web server
What is a web server and which is the best?
A web server actually refers to two things - a computer/machine that hosts web sites (hardware) and a software that runs on such a machine and processes requests from browsers (also called client software). Thus, if someone mentions "web server", you need to clarify - Are they referring to the machine or the software?
In this article I shall provide some information on web server software. If you want details on web server machine, I suggest you read "how is a web hosting Server different from your home/office machine?"
A web server is special software capable of servicing HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) requests. For this reason, web server software is also referred to as HTTP server.
OK... in English.
A web server is a program (software) helps serve web pages when they are requested for by browsers. The web server runs the HyperText Transfer Protocol which is a set of rules for two computers to talk to each other.
[And that was my best attempt at putting it in the simplest language possible].
So when you open a web site in your browser (called the client software), a request is sent to the web server on a remote machine. This web server software processes your browser's request and tries to locate the web page. If it finds it, the web server sends the web page to your browser which then displays it.
Popular web servers
According to Netcraft web server usage survey, Apache HTTP server is the most popular web server with a large market share of almost 60%. The popularity of Apache is followed by Microsoft's web server. The share of other web servers is very small compared to these two. Refer the Netcraft web server survey for further details.
Can you run a web server on your computer?
Oh yes! For example, I run the Apache web server on my Windows XP computer. I do this to test the scripts I write (in PHP and Perl) for web sites before I put them online. I find this process easier and quicker than trying to work off a remote server. So if you are planning to develop a web site that runs PHP or Perl scripts, I would definitely recommend that you get a copy of the Apache web server and install it on your system.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
web host
web host
Choosing the right web hosting service for your web site is as important as choosing a house for your family or an office for your business. A good web host can do wonders to your web site and a bad one can play havoc with it.
Though picking up a web hosting service seems pretty straightforward, it's not! The sheer amount of competition in this market and the various options presented to the consumer confuses not only beginners but also seasoned web developers. And this confusion is caused because we don't want to be taken in - We want the best features and service at the best price!
Like I said, when you consider that a web host houses your web site very much like your residence (which houses you and your family), you should take a little time to research and choose a good web host for your site.
So let me save you some time and help you in your research - How to choose the right web host for your web site.
If you are new to web hosting and are about to launch your web site, I suggest that you go through this article in detail. However, if you already have a web site and are frustrated with your present hosts or are simply looking out for change (to brighten up your life!), jump straight to the page that lists my recommended reliable web hosting companies. Just keep in mind that my advice and suggestions regarding the various web hosts are based on my personal experience.
How to choose the best host for your web site?
When you have hundreds (if not thousands) of companies offering web hosting it can become very confusing; especially when all of them offer great features and promise unparallel customer service. Hence, whenever I look at a web hosting company I pay attention to only two things - the Web Server Uptime Guarantee and the Support. These two important aspects are common for both virtual hosting and a dedicated web host.
The web host uptime guarantee
In my opinion, the single most important thing in choosing a web host is the uptime guarantee. The uptime guarantee is usually stated as a percentage and refers to the amount of time your web site will be available for all to see on the web. So a 99.9% uptime guarantee means that your site would be on the net 99.9% of the time. If we convert the percentages into actual time, a 99.9% uptime means that the web site would be down or offline for 8.76 hours (0.365 days) in a year. For most of us, this is just fine.
If a web host company offers anything less than 99% uptime - move on.
Customer support for web hosting
Determining the quality of technical support is actually a Catch-22. I mean, you can only come to know of the support once you purchase hosting from that company... right?
NO! There are other ways to find out how far a web hosting company goes to serve its customers.
The simplest, though, time consuming way, is to read about that company on web forums and message boards. Beware of messages posted by representatives of the companies which you can quickly make out because they are self-laudatory. Go to popular online forums to read other people's reviews and experiences with hosting companies.
A quicker way to know about the quality of customer service from a company can be gauged from its web site. Does the company provide direct phone lines? Is there a toll-free number? Are the phones continually busy when you try to call the company? Is there an online chat feature and can you successfully chat with a company representative? Does the company provide direct email address for technical queries and technical support? Does the web site offer a "Support ticketing" system? How quickly does the company respond to your requests over email... etc.
Most web hosting companies also offer a trial period or a money-back guarantee. You can, thus, put your web site on their servers for 30 days and see how things works out. If your site is slow to load in a browser or is often offline , you know that you need to run away from this service as quickly as possible.
Finally, you can also take a look at my list of my recommended reliable web hosting companies if that can help you save time and decide quickly.
Choosing the right web hosting service for your web site is as important as choosing a house for your family or an office for your business. A good web host can do wonders to your web site and a bad one can play havoc with it.
Though picking up a web hosting service seems pretty straightforward, it's not! The sheer amount of competition in this market and the various options presented to the consumer confuses not only beginners but also seasoned web developers. And this confusion is caused because we don't want to be taken in - We want the best features and service at the best price!
Like I said, when you consider that a web host houses your web site very much like your residence (which houses you and your family), you should take a little time to research and choose a good web host for your site.
So let me save you some time and help you in your research - How to choose the right web host for your web site.
If you are new to web hosting and are about to launch your web site, I suggest that you go through this article in detail. However, if you already have a web site and are frustrated with your present hosts or are simply looking out for change (to brighten up your life!), jump straight to the page that lists my recommended reliable web hosting companies. Just keep in mind that my advice and suggestions regarding the various web hosts are based on my personal experience.
How to choose the best host for your web site?
When you have hundreds (if not thousands) of companies offering web hosting it can become very confusing; especially when all of them offer great features and promise unparallel customer service. Hence, whenever I look at a web hosting company I pay attention to only two things - the Web Server Uptime Guarantee and the Support. These two important aspects are common for both virtual hosting and a dedicated web host.
The web host uptime guarantee
In my opinion, the single most important thing in choosing a web host is the uptime guarantee. The uptime guarantee is usually stated as a percentage and refers to the amount of time your web site will be available for all to see on the web. So a 99.9% uptime guarantee means that your site would be on the net 99.9% of the time. If we convert the percentages into actual time, a 99.9% uptime means that the web site would be down or offline for 8.76 hours (0.365 days) in a year. For most of us, this is just fine.
If a web host company offers anything less than 99% uptime - move on.
Customer support for web hosting
Determining the quality of technical support is actually a Catch-22. I mean, you can only come to know of the support once you purchase hosting from that company... right?
NO! There are other ways to find out how far a web hosting company goes to serve its customers.
The simplest, though, time consuming way, is to read about that company on web forums and message boards. Beware of messages posted by representatives of the companies which you can quickly make out because they are self-laudatory. Go to popular online forums to read other people's reviews and experiences with hosting companies.
A quicker way to know about the quality of customer service from a company can be gauged from its web site. Does the company provide direct phone lines? Is there a toll-free number? Are the phones continually busy when you try to call the company? Is there an online chat feature and can you successfully chat with a company representative? Does the company provide direct email address for technical queries and technical support? Does the web site offer a "Support ticketing" system? How quickly does the company respond to your requests over email... etc.
Most web hosting companies also offer a trial period or a money-back guarantee. You can, thus, put your web site on their servers for 30 days and see how things works out. If your site is slow to load in a browser or is often offline , you know that you need to run away from this service as quickly as possible.
Finally, you can also take a look at my list of my recommended reliable web hosting companies if that can help you save time and decide quickly.
files in a server
A hosting server runs a program called the web server. It is this program that makes the machine act like a web server, that is, processing requests for web pages. The web server software requires that a directory be designated as the home, root or base directory. All your web site files need to be placed in this directory. You may have folders inside this root directory, but the homepage has to reside here.
On Linux/Unix/FreeBSD based servers running the Apache web server, the home directory is typically called public_html or www ("www" is actually a shortcut to the "public_html" directory). If you want to place a homepage you should first move to the public_html or www directory and put the page there.
The homepage of a web site has a specific file name. It is typically, "index.html" ("index.htm") OR "default.html" ("default.htm"). However, it all depends on how the server software has been configured. If index.html or default.html do not work for you, first make sure that you have put these files in the document root. If the homepage still doesn't load, I suggest that you get in touch with the hosting company and ask them to help you out.
Putting server-side scripts
Generally server-side scripts work from any directory or subdirectory of the document root. However, certain web hosting companies might require you to place these in specific directories. The most common example is placing all perl scripts into the cgi-bin directory. Web hosting companies do this to provide enhanced security. You need to check this with your hosting company or upload and test a script.Web site directory structure
Make sure that the directory structure of your web site on the server is the same as on your local computer. For example, if all images of your web site are placed in an "images" directory (subdirectory of the document root directory), ensure that the same is on the web server, else images will appear as broken links on your web pages.If you've used FrontPage to create the web site, you can easily synchronize you site stored locally with the files on the web server.
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