Individuals looking for a web host provider are often unfamiliar on how the field of web hosting works. Once you’ve made a research on the various offers of web hosting companies you can easily find yourself lost in the terminologies being used. Anyone who is looking for a good web hosting plan should be familiar at least with the commonly used terms in web hosting, this way it will be easier to communicate and ask questions to providers before you sign up for an offer.
Below are some of the commonly used terms in web hosting that you might encounter:
Auto Responder
This feature is often offered along with the customized email accounts in your web host plan. An auto responder allows your site to be readily available and interactive 24/7. How does it work? It automatically receives emails and sends acknowledgement response. Once a customer sends inquiry via the contact form or email address provided on the website, an auto responder will immediately send them an email to confirm the receipt. This can be easily configured on the control panel and users can also have their customized message that will be sent to every sender.
Backups
It is very important to choose a web host company that provides regular backups. Web hosting packages often includes periodic backups. A backup of files is necessary in case a website encounters technical difficulties. Loss of data can be prevented if providers perform backups on a regular basis.
Bandwidth
A term that every customer should be familiar with is bandwidth. It refers to the amount of data that can be transmitted at a given time. A common marketing strategy for web host providers is to use the term Unlimited Bandwidth. Do not get easily fooled by this term since every provider is only allowed to have a certain amount of bandwidth to offer to their clients. In the event that your site exceeds its bandwidth due to high traffic, it can suffer downtime or might be unavailable until issue is resolved. In such cases, web host companies can trick you in changing your web host plan which can cost more money. Go for a web host plan that offers an expandable bandwidth which means it expands as the demand on your site increases.
Disk Space
This term goes hand in hand with bandwidth. Think of disk space as the amount of space that is assigned to your website on the provider’s server. The amount of disk space also determines the number of pages and content of your site. If you plan to incorporate a number of images, videos and graphics on your site then you must choose a plan that offers more disk space.
Domain Name
Domain name is the distinct identification of your website in the worldwide web. The domain name typically is the part on top of the menu bar that reads: www.mywebsitename.com. Choosing a good domain name that is short and easy to remember is a factor in the success of a website.
There will be more terms to be included in the future articles but for now those are the common words that you might see on web hosting plans that are offered in the internet.
