Category: Web Hosting
Cloud Hosting: The Future Of Website Hosting Is Here
What is cloud hosting? It is a form of web hosting that were once only used by the larger online companies like Google and Amazon to host their website, but now even small businesses are starting to make the move from traditional hosting services to cloud servers. Unlike a dedicated hosting plan where one client is given exclusive use of one server to host a website, in a cloud system, the load of hosting a website is spread across multiple servers that work together. This is the “cloud.”
The biggest benefit of using a cloud hosting service is that it is more reliable and less prone to crashing than dedicated server hosting. Because the workload is divided across multiple servers, if one of them crashes, the website they host will not go down. Using cloud servers your website will rarely go down, unless you take it down for maintenance works.
Cloud servers can also provide your website with large bandwidth allocations. So even if your website unexpectedly gains a very large level of internet traffic, instead of slowing down and even crashing (which usually happens with dedicated servers), a cloud server system another server will just provide your website with the resources it needs to stay online and function as normal. This is great for small businesses because as they expand their website will be able to keep up with them.
Another great benefit of using cloud hosting is that the servers are not located on site. Companies no longer need to own and maintain their servers, this leaves their IT team with more time to devote to other pressing matters in the company. Not having hulking computer servers also mean that you will be saving a lot of floor area in your offices and the total electric consumption will also be considerably lowered as a result, and lowering your company’s carbon footprint as a result.
The main reason why most small companies have not switched over to cloud hosting is that they have issues with the price, but the truth is that the costs of this kind of hosting service has considerably fallen the past couple of months. There are also some hosting companies that will only charge according to the amount of resources that the website uses, which means great savings for companies who know how to manage their resources properly so that they can get all the benefits of using cloud servers without the premium price.
Cloud hosting is poised to take over the web hosting landscape in the next couple of years because it can benefit companies large and small websites alike. With the costs continually going down, more companies are starting to migrate their websites to the more reliable cloud servers. If you use cloud servers, you no longer have to worry about downtime so you can focus most of your attention and resources in the other important aspects of your business. If you want your company to expand, then start by transferring your website onto the “cloud.”
A Review of WebHostingGeeks.com
WebHostingGeeks.com is an independent hosting review website that began in 2004 as a university student’s project and was made available to the public in February of 2005. The website is one of the most popular sources of information regarding different web hosts around the world. Anybody that is thinking of signing up for a web host, or is just doing some research on how different companies in the web hosting arena operate can find the information that they need at Web Hosting Geeks.
Unlike many other hosting review sites that only give information on some of the most popular webshosts, Web Hosting Geeks has reviews for dozens of hosting providers, including some of the smaller providers or companies that specialize in a specific type of hosting, such as small business hosting.
Reviewers on the site have the ability to assign a rating from 1 to 5 stars to rate the hosting company’s performance with their tech support, software, reliability & uptime, price as well as user-friendliness. These star ratings are then averaged to give a global rating for 1 to 5 points. This will then be used to calculate which hosts have the best overall ratings from their reviewers. Those who are in the top 10 get a special section on the website, allowing users to quickly see which companies are the best. Of course, in addition to a star rating, the reviewer can post up to 1000 characters to concisely explain to site visitors what they think of a certain web host.
One thing that sets Web Hosting Geeks apart from other hosting review sites is that in addition to just reviews, they have a “Q&A” section where users can ask questions related to hosting or respond to them. They also have a blog that discusses issues that go beyond simply web hosting, such as site building ideas or internet marketing tips for small business owners.
Does Money Really Grow On Trees?
I received a Money Tree today.
There I was, in the middle of our weekly Company meeting, when a package arrived from a well-known flower company. I ignored it until lunchtime and then quietly took it to my office to open in private (since I was not expecting any such delivery). I unwrapped the package slowly, revealing three separate pieces and trying to understand what type of plant I was receiving – and why. After making quite the mess of my office attempting to put it together, reading the enclosed instructional pamphlet (what? you think everyone just knows how to keep a plant alive?) and tearing the card off of the package, I realized what it really was: a thoughtful and creative marketing idea. A money tree, from a partner I just started working with.
Why didn’t I think of that?
Which made me wonder: Am I doing enough to attract potential clients? Do I think out-of-the-box when it comes to showing appreciation for business partners? Luckily, at Brain Host, we do a lot to keep our customers, affiliates and partners happy. We strive to come up with creative ideas for contest prizes and interesting emails to keep engagement levels high. But no matter how great we are, there is always room for improvement. In case you are pondering your own success and creativity in this area, here is my advice:
1. Treat your business like a person.
Get to know your clients – what they like, what they don’t like and what they’re interested in. Pay attention to the details and act accordingly. If there is even a small part of someone that you can relate to, focus on that common ground and make it clear that you are paying attention to them as a person rather than just a number. I received a great email from another partner earlier this week where he explained that he wanted to discuss what had worked, what hadn’t and what makes me tick, and so on. It resulted in a nice, well rounded conversation and I feel comfortable that he clearly understands my vision and how I operate.
2. Be funny; be engaging.
Work is stressful. Even if you love your job, the long hours and consistent dedication will eventually add up and take its toll. Take a moment to be slightly humorous or quirky (while remaining tasteful) and it will not be forgotten. We recently gave a contest winner a Chicken Foot Stool as a prize. I found it hilarious, the winner found it interesting, and some may have found it just plain outrageous, but everyone is still talking about it. Win!
3. Balance friendly with professional.
Ultimately we are all in business together to make money. Your interaction with a client or partner does not have to avoid that fact – you can be funny, engaging, and personable without straying from the point. That’s why a money tree is so creative, because it showed that this person was thoughtful enough to send a gift, but focused enough to deliver her message clearly: “Here’s to making money together”.
More than anything, I strongly encourage that you stay true to your personality when it comes to work relationships. If you’re expressive, you are more likely to do over-the-top or unexpected things. If you are analytical or reserved, you’re more likely to make your point modestly but clearly. Either way, any effort you make to go above and beyond a phone call or email is bound to make a lasting impression – and sending a living thing certainly doesn’t hurt.
A Review of Hosting.ReviewsGurus.com
Hosting.ReviewsGurus.com is a web hosting review website that has over a hundred different web hosting companies reviewed. Each web host’s page has not only the reviews, but a lot more information as well. First, there is a presentation of the host with details such as the date they’ve started their operations, any other hosting brands that they own, as well as the kinds of services that they provide.
One thing that sets this review site apart from many others is that in addition to providing reviews from individual users, there is also an expert review where an industry expert gives a more detailed and professional review of some of the attributes of that host. Consumers who have used a certain web host can leave a comment about their experience with them, plus a rating between 1 and 5 stars for the following attributes: control panel, customer support, performance, pricing, security and tech support. The score that each host gets is based on the number of stars that the host gets for each category.
Another thing that sets ReviewsGurus apart from many other hosting review websites is that they review not just the most popular shared hosting providers, but also hosts in other categories that aren’t as popular. Examples of categories include free web hosting, corporate email, video hosting, colocation services, reseller hosting and domain registration services. This makes it a more useful resource for webmasters that are in search of a more specialized hosting solution.
While the site focuses on reviewing different web hosts, there is also an expert blog available. The blog addresses issues that affect specific web hosting providers, the hosting industry in general, as well as other topics that are important to webmasters and online entrepreneurs, like email marketing techniques and search engine optimization tips.
If you have used a web hosting provider that is not found in their database, there is an option for you to request a new hosting company to be added within 2 days. This allows you to give your opinion on a host, even if it has never been reviewed on the site before.
A Review of WebHostingStuff.com
WebHostingStuff.com is a review website that provides information on many different hosting companies. According to their home page, they have reviews of over 17,000 web hosting providers, making them one of the review sites with the biggest database of web hosts. You will find reviews that were left by users of not only some of the most popular hosting providers, but also some smaller ones, such as companies that mainly target users from specific countries or regions.
Users can leave a short review where they provide some comments about their experience at a certain web hosting provider. They can then rate the company’s uptime & reliability, technical support and customer service by giving grades of poor, average, good or excellent. Reviewers need to indicate how long they have been with a certain company, as well as the plan and type of service that they’ve used, as the service quality and user experience can vary between clients that are on a shared hosting package versus a VPS server at the same web host. As a measure to prevent fake reviews from being left, WebHostingStuff requires that all reviewers enter a domain that they currently host or that they’ve hosted before with the company that they’re writing a review about. A search engine on the site allows visitors to easily find review information for some of the less popular companies that aren’t featured on the main page.
One thing that makes this review website unique is that they also monitor the uptime or the hosts that are included in their database. Hosting services are filed under different categories and subcategories, such as shared hosting and then Windows hosting. You will also find reviews for some of the more advanced web hosting types, like game server hosting, colocation services and reseller hosting solutions.
WebHostingStuff uses a unique algorithm called WHSRank™ to rank the different hosts that it reviews. This algorithm takes into consideration customer reviews that are posted, plus some other quality signals including uptime monitoring. This means that only the hosts that show consistent performance and customer satisfaction over time will be listed among the best hosting picks on this review site.
Do you want to find Brain Host on WebHostingStuff.com? Click here to read Brain Host Reviews.
