By Stephen Grisham Sr.

When it comes to web hosting, the economist Adam Smith's theories of labor division really apply. It may seem like a good, money-saving idea to be your own web host, but there's much more involved than it appears at first glance. Prior to purchasing any web site hosting equipment, consider everything that being your own web host will entail.

Server: The word "server" means a powerful computer with certain custom networking abilities. You might be able to get by with a small server for a minimally sized business for a short time. Servers that are good are made by Hewlett Packard and IBM. Dell manufactures servers as well.

Security: Securing your Server is probably the most difficult part of doing your own website hosting. Network Security specialists are trying to keep up with the hackers and spammers (not the other way around). Server Security is a highly technical task that never ends. It is certainly not a matter of installing an antivirus or internet security program. Unless you have a Certified Administrator or equivalent on staff, you'll probably need to forget doing your own hosting.

Software Licensing: The majority of server operating systems are licensed for a given amount of simultaneous users. Getting licenses to cover your software can be really costly.

Network: It's necessary to obtain a data trunk at the location you wish to keep your server in. Directly connecting the server to your ISP very likely won't work at all. Some people go that route for personal websites and trial runs; however, you should not try that in hosting your own website or your bandwidth will be reduced. Examine the terms of service of your ISP if you only have an undersized website.

You will require other equipment, like a high-powered battery backup in case the power fails, and a good backup system for data that is off-site.

Employees: If you are short a network guru employee, then you must hire one who is available 24/7 with on call support. Servers and networks go bad all the time, the best ones included. You cannot just set it up and then just leave it be, for long. Absolutely not!

In Summary: Your website will benefit from the powerful and reliable servers provided by leased web hosting services, and you will save lots of money on hardware, administration, and labor. Without the support of dedicated IT technicians, you will be spending too much money as well as valuable time running your operation. It is possible to get shared web hosting if you have a smaller site, with prices from approximately $10 monthly. I bet you can't find anything to beat that!

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