Web Hosting

5 Reasons to Use CloudFlare

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 10:00:00 -0500

Fast web hosting: Let’s face it, all website owners want it - no, need it. That’s why we at HostPapa do everything we can to ensure our clients enjoy a high level of website performance, day in and day out.

Which brings us to CloudFlare. CloudFlare has taken the website hosting world by storm – thousands upon thousands have activated this service and reaped its benefits. CloudFlare promises to “supercharge your website” at no cost! Which sounds great, but… what exactly does it mean?

Here’s 5 simple reasons that CloudFlare is so popular:

It makes websites faster. CloudFlare distributes and stores your website’s static content in its data centres, strategically located around the world, regardless of your server’s physical location. Your visitors will be routed to the closest data centre, ensuring the fastest possible service. Your web pages will load, on average, twice as fast! As an added bonus: search engines love fast web hosting.
It optimizes website performance. CloudFlare has a number of website optimization tools to help your website look good and load quickly on both desktop computers and mobile devices. HostPapa customers report that even web pages with widgets and third-party software show a dramatic boost in website performance.
It maximizes uptime. CloudFlare’s next-generation Content Delivery Network is designed for peak efficiency, with built in redundancy. If there is ever an issue at any of CloudFlare’s 32 global data centres, your visitors will automatically be directed to another.
It provides enhanced security and protection. By enabling CloudFlare on your HostPapa account, you not only improve your website hosting experience, but you join a growing international community of users. An attack on any user is quickly identified and blocked for the entire community. CloudFlare protects against cross-site scripting, SQL injection, comment spam, bot crawlers, and much more.
It’s easy to activate. There is no code to change, no hardware or software to install. Simply set up an account and choose which domains you want to protect. HostPapa customers will see a CloudFlare icon in their cPanel – just click and get started. In as little as five minutes, you’ll be enjoying superior website performance.

CloudFlare is proving to be quite popular among HostPapa customers, for all the reasons above. We’d love to hear about your experiences – try it out and let us know what you think!

What is domain privacy and do I really need it?

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 12:00:00 -0500

What is domain privacy and do I really need it?

Did you know the contact details attached to your web hosting domain are publicly available thanks to the WHOIS listings? This is why HostPapa and other web hosting providers offer domain privacy for a small surcharge.

Now, you might ask yourself, do I really need it?

The simple answer is no. As a website owner, you do not need to purchase domain privacy. However, the service offers a number of important benefits, including reducing spam and unwanted solicitations. We think any website owner will be better off for making a small investment in his or her privacy. And in fact... tens of thousands of HostPapa clients would probably agree!

What is domain privacy?

Every domain name has a WHOIS listing, which is a searchable database of registered domains. It is available to everyone on the Internet. Without domain privacy, or WHOIS privacy protection, all of your contact information (address, phone number, name, etc) is available to the public.

With WHOIS privacy, however, your personal information is shielded and the information belonging to your domain registrar is visible instead.

Even if you have a legitimate postal address and nothing to hide, WHOIS privacy can help:

Control spam and junk snail mail.
Hide your website from competitors doing market research.
Prevent firms from capturing your information to resell to others.
Avoid stalkers and fraudsters.
Control your personal information and privacy. Do you really want everyone online knowing your address?

WHOIS privacy protection is purchased by most website owners for all of the above reasons. We believe it’s an important way to help reduce spam, scams, and unwanted Internet traffic.

There may be some businesses which welcome any added traffic and the visibility of a WHOIS listing. In most cases, however, domain privacy protection provides a layer of security and peace of mind.

As an aside, there are some domain types (such as those ending in .ca) that automatically have privacy enabled, without the need to purchase. If the domain you are using falls into this category, enjoy the added level of protection!

In summary, although domain privacy isn't mandatory, the little bit of extra cost can save you time and trouble down the road.

WordPress vs. Joomla vs. Drupal

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:00:00 -0500

WordPress vs. Joomla vs. Drupal

A choice of content management systems (or CMS) are included with every HostPapa web hosting account. Choosing the best content management system for your website – even deciding if you need one – is another decision you, as a web designer/developer, have to make. And one we’re happy to help out with!

What is a content management system?

A CMS is a web-based application that helps you create, edit, and store website content in a simple and easy-to-manage way. A CMS lets you can build and maintain your website entirely from within your web browser.

The best content management system helps users (even non-techie users) manage their websites without needing fancy programs like Dreamweaver. A CMS will automatically take care of many “behind the scenes” functions, including navigation and searchable content. No hard coding required! Like HostPapa, most web hosting companies offer these tools within their control panels.

Do you need a content management system?

Before we get to WordPress vs. Joomla vs. Drupal… do you need any of them? Yes, unless of course you enjoy designing files on your desktop then uploading them via FTP to your server (and repeating the process every time you want to make an update).

Only static, brochure-type websites that seldom change would likely get away with not using a CMS. Content management systems make life easier. Go for it. Pick one.

WordPress vs. Joomla vs. Drupal

These are today’s three most popular open-source (free) and best content management systems out there. Here’s our quick notes to help you make a fast decision:

WordPress began as blogging software; added functionality (widgets, themes, and plugins) means it’s now being used for all kinds of websites and can be scaled up as your needs grow more complex.

The easiest and most intuitive of the three.
Powerful enough to build and launch websites quickly.
Ideal for blogs, news sites, simple and easy-to-manage websites.

Joomla! currently occupies a middle ground between WordPress and Drupal.

Slightly more complex than WordPress, but still accessible.
Allows you to build more complex websites.
Ideal for social networking and ecommerce websites.

Drupal has long been called “developer-friendly,” meaning, we suppose, that it’s more technical and requires more know-how.

Requires some expertise to use.
Powerful ability to organize complex content and build advanced, versatile websites.
Ideal for: complex websites, online stores, community platforms with multiple users.

There is no best content management system here, just three strong contenders, each serving their audience capably and with ever-expanding functionality. So, if you think you need a CMS (and we recommend it for sure) consider your level of technical knowledge. Trust us... getting a CMS will make your website better and your life easier.

Reseller vs Shared: Which Website Hosting is Right for You?

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 10:51:00 -0500

At HostPapa, we often encounter customers inquiring about whether they should stick with shared web hosting or switch to a reseller account. New customers, too, frequently check in before signing up to ask which is “better”: reseller or shared hosting.

The answer? The best service depends on your specific needs. No surprise there! That answer is not a lot of help, so we’ve compiled some information you can use to make the decision.

First, let’s look at shared web hosting.

A shared hosting plan gives you everything you need to create and manage a website. In fact, many shared hosting plans, including HostPapa’s, let you host unlimited domains on one account – you can operate as many websites as you like for one low fee!

You get one control panel (cPanel) through which you can manage all of your domains and subdomains.

Advantages:

It’s super affordable
It’s easy: one control panel oversees all domains
You can maintain as many websites as you want

Now, on to reseller website hosting.

Reseller hosting is designed for those who want to sell web hosting. Resellers purchase space and bandwidth and allocate or “resell” it to their own clients. While those clients manage their accounts through their own cPanel, the reseller oversees all the subaccounts through one master administrator control panel.

Even if you don’t want to sell hosting, you can use a reseller plan to create web hosting accounts (each with its own cPanel account and login) for family, friends, or clients.

Advantages

You can make money with a well-run reseller business
Although the monthly fee is more than a shared hosting account, it's still very reasonable
You are in control: you set up the accounts to resell, you provide customer service – it’s your business!

What does it all mean?

If you want to host one or several personal websites, or your own small business website, shared web hosting is the cheapest, easiest, and best option.

If, however, you’re in the business of selling websites or web hosting services, or you want separate cPanel accounts for separate domains, reseller website hosting is the logical choice.

So... there you go! As with most things, what makes a hosting plan "better" really depends on your own needs. Whether you need shared or reseller web hosting, don’t forget to check out HostPapa for tools, tips and tricks to make the most of it.