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Website Hosting – How to Choose a Hosting Company
January 31, 2012 | 
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A website hosting is the service that makes your site accessible to the general public and lets them know what you are selling or trying to communicate. Website hosting can happen in a variety of ways. Therefore, it is recommended that you research the features that are available and that you need and then you can make the best possible choice in which service to have host your site.
If you are planning to put up your own personal website, then the most important to take into consideration first is what kind of web hosting service you want to avail. There are various web hosting services available online that have varied qualifications. You could easily search online about web hosting services and some of these are offered at no cost.
It becomes clear very quickly that web hosting firms provide different sorts of package deals and have features that differ from those of their competitors. The particular features we are about to discuss should be checked as soon as you consider using a web hosting service, since they can simplify the entire process for you.
Initially, you must check the amount of web space they will give you. This is measured in terms of the quantity of files that can be stored on their server. Clearly, the more space you get, the more sub-domains that can be hosted there. If space is not a problem, the installation of more programs in the future won’t pose any difficulty either.
The next consideration you have to turn your thoughts to is the total sum of permissible traffic. Frequently firms track the traffic on each of the sites they host. For your purposes, you would really like to have no limitations on your traffic. When a limit exists, a potential visitor who registers on the tracking system as being above that limit never gets to see your website load. This can create a very bad impression of your site in the would-be visitor’s mind.
Third is the concern over server uptime. If in your control, you want to keep your site up all of the time, which is what all businesses want. This trait is reliant on the server of the company hosting your site. You should take steps to guarantee that you do business with a reputable company that can keep your server running.
The fourth component to be taken into consideration is to make sure that software, applications and other things are included. This is generally where the perks start coming as there are many hosting companies that will provide application and software installation. There are a variety of web hosting scripts and programs available today. Try to look for which programs the web hosting service supports to find out if your web page will work with their service.
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Web Page Readability
Good web page design does not differ much from print. Consistent branding, clear and readable type and optimum white space still apply.
On screen reading gravity
Heat maps generated from user eye-tracking studies suggest a dominant reading pattern is shaped like a letter ‘F’. Users first read in a horizontal movement, usually across the upper part of the content area where the brand sits, forming the F’s top bar.
Next, users track down the page and then read across in a second horizontal movement that typically covers a shorter area than the previous movement. This forms the F’s lower bar.
In other studies, the dominant reading pattern is typified by a letter ‘Z’. This is more applicable to pages which do not scroll and have a maximum depth of 500 pixels. These may include a homepage, or an html email.
Like the ‘F’, the reader begins with a strong horizontal sweep. Where the ‘Z’ pattern differs is where the eye moves next. It falls to the bottom left, and then tracks right where it comes to rest.
The top right and bottom left are the power spaces. These should be reserved for important images, headlines and branding.
Page alignment
What both patterns suggest is a web page should be branded at the top of the page. Text should range left, ragged right, creating a hard left edge to guide the eye to fall downward.
Centred or right aligned pages should be treated with care. They work against natural readability.
Choosing fonts for web pages
Font sizes pose a major problem for web page design. In print, body copy is still readable at 9pt. On the web, it can be no smaller than 11pt. Content taken from a printed page and placed on a web page will run deeper, because the type has to be larger.
HTML code has some limitations for type. Font types are limited to default PC fonts. In addition, fine typographic controls available in print are not well catered for by HTML. For a long time, designers favoured Flash, as it provided greater typographic control.
However, new versions of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) have provided some answers like space before headlines and leading control.
Unlike print, sans serif fonts are easier to read than serif. Research proves the sans serif is read 11.5% faster than serif. As a rule of thumb, use no more than three fonts on one page. Avoid reversing body copy (white text on a coloured background). Reversed content is easy to read in print, but hard work on screen.
Allocate white space
The tendency is to coat the entire web page with content. The idea being ‘more is better’. When it comes to readability, less is better. A page with no white space is congested and confusing. A well-spaced web page ‘breathes’ and allows the reader to gauge the hierarchy of elements.
White space is no accident. The more white space surrounding elements like logos and headlines, the more attention they are given. For example white space between paragraphs and in the left and right margins increases comprehension by almost 20%. (Lin, 2004)
Layout using grids
The use of the layout grid system allows for flexibility and creativity while maintaining a sense of order uniting all the page elements. Grids are not literally drawn on the page – they are merely a guide. Nor do elements need strictly fit one column.
In the example note how the elements can break out and range across multiple columns to create contract.
A simple page may only require a three or four column grid. A complex page might need nine columns.
The more columns you add, the greater flexibility is in your layout.
Grouping page elements
Web pages need to communicate a sense of order. By grouping major elements together in designated areas your reader can quickly scan the page and be drawn in to read further. Elements in proximity imply a relationship.
Consistency
When engaging with a page long enough, the reader’s eye becomes ‘trained’. A trained eye which has grown accustomed to the page, can read more. To effectively train the eye, make sure type, grid, and grouping of elements are consistent.
How to Analyze a Website
How to analyze a website is the first, and most important step, in the website design process. It requires answering several questions about this website you’re going to create. Now’s the time to start a journal. Write down the following questions and give some serious thought to your answers.
Why are you creating this website?
Your answer is important. It will determine the content, design and development of your pages. Do you have some interesting information you’d like to share? Do you have a product or service to sell? Do you want to display your artistic/creative talent? Do you have some terrific website links you want to let the world know about? Really think about this and then write down your thoughts.
Another way to think about this question is what is the goal of this website? Is it to entertain, instruct, inform, persuade, share, sell or display? The answer will provide you with direction and focus as you design your site and help you to develop your theme.
Who is my target audience?
What type of visitors do I want my site to attract? What are the demographics of your audience. What will be their age, sex and education? Will they search out my site because we share a special interest, do the same kind of things or are they looking for specific information? Is my target audience the business community, stay-at-home moms, artists, or sports enthusiasts? Or is it a combination of several groups?
Be as specific as you can about this. Try to pinpoint a certain type of individual then learn as much about them as you can so you can tailor your website to suit them. The key to website success lies in your ability to express your message in such a way as to create interest for your visitors. You can’t do this unless you know who they are.
How can I communicate effectively?
Once you know who the audience for your website will be, what is the best way to communicate with them? Are they looking for a fancy site with lots of interactivity? Do they want all the information on the first page? Would they prefer the content be categorized so that they can access only the section they want? Do I need to include an order form? Would a message board be a good way to communicate?
The way your visitors perceive your message will determine how they react to it. If you are seeking to sell something to your visitors make that clear from the start. People don’t like to be fooled into taking action. Be clear and forthright in your method of communication and your website will stand with the best of them.
What information do I need?
If you are designing a site for a client, you will need to know the answers to the preceding questions as well as what their vision is for their site. Do they have a logo they want you to use, do they have specific colors in mind, do they want to include phone and fax numbers on their pages? If this is your own business site, these are questions you should answer also.
When creating a personal website, such as one providing links to other sites, it is considered good netiquette to contact the site owners and let them know you are linking to their pages. An advantage to this is that often they will provide a reciprocal link to your site!
If you are using someone else’s graphics and/or pictures, you should request their permission and plan on providing a credit link somewhere on the page where they are displayed. Are you going to have a message forum on your site? Are you going to have an e-mail list for informing visitors of updates or new content? These are all things you need to consider…and make note of in your journal.
What content (data, graphics, photos, etc.) will be included?
This is the big job…gathering all the content that you want to include on your website. Are you going to use photos? What kind of graphics do you want? And what information or data are you putting online! Are you going to provide tutorials? Right now, just make a list of the items you think you will want to have on your website…you don’t need to gather it all together yet.
Make notes about what you need to do such as scan photos or documents, locate or create graphics, write tutorials, sort and organize data. This is a good time to create folders or binders for your website project so that you can keep the content organized. You might need one folder for Graphics, one for Photos, one for Data, one for Tutorials and one for Miscellaneous information. Your content will determine the folder titles you need. Don’t let all this overwhelm you…it will all fall into place.
Planning your website
Time spent on this most important phase of website design will pay dividends in the long run. The planning that you do now will make things much easier once your website is online. There are a multitude of details that go into the design of a professional site and solid planning in the early stages of design will help eliminate problems down the road. Remember to spend as much time as necessary planning your website.
Planning and organizing are the most crucial steps in designing a website. Once you have a clear picture of what you are trying to say it will be easier to devise a plan to present this information to your visitors. Planning your website is the key to creating a website that is robust, effective and easy to maintain.