Website Hosting Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ

As a website host we have to answer the same questions over and over again. Here are some of the more common questions that new or potential customers ask us. Most are unrelated to pageBuzz and more general in nature and server as a good outline for anyone looking for answers about website hosting procedures.

Question: What is disk space and how much do I need?
Answer: That will depend entirely on the type of website that you run. If you have loads of pictures or videos then you need more space if you just have a few text files such as a 5 pages website, you don't need much at all. Today companies that offer cheap hosting also offer cheap space so in most cases the amount of disk space is not an issue for average websites.

One good way to gage it is to bring up the properties on your computer for all the files you have that you plan on uploading to your website. It will tell you how many MB or GB those files take up. If you have 2GB then you need at least that much space on the website. A good rule of thumb is at least double what you plan to need so you can grow and add more files as well as have room for logs such as web stats or ecommerce programs.

Question: What is Bandwidth and how much do I need?
Answer: Bandwidth is the data transfer required when files are downloaded or viewed on your website. Again. that will depend on how many files you have and the number of visitors you expect. If visitors are looking at videos that are 30 minutes long, you will need a ton of bandwidth probably more than you can afford. Where as if visitors are coming to a 5 page website you likely will not need much at all.

But if you upload 2GB of files you can plan on just using 10 times that data transfer each month just feeding the bots. That is, bandwidth consumed by crawlers like googlebot, msnbot and slurp.

They will consume your bandwidth to access content and find out what it is about so they can list it in the searches. That is even before any actual people come to the website. If you are successful with traffic the numbers can be exponential.

A good starting point is 20 time the actual content you have on the website. So if you have 2GB or files, allow at least 40GB per month in data transfer. Should you go over your allowance your website could be turned off when the bandwidth limit is exceeded or they might just bill you extra, so check your host plan carefully.

Question: Can I have me@thenameofmybusiness.com as my email address?
Answer: As long as you own the domain name "thenameofmybusiness.com you can have any name at that domain used for email. Part of the domain ownership is that you have full administrative rights over the domain, so you get to make up whatever sub domains or email address you want and direct them as needed.

Depending on the host they almost always offer some type of email solution. At pageBuzz we use email forwarding buy many hosts still offer pop3 and IMAP accounts.

Question: Can I register thenameofmybusiness.com?
Answer: You can register any name, if someone else has not already registered it. However, domain name availability does not mean that you can legally use the name, you are still bound by trademark and copyright laws that may in fact prohibit use of a name.

Question: What is FTP?
Answer: FTP is File Transfer Protocol. That is the format used for transferring files into website servers. To use FTP you will need an FTP program. However, FTP is not secure and has been replaced by most hosts with SFTP which is the secure version of FTP or in the case of pageBuzz and other online sitebuilders with HTTP which is done directly through your web browser.

Question: Do I have to have the HTTP in my website?
Answer: The HTTP:// is not part of your website domain name, it is the protocol that is used to transfer files. It is different than FTP://, HTTPS:// and needs to be defined in a website address so the browsers knows how to transfer the files. For example if you go to ftp://thenameofyourbusiness.com and your website host allows ftp access, you will be prompted for a password because that is part of the FTP process. These may seem like silly unneeded things on a website, but they are not. When SSL is added, your website becomes https://thenameofyourbusiness.com so that the transfers are encrypted and safe from hackers.

Question: Can my domain name be www.thenameofmubusiness.com?
Answer: The WWW is not actually part of a domain name, it is a sub domain. So it is up to the system administrator to set the site up with or without the www as the website host name. This can often be a problem when running programs since they are technically different websites and browsers see them that way. So many system administrators opt to use one or the other.

At pageBuzz we use both just because it is too confusing for anyone to understand the difference and likewise, customers often add the www to a website name for no good reason. So when possible, use both or at least have a redirect from one to the other so everyone can get to your website.

Sub domains function just like domain names except that you only need to register the main domain, you can make up as many sub domains as you want to host unlimited websites under one primary domain name. The www is actually one of those made up sub domains.

Question: Can I add links to other websites?
Answer: Of course. A link is just one of the basic functions of HTML or Hyper Text Markup Language and is called a Hyperlink. Links are possible on all editors and are the basic structure of HTML ad the Internet. Without links you would only be able to get to one page.

Links can link to local files, pages or outside websites.

Question: When can I use content I find online?
Answer: This is a big one. You can only use content that is created by you or offered freely by the author. Copying anyone else's pages, images or designs is a direct copyright violation and you could be liable for damages.

If you are building website,create your own work to be safe.

If you use content, make sure it is legal to use. here is a wealth of information, images and graphics that can be used freely, more than you will ever need. But don't ever go to someone else's website and use any of their work, images or graphics without permission.

Question: Why is my website so slow?
Answer: There are countless reason why website can be slow. If could be the host, the route, the way you built the pages or just the server it is on. See more details on why websites are slow.

Question: Can I build a website in 15 minutes?
Answer: Sure you can. Just like you can paint your house in 15 minutes. Can you do a good job in 15 minutes, no!

Question: Will I make a load of money?
Answer: A website has no bearing on how much money you make. There are all types of business models for websites the fact is, some make money and some don't. If you run the business successfully, then it ill make money, if not, you don't make money. The website is just a tool and not the answer to your money problems.

Question: What do I have to do to get listed in the search engines?
Answer: Nothing! They will list site automatically based on the domain registration database. They will find websites faster if you have outside links to pages but that is not even necessary today. They will list your website even if you do nothing at all.

Question: Will people find me in google, yahoo and bing?
Answer: That all depend on what the search for and what is on your website. If you sell widgets and someone searches for widgets, then they should be able to find you. If they search for cheeseburgers, they wont find you.

So how or what they find you for is solely related to what you add to your pages. If you have pages that talk about cheeseburgers, they find that, if you have pages about widgets, they find you for widgets.

If you want to be found for both, make sure you have both on your website. If you want to be found for anything, make sure that it is on your website. If you don't have it, you wont be found for it at all.

Question: Can I sell my products?
Answer: To sell products you need some type of programming and a way to collect funds for sales, either credit cards or a system like paypal. Make sure your host offers some type of ecommerce solution or you will have to install one yourself. That can get complicated if you do it and expensive if you hire a programmer.

Website pages are just static, so when you use editors to make pages that have no way to process orders or email you invoices. To to that you need programming that runs on the website. As long as you have that in place a website can do just about anything.