Web Hosting Basics Part 1: Call it an Intro
by Kevin Hazard, July 19th, 2006 | 1 Comment
You need a website. That statement sends shivers down the spine of many technology newbies. The common instinctual responses to this fact range from ‘This old dog is too old and busy to learn new tricks… I have neither the time nor the patience’ to (my personal favorite) ‘I am not good with computers… I have trouble finding the power button on my computer… How am I supposed to be able to maintain my own website?’ Those types of responses have become instinctual because, based on the nature of the Internet in the past, they are completely legitimate. If you want to get into the world of development and programming, it is almost impossible to know where to begin: dozens of programming languages exist with thousands of books to teach about them. Fortunately for all of you breathing deeply into a brown paper bag to slow the onset of hyperventilation, you really do not need to know any programming language to create a multi-functional, attractive, inexpensive website.
You read that correctly: You do not have to learn C, C++, HTML, Java, Ruby, PHP, AJAX, Python, or any other complex and/or abstract-sounding language to create your own website. It doesn’t matter f you need an e-commerce site to sell and drop-ship widgets or you want a family site to store and share pictures of Little Timmy in his pumpkin costume; all of the necessary installation and preparation could be done in a matter of minutes through easy-to-use programs designed to install everything you need. Don’t worry, we will walk through the process in a later post so you will understand the programs, what they do, and how it helps you manage your very own website.
Naturally, the programs and scripts included in all Site5 shared plans will not necessarily rival what you could create with a working knowledge of the above programming languages, but the programs will help you establish a functional virtual presence.
In its going-on-seven years of operation, Site5 has become one of the more widely recognized providers of shared hosting services. We haven’t ever run a Super Bowl commercial, we don’t have a catchy jingle echoing across radio waves as you sit through rush hour traffic, and we compete with hundreds of thousands of other web hosts. At Site5, we distinguish ourselves from our competition by innovation, design, and value. Seemingly, the web hosting industry has become a competition to win customers based on cost and arbitrary quality descriptors, so we wanted to take a moment to demystify what web hosting is and why you need it in order to have a website.
Within the next week, we’ll take a look at “How web hosting works,” “What to look for in a host,” and “How to get started.” Some people are reading this post and dying for me to add a shenanigan or an antic into the mix, but if the blog series is intended on helping people gain the confidence and know-how to surf the web hosting wave, I don’t want to confuse (or scare) anyone with odd references to slap bracelets and mood rings… Ooops… So much for not referencing them…
We will attempt to post regarding the behind-the-scenes action and anything random that strikes our fancy. Naturally, a majority of the posts here will be in regards to web hosting (since Site5 is the best web host on the planet), but you may catch a glimpse of the different characters that call themselves Site5 employees.