Windows Hosting vs. Linux Hosting
Windows hosting uses the programming languages asp or
asp.net to develop interactivity while Unix / Linux
hosing usually uses PHP for its interactivity. The only
people who will care about this difference will be the
programmers you have on staff or the programmers you
will contract with when you need to have any fancy work
done (like database development, interactive forms,
accepting online donations, etc.). If you are using
Microsoft products for your website like MS Front Page
to design web pages or MS Access for your database then
it makes sense to get Windows hosting; like all Microsoft
products Windows hosting is just a little more expensive.
Linux / Unix hosting is slightly less expensive and
you can find a lot of freebies on the Internet that
will help you add interactivity to your website IF you
know what you are doing. If you can't decide, sign up
with a web host that offers both types of hosting so
you can change plans easily if you need to.
Choosing a Domain Name
Choosing a Domain Name Host
Before you choose a web host you will need a domain
name host. This is the place you store your domain
names and usually where you would buy your domain
names. You should always purchase (and store) your
domain names at a DIFFERENT location than your web
host. You don't want your domain name held hostage
if you have a billing dispute with your web hosting
company, if they go out of business suddenly or if
anything else happens!
Choosing a Web Host
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Find one that offers both Windows
Hosting (asp/asp.net languages) and Unix/Linux
hosting (PHP language) and that can be upgraded
to larger packages if needed. |
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Call their Customer Service number
of Technical Support number and see how long it
takes to get through and what kind of help you
get. If you call Customer Service ask if you will
be able to talk to a human being 24/7 if there
are problems with your website. |
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Don't sign up for the largest hosting
package. A small or medium web site will need
between 10 and 100MB of disk space. A small or
medium web site will consume between 1 and 5GB
of data transfer per month. |
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The most important feature to sign
up for is traffic statistics - if you have to
pay extra for it, do it. This will be your most
invaluable marketing tool; you will need to check
your traffic stats regularly to see how your site
is doing. |
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If you will be designing or updating
your own web pages with MS FrontPage you will
need to make sure they offer Front Page Extensions. |
SPECIAL NOTE
When you or your staff sign up for web hosting and
separate domain name hosting, use your nonprofit's
credit / debit card and a GENERAL email address like
info@ or other email that is permanent and does not
change with staff changes. You will need to have access
to that email address and credit / debit card to make
any changes to your account in the future. Keep this
information handy!
Here is a list of the top companies that provide both Windows
and Linux/Unix web hosting; most of them also provide domain
name registration / hosting.
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