I got this question from a company that specialises in selling NFL Jerseys online from their Yahoo store. Well, while the answer to the question is relatively simple there’s a twist that you need to know about.

First of all, how do you find out what other websites you are sharing your server with? I like using a service by YouGetSignal that does a Reverse IP domain check to find out who’s living on the same server you are. Just type in your URL and click Check. Here’s how the tool describes itself:

A reverse IP domain check takes a domain name or IP address pointing to a web server and searches for other sites known to be hosted on that same web server. Data is gathered from search engine results, which are not guaranteed to be complete. Knowing the other web sites hosted on a web server is important from both an SEO and web filtering perspective, particularly for those on shared web hosting plans

Now, here comes the rub. If you run the tool on your domain you’ll see there are around 3000 websites hosted with you selling everything from dance accessories to the best diet pills around. And you don’t really have a choice in this matter. The reason is down to the way Yahoo shops operate. Your domain name points at a service that Yahoo hosts and you can’t move away from them and retain the functionality.

So, I’ve answered your question, but I’m not quite sure that’s the answer you were after. Good luck!

I got this question from Rene who left it as a comment on a question about making permalinks word on GoDaddy. I’ve read a bit about the subject and there are two things you need to check.

The first relates to the fact that Apache uses a file called .htaccess to control thinks like search-engine friendly permalinks. This file redirects request all URLs that don’t have a file associated with them to the main WordPress file and then WordPress can figure out which page to display.

Now .. the one thing you need to realise about .htaccess is that if Apache doesn’t find out, it will try the parent directory for the file and work it’s way up the tree until it finds a file. So, the first thing to check is that you do have a file called .htaccess in the root folder of your new blog to ensure it’s trapping requests.

The other thing to check is your wp-config file. I found a blog post from someone who had a similar problem which suggests that the configuration file for the 2nd blog he created wasn’t working properly and ended up pointing at a different blog. This resulted in his URLs pointing at the parent blog and pages being redirected to the wrong place.

Unfortunately you’re going to have to try and debug this one, but I’m happy enough to give you a hand and update this article with whatever we find. It’s not as simple as clipping on a pulse oximeter to see if your blood oxygen levels are low, but I’m sure we can get to the bottom of it in the end.

Let me know how you fare.

I’ve had this question been thrown at me a couple of times but instead of answering outright I usually ask a few more questions myself. For example:

• Who’s your target market?
• What support arrangements do you get?
• What’s your backup plan if it all goes wrong?

The reason is that usually it’s more than just a question of price. It’s a question of the service you get, both in terms of site performance and in terms of customer support.

I came across a good article on Web Hosting Geeks that goes into some factors you should consider when thinking about hosting abroad. Here’s what you ened to consider:

• Why the difference in price: It’s worth finding out whether you’re comparing apples with oranges. A company can offer cheaper hosting if they don’t provide 24 hours support. It’s true that economies like India and China might have cheaper labour costs, but make sure you’re comparing like with like.
• Location, location, location: Server location can affect your site performance. Europe and America have some of the widest Internet pipes around and it always makes sense to host your server close to your target market, just to make sure they get the best experience.
• Customer Service: Standards of customer service vary from country to country, especially if you’re dealing with different timezones. A company might offer 24 hours service, but night-time usually means there are less staff around.

There are some great points there that you need to keep in mind and in reality overseas providers don’t always have better prices than your home country. It’s worth checking out your web host on Web Hosting Geeks as they have a number of hosting providers lined up against each other and you can compare who give you what and where you can get a good deal. Just keep in mind that hosting overseas may be a bit more risky, so it’s good to bear that in mind.

I got this question from a friend of mine who hosts a number of websites. Bandwidth is really dependant on how much traffic your website gets and every webmaster tries to encourage as much traffic as he can. Coming close to your quota is a sign that your website is being successful, but it can also mean that you are faced with additional charges. In order to answer this question I’m going to turn to an FAQ published on Web Hosting Choice, a website that specialises in comparing different hosting providers. They have a great set of questions and answers about hosting and this happened to be right in there. Here’s what they recommend:

1. You should first try to optimize the graphics on your website. Many GIFs look just as good with fewer colors, and many JPEGs look just as good with a higher compression level.
2. You should also analyze the HTML of your site. Make sure you use relative paths, so that images are not downloaded more than one time. Remove any extra spacing and when linking to other pages, use relative paths and not absolute links.
3. While many hosts already have it, you could also see if your host has mod_gzip installed. This can save you a lot of bandwidth.

There’s some great suggests for you to try there. It’s worth keeping in mind that the more optimised your site is, the quicker your pages will load and the better your user experience will be. Thanks for your answer, Web Hosting Choice!

I get this question every now and again from different people, particularly in the blogging community. The short answer is Yes! Reseller accounts are aimed at webmasters who want the opportunity to use their skills to host other people, and maybe package their services in a way they make anything from some pocket money to some serious cash. But let’s get some more pointers from this great post on WebHostingGeeks, a website that specialises in web hosting reviews but also includes some great information for webmasters.

• First of all, reseller hosting doesn’t have to cost the earth. You can find packages for as low as a few pounds a month, a cost that you can easily cover with a couple of clients.
• Once you have a package you are happy with, the next step is to network, find potential clients and get them on board
• Spend some time marketing your service. Join forums, send newsletters and you can even run a targeted campaign.
• Keep in mind that there are a number of other people out there selling the same thing you are. Just factor this into your projections.

There’s some valuable material in there, so might want to pop in and read the whole article.

WebHostingGeeks also has a number a great reviews on different hosting providers, so if you’re in the market for a new host, check them out.

I got this question from Leo of Whooah.biz who was setting up a new domain called link4business.info for a client. He had gone through the usual steps of rolling out WordPress, however when he decided to use permalinks, these weren’t working. He checked all the usual things, his .htaccess file was in place, but instead of getting the pages he was after, he was getting the standard “Page Not Found” error message supplied by GoDaddy.

The problem here is that your web server is trapping the 404 before your .htaccess has a chance to get it’s hands on it, so no matter what you place in there, nothing different is going to happen. The answer is to turn of your hosting provider’s 404 handler which then lets your own handler kick in. Here’s how you do this:

Open your control panel and navigate to your Settings page.

Click on the 404 Error Behaviour icon.

Select Make my 404 Page my Home Page.

This last action actually turns off GoDaddy’s custom 404 Error Page and lets you handle permalinks in the way WordPress expects.

So Leo, hopefully this means you won’t be banging your head against that lovely teak outdoor furniture you have. Next time you get stuck on something, just ask!

I get this question from time to time from people who are looking to set up a new website. There are a myriad of potential web hosts out there and a number of them will let you purchase reseller hosting, which you can then sell on for any price you like. You could find someone selling hosting for $1 a year or even giving it away for free (maybe in return for presence on your website). However, price isn’t everything. You also need to make sure that the website you are building will be there tomorrow, that you can find help if you need it, amongst other things.

To answer your question I’m going to draw from a post from Web Hosting Rating.com who have a number of articles about different web hosts. This post talks about 3 ways to find out if your host is any good:

1. Raise a support ticket – One test is to raise a support ticket over their quiet period, either at night or over a weekend and monitor how long it takes to get a response. The longer it takes, the less reliable you can expect the host to be. Also, ensure that you get the correct answer and reliable advice.
2. Check the host website’s speed – If the hosting providers website loads slowly, you can probably bet that your site won’t be any faster. If the host has money to spend on resources, they will kit their own server out well and have a fast site. If they are under-resourced and use one server for their own website and for their clients, you probably want to steer clear.
3. Check through the features – Go through the feature list with a cynical eye. If they offer unlimited bandwidth, chances are that someone with many files to share will choose their service, which will have a knock on effect on your own. Try to go for something that’s a bit more controlled.

There are some good things to watch out for just there. There are some other articles that are quite interesting on that blog, ranging from web hosting security to scripting. If you’re looking for a new web host, it’s worth checking out.

Remember, sometimes a bargain may be too good to be true. However sometimes, it might be just what you need at just the right price.

I got this question from a friend of mine who was making hew first foray into the world of blogging. If you’ve ever tried looking around for different options to host your website, I’m sure you’ve seen the huge variety of different options for web hosting available out there, dedicated servers being just one of them.

A dedicated server is basically where you have a whole machine to yourself. It is a different option to a shared service where you live on a machine with a number of other people and as you can imagine, having a server just for one website can be extremely expensive. There are circumstances however where you need just that. I found a great article on Web Hosting Geeks that explains exactly what the attributes of dedicated hosting are and what you get for your money. These are basically:

• Server Security – Having your own server means there’s less chance of someone else’s software affecting your system.
• Storage Space – Having your own server usually means you get loads more space for your website and any files it needs
• Data Transfer – Most dedicated server offerings have lots more bandwidth than other packages
• Control Panel – You get much more control with your own server, including options to power up and down the machine and restart it when you need
• Software Options – Dedicated hosting packages are much more flexible in that you can install anything you like on them

I’ll add my own point over here and bring performance into it. The fact that you’re not sharing a machine with a number of other people means that you’re no susceptible to any slowdowns related to other sites being particularly busy. In fact, the reason people usually go for a dedicated server option is to get as much performance as possible out of their system.

As your question implied you’re looking to host a blog, I would avoid going down the expensive dedicated hosting route at this point. There are a number of options which will cost less and give you the same result for now. Head down to Web Hosting Geeks and you’ll find a number of web hosting reviews and web hosting articles that can guide you in the right direction.

I get this question more often than not, especially from people who are venturing into the online world. Normally I tend to ask more questions before giving an answer, particularly because what people understand by “blog” isn’t always the same thing. Some people are looking for somewhere to mess around, so a free service like Blogger or WordPress.com is just perfect. Others are really looking for a static website, so a blog isn’t quite the thing for them (albeit the fact that it provides content management facilities). Eventually we can to the minority who REALLY want to build their own blog.

Well, the great thing nowadays is that there is a huge choice of hosting providers out there who specialise in hosting and prices are really quite cheap when you consider you’re getting a piece of Internet real estate. The best way to decide on a host, however, is to compare a number of them side by side and see what they offer. This is where Top 10 Web Hosting comes in. They claim to provide a guide to cheap best hosting around the web and as their name suggests, they analyse 10 host sites side-by-side to see how their prices and features compare with one another.

Top 10 Webhosting also has reviews about each of the web hosts on the list. The reviews consist of a synopsis of what is being offered by the host, a complete list of all the features that the host offers, together with a price breakdown of all the different offerings they have. It’s nice to know up front for example, which hosting providers give you a free domain name when you sign up to their services, which ones give you free advertising credits and which ones let you host unlimited number of domains.

The great thing about the website is that you don’t need to trawl around the Web looking for different sites that could meet your needs. This site brings all the information to you in one place so that you can make an educated decision.

What about you. Who do you host your blog with?