| Web Site Management for Photographers: Web Hosts by Crimson Star |
Business is competitive, and each IPP offers slightly different services for a given fee. If the features that your web site design requires do not exactly match the services that your IPP provide in their basic package, then you will be hit with extra charges that quickly add up. In the worst case, you will have to change IPPs and pay heavy setup fees (again). Your job is to control these IPP-related costs. You can do this by selecting an IPP first, then building your web site to use the features that your IPP provides. Your webmaster should guide your choice, but it is up to you to understand what he or she is talking about. A basic web site simply gives you some disk space to use and sets a download limit. If you need more disk space or exceed the download limit, you pay extra charges. Since most web hosts provide at least 10-mb of disk space, you are not likely to need more for a typical stock-photo web site. The download limit refers to the amount of data that the web host downloads to visitors to your site. If your web site is 1-mb in size and you have one visitor who views everything, then the host has downloaded about 1-mb of data. If you have ten visitors who view everything, the host must download about 10-mb of data. Discuss your design ideas with your webmaster. He can estimate the size of your web pages and the size of your graphics. This will enable you to determine how much disk space and download "bandwidth" you need. For example, my site is hosted by an IPP who offers a basic package and a "power" package. The basic package includes 30-mb of storage and 1-gb (1,000-mb) download bandwidth, for about $20 per month. The power package includes 70-mb of storage and 2-gb download bandwidth, for about $45 per month. You won't hit either limit, so what else is there? You must have unlimited FTP access to your site. FTP is a transfer method that your webmaster will use to update your site. All IPPs support FTP access, but most ISPs that host personal web sites do not. It should be included in the basic price. Would you like a counter on your site? How about a guestbook, or feedback forms? These are all small programs. You could pay to have your own custom-made, or use ready-made ones provided by your IPP. They may be called CGI scripts, Javascripts or something else, but you will usually need access to either a common CGI directory provided by the IPP (less expensive) or your own CGI directory (more expensive.) If your IPP provides these scripts, make sure they work! Ask to see sites using the scripts. Ask to see the on-line documentation so your webmaster can learn how to setup the scripts. One of my clients signed up with an IPP who offered CGI scripts, including on-line documentation. It was incomplete and full of typos. It took about a dozen phone calls, six weeks and many, many hours to get a basic counter running correctly. Normally, this takes only a few minutes! A common CGI directory is shared by everyone else on your host's computer. You cannot usually modify any of the scripts. Your own CGI directory allows you to customize the scripts provided by your IPP, and to add other scripts that you find or create. Many IPPs support Microsoft FrontPage Extensions. These extensions provide features similar to the more common CGI scripts, such as page counters, guestbooks, forms and search engines. If your webmaster uses FrontPage and you wish to use these special features, your IPP must support them. Usually, you will not care what kind of computer your host uses. Most use Unix, some use NT, a few use Mac. FrontPage extensions run on anything. If your webmaster does use FrontPage, there are additional features available that only work on an NT host. These are mostly for database connectivity or mid-range "shopping carts" such as MS Merchant Server. You shouldn't need these things. NT hosts are usually more expensive than Unix hosts. Will you provide digital photos for your clients to download? If so, you will need your own FTP directory. If you want anyone to download files, such as your promosheets, then it must be anonymous FTP. If you have on-line images for sale, you will need a password-protected FTP site. Each of these costs a little bit more. Neither are usually included in basic packages. Would you like audio or video? These are also extras. The technology varies, so find out what your webmaster uses and make sure your IPP supports that. Ask your webmaster to explain other options that are commonly available for extra charges. These might include Java Chat, discussion forums, SSL support (for secure credit card transactions) and e-cash. Plan ahead. Determine your needs both for now, and for two years from now. Pick an IPP who provides the services you will need during that period, so you can grow without changing your IPP. If your IPP allows you to upgrade your package without paying extra setup fees, start with the most basic package that meets your needs now and upgrade later. If not, consider the setup fees. It may be cheaper to start out with the more advanced package. CAUTION: You don't always get what you pay for. According to the National Fraud Information Center (NFIC), the sale of Internet services and products ranks high on their list of Internet scams. In fact, they have a large section of their web site devoted to this topic. Check it out at http://www.fraud.org before you sign any contracts! Next month, find out how you can incorporate inexpensive design ideas into your web site.
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