what software will be installed on the machine. You can even specify the set up. This
type of hosting is generally more expensive and is preferred by larger companies or companies who
have sensitive materials on their web site, those
who do not want to be compromised by other web
sites on the same server.

Reseller Web Hosting
Reseller web hosting plans allow you to be a
web hosting company yourself. In fact, many web hosting companies themselves have a web hosting company host their server. Some web hosting companies provide a service where small
companies can resell web space on their servers
for a small fee. You may wonder why go with the smaller company rather than the big. Well the
smaller companies may add on certain features to make their plans more attractive and provide more services. Resellers can sometimes be better. The important things to consider are support, reliability
and competitive pricing.

Before you choose your hosting plan, you should identify what your needs are. With all hosting plans, there will be some features that you need and some that you don't need. Make sure you focus on what
is important for your web site. You may want all the
nice extras but will you use them? It's also a good
idea to try and pick a host that will allow you to
expand and increase your plan as and when your
web site grows..

Some things to consider are:

What kind of server is it?
Linux or Windows? Linux tends to support PHP programming language and Windows supports ASP. This might not be important if you are just starting
out, but if you are transferring your web site, and
have a code implemented in your web pages, you
will need to know this.

How much space (Mb) are they going to
give you?
Hosting prices often vary based on this. Shop
around. You might not need a lot of space now,
but as grow, you will need more space. Find out
how much additional space will cost you if you
should need it later.

Do you get a database with your hosting plan?
This might not be important to you if you do not
plan on using a database, but keep in mind that as your web site grows, you might want to make it
more 'dynamic' and you will need a database. Depending on the plan, you can get multiple
databases available to you.

How many emails will you get?
Having an email that is associated with your web
site ex: you@yourname.com is a huge benefit.
Not only do you project a certain degree of professionalism to your customers, you are also advertising your web site name. Find out how many emails you get with your hosting account and how
much space (Mb) they are willing to give you per
email account.

There are certainly other aspects to consider when choosing a hosting company. You might not know which one is right for you. Please let us help you in your decision - call us at 954-749-4308 or email us with any other questions that you may have.