Tunnel 7 is dedicated to providing clients with simple, effective, standards based websites utilizing forward thinking XHTML and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).

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Website Hosting Options

Published on May 12, 2009

Website hosting tends to not get much attention from clients I work with.  The assumption tends to be that all hosting options are the same.  However, in my experience nothing can be further from the truth.  Let’s look at what your website hosting options are.

Host the website in house

While you could buy a server to host your website in house, I don’t recommend it unless you are a larger company that has a dedicated staff to maintain the server.  A server will require upgrades to software to minimize security threats as well as constant monitoring to ensure up time.  For the small and medium sized businesses I tend to work with, this is not a very good option.

Rent a dedicated hosting server off site

OK, so you know you don’t want to have the physical machine in house.  You could rent a dedicated server at one of the hosting providers.  This takes away the hardware aspect of administration but you will still be responsible for selecting the operating system and keeping the software on the server current.  Like the first option, this one is also one reserved for larger companies with dedicated staff.

Host the website with a dedicated hosting company

For most of my clients this is the best option.  Hosting your website with a dedicated hosting company takes all the headaches of server administration out of your hands and leaves it in the hands of professionals.  The only danger with this option is making sure you use a reliable hosting company.  There are plenty of low cost, bargain basement companies promising the world for very little money.  These are best avoided. 

Conclusion

Website hosting is the foundation on which your website is built.  And just like a house, you want to make sure that your foundation is solid.  Paying a little extra now for a reliable website host will save you the headaches of down time and potential costs of moving your website to a new server. 
 

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Why Web Standards?

Simple visual consistency

Because content and style are separated a style change made in one location affects content across the entire site.

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