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Website Hosting Considerations

The first step in website development is to establish a website hosting account with an ISP. Currently, most ISP's include Domain Name registration in the setup. The first step is to consider the options available:

1. "Virtual Hosting" describes a server environment where more than one website share storage and CPU resources with other websites on the same web server system; number of websites can range from 2 to more than 1,000 on a single server. How many sites and how active they are can adversely impact performance. Most affordable.

2. "Co-location Hosting" is typically where a dedicated server is shared with between 1 and 10 websites. As with the "Virtual Hosting", more than one website share storage and CPU resources with other websites on the same web server system. And, the number of sites and how active they are can adversely impact performance.

3. "Dedicated Server Hosting" is where the website is the only website on the web server system and only share telecommunication resources typically limited to routers and bandwidth (the amount of data transmitted to and from a web server). Most expensive.

Determining which hosting environment is best suited for a website depends on the strategy for exposing the website to its potential customers. This will directly impact the activity at the website. Both the website and the web server environment should be considered as evolving. This means that as a website becomes more popular the more resources will be required for it to function as intended. Cost is directly related to bandwidth, which is the number of requests (accesses) and amount of data transmitted in response to those requests.

An additional consideration is CPU (Central Processing Unit) usage. The more activity with respect to requests, and the operations performed to fulfill the requests, the more CPU capacity that is required. CPU capacity involves the number of processors, their speed and the amount of CPU RAM (Random Access Memory). Response time is crucial to success of a website. A visitor should not have to wait more than 25 seconds for a web page to be fully transmitted and displayed at the minimum user modem speed of 56kbps.

Projection of 1 million accesses (individual page requests) the first month would indicate a dedicated web server is recommended. A dedicated system has the added requirement of system maintenance and administration, and typically does not include additional software required such as a database management system. There are many options to choose from regarding computer platforms, operating systems and hardware; including multi processors, disk storage arrays, and CPU memory.

Cost comparisons should be carefully examined to determine the best value for the dollar (product and service) as well as return on investment (product life and capabilities). Again, think of hosting requirements as fluid and evolving. Regularly evaluate usage and demand to adjust requirements and capacity.

And finally, warranty and support. Regardless of which web server configuration is chosen, support is essential. If and when a problem does occurs, it should be able to be addressed and corrected in not more than 24 hours worse case for a complete system failure. This requires 7 x 24 (seven days a week, twenty four hours a day) support.