How You Can Avoid Hosting Errors in Ecommerce

Web hosting is a subject that generates so much buzz in the media but yet there is so little clarity about what it really is. The result: people get stuck with bad sites that eventually don't go live. This article looks to make a few terms clear for you enabling you to avoid errors while you host.

Storage Space

This is the amount of space you lease on the host’s server, and it is measured in megabytes. How much do you need for your site? Well, on most Websites, one page with limited graphics and some text would on average, take 5 kilobytes. If you have heavy graphics, photos, etc. your pages might require up to 30 Kb. 

 

Multiply the number of pages by the number of kilobytes to calculate a rough estimate of how much space your site currently needs. Also, don’t forget to account for space that will be used by other things you’ll store on the server. ebooks take up an enormous amount of space, as do Flash movies. They’ll also be stored on the host’s server, and need to be included in your estimate. Try to predict what you’re likely to add to the site in the future, and include that in your total — you’ll want to allow some room for growth.

Bandwidth 

 

When files are transferred from the host’s server to the site visitor, they use up bandwidth. When pages are clicked and displayed on the screen, when ebooks are downloaded, when shopping carts are put to use, bandwidth comes into play. The more "active" your site is — the more there is for the site visitor to do — the more bandwidth you’ll need.

Email Accounts 

 

There are two primary types of email that Web hosts offer. Web mail is email that can be accessed online using your browser. You pull it up and view it just as you would any other Website. POP3 email is that which can be used with email software (called an email client) such as Outlook Express, Outlook, Eudora or Pegasus. 

 

Where you need to be careful is in determining how you’ll manage your email accounts, and what charges are involved with each alternative. Some hosts offer a limited number of POP3 addresses and then charge you for additional ones. Others may not offer a "control panel" for the maintenance of your email addresses, and might charge you to process any changes you need to make.