Features Offered By Good Website Hosting

Every single day, thousands of new domains are registered and new websites published to the internet. Many of them will be personal blogs or niche informational sites about a highly specific topic, but there will always be some that are likely to get more popular - big ecommerce sites, for example, or social networks like forums or chatrooms.

Whatever you're trying to build, you're going to need to find decent hosting for it - and that includes plenty of optional extras that will help you out.

The internet is packed with hosting sites that offer all sorts of things, and some of them can be baffling to understand to the beginning developer. In this short article, we're trying to help you understand what some of the most common features you'll be offered are - so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not you want them.

Content Management Systems

Many hosts will now offer you a CMS - a content management system that you can use to organise, build and improve your website before publishing it live on the internet. If you're interested in developing your site yourself, the first step should be to learn some HTML - this will serve you well in all kinds of capacities, and comes in handy quite often. You'll find that the internet is replete with tutorials and virtual lessons, and it's not at all difficult to pick up.

As you progress, though, you'll want to learn how to use a content management system - specifically the one that you're offered access to as a part of your web hosting package. You'll have the opportunity to use your own design skills combined with the HTML knowledge you've developed and a lot of simple, easy-to-understand built-in tools to create something that looks like a true part of the world wide web as we recognise it today.

Advanced eCommerce Solutions

There are a lot of ways to get ecommerce packages - shopping carts, secure checkouts, stock control and customer accounts - installed on your website, from designing your own from scratch to using the ready-to-go ones available from Google and PayPal. If you want to make sure it fits in seamlessly with your site, however, it's a good idea to find a website host that offers you the use of an ecommerce package with your deal - particularly if it is to be implemented as part of a CMS.

Help With And Advice About Website Development

Of course, it's not always the right choice to try and build your website yourself - particularly not if that's something you haven't ever done before. Every day's delay before your website goes up live costs you money in lost income, and it's bound to be a lot quicker and perhaps even cheaper for you to engage the services of a professional to build the site for you.

There are plenty of ways to go about this, and it's often advised that you start by looking out for word of mouth recommendations and friends of friends who might be able to help. If that's not going to work for you, though, it's worth bearing in mind that many web hosts have relationships with particular designers or teams of designers - and may indeed have their own, or at least be able to offer advice on finding one.