What features you should look for in an email hosting solution?

Like many business criteria’s, making a decision on which email hosting company to select could prove tough. With many web hosting companies offering unlimited resources and maximum uptime, it becomes difficult for enterprises make a proper decision. Most reputable email server hosting programs offer service guarantees that give the hosting firm incentive to keep their servers running all time. With a lot of competition out there for hosting businesses it is important to make a wise decision before opting for one. The following article highlights the important areas in evaluating a good web host.

The key features in identifying a web host are:

1. Uptime: A reliable email solutions provider will have an uptime of over 99.5 percent.

• It is advisable to select a host that offers a refund or a discount in an event if their services below percentage.

2. Price: Pricing is the key aspect when selecting web hosting provider.

• Jumping on the cheapest offer should be avoided.
• Quality hardware and non-outsources support cost quite a bit and a hosting company offering services at cheaper price will most likely not include the two above mentioned features.  

3. Bandwidth: A good email hosting services provider offers unlimited bandwidth. Hosting companies should be able to provide clients with speed validation and performance claims.

4. Technical Support: Technical support is generally provided 24/7. Just like the connectivity speed, response speed should also be equally competent.

The different kinds of technical support offered by a hosting company include email, chat and toll-free phone.

5.     Database Support: Businesses should be sure about the type of database they are comfortable with. Most hosting companies offer MySQL, SQL server, and Oracle.

6.     Stability: Stability is a key factor in a reliable email server hosting service provider.

• A business should ensure that the host will stick around for many years.
• Selecting a host that has done better business in the past would prove a reliable choice.
• Business should work with the hosting company directly and not through a reseller.
• Check for the track record and level of service of the host before opting one.

7.     Control Panel: A good host will allow a business to manage the different  aspects of its web account.

• A business will be able to add, delete and manage its email address and change passwords. 
• A hosting company will ensure proper maintenance of the email accounts of clients.

8.     Number of Domains and Subdomains: Organizations may require two or even three domains for various purposes. Before opting for a web host, ensure that the host accommodates more domains.

9.     Add-ons: Most email solutions provider offers additional features to show them more attractive. Some of the additional features include:

• Multiple data centers
• Energy saving practices
• Free domain privacy
• Regular data backups to name a few

10.   Scalability: A good hosting company should draw adequate traffic to a business site.
As businesses eye their own growth, the above mentioned factors will help in deciding a suitable web host.

It is easy to migrate from Linux to Windows hosting platform?

Web Hosting Services

Linux and Windows are two operating systems which sever different intended purposes. There are many versions of the Linux and Windows. When you decide for website hosting services the service provider may offer you both the operating system and you may choose any one of them depending on your needs. Even if you are working on Windows on your PC it makes no difference which hosting plan you choose- you can choose a Linux hosting also. Your decision should be based on two factors- one , what are the objectives of your website and two, what tools you have to build your website. Both the operating systems have their advantages and disadvantages before we know whether migrating from Linux hosting to Windows hosting would be easy or not.

Linux platform
It is an open source version of the Unix and has been extremely popular with the corporate because it is reliable, cost effective and stable. Many applications and utilities are available to be used free on Linux platform. The languages like PHP, Python and Perl etc. Can be used free of cost. It also supports Postgres and MySQL databases. If you do not want to use Windows based applications it is always better to use Linux. Most web hosting services charge less for Linux in comparison to the Windows hosting.

Windows platform
It is the platform and the costs are involved to host your website on this platform. Not only the operating system but almost all the other applications are not free to use and you have to the fee to use them. This makes the platform costly. But it is increasingly becoming popular with the corporate it is gaining more reliability and is now considered very stable also. It is a commercial product and supports .Net, ASP and SQL databases which can run only on this platform. But these applications are very user friendly and the programs can be developed in less time by using these applications. Looking to the various advantages of the applications that the applications associated with the Winos provide to the host more and more people are migrating from Linux to Windows. Of course there are some who still want to migrate to Linux from Windows but they should understand that migrating from Windows to Linux is not easy.

Migrating from Linux hosting to Windows hosting is easy
However migrating from Linux to windows hosting is not very difficult. The slight difference between the two is that in Linux the file names and the directory names are case sensitive while in Windows they are not case sensitive. Moreover, the Linux tools are open source and can support multiple platforms. So, most of the dynamic content can also be moved from the Linux platform to the Windows platform without great difficulty.

The Plesk backup can be used to migrate from the Linux to Windows. The best way to start work is to begin creating the domains one by one in the control panel and then copy the files in the http docs folder on the new server from the old one. You may have to make the changes in the coding depending on the language used in your website. You have also to change the permissions for your files and directories.