Answers to Common Questions
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Domain Name FAQ
You can introduce the category and tell your users about it here
A domain name, like www.coolexample.com, is a lot like a street address for a house or business. Let's use the White House as an example. The street address, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, is an exact location — like an IP address. You might not know the exact street address, but when you visit Washington, D.C., you can tell your cabbie that you want to visit the White House and still get there. This is how a domain name is used: It's an easy way to reach the exact location of a website without having to remember its numeric address.
A domain name consists of, at least, a top-level and a second-level domain. A top-level domain (TLD) is the part of the domain name located to the right of the dot ("."). The most common TLDs are .com, .net, and .org.
Many domains, also called extensions, can be registered by anyone, like .com, .net, and .org. A second-level domain (SLD) is the portion of the domain name that is located immediately to the left of the dot and domain name extension. For example, the SLD in coolexample.com is coolexample.
Advanced Domain Name Description: A domain name represents a physical point on the Internet — an IP address. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) governs coordination of the links between IP addresses and domain names across the Internet. With this standardized coordination, you can find websites on the Internet by entering domain names instead of IP addresses into your Web browser.
A domain name consists of, at least, a top-level and a second-level domain. A top-level domain (TLD) is the part of the domain name located to the right of the dot ("."). The most common TLDs are .com, .net, and .org.
Many domains, also called extensions, can be registered by anyone, like .com, .net, and .org. A second-level domain (SLD) is the portion of the domain name that is located immediately to the left of the dot and domain name extension. For example, the SLD in coolexample.com is coolexample.
Advanced Domain Name Description: A domain name represents a physical point on the Internet — an IP address. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) governs coordination of the links between IP addresses and domain names across the Internet. With this standardized coordination, you can find websites on the Internet by entering domain names instead of IP addresses into your Web browser.
An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a unique identifying string of numbers, like 216.27.61.137, given to every individual computer, server, and network on the Internet. Like a license plate is used to help identify vehicles, an IP address is used to identify and locate information online. Additionally, they allow for communication over the internet between devices and networks connected to the internet.
The www before your domain name is a subdomain, not part of the domain name itself. Therefore, if you set up your www CNAME record to point to your primary A record, your site will resolve both at www.coolexample.com and coolexample.com.
If you can reach your website by typing in your domain without the www but cannot reach it when you type the www, then your CNAME might be set up incorrectly. Follow the instructions below to ensure your domain name's settings are correct.
If you can reach your website by typing in your domain without the www but cannot reach it when you type the www, then your CNAME might be set up incorrectly. Follow the instructions below to ensure your domain name's settings are correct.
When visitors enter your domain name into a Web browser, the browser request uses your domain name to find the domain name's associated IP address and, therefore, the website. People use domain names instead of IP addresses because it is easier to remember a name rather than a series of numbers.
Your domain name and its associated IP address are stored in a common database along with every other domain and associated IP address that are accessible via the Internet.
Your domain name and its associated IP address are stored in a common database along with every other domain and associated IP address that are accessible via the Internet.
A URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, is the address of an Internet website or webpage. Think of a URL as a street address for the location of information on the Internet. For instance, a complete URL like https://coolexample.com/music, points you to the music page of the coolexample.com website.
Take a look at the anatomy of this URL to better understand how they direct online users to specific information: https://coolexample.com/funky/music.html
http:// = protocol
coolexample = domain name
.com =TLD
/funky/music.html = path
/funky/ = directory
/music.html = file name
Take a look at the anatomy of this URL to better understand how they direct online users to specific information: https://coolexample.com/funky/music.html
http:// = protocol
coolexample = domain name
.com =TLD
/funky/music.html = path
/funky/ = directory
/music.html = file name
Nameservers are the Internet's equivalent to phone books. A nameserver maintains a directory of domain names that match certain IP addresses (computers). The information from all the nameservers across the Internet is gathered in a central registry.
Nameservers make it possible for visitors to access your website using a familiar domain name, instead of having to remember a series of numbers.
Nameservers make it possible for visitors to access your website using a familiar domain name, instead of having to remember a series of numbers.
Registering a domain name does not automatically activate a website that displays when visitors enter your domain name into a Web browser. The domain name must have a hosted website that includes a numeric address, called an IP address, for visitors to access the website using your domain name.
Besides setting up a website, there are a number of things you can do with your domain name once you register it.
Sell it — Domain names can be a great investment. If you have registered a domain name that you are not using, maybe someone else can. You can set up a For Sale parked page to let visitors know that it's available — and don't forget to include your contact information. See Auctions FAQ for more information.
Protect your brand online — The more domain names you register, the better. Prevent others from registering a similar domain name to yours. These similar domain names can steal your customers or confuse them. What can you do with all these domain names? Forward them to your main domain name's website. See Manually Forwarding or Masking Your Domain Name for more information.
Hold on to it — Maybe you haven't decided what to do with your new domain name. Don't worry — there's no rush. You can leave it parked with us for the length of your registration. You can also monetize it by setting it up in a CashParking® account. See CashParking FAQ for more information.
Besides setting up a website, there are a number of things you can do with your domain name once you register it.
Sell it — Domain names can be a great investment. If you have registered a domain name that you are not using, maybe someone else can. You can set up a For Sale parked page to let visitors know that it's available — and don't forget to include your contact information. See Auctions FAQ for more information.
Protect your brand online — The more domain names you register, the better. Prevent others from registering a similar domain name to yours. These similar domain names can steal your customers or confuse them. What can you do with all these domain names? Forward them to your main domain name's website. See Manually Forwarding or Masking Your Domain Name for more information.
Hold on to it — Maybe you haven't decided what to do with your new domain name. Don't worry — there's no rush. You can leave it parked with us for the length of your registration. You can also monetize it by setting it up in a CashParking® account. See CashParking FAQ for more information.
If you're thinking about registering more than one domain name, you've got the right idea. Registering and using multiple domains names is great for building your business, protecting your brand name, and creating a dynamic online identity.
When you register multiple domain names, you can:
Keep your competition from registering a similar domain name drawing customers to them instead of you.
Promote the different products and services you offer.
Drive more traffic to your website.
Enjoy more opportunities to market to — and be listed in — search engines.
Create distinct advertising strategies reaching different target markets.
Provide customers more ways to find you when searching the Internet.
Capture common misspellings of your domain name, instead of sending visitors to an error page.
Protect your brand and online identity.
When you register multiple domain names, you can:
Keep your competition from registering a similar domain name drawing customers to them instead of you.
Promote the different products and services you offer.
Drive more traffic to your website.
Enjoy more opportunities to market to — and be listed in — search engines.
Create distinct advertising strategies reaching different target markets.
Provide customers more ways to find you when searching the Internet.
Capture common misspellings of your domain name, instead of sending visitors to an error page.
Protect your brand and online identity.
Usually, a domain name is not available for re-registration as soon as it expires. Most registrars allow a grace period that can be as short as one or two weeks or as long as a year for registrants to renew expired domain names. The actual grace period can be different for each individual registrar and domain name extension. That is, the grace period for a .com domain name might be different from the grace period for a .us domain name, even at the same registrar.
After the registrar's grace period, most domain names have a redemption period. This period can last from two weeks to 30 days, and, during this time, the current registrant can renew the domain name by paying a redemption fee along with the domain name's renewal fee.
If the current registrant does not renew or redeem the domain name, it might be auctioned. When a domain name is released to a public auction, you can participate and possibly capture the domain name by placing a bid on it.
If the domain name is not renewed, redeemed, or purchased through an auction, it is returned to its registry. The registry determines when the domain name is released again for registration. Once it's released, you can register the domain name through us.
After the registrar's grace period, most domain names have a redemption period. This period can last from two weeks to 30 days, and, during this time, the current registrant can renew the domain name by paying a redemption fee along with the domain name's renewal fee.
If the current registrant does not renew or redeem the domain name, it might be auctioned. When a domain name is released to a public auction, you can participate and possibly capture the domain name by placing a bid on it.
If the domain name is not renewed, redeemed, or purchased through an auction, it is returned to its registry. The registry determines when the domain name is released again for registration. Once it's released, you can register the domain name through us.
Linux Hosting (cPanel) Help
You can introduce the category and tell your users about it here
cPanel lets you create email addresses at the domains hosted on your account.
Log in to cPanel (Shared Hosting/Server).
In the Email section, click Accounts.
Click Create Account.
Complete the on-screen fields, and then click Create Account.
Note: Your Mailbox Quota counts toward your account's Disk Space Usage.
Log in to cPanel (Shared Hosting/Server).
In the Email section, click Accounts.
Click Create Account.
Complete the on-screen fields, and then click Create Account.
Note: Your Mailbox Quota counts toward your account's Disk Space Usage.
After adding email accounts, you can use cPanel's tools to configure your email client to access the account.
Go to https://coolexample.com/webmail, where coolexample.com is your domain name.
Log in to your email address.
Click Configure Mail Client.
Next to the mail client you want to use, click the link in the Protocols column.
Follow any instructions or run any files that download to complete the configuration.
If the mail client or device you want to use isn't listed, you can use the Manual Settings listed toward the bottom of the page.
Typical Settings If you can't access the cPanel interface to complete these steps, these are the typical settings it uses:
Username: Your email address
Password: Your email account's password
Incoming Server: mail.[your domain name]
Incoming Ports: IMAP — 143 / POP — 110
Outgoing Server: mail.[your domain name]
SMTP (Outgoing) Port: 25 (587 or 80 might also work)
Go to https://coolexample.com/webmail, where coolexample.com is your domain name.
Log in to your email address.
Click Configure Mail Client.
Next to the mail client you want to use, click the link in the Protocols column.
Follow any instructions or run any files that download to complete the configuration.
If the mail client or device you want to use isn't listed, you can use the Manual Settings listed toward the bottom of the page.
Typical Settings If you can't access the cPanel interface to complete these steps, these are the typical settings it uses:
Username: Your email address
Password: Your email account's password
Incoming Server: mail.[your domain name]
Incoming Ports: IMAP — 143 / POP — 110
Outgoing Server: mail.[your domain name]
SMTP (Outgoing) Port: 25 (587 or 80 might also work)
Resetting cPanel Email Passwords
If you forgot the password for a cPanel email account, you must be able to log in to cPanel.
To Reset cPanel Email Passwords
Log in to cPanel (Shared Hosting/Server).
In the Email section, click Email Accounts or Accounts.
Next to the email account you want to use, click or or Change Password.
Complete the on-screen fields, and then click Change Password.
To Change cPanel Email Passwords
To change your cPanel email password you must be able to log in to your account (i.e. you know your email account's current password).
Go to http://your domain name/webmail
Log in to your cPanel webmail account.
Click Change Password.
Complete the on-screen fields, and then click Change Password.
If you forgot the password for a cPanel email account, you must be able to log in to cPanel.
To Reset cPanel Email Passwords
Log in to cPanel (Shared Hosting/Server).
In the Email section, click Email Accounts or Accounts.
Next to the email account you want to use, click or or Change Password.
Complete the on-screen fields, and then click Change Password.
To Change cPanel Email Passwords
To change your cPanel email password you must be able to log in to your account (i.e. you know your email account's current password).
Go to http://your domain name/webmail
Log in to your cPanel webmail account.
Click Change Password.
Complete the on-screen fields, and then click Change Password.
Managing Files
You should always keep backups of your website — there's no other way to prepare for the unexpected. Indiaaccess gives you two
options for backups:
Automatic Backup:
Automatic daily backups for your websites and databases
Automatic integration with your Indiaaccess hosting (minimal-to-no setup required)
Restoring your entire hosting account or individual files
Storage for your last 30 backups
Backups on demand
Database backups
Manual backups in cPanel
From the cPanel home page, in the Files area, click Backups.
In the Download a Home Directory Backup area, click Home Directory.
If you have any databases you should also download a backup of them by clicking the database's name in the Download a MySQL Database Backup area.
Automatic Backup:
Automatic daily backups for your websites and databases
Automatic integration with your Indiaaccess hosting (minimal-to-no setup required)
Restoring your entire hosting account or individual files
Storage for your last 30 backups
Backups on demand
Database backups
Manual backups in cPanel
From the cPanel home page, in the Files area, click Backups.
In the Download a Home Directory Backup area, click Home Directory.
If you have any databases you should also download a backup of them by clicking the database's name in the Download a MySQL Database Backup area.
You can upload your website files directly through cPanel. This will publish your website live on the internet.
Preparing your files
Uploading more than one file? You can save yourself a lot of time by creating a ZIP file on your computer with all of your website files. This is because the file manager in cPanel can only upload one file at a time.
Upload your files
In your cPanel dashboard, under Files, click File Manager.
If an option window displays, select the directory you want to open, and then click Go
Note:cPanel uses public_html as the root directory of your primary domain name's website. If you want to upload your website to the internet, this is where you should start. If you want to upload a website for a secondary or add-on domain, you should first verify your website's root directory.
Navigate to the directory where you want to upload the file.
Click Choose File, locate the file on your local machine, and then click OK.
After you upload the file you want, click Back to...
Repeat these steps for any other files you want to upload.
Next Steps
Now that your website is uploaded, you can visit your website by navigating to your domain in your web browser.
If you used this guide to upload a ZIP file, you can unzip that file with the file manager.
Preparing your files
Uploading more than one file? You can save yourself a lot of time by creating a ZIP file on your computer with all of your website files. This is because the file manager in cPanel can only upload one file at a time.
Upload your files
In your cPanel dashboard, under Files, click File Manager.
If an option window displays, select the directory you want to open, and then click Go
Note:cPanel uses public_html as the root directory of your primary domain name's website. If you want to upload your website to the internet, this is where you should start. If you want to upload a website for a secondary or add-on domain, you should first verify your website's root directory.
Navigate to the directory where you want to upload the file.
Click Choose File, locate the file on your local machine, and then click OK.
After you upload the file you want, click Back to...
Repeat these steps for any other files you want to upload.
Next Steps
Now that your website is uploaded, you can visit your website by navigating to your domain in your web browser.
If you used this guide to upload a ZIP file, you can unzip that file with the file manager.
You can create MySQL databases on your hosting account for your websites to use.
To Set Up a Database for Your Website
Log in to your cPanel account.
In the Databases section, click MySQL Database Wizard.
In the New Database field, enter a name for your database, and then click Next Step.
Note: Your database name must be unique in our system. If you get an error message stating 'The database example_name already exists,' then click Go Back, and choose a new database name.
Complete the Username, Password, and Password (Again) fields, and then click Create User.
Select the privileges to grant the user, and then click Next Step.
To Set Up a Database for Your Website
Log in to your cPanel account.
In the Databases section, click MySQL Database Wizard.
In the New Database field, enter a name for your database, and then click Next Step.
Note: Your database name must be unique in our system. If you get an error message stating 'The database example_name already exists,' then click Go Back, and choose a new database name.
Complete the Username, Password, and Password (Again) fields, and then click Create User.
Select the privileges to grant the user, and then click Next Step.
If you backed up or exported a database to a SQL file, you can import it into one of your hosting account's MySQL databases through phpMyAdmin.
Note: The phpMyAdmin interface only lets you import 8MB of data at one time. If you need to import more than 8MB, we recommend breaking up the file into 8MB pieces.
To Import SQL Files into MySQL Databases Using phpMyAdmin
Access your database via PHPMyAdmin (Web & Classic / cPanel / Plesk / Managed WordPress).
(cPanel only) On the left, click the database you want to use.
Go to the Import files tab.
Click Browse, locate the SQL file on your computer, click Open, and then click Go.
This runs the SQL file and updates the database as specified in your SQL file. It might take several minutes to restore the database.
Note: If you receive an error message stating "Script timeout passed, if you want to finish import, please resubmit same file and import will resume" you can immediately select the same file to import and continue the restore where it left off.
After the database restores, make sure your connection strings are up to date.
Note: The phpMyAdmin interface only lets you import 8MB of data at one time. If you need to import more than 8MB, we recommend breaking up the file into 8MB pieces.
To Import SQL Files into MySQL Databases Using phpMyAdmin
Access your database via PHPMyAdmin (Web & Classic / cPanel / Plesk / Managed WordPress).
(cPanel only) On the left, click the database you want to use.
Go to the Import files tab.
Click Browse, locate the SQL file on your computer, click Open, and then click Go.
This runs the SQL file and updates the database as specified in your SQL file. It might take several minutes to restore the database.
Note: If you receive an error message stating "Script timeout passed, if you want to finish import, please resubmit same file and import will resume" you can immediately select the same file to import and continue the restore where it left off.
After the database restores, make sure your connection strings are up to date.
The root directory of your website is the content that loads when visitors access your domain name in a Web browser. The most
obvious consequence of this is that you need to put your "index file" in your website's root directory for visitors to see your site at all.
Website-related applications might also need to know your website's root directory.
Your website's root directory depends on whether the domain name is your primary domain name or another type.
Your primary domain name's root directory is /public_html.
Secondary and subdomain names' root directories were specified when they were set up. You can find them listed in cPanel.
To Find Secondary (Addon) and Subdomains' Root Directories
Log in to your cPanel account.
In the Domains section, click either Subdomains or Addon Domains, depending on the type of domain you're using.
The root directory displays in the Document Root field.
Website-related applications might also need to know your website's root directory.
Your website's root directory depends on whether the domain name is your primary domain name or another type.
Your primary domain name's root directory is /public_html.
Secondary and subdomain names' root directories were specified when they were set up. You can find them listed in cPanel.
To Find Secondary (Addon) and Subdomains' Root Directories
Log in to your cPanel account.
In the Domains section, click either Subdomains or Addon Domains, depending on the type of domain you're using.
The root directory displays in the Document Root field.
To Configure Filezilla for FTPS Explicit
Open Filezilla.
Click Open the Site Manager.
Click New Site, and then in the My Sites section enter the domain name.
In the Host field, enter the domain name.
From the Encryption list, select Require explicit FTP over TLS.
From the Logon Type list, select Normal.
In the User field, enter your username.
In the Password field, enter your password.
Go to the Transfer Settings tab.
In the Transfer Mode section, select Passive, and then click OK.
To test the connection, click Open the Site Manager, and then select the domain name.
Click Connect, and then click OK.
Refer Snapshot also.
Open Filezilla.
Click Open the Site Manager.
Click New Site, and then in the My Sites section enter the domain name.
In the Host field, enter the domain name.
From the Encryption list, select Require explicit FTP over TLS.
From the Logon Type list, select Normal.
In the User field, enter your username.
In the Password field, enter your password.
Go to the Transfer Settings tab.
In the Transfer Mode section, select Passive, and then click OK.
To test the connection, click Open the Site Manager, and then select the domain name.
Click Connect, and then click OK.
Refer Snapshot also.
Windows Hosting (Plesk) Help
You can introduce the category and tell your users about it here
Plesk lets you create email addresses at the domains hosted on your account.
Log in to Plesk (Shared Hosting/Server).
Go to Mail.
Click Create Email Address.
Type the left part of the email address before the @ sign, and, if you have several domain names on your account, select the domain name under which the email address will be created.
Leave the Mailbox checkbox selected. Clearing this checkbox makes sense only if you want to use this address as a mail forwarder, which will forward all incoming mail to another address.
Specify the mailbox size or use the default size defined by the provider's policy or your service plan.
Specify a password consisting of five or more Latin characters.
Click OK.
Refer Snapshot also.
Log in to Plesk (Shared Hosting/Server).
Go to Mail.
Click Create Email Address.
Type the left part of the email address before the @ sign, and, if you have several domain names on your account, select the domain name under which the email address will be created.
Leave the Mailbox checkbox selected. Clearing this checkbox makes sense only if you want to use this address as a mail forwarder, which will forward all incoming mail to another address.
Specify the mailbox size or use the default size defined by the provider's policy or your service plan.
Specify a password consisting of five or more Latin characters.
Click OK.
Refer Snapshot also.
To set up Microsoft Office Outlook 2010.
Open Microsoft Office Outlook 2010.
Go to File > Info > Add Account.
Select the checkbox Manually configure server settings or additional server types. Click Next.
Select the Internet Email option and click Next.
Follow any instructions or run any files that download to complete the configuration.
Specify the following:
Click More Settings, open the Outgoing Server tab and check My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication.
Click Next.
Click Finish.
Open Microsoft Office Outlook 2010.
Go to File > Info > Add Account.
Select the checkbox Manually configure server settings or additional server types. Click Next.
Select the Internet Email option and click Next.
Follow any instructions or run any files that download to complete the configuration.
Specify the following:
-
Your name.
Your email address.
Account type. If you want to keep copies of messages on the server, select the IMAP option. If you do not want to keep any messages on the server, select the POP3 option. Selecting IMAP will also allow you to train the SpamAssassin spam filter on email messages you receive, if SpamAssassin is enabled on the server.
Incoming mail server. Type your domain name. For example, example.com.
Outgoing mail server (SMTP). Type your domain name. For example, example.com.
User Name. Specify your full email address. Example: johndoe@example.com.
Password. Most likely, this password coincides with the password you use for logging in to Plesk.
Require logon using Secure Password Authentication (SPA). Leave this option cleared.
Click More Settings, open the Outgoing Server tab and check My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication.
Click Next.
Click Finish.
If you need to reset an email account through the Plesk Control Panel you can follow the steps below.
To Reset Plesk Email Passwords
Log into your Plesk Panel.
Choose the correct subscription from the drop down menu in the upper right.
Go to the Subscriptions tab and select your domain.
Go to the Mail tab then select the email account you wish to manage.
In the password and confirm password fields enter a new password.
Click OK.
To Reset Plesk Email Passwords
Log into your Plesk Panel.
Choose the correct subscription from the drop down menu in the upper right.
Go to the Subscriptions tab and select your domain.
Go to the Mail tab then select the email account you wish to manage.
In the password and confirm password fields enter a new password.
Click OK.
Managing Files
You should always keep backups of your website — there's no other way to prepare for the unexpected.
Backup in Plesk step by step.
Log in to the Plesk Panel.
From the Domains tab, click the domain. (If the correct domain isn't listed, choose it's subscription from the drop down menu in the upper right.)
Select the Websites & Domains tab.
Select the Backup Manager in the right hand menu.
Backups on demand
Select Back Up.
Server Repository will be selected by default unless you have set up a FTP repository.
In Plesk 12, under the Backup Settings section select the radio button labeled Domain configuration and content. Leave the drop box the way it is.
In Plesk 12.5 under Backup Content->Type, select Full or Incrememental as needed. An incremental backup will only backup those files which have changed since the last backup. For this reason we recommend Full backups.
DO NOT select the Suspend domain until backup task is completed. Should the backup fail, your domain would remain suspended and inaccessible to your website viewers.
Once the backup is completed you can download it from the main backup screen by clicking on the Green Circle/Arrow icon on the right side of the backup listing.
Backup in Plesk step by step.
Log in to the Plesk Panel.
From the Domains tab, click the domain. (If the correct domain isn't listed, choose it's subscription from the drop down menu in the upper right.)
Select the Websites & Domains tab.
Select the Backup Manager in the right hand menu.
Backups on demand
Select Back Up.
Server Repository will be selected by default unless you have set up a FTP repository.
In Plesk 12, under the Backup Settings section select the radio button labeled Domain configuration and content. Leave the drop box the way it is.
In Plesk 12.5 under Backup Content->Type, select Full or Incrememental as needed. An incremental backup will only backup those files which have changed since the last backup. For this reason we recommend Full backups.
DO NOT select the Suspend domain until backup task is completed. Should the backup fail, your domain would remain suspended and inaccessible to your website viewers.
Once the backup is completed you can download it from the main backup screen by clicking on the Green Circle/Arrow icon on the right side of the backup listing.
Upload your website files on Plesk 12.5 Panel.
Preparing your files
Uploading more than one file? You can save yourself a lot of time by creating a ZIP file on your computer with all of your website files. This is because the file manager in cPanel can only upload one file at a time.
You can upload files using one of the 2 below methods.
1. Using File Manager in Parallels Plesk Hosting Account.
Login to your Plesk Panel.
You can now see lot of icons out of them click on “File Manager” icon to open the “httpdocs” folder or Find “httpdocs” folder below the Domain Name.this is by default which is the public folder on plesk based servers.
In the File Manager, click on the “Upload Files” option in the toolbar on top. Browse and select your website file you want to upload. For faster upload or restore of your website, we recommend that you create a compressed file in “.zip” folder of your website files and folders on your local computer and then Browse & Select to upload. This will upload your .zip file.
Once website .zip file is uploaded and appears in the list, click on the checkbox next to it and Then find “Extract Files” and click on it. This will unzip all your website files and folders to the httpdocs folder.
Next Steps
Now that your website is uploaded, you can visit your website by navigating to your domain in your web browser.
If you used this guide to upload a ZIP file, you can unzip that file with the file manager.
Preparing your files
Uploading more than one file? You can save yourself a lot of time by creating a ZIP file on your computer with all of your website files. This is because the file manager in cPanel can only upload one file at a time.
You can upload files using one of the 2 below methods.
1. Using File Manager in Parallels Plesk Hosting Account.
Login to your Plesk Panel.
You can now see lot of icons out of them click on “File Manager” icon to open the “httpdocs” folder or Find “httpdocs” folder below the Domain Name.this is by default which is the public folder on plesk based servers.
In the File Manager, click on the “Upload Files” option in the toolbar on top. Browse and select your website file you want to upload. For faster upload or restore of your website, we recommend that you create a compressed file in “.zip” folder of your website files and folders on your local computer and then Browse & Select to upload. This will upload your .zip file.
Once website .zip file is uploaded and appears in the list, click on the checkbox next to it and Then find “Extract Files” and click on it. This will unzip all your website files and folders to the httpdocs folder.
Next Steps
Now that your website is uploaded, you can visit your website by navigating to your domain in your web browser.
If you used this guide to upload a ZIP file, you can unzip that file with the file manager.
You can create MySQL databases on your hosting account for your websites to use.
In Parallels Plesk Panel, you create databases and then either create new users for it, or grant existing users access.
To Set Up a Database for Your Website
In Parallels Plesk Panel, you create databases and then either create new users for it, or grant existing users access.
To Set Up a Database for Your Website
Earlier versions of Plesk required the use of database management tools to dump databases, but Plesk 12.5 allows you to back up (by
exporting a database dump as an SQL file) and restore them (by importing a database dump as an SQL file) without having to leave the control panel.
To save a copy of a database:
Go to Websites & Domains > Databases > Export Dump in the database tools pane.
To save a dump in a certain directory on the Plesk server, select the directory. The home directory of the selected subscription is used by default.
To save the dump on your local computer as well as on the server, select Automatically download dump after creation.
To deploy your copy of a database in Plesk:
Go to Websites & Domains > Databases > Import Dump in the database tools pane.
To choose a dump from your local computer, select Upload and click Browse. Then select a ZIP archive with the dump file.
To choose a dump from a directory on the server, select Import and select a file of the dump.
To deploy the dump into a newly created database, select Recreate the database. The old database will be deleted and a new one, with the same name, created.
Note: Alternatively, you can back up a database as part of a subscription during the subscription backup and then restore it separately. See the Backing Up and Recovering Websites section for details.
To save a copy of a database:
Go to Websites & Domains > Databases > Export Dump in the database tools pane.
To save a dump in a certain directory on the Plesk server, select the directory. The home directory of the selected subscription is used by default.
To save the dump on your local computer as well as on the server, select Automatically download dump after creation.
To deploy your copy of a database in Plesk:
Go to Websites & Domains > Databases > Import Dump in the database tools pane.
To choose a dump from your local computer, select Upload and click Browse. Then select a ZIP archive with the dump file.
To choose a dump from a directory on the server, select Import and select a file of the dump.
To deploy the dump into a newly created database, select Recreate the database. The old database will be deleted and a new one, with the same name, created.
Note: Alternatively, you can back up a database as part of a subscription during the subscription backup and then restore it separately. See the Backing Up and Recovering Websites section for details.
In Parallels Plesk Panel, you create databases and then either create new users for it, or grant existing users access.
Login to your Plesk account. On the homepage, click on the “Databases” icon on the middle section of your panel or find on right hand side from the list.
Then click on the “Add a Database” option on the page to get a form. Fill in the Database Name you desire and also create a Database Username and Password. Make sure you select MS SQL in Database Type.
NOTE: You will need to change the Data source/Server name, Database Name, Database Username and Database Password in your web application’s Connection String as per database created on server.
Once database is created, Now you can see your newly created database in list in Database section on your screen.
Login to your Plesk account. On the homepage, click on the “Databases” icon on the middle section of your panel or find on right hand side from the list.
Then click on the “Add a Database” option on the page to get a form. Fill in the Database Name you desire and also create a Database Username and Password. Make sure you select MS SQL in Database Type.
NOTE: You will need to change the Data source/Server name, Database Name, Database Username and Database Password in your web application’s Connection String as per database created on server.
Once database is created, Now you can see your newly created database in list in Database section on your screen.
In Parallels Plesk Panel, you create databases and then either create new users for it, or grant existing users access.
Backup MSSql Database
Login to your Plesk account. On the homepage, click on the “Databases” icon on the middle section of your panel or find on right hand side from the list.
Then find “Export Dump” option and click.
Choose the directory, enter the dump filename and Click OK.
Your database will be exported in .ZIP Format. Once exported, you can download it.
Import MSSql Database
After Pleks Panel login then find "Import Dump” option and click.
Now, select your .bak backup File on your local machine. Please note that it will only accept .bak file, so if you have the backup in .zip format then please extract it first then restore.
After uploading file it will show one notification on your right side with File import status.
You need to make sure that your database .bak backup file is a valid backup file and does not have any strongly typed database names or database usernames of your local database server.
Backup MSSql Database
Login to your Plesk account. On the homepage, click on the “Databases” icon on the middle section of your panel or find on right hand side from the list.
Then find “Export Dump” option and click.
Choose the directory, enter the dump filename and Click OK.
Your database will be exported in .ZIP Format. Once exported, you can download it.
Import MSSql Database
After Pleks Panel login then find "Import Dump” option and click.
Now, select your .bak backup File on your local machine. Please note that it will only accept .bak file, so if you have the backup in .zip format then please extract it first then restore.
After uploading file it will show one notification on your right side with File import status.
You need to make sure that your database .bak backup file is a valid backup file and does not have any strongly typed database names or database usernames of your local database server.
The root directory of your website is the content that loads when visitors access your domain name in a Web browser. The most
obvious consequence of this is that you need to put your "index file" in your website's root directory for visitors to see your site at all.
Website-related applications might also need to know your website's root directory.
Your website's root directory depends on whether the domain name is your primary domain name or another type.
Your primary domain name's root directory is /httpdocs
Secondary and subdomain names' root directories were specified when they were set up. You can find them listed in Plesk.
To Find Secondary (Addon) and Subdomains' Root Directories
Log in to your Plesk Panel.
In the Domains section, click either Subdomains or Addon Domains, depending on the type of domain you're using.
In the section for each domain name, the root directory displays in the Website at field. By default, the root directory is the domain name itself followed by a forward slash, e.g. subdomain.coolexample.com/
Website-related applications might also need to know your website's root directory.
Your website's root directory depends on whether the domain name is your primary domain name or another type.
Your primary domain name's root directory is /httpdocs
Secondary and subdomain names' root directories were specified when they were set up. You can find them listed in Plesk.
To Find Secondary (Addon) and Subdomains' Root Directories
Log in to your Plesk Panel.
In the Domains section, click either Subdomains or Addon Domains, depending on the type of domain you're using.
In the section for each domain name, the root directory displays in the Website at field. By default, the root directory is the domain name itself followed by a forward slash, e.g. subdomain.coolexample.com/
To Configure Filezilla for FTPS Explicit
Open Filezilla.
Click Open the Site Manager.
Click New Site, and then in the My Sites section enter the domain name.
In the Host field, enter the domain name.
From the Encryption list, select "Only Use Plain FTP".
From the Logon Type list, select Normal.
In the User field, enter your username.
In the Password field, enter your password.
Go to the Transfer Settings tab.
In the Transfer Mode section, select Passive, and then click OK.
To test the connection, click Open the Site Manager, and then select the domain name.
Click Connect, and then click OK.
Refer Snapshot also.
Open Filezilla.
Click Open the Site Manager.
Click New Site, and then in the My Sites section enter the domain name.
In the Host field, enter the domain name.
From the Encryption list, select "Only Use Plain FTP".
From the Logon Type list, select Normal.
In the User field, enter your username.
In the Password field, enter your password.
Go to the Transfer Settings tab.
In the Transfer Mode section, select Passive, and then click OK.
To test the connection, click Open the Site Manager, and then select the domain name.
Click Connect, and then click OK.
Refer Snapshot also.
More Frequently Asked Questions
Web hosting is a service that allows organizations and individuals to post a website or web page onto the Internet. A web hosting service provider, is a business that provides the technologies and services needed for the website or webpage to be viewed on the Internet. Websites are hosted or stored, on computers called servers. When Internet users want to view your website, all they need to do is type your website address or domain into their browser. Their computer will then connect to your server and your webpages will be delivered to them through the browser. Most hosting companies require that you own your domain in order to host with them. If you do not have a domain, the hosting companies will help you purchase one. The web hosting firms also employ in-house technicians to make sure their clients' websites are up and running 24/7. Plus, when website owners are in need of help or troubleshooting (e.g. script debugging, email not able to send/receive, domain name renewal, and more), the web host's in-house support helps them for smooth functioning of websites, so they can efficiently focus their time and effort on their businesses.
Email hosting is a service in which a hosting provider rents out email servers to its users. While there are free versions available with many hosting companies, many businesses take advantage of the flexibility and power of professional email services. Professional email hosting takes place when both incoming and outgoing emails are managed by a separate shared or dedicated mail server. As mentioned earlier, most hosting providers require users to have their domain name. With a domain name (e.g. www.yourwebsite.com) and email account features provided by your hosting company, you can create domain email accounts (e.g. yourname@yourwebsite.com). For many email users, paid hosting is wholly unnecessary, but what about when you have important documents like bills, invoices, client contacts or any other pieces of sensitive information stored on your email account. Additionally, can you afford to lose subscribers, customers, etc. by having a clumsy and unprofessional generic email like your.business@gmail.com over your domain such as info@your.business.com, In addition to the professionalism that having your domain in your email provides, it’s advised to consider upgrading to email hosting instead of putting your data in the hands of a free email service like Google or Yahoo. Businesses pay for this service so that if something goes wrong, someone is there to help. There are plenty of email-related scenarios that could cause significant damage to your business: someone steals a password, hacks your email, or you simply forgot your password. You will be able to recover access to email and its associated files, swiftly, if you are paying for a premium service.
Maintaining and supporting email yourself will increase the probability of virus infections, as well as hardware and software issues. Such problems could cause email not to function from several hours to days, which is why more businesses are opting for modern email hosting plans.
Web publishing, or "online publishing," is the process of publishing content on the Internet. It includes creating and uploading websites, updating webpages, and posting blogs online. The published content may include text, images, videos, and other types of media. To publish content on the web, you need three things, 1) web development software, 2) an Internet connection, and 3) a web server. The software may be a professional web design program like Dreamweaver or a simple web-based interface like WordPress. The Internet connection serves as the medium for uploading the content to the webserver. Large sites may use a dedicated web host, but many smaller sites often reside on shared servers, which host multiple websites. Additionally, the audience is limitless since content posted on the web can be viewed by anyone in the world with an Internet connection. Also not that, Posting updates on social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter is generally not considered web publishing. Instead, web publishing generally refers to uploading content to unique websites.
An affiliate program is a revenue sharing program where the affiliate (ie. you) refers customers to certain products of ours. When you share our customized unique URL or link, and a customer purchases a plan through that URL or link, you will be rewarded with a commission. Also Signing up for the affiliate program takes only a few minutes and is completely FREE. You'll receive a unique tracking code for login on our website where you will be able to see all your wallet income and other details of your membership. Simply promote our products on your website with custom banners and links. For every visitor who clicks through these links and signs up, you will receive a commission.The more you advertise our website, the more you make.
AWS Amazon cloud server
An ordinary server shares system resources with other users on one physical server and so it may affect the performance of your website. In an Amazon cloud server (AWS), the resources required for maintaining your website will be dispersed across more than one server (that acts as one) and utilized as per the need. This incredibly reduces any chances of downtime. With our Amazon cloud environment offered in the business hosting plan, you will experience a scalable, reliable and powerful cloud platform, there is no risk of website getting crashed and data loss. With our Amazon website backup solution, you can rest assured about the databases, emails and website backup. All your files and website data will automatically be backed up to the cloud server. We back up your database files daily while the website and email backup are taken once a week. All your website logs are continuously monitored and any malicious actions are blocked immediately after any suspicious behavior.
With AWS, you can use whatever CMS you like, including WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and more. AWS also supports and provides SDKs for popular platforms like Java, Ruby, PHP, Node.js, and .Net.Website traffic can fluctuate a lot. From campaign driven, social media sharing traffic spikes, AWS infrastructure that can grow and shrink to meet your needs.AWS charges you for the resources you use, with no up-front costs or long-term contracts. AWS has web hosting options that offer pay-as-you-go pricing or fixed monthly pricing.
Small Business Email Hosting
There are many different types of email hosting solutions, each serving a different purpose, for small businesses to corporates. The small business often uses a shared hosting service but you can’t use it for sending/receiving bulk emails due to limitations on the email server. Most website hosting plans come with built-in email hosting, but the best email hosting providers offer a variety of benefits you might not get from your everyday web host and their standard shared servers. Most digital businesses prefer to use third-party email hosting solutions. These are scalable, easy-to-use email servers that provide excellent support but you will have to pay separately for email hosting service. Therefore, the cost will be more than what you will pay if you get a shared web hosting with email service. These are complex email servers that are robust, and require technical expertise on part of the team operating these servers. These servers are reliable, and you can send, receive, and maintain emails with ease. These types of email services are used by corporates & big companies.
There are many different types of email hosting solutions, each serving a different purpose, for small businesses to corporates. The small business often uses a shared hosting service but you can’t use it for sending/receiving bulk emails due to limitations on the email server. Most website hosting plans come with built-in email hosting, but the best email hosting providers offer a variety of benefits you might not get from your everyday web host and their standard shared servers. Most digital businesses prefer to use third-party email hosting solutions. These are scalable, easy-to-use email servers that provide excellent support but you will have to pay separately for email hosting service. Therefore, the cost will be more than what you will pay if you get a shared web hosting with email service. These are complex email servers that are robust, and require technical expertise on part of the team operating these servers. These servers are reliable, and you can send, receive, and maintain emails with ease. These types of email services are used by corporates & big companies.
Our Business Email package lets you take advantage of our advanced email technology, giving you the least latency along with the industry's best uptime, scalability and reliability. You can send and receive emails using any desktop-based email client such as Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, Eudora, Entourage, Windows Mail, etc. We also have a guide on how you can configure different email clients to send/receive emails. The Business Email product supports the POP and IMAP protocols. Our business mail solutions are very reliable and trusted. We offer advanced & innovative Business email solutions that can be customized according to your industry & business requirement. Our Business email hosting service also comes with multiple built-in Anti SPAM & Antivirus services with regular security patches by experts. By using our Business email solutions, you can guarantee great success for your business.
Unlimited Email Hosting
We provide Web hosting with unlimited emails so that you can create as many email addresses as you need. This can be great for businesses with a large number of employees or entrepreneurs managing several sites at once. While email hosting is technically separate from web hosting, both count towards used disc space on your account. Unlimited email accounts generally come on plans with unlimited domains and storage as well but not always. When a hosting plan mentions emails as a specification, it is referring to the number of email accounts that can be created, not the number of emails you can send or store. Several hosts limited the amount of emails you can send within an hour. This is done to prevent their servers from becoming blacklisted either through regular use or a bot. If you’re a small business, no need to worry as this cap is usually in the hundreds. Small businesses usually do not need access to unlimited email accounts unless they require their customers to create emails as well. Email hosting usually has a higher cap on emails than domain-hosting, frequently being unlimited.
We provide Web hosting with unlimited emails so that you can create as many email addresses as you need. This can be great for businesses with a large number of employees or entrepreneurs managing several sites at once. While email hosting is technically separate from web hosting, both count towards used disc space on your account. Unlimited email accounts generally come on plans with unlimited domains and storage as well but not always. When a hosting plan mentions emails as a specification, it is referring to the number of email accounts that can be created, not the number of emails you can send or store. Several hosts limited the amount of emails you can send within an hour. This is done to prevent their servers from becoming blacklisted either through regular use or a bot. If you’re a small business, no need to worry as this cap is usually in the hundreds. Small businesses usually do not need access to unlimited email accounts unless they require their customers to create emails as well. Email hosting usually has a higher cap on emails than domain-hosting, frequently being unlimited.
Web hosting is a service in which individuals and organizations can keep their information in the form of a web page onto the internet.
Web Hosting is a business that provides the services and technologies needed for the website or web portal to be accessed on the internet. The computers on which websites are hosted or stored are highly and specially configured and called servers. When people visit the internet and want to view any website, they need to type a website name or domain name into their browser. Their computer will then connect to the server and browsed website pages will be delivered to them through the browser.
It is always a big headache where to host my website because too many web hosting companies are providing hosting services at a very low cost. Sometimes we have not enquired about all the necessary things which need to know before hosting a website. If your business depends on the web, you should think of acquiring solid web hosting as investing in real estate on the Internet, namely, purchasing a settlement and maintenance location for one’s blog or retail website. In the role of a silent backdoor engine in charge of all performance matters, web hosting is not only a critical investment but one you simply can’t take for granted.
As your online business grows, your Web hosting needs will increase and become more complex. At the startup or beginning phase, we can host a website with free or inexpensive hosting plans. If your website is starting to feel sluggish as it continues to grow and you get more website traffic, you may need to start looking at beefing up your Web server.
It’s important to understand how types of hosting can be categorized. One way of categorizing hosting is based on how the servers are set up and the amount of access you have to those servers. Thus, the result is the following types of hosting:
Free Web Hosting
Shared Hosting
VPS Hosting
Dedicated Hosting
Cloud Hosting
Colocation Hosting
Another way to categorize types of hosting is according to the level of management the hosting company provides. Like any computer, a server needs to be maintained and upgraded. Though most hosts offer managed to host, you can find hosting companies that offer unmanaged packages. This means you’ll be doing all the maintenance and upgrading yourself, but you’ll have more flexibility. Of course, you can find packages that offer different management services, so it’s not an either/or situation.
Free Web Hosting
There’s no such thing as a free ride, and though you think you are getting free hosting with these services, this is not the case. With a free web hosting service, you are not technically creating your website, but creating one or more pages on someone else’s website. For example, WordPress allows you to create a free site or blog on their wordpress.com website. However, you’ll find that your website is a subdomain of their domain. In other words, instead of www.yourwebsite.com, the URL will be www.yourwebsite.wordpress.com. They do give you the option to drop the WordPress bit, but you have to pay for the privilege. In other words, it’s free only as long as you don’t mind having WordPress in your URL, or ads splashed across the page.
When to Use Free Web Hosting
If you’re only interested in hosting just because you want to start your blog to express your thoughts, then free web hosting is probably more than enough for your needs. There are quite a few great options available, and they make things as easy as possible. They offer all the tools you need to get your site up and running quickly, including free templates, community support, and some level of customization (not too much though).
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is the cheapest option you can find where you get your domain. It’s generally best suited for small websites without much traffic. To understand why you need to understand how this type of hosting works.
When you sign up for a shared hosting plan, your website will be sharing space on a server with other websites. To make things more efficient and so they can offer cheap hosting options, hosting companies put multiple users on the same server. Some servers can have over 1,000 users. When you take into account that every user can have multiple sites, depending on the plan they signed up for, you’ll quickly realize that one server can have as many as 5,000 sites. A server is like a computer, but more powerful. Even so, it still has limited resources, such as RAM, CPU speed, and hard drive space. And in a shared hosting environment, those 5,000 sites are using the same limited resources.
Then there’s the traffic. For every visit, the server has to “work” to send all the data being requested by each visitor to the site. The amount of data varies based on how the site is set up, and whether that person is a first-time visitor or not. However, if you take an average of even just three visitors per day, that’s 15,000 requests, which then have to be multiplied by the number of files being downloaded. Yes, those available resources can get eaten up pretty quickly. There are also other issues to consider.
For example, one site might get massive amounts of visitors, which means it will end up hogging a large portion of the server’s resources, thereby slowing your site down. Or one site might have problematic code, which could lead to it using up 60% to 70% of the server’s RAM, leaving the other 4,999 sites to work with only 30% to 40% of the server’s resources.
So, you might find your site is running at a snail’s pace. Worse is that you won’t even be able to tell what the problem is because you don’t have access to the server to check what’s going on. Now, in all fairness, most hosting companies try to keep things running smoothly by identifying problematic sites, or those with high traffic, and either working with the owner to fix the issue or temporarily disabling the site. Unfortunately, though, these options rarely work over the long-term, and though it’s not the fault of the company, it still won’t help your website load properly and at a decent speed.
When to Use Shared Hosting
While shared hosting does have problems, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good option. If you want a website to host a personal diary, or are a business just starting, then shared hosting is a good option until you start getting a constant stream of steady traffic. Likewise, shared hosting is also good if you want to test a website, or as a base for your website while it’s still in development. Of course, shared hosting is also a good option if you’re on a shoestring budget. Not everyone can afford a VPS or a dedicated server, and shared hosting allows businesses to expand their client bases on a global level at an affordable cost.
VPS Hosting
Virtual Private Server hosting is the next step up from shared hosting. It’s quite a popular option for website owners looking for an upgrade from traditional shared hosting because it is quite balanced from all points of view, including cost. A VPS server still requires you to share space with other users on the same physical server, but the way this is achieved is entirely different to traditional shared hosting.
With VPS hosting, what happens is that a guest machine is created for every user. So, if there are 10 users on a server, that server will be split into 10 guest machines, with each machine getting an equivalent amount of RAM, CPU speed and HDD space. If the server has 32GB of RAM and 1TB of hard drive space, for example, each user will get 3.2GB of RAM and 100GB of hard drive space.
The advantage to this is that a user cannot hog more than the amount of resources they’ve been allocated, thereby ensuring the other websites don’t suffer. So, if another user’s website hits their resource limit, their site might go down, but it won’t affect yours in any way.
Virtual private servers are also much more flexible, allowing you to configure your environment. You can’t do the same thing with traditional shared hosting because any changes you’d make to the server would change everyone else’s environment as well. However, with a VPS, you have your virtual machine, meaning that you can configure many more things without affecting anyone else, which is something developers are sure to appreciate. When to Use Traditional VPS Hosting
If you do a little research, you’ll find that some low-end VPS packages are as cheap as shared hosting, as they start at $10/month. However, a decent enough plan will set you back around $25 per month, whereas the average is $50 per month.
As you can imagine, the difference in price is based on additional services but mainly by the amount of resources you are allocated.
If your budget allows you to spend $15 or more per month on hosting, then it’s advisable to go with a VPS-based plan over traditional shared hosting.
Even on the other end of the scale, you might find that a high-end VPS plan will be a better option than a low-end dedicated server. However, we’ll discuss this a little more in the next section.
Dedicated Server Hosting
With a dedicated server hosting plan, any faulty coding or problematic websites are no one’s fault but your own because you are completely alone on the server. So, right off the bat, one benefit of dedicated hosting is that you don’t have to worry about other people’s sites hogging up your resources, just like with a VPS plan.
When you’re on a dedicated plan, quite a few providers are more than happy to let you customize the server to a certain degree. You might be able to choose how much and what type of RAM to equip the server with, as well as other hardware, and you could also decide on which operating system that server will run on. In other words, you’ll be able to make any changes you need, which could come in handy if you plan on running special software on the server.
If you server technology isn’t your thing and the aforementioned flexibility scares the life out of you, you can opt for a managed plan, but you’ll still have to do quite a few things on your own. On the other end of the spectrum, there’s unmanaged dedicated hosting, where you have to do everything yourself, including installing the operating systems and all the tools necessary for the operation of a server, security, and more. While this might seem wonderful to some, for others it can be a pain.
When to Use a Dedicated Server
So, the question is whether dedicated hosting is ever a good idea. To be honest, nowadays, with cloud VPS systems gaining ground, even a massive site wouldn’t need a dedicated server. While a dedicated server can be better than traditional VPS, it still can’t beat out cloud VPS regarding scalability.
A dedicated server is only really necessary if you have extremely specialized hardware requirements, or you need to have a massive amount of control over data privacy. When you’re on a dedicated server, you are separate from everyone else, which isn’t always a good thing but is unbeatable from a security point of view.
It’s important to understand how types of hosting can be categorized. One way of categorizing hosting is based on how the servers are set up and the amount of access you have to those servers. Thus, the result is the following types of hosting:
Free Web Hosting
Shared Hosting
VPS Hosting
Dedicated Hosting
Cloud Hosting
Colocation Hosting
Another way to categorize types of hosting is according to the level of management the hosting company provides. Like any computer, a server needs to be maintained and upgraded. Though most hosts offer managed to host, you can find hosting companies that offer unmanaged packages. This means you’ll be doing all the maintenance and upgrading yourself, but you’ll have more flexibility. Of course, you can find packages that offer different management services, so it’s not an either/or situation.
Free Web Hosting
There’s no such thing as a free ride, and though you think you are getting free hosting with these services, this is not the case. With a free web hosting service, you are not technically creating your website, but creating one or more pages on someone else’s website. For example, WordPress allows you to create a free site or blog on their wordpress.com website. However, you’ll find that your website is a subdomain of their domain. In other words, instead of www.yourwebsite.com, the URL will be www.yourwebsite.wordpress.com. They do give you the option to drop the WordPress bit, but you have to pay for the privilege. In other words, it’s free only as long as you don’t mind having WordPress in your URL, or ads splashed across the page.
When to Use Free Web Hosting
If you’re only interested in hosting just because you want to start your blog to express your thoughts, then free web hosting is probably more than enough for your needs. There are quite a few great options available, and they make things as easy as possible. They offer all the tools you need to get your site up and running quickly, including free templates, community support, and some level of customization (not too much though).
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is the cheapest option you can find where you get your domain. It’s generally best suited for small websites without much traffic. To understand why you need to understand how this type of hosting works.
When you sign up for a shared hosting plan, your website will be sharing space on a server with other websites. To make things more efficient and so they can offer cheap hosting options, hosting companies put multiple users on the same server. Some servers can have over 1,000 users. When you take into account that every user can have multiple sites, depending on the plan they signed up for, you’ll quickly realize that one server can have as many as 5,000 sites. A server is like a computer, but more powerful. Even so, it still has limited resources, such as RAM, CPU speed, and hard drive space. And in a shared hosting environment, those 5,000 sites are using the same limited resources.
Then there’s the traffic. For every visit, the server has to “work” to send all the data being requested by each visitor to the site. The amount of data varies based on how the site is set up, and whether that person is a first-time visitor or not. However, if you take an average of even just three visitors per day, that’s 15,000 requests, which then have to be multiplied by the number of files being downloaded. Yes, those available resources can get eaten up pretty quickly. There are also other issues to consider.
For example, one site might get massive amounts of visitors, which means it will end up hogging a large portion of the server’s resources, thereby slowing your site down. Or one site might have problematic code, which could lead to it using up 60% to 70% of the server’s RAM, leaving the other 4,999 sites to work with only 30% to 40% of the server’s resources.
So, you might find your site is running at a snail’s pace. Worse is that you won’t even be able to tell what the problem is because you don’t have access to the server to check what’s going on. Now, in all fairness, most hosting companies try to keep things running smoothly by identifying problematic sites, or those with high traffic, and either working with the owner to fix the issue or temporarily disabling the site. Unfortunately, though, these options rarely work over the long-term, and though it’s not the fault of the company, it still won’t help your website load properly and at a decent speed.
When to Use Shared Hosting
While shared hosting does have problems, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good option. If you want a website to host a personal diary, or are a business just starting, then shared hosting is a good option until you start getting a constant stream of steady traffic. Likewise, shared hosting is also good if you want to test a website, or as a base for your website while it’s still in development. Of course, shared hosting is also a good option if you’re on a shoestring budget. Not everyone can afford a VPS or a dedicated server, and shared hosting allows businesses to expand their client bases on a global level at an affordable cost.
VPS Hosting
Virtual Private Server hosting is the next step up from shared hosting. It’s quite a popular option for website owners looking for an upgrade from traditional shared hosting because it is quite balanced from all points of view, including cost. A VPS server still requires you to share space with other users on the same physical server, but the way this is achieved is entirely different to traditional shared hosting.
With VPS hosting, what happens is that a guest machine is created for every user. So, if there are 10 users on a server, that server will be split into 10 guest machines, with each machine getting an equivalent amount of RAM, CPU speed and HDD space. If the server has 32GB of RAM and 1TB of hard drive space, for example, each user will get 3.2GB of RAM and 100GB of hard drive space.
The advantage to this is that a user cannot hog more than the amount of resources they’ve been allocated, thereby ensuring the other websites don’t suffer. So, if another user’s website hits their resource limit, their site might go down, but it won’t affect yours in any way.
Virtual private servers are also much more flexible, allowing you to configure your environment. You can’t do the same thing with traditional shared hosting because any changes you’d make to the server would change everyone else’s environment as well. However, with a VPS, you have your virtual machine, meaning that you can configure many more things without affecting anyone else, which is something developers are sure to appreciate. When to Use Traditional VPS Hosting
If you do a little research, you’ll find that some low-end VPS packages are as cheap as shared hosting, as they start at $10/month. However, a decent enough plan will set you back around $25 per month, whereas the average is $50 per month.
As you can imagine, the difference in price is based on additional services but mainly by the amount of resources you are allocated.
If your budget allows you to spend $15 or more per month on hosting, then it’s advisable to go with a VPS-based plan over traditional shared hosting.
Even on the other end of the scale, you might find that a high-end VPS plan will be a better option than a low-end dedicated server. However, we’ll discuss this a little more in the next section.
Dedicated Server Hosting
With a dedicated server hosting plan, any faulty coding or problematic websites are no one’s fault but your own because you are completely alone on the server. So, right off the bat, one benefit of dedicated hosting is that you don’t have to worry about other people’s sites hogging up your resources, just like with a VPS plan.
When you’re on a dedicated plan, quite a few providers are more than happy to let you customize the server to a certain degree. You might be able to choose how much and what type of RAM to equip the server with, as well as other hardware, and you could also decide on which operating system that server will run on. In other words, you’ll be able to make any changes you need, which could come in handy if you plan on running special software on the server.
If you server technology isn’t your thing and the aforementioned flexibility scares the life out of you, you can opt for a managed plan, but you’ll still have to do quite a few things on your own. On the other end of the spectrum, there’s unmanaged dedicated hosting, where you have to do everything yourself, including installing the operating systems and all the tools necessary for the operation of a server, security, and more. While this might seem wonderful to some, for others it can be a pain.
When to Use a Dedicated Server
So, the question is whether dedicated hosting is ever a good idea. To be honest, nowadays, with cloud VPS systems gaining ground, even a massive site wouldn’t need a dedicated server. While a dedicated server can be better than traditional VPS, it still can’t beat out cloud VPS regarding scalability.
A dedicated server is only really necessary if you have extremely specialized hardware requirements, or you need to have a massive amount of control over data privacy. When you’re on a dedicated server, you are separate from everyone else, which isn’t always a good thing but is unbeatable from a security point of view.
