Web Hosting

What is Web Hosting?

Once your various web pages have been built, they have to be stored on a computer with a permanent connection to the internet that will make your pages available when requested. This is the web server or web host.

Web Servers generally run either Apache on Linux operating system or IIS on a Windows operating system. The technical details are not significant to most customers. Windows based hosting often has a higher cost, so we recommend and provide Linux based hosting, as do the majority of web hosting providers.

Hosting can be arranged relatively quickly, usually in a matter of hours. However, your website may not be available to the whole of the internet for anything up to 3 days. The delay is caused by the need to replicate the location of your website to the rest of the internet.

If you're happy with your current host, that's fine. Stay with them. Just make sure you check with us about our price before your extend any contract.

What's it going to cost and what do I get?

Prices will vary from time to time, but customers with typical requirements (no more than 20 pages with some graphics and moderate traffic levels), are currently paying $180 per year for hosting.

Instead of the standard control panel (used by geeks), we have created our own control pages with only the options you are likely to use (of course you can use the geek version if you choose). They are:

• create / delete up to 5 email accounts
• forward emails to your email account at your ISP
• define a catchall email account (for when someone miss-keys your email address)
• "zip" your website and mail it to yourself (as a form of backup)
• check out the bandwidth your site uses
• view visitor statistics for previous months

You also have the knowledge that as we are using the same hosting as you, then it is in our interests to have any problem rectified ASAP.

I only need Email hosting - what's it going to cost and what do I get?

This option is ideal for anyone who wants to look professional, yet doesn't have the need for a full-blown website. Or maybe they need to simply get started printing business cards & letterhead while deciding how to build their website. This is what we can offer you:

• a one page "about us" website (not much more than your logo, a couple of paragraphs of text and your contact details)
• create / delete up to 2 email accounts
• forward emails to your email account at your ISP
• define a catchall email account (for when someone miss-keys your email address)

Is all hosting the same?

I've already mentioned differences like the hosting software and the operating system. This shouldn't impact seriously on what you need to meet your requirements. Be aware that typically Windows based hosting can be more expensive.

There are three major differences between hosting companies:

• Price: expensive doesn't prove quality
• Reliability: most should state they deliver at least 99.9% uptime
• Location: if you are targetting the Australian market exclusively, your hosting should be in Australia.

If you need more information about anything on this page, why don't you contact us.

Tip of the week:

Register your domain for several years

Search engines, but Google in particular, like to see domains with extended periods before expiry. This is seen as a show of confidence in the domain and it is respected and rewarded by the search engines.A short expiry may be a sign of the domain may be a fly-by-night operation and not worthy of serious listing.

Domain registration is relatively inexpensive these days. Do yourself a favour and protect your domain and it's reputation - register it for at least 2 years, and extend it by that period at each renewal.