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Application Hosting Solutions for Every Need

Certified_Guru — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:50:21 +0000

The Internet is as diverse as it is immense. It includes blogs, magazines, news sites, forums, wikis, fan pages, business sites, online stores, e-learning sites, kids’ sites, and just about any other kind of site you can imagine. Many of these websites, especially the smaller ones, are created using web applications. Web applications have many purposes and come in all shapes and sizes, but they have one thing in common: they are designed to facilitate the creation of a website by providing a ready-built structure that webmasters can use as the foundation of a new site.

Web applications such as WordPress, Joomla, Magento, and phpBB have contributed significantly to the development of the modern Internet. Millions of sites are built on these platforms, and every day, hundreds of thousands more go online. The huge demand for application hosting has spurred an impressive growth in the hosting industry as more and more companies compete to provide solutions for application web hosting. Today, most hosting providers offer some type of application hosting. But in most cases, hosting companies don’t provide specialized services, such as specialized blog hosting or forum hosting services. Typically, customers get generic solutions that they can use for application hosting but are not actually designed from the ground up for a specific application.

In this article, we go through the most important types of application hosting solutions, including blog hosting, CMS hosting, ecommerce hosting, forum hosting, and others. We explore why it’s important to choose a dedicated application hosting solution as opposed to a generic hosting plan. We also go over the features that should not be absent from a specific application hosting solution so that you can make an educated choice when you select the hosting plan for your blog, business site, or discussion board.

Blog hosting solutions

Unless you have a popular blog with thousands of daily visitors (and if you do, congratulations!), you will not need a super-powerful application hosting solution for your blog. This does not mean that you should use just any dirt-cheap hosting plan to host your blog. However, any server with decent specifications should be powerful enough to provide a smooth browsing experience to your followers. Make sure you choose a provider that has blogging software experts on-staff who can offer you quality support if needed.

Most application hosting services provide support for the most popular blogging applications, such as WordPress, MovableType, and b2evolution. WordPress is, indisputably, the current “king” of blogging platforms, accounting for a large percentage of all new blog installations worldwide. However, you can choose whichever blogging app you prefer, as long as you find a hosting service that supports it. Moreover, if you choose a reputable application hosting company, you can find dedicated hosting plans for lesser-known blogging software, such as Nucleus, Textpattern, Habari, and Nibble Blog.

WordPress hosting services

We’ve discussed WordPress application hosting in regards to blogging, but WordPress is so versatile and powerful that people use it for all sorts of hosting types, in addition to blogging. For example, you can use WordPress as a full-fledged CMS, a forum platform, an ecommerce solution, and for many other uses. There is so little you can’t do with WordPress that we think it deserves a section of its own in our review of application hosting solutions.

Why should you get a specialized WordPress hosting plan instead of a run-of-the-mill plan? With an application plan designed for WordPress, you have the certainty that the hosting environment is fine-tuned for working with WordPress. A well-oiled WordPress host will let you squeeze every last drop of performance from your hosting environment, meaning that you will be able to make sizable savings when you provision resources.

If you plan to use WordPress as a framework for a high-maintenance application, such as an online store or a business site, we highly recommend that you use a dedicated application web hosting service that includes competent, round-the-clock support. With a good WordPress hosting plan, you can also benefit from some freebies, including free installation, free themes, or free upgrades. Especially if you are not a techie, these free services can help you save a lot of money.

CMS hosting plans

A content management system (CMS) is a framework that allows easy content creation and separates content creation from the design and programming side of creating a website. In layman’s terms, a CMS lets you add stuff to your site without breaking it.

CMSs have diverse technical and resource requirements. Most popular CMSs, including the market leaders Joomla and Drupal, are built on the open source PHP/MySQL platform. With some modifications, WordPress can also be used successfully as a CMS. When you select an application hosting provider to host a CMS, make sure that the company supports the versions of PHP and MySQL that you need, as well as any other technical requirements that your CMS may have as generic plans may not include crucial features that can render your plan useless.

Forum application hosting

Forums are the perennial favorites of webmasters who want to create and grow vibrant communities. With forum application web hosting plans, it’s important to choose a solid server that can handle the stress created by multiple users using the discussion board at the same time. Poorly-configured forum application hosting solutions (even those that provide plenty of horsepower under the hood) can perform below par under the pressure of real-world usage scenarios.

Make sure you invest in a quality application hosting provider. If you have proper support from a forum software expert, it will be much easier for you to tweak your server for optimal performance or to troubleshoot the hard-to-solve glitches that often appear when working with complex, database-driven applications such as discussion boards.

Social network application web hosts

How would you like to build the next Facebook? A great place to start would be a social networking web application such as Elgg, Dolphin, StatusNet, or eMeeting. Coupled with a good application hosting solution, these free social network building tools are ideal for creating any type of online community, from dating sites to fan clubs.

Just like forums, social networks require proper configuration and careful monitoring in order to function within parameters. An application web hosting solution specially created for a social network is usually recommended for such scenarios, especially if you need help with operations such as installation, module addition, upgrading, or transfers. The best application hosting providers will offer these services free of charge when you sign up for a hosting solution.

Ecommerce application web hosting

With ecommerce, it is especially important to ensure the availability and reliability of your site, 24/7. While blog visitors may forgive occasional errors and downtime, with shoppers, you must go the extra mile to ensure stability – which is only truly possible with a dedicated application web hosting plan.

Ecommerce platforms are very diverse, so the first step when choosing an ecommerce application hosting provider should be to ensure that the application host can accommodate your specific software. osCommerce hosting, Magento hosting, Ubercart hosting, Zen Cart hosting – there are many possibilities for you to choose from. Regardless of which type of ecommerce application hosting you choose, the ecommerce hosting solution should provide great support, payment gateway integration, SSL support, and proper security.

Choose from the most diverse range of application hosting solutions at Certified Hosting

Certified Hosting boasts a wide portfolio of high-performance application web hosting services. From blog hosting to social network hosting and video streaming, Certified Hosting provides complete solutions for application hosting at reasonable pricing. At Certified Hosting, you will find specialized solutions for all popular web applications – including WordPress, Joomla, Magento, and phpBB – but also for smaller, lesser-known solutions such as Habari, StatusNet, and MODx.

Certified Hosting employs highly skilled and experienced technicians who possess extensive knowledge of all forms of application hosting. In addition to the world-class support that is available round the clock, you also get free services for most applications in Certified Hosting’s catalog.

Get started today with application hosting or learn more details about our offerings by visiting certifiedhosting.com or calling 909-498-4415 today.

Five Free Content Management Systems to Kick Your Site into High-Gear

Certified_Guru — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:08:25 +0000

A content management system (CMS) provides a simple way to add and modify content on a website without having to modify any HTML code. Without a CMS, each time you want to add an article or modify the text on your homepage, you have to modify the actual files that make up your site. Working directly in the source code is not only time-consuming and difficult, but it also leaves your site prone to errors and inconsistencies.

A CMS hosting solution eliminates the need to have a professional on-call to maintain and update your site. You can do everything yourself, without the risk of making a faulty edit that takes down your site. There are many CMS web hosting solutions of various degrees of usability and flexibility. To help you make a decision, we’ve put together a list of freely-available content management systems. We based our reviews on ease of use, capabilities, and extensibility so that you can make an informed decision as to which of the following solutions is best for creating a modern, attractive website for yourself or for your business.

1. Joomla

Joomla is one of the best-known content management systems and is deployed on millions of sites of all types and calibers. If you want a CMS web hosting plan that lets you build complex sites that include blogs, polls, search modules, RSS feeds, or international versions, Joomla CMS hosting is the best way to go.

Joomla CMS is especially suitable as a rich media publishing tool. With a good CMS hosting plan and Joomla, you can create your very own video blog, movie review site, video game site, or any other type of media-rich online presence that you can imagine. Joomla has more than 100 plug-ins available for video streaming alone. In fact, you can easily find a good plug-in for just about any task, from ecommerce to social networking integration. No matter what you plan to do with your Joomla site, make sure to opt for a resource-rich CMS hosting solution that is specially designed for the specifics of the Joomla CMS.

2. WordPress

Although WordPress is better known as a blogging platform, its flexibility make is superbly suitable for CMS hosting as well. With very little effort, you can turn your WordPress site into a fully-fledged CMS web hosting solution. There are many specialized themes online, available for free or for less than a hundred dollars, but with a bit of tinkering, you can create your own WordPress-based CMS, complete with article sections, testimonials, galleries, and many other features.

If you look for a CMS web hosting plan, we highly recommend that you try a WordPress plan that gives you unlimited resources and complete creative freedom. This way, you can create more than one CMS on one account, or have two different installations – one for your CMS, and one for your blog.

3. Drupal

We recommend a Drupal CMS web host if you want a large, stable site with many different pages and a solid implementation of ACL (access control levels), i.e., multiple user groups. The Drupal CMS is ideal if you want to accommodate many different types of users. For example, if you have a public portal built with Drupal, you can create custom roles for administrators, managers, developers, registered users, and visitors.

When shopping for a CMS web hosting service, you have to pay close attention to the version of PHP installed on the CMS web host, as some solutions, such as eZpublish, require custom PHP implementations. With Drupal, you will not have this problem because it can be installed remotely on any standard PHP site, with minimal hassle. Therefore, opting for Drupal may be wise if you expect to change servers in the future and you want to avoid being locked into a specific PHP version.

4. MODx

MODx is not as well-known as the other CMSs in our review, but it is nevertheless a comprehensive content management system that shines when it comes to standards compliance, versatility, and support for multiple AJAX libraries. MODx also has an excellent templating system that can be extended with snippets, themes, plugins, and custom variables.

It will not be difficult to find a CMS web host that supports MODx, because unlike other CMS products, this open source application can run on Lighttpd, Zeus, and even IIS web servers. MODx is great for creating interactive websites rich in AJAX, as it supports jQuery, MooTools, and other well-known libraries. If you ever run into a problem that you can’t solve on your own, MODx has a vibrant community of enthusiasts that are always eager to help.

5. CMS Made Simple

As its name implies, CMS Made Simple, or CMSMS, attempts to reduce the complexity that makes some other CMSs, such as Drupal, difficult to use for non-technical users. By default, CMSMS provides only core functionality, including news pages and a search module. And you can easily add functions with the free plug-ins and themes created by the CMSMS community. Even if CMS Made Simple was primarily designed as a lightweight, no-nonsense application for basic use, the sites created with CMSMS are not necessarily simple. CMSMS makes it easy to add more complex modules such as blogs, forums, polls, and even ecommerce tools.

CMSMS is ideal for users with little technical skill or for developers who are looking for a CMS that can be modified and updated by clients. The popular Smarty templating tool is great for creating nice-looking themes with a WYSISYG editor, and packaging these themes for distribution. To use CMSMS, look for a CMS web hosting solution that includes PHP and support for MySQL and PostgreSQL. Overall, CMSMS is still in its infancy, but we expect a remarkable growth in the future.

Certified Hosting provides great CMS web hosting at prices you can afford

For companies and organizations, content management systems have become an essential tool for marketing, communication, and daily operations. If you are looking for a capable CMS web host that can power your business website, you should know that it’s not necessary to pay a small fortune for a commercial tool.

The CMS hosting services provided by Certified Hosting include WordPress CMS hosting, Drupal CMS hosting, Joomla CMS web hosting, as well as many other solutions such as MODx, CMSMS, MiaCMS, and eZPublish. Let us provide you with a capable, stable CMS hosting solution at prices you can afford. To make your choice easier, we even provide free installation and other complimentary operations for your content management system of choice.

Learn more about our comprehensive set of CMS web hosting services, or order a plan, by visiting certifiedhosting.com, or by calling 909-498-4415 today.

More than a Blogging Tool – Discover the Versatility of WordPress

Certified_Guru — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:39:49 +0000

The popularity of WordPress is nothing short of amazing. Currently, the open source platform hosts almost 15% of the world’s top million websites. Even more impressive, close to a quarter of all new websites registered in the United States are built on WordPress. That’s quite an achievement for a web application that started in 2003 as the personal project of a 19-year old philosophy student, Matt Mullenweg, who wanted a better way to blog.

WordPress has been embraced by millions of users, hobbyists, and professionals alike, and is now used to power an incredible range of projects. Which brings us to the subject of this article: although most people associate WordPress with blogging, the open source platform is so versatile that it can be used to build almost any type of website. With its powerful templating systems, open architecture, and extensive plugin support, WordPress is the cornerstone of blogs, business websites, forums, wikis, and even online stores.

In this article, we take a high-level look at the things you can accomplish with a WordPress website. In particular, we discuss how you can use WordPress as a CMS, to power a forum, and to build your own online store. We analyze some of the options that you have for each purpose and demonstrate why it’s important to invest in a quality WordPress hosting service.

Create an impressive website for your company with WordPress as a CMS

A content management system (CMS) is used to manage the content for a website. In other words, a CMS lets non-technical users add articles and pages, edit content, and upload media such as images or video, all without having to edit any HTML code.

Without a CMS, users have to edit the source code of the website in order to modify it. This makes simple operations, such as adding a page or changing the formatting of an article, difficult and time-consuming. In addition, modifying the source code directly poses reliability and security risks. On the other hand, a CMS separates the content from the code structure, thus eliminating the risk of breaking the website, while also making site updates simpler and more effective. If you plan to have a frequently-updated site, or one that uses interactive or dynamic elements such as news items, promotional items, or blog articles, using a CMS is highly recommended.

You can get all the features of an expensive CMS platform by opting for a WordPress web host. Turning a WordPress website into a capable CMS requires a few steps that we will not detail here. There are plenty of free WordPress tutorials to help you get started, and you can probably get some help from your WordPress hosting provider.

Alternatively, you can buy a good CMS-oriented theme or even use one of the free WordPress themes available online. No matter which option you choose, you can get a professional looking WordPress website at a fraction of the cost of hiring someone to build you a site from scratch. Plus, you will save a lot of money in the long-term, as you will be able to update the site yourself.

A blog or a forum? Why not both?

Whether you run a business, a non governmental organization (NGO), or a fan community, you can (and should) engage your visitors and give them the chance to interact with your site and provide feedback. One of the best ways to build a community around your site is to create a forum. However, forum applications can be expensive and hard to deploy and maintain. For many small sites, having a full-blown forum app is overkill. As a result, many site owners give up on the idea of using a forum and choose to have a blog instead.

But there’s an alternative. With only the small investment required to purchase a WordPress hosting solution, you can have your own easy-to-run forum. How is this possible? There are a number of free plugins that let you turn your WordPress website into a lightweight forum. These plugins use WordPress’ rich architecture to transform posts into forum threads, and comments into thread replies.

In a matter of hours, you can have your very own forum, with only a few dollars invested. There are many plugins that can help you achieve this. Among the best known are bbPress – built by the same team that created WordPress, a feature-rich forum plugin called Simple:Press, Wp2BB, and the easy-to-use Mingle.

The best part? With a good WordPress web hosting service, you can have both your blog and your forum. In fact, if you choose a provider that lets you host unlimited WordPress blogs, you can have a multitude of sites deployed for one small price.

Make money with a WordPress-powered online store

Having an online store used to mean paying a hefty fee for the services of a web designer and another fee to hire a programmer to code the back-end application. Today, there are some good shopping cart applications available that are cheaper and easier to deploy, and even some free ones.

But why complicate your life with an expensive, hard-to-work-with app, when you can get the same functionality for free with your WordPress host? That’s right: you can run your very own online store using the same platform that you have come to love for blogging.

You have a wide range of options for turning your WordPress site into an ecommerce platform. One of the most popular ecommerce plugins for WordPress is WP e-Commerce, a comprehensive online shopping solution that provides everything you need to run a successful ecommerce store. If you want something that is even easier to use and maintain, try Ecwid, a free plugin that lets you create beautiful, interactive web stores. Other notable ecommerce solutions include eShop, Shopp, PHPurchase, Checkout, and Shopify.

As with forums, you can host your online store and your other sites on one account if you use a WordPress web hosting solution that lets you host unlimited WordPress blogs.

Create the website of your dreams at Certified Hosting

As you can see, it’s surprisingly simple, and not to mention cheap, to find a WordPress-based solution for just about any application. And the list includes more than CMSs, forums, and online stores. There is really little that you can’t do with WordPress, some free themes and plugins, and of course, a quality WordPress web hosting services provider like Certified Hosting.

Certified Hosting is a leading provider of quality web hosting services, including unlimited WordPress hosting solutions. With Certified Hosting, you can host unlimited WordPress blogs for a flat monthly fee. Plus, you get free WordPress installation, free WordPress upgrades, and free WordPress themes, allowing you to start your own blog, forum, or online store with a minimal investment and no headaches.

To start now with Certified Hosting or to learn more about our WordPress hosting solutions, visit certifiedhosting.com or call 909-498-4415 today.

Three Reasons Server Monitoring Should Be Your Top Priority

Certified_Guru — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:12:18 +0000

If you’re serious about your online presence, you probably value high-availability and a glitch-free website more than anything else. You know that slow loading pages, server errors, and extensive downtime are all problems that drive visitors away. And, in today’s ultracompetitive online environment, every click and every page view matters.

So, what can you do to protect your investment – your time, your energy, and ultimately your money? How can you keep your website running flawlessly, day in and day out? The answer is managed dedicated hosting. But not just any type of dedicated managed server will do. Find a hosting provider that offers quality, round-the-clock server monitoring services. Here are the top three reasons you should invest in a managed dedicated hosting solution that includes top-notch server monitoring.

Less downtime

Fact: dedicated managed server monitoring means less downtime. Servers have the nasty habit of crashing at the worst possible moment. And chances are the disaster will strike in the middle of the night. Without a managed dedicated server hosting service, you will have to wait until morning to solve the problem. At best, if you or your server admin receive an alert message, you can call support and ask them to have a look. But this can take a lot of time, and time is valuable in these situations.

Some may argue that a few minutes or even a few hours of downtime are no big deal. But when your website generates revenue, one hour of downtime can mean lost clients and lost sales. If your website caters to an international audience, every hour of the day can be considered primetime – even a small period of time can deprive you of many pageviews.

By opting for dedicated managed server hosting with server monitoring, you can sleep more soundly at night. Your dedicated server is monitored 24/7 by a trained professional. If something goes wrong, the response time will be minutes instead of hours. Instead of relying on dark of night phone calls, a full-time server admin will begin addressing the issues that caused the service interruption right away. In the long term, fully managed dedicated server hosting can save you many hours of downtime and potentially, a lot of money.

Better protection

Hacking attempts, Denial of Service attacks, and viruses can strike at any moment. No website should be considered safe from threats, no matter how small or inconspicuous. Good dedicated hosting managed server providers will harden your machine to prevent intrusions and attacks. But only great hosting providers will proactively monitor your server and respond accordingly when an attack is detected.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are among the hackers’ favorite weapons for taking down a website. Without adequate protection, even a powerful dedicated host can fall in minutes when confronted with a DDoS attack.

With server monitoring, you get an extra layer of protection. The technicians monitoring your dedicated managed server are able to detect the telltale signs of an impending DDoS and intervene to mitigate its effects. Although there are protection solutions that can stop a large-scale attack, a managed dedicated host is more likely to withstand day-to-day malicious activities.

Good server monitoring will protect your managed dedicated server against other threats as well. Viruses, including worms, bots, and trojans, should be a major concern of any website owner. Malware infections can have devastating effects on your website, and some problems can even expand in the real world. For example, data stealing bots can collect the private information stored on your server, leaving you exposed to fraud or even extortion. Moreover, if you collect information from your users, you have the legal duty to protect it. Failing to do so can land you in trouble, including law suits and regulatory scrutiny.

A quality managed dedicated server hosting solution is your insurance against malware and other threats. Professional server administrators have the experience needed to spot suspicious activity, investigate, and act accordingly.

Money well spent

Although fully managed dedicated server hosting services are more expensive than solutions that don’t include server monitoring, you might find that you get a better return on investment by opting for a managed service.

Think of the flat monthly fee paid for the managed dedicated hosting as the insurance you pay to protect your assets. When your website is a primary business tool, the premium may very well be justified. In some cases, the lost revenue caused by a few hours of downtime may exceed the expenses with the dedicated managed server for several months. And even if you don’t suffer a concrete financial loss when your website doesn’t work within parameters, the costs of investigating and fixing the problem yourself can be substantial.

When you take into account the financial risks associated with having your website hacked or your private data stolen, it’s obvious that safety measures are a smart investment.

Plus, fully managed dedicated servers hosting can be more affordable than you expect. A little market research can reveal great bargains, including bundled dedicated managed hosting services and other special promotions. For the monthly cost of a cell phone data plan, you can ensure that your website works great, with no exception.

Get proactive server monitoring with any managed dedicated server from Certified Hosting

Certified Hosting employs some of the best specialists in the industry to monitor servers round the clock. No matter what plan you choose or what components you select for your managed dedicated server, at Certified Hosting you will get the full attention of a technician with extensive experience in Web hosting. If your server becomes unavailable for any reason, an alert is instantly issued in our network operations center and a technician begins addressing the problem right away.

The dedicated managed server hosting services from Certified Hosting let you minimize downtime and forget about maintenance headaches. And it costs you less than a hundred dollars per month.

To find out more about our leading dedicated managed servers or to get started with an impressive hosting solution, please call 1-909-498-4415 or visit us at certifiedhosting.com.

What Is MySQL and the Important Things You Should Know About MySQL

Certified_Guru — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:59:00 +0000

If you are remotely serious about your website, SQL should mean more to you than just another fancy acronym.

Structured Query Language (SQL) is a programming language that manages data in relational databases. But why would that interest you? After all, you just signed up for a hosting account so you can start a blog. Or perhaps you want to host a simple online store. You don’t need to know anything about SQL, right? Well, you actually do. Just about every web application that you can imagine relies on some sort of SQL database to store text, images, user credentials, settings, and all the other items that make up a website. So, unless you plan to have a completely static webpage, sooner or later, you will bump into SQL.

Did you noticed how we said “some sort of SQL database?” That’s because there are many types of SQL implementations, including Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle SQL, and the open source MySQL. In this article, we focus on MySQL because it’s one of the most popular database servers and it’s free, meaning that most hosting providers offer it in their standard hosting packages. What are the most important things that you should know about MySQL? Read on to find out.

What does MySQL do for your website?

MySQL stores and retrieves the data that makes up the content of a dynamic website. For example, let’s say you have just set up a new WordPress blog. You are eager to put some content online, so you log in, write a nice post, and click Publish. Behind the scenes, your post is stored in a table in a MySQL database. If you decide to modify a post or a page, the entry for that specific entry is modified in the MySQL database. If you delete something, the entry is removed altogether from the table.

After a while, your friends will visit your new blog and maybe leave some comments. The comments are also stored in a MySQL table. In fact, every item that you create or modify, from the color of the fonts to the image and videos that you upload to the site, are kept in a MySQL database.

Think of MySQL as a huge registry that records information on all objects that compose your site. For example, a post may have multiple properties, each stored as a cell in a table: post content, post formatting, visibility, status, attachments, etc. When you publish the post, all of its properties are added to the “register.” WordPress has many tables, one for posts, one for comments, one for users, and so on. It’s up to MySQL to manage these tables, process the data, and move it around, so you and your visitors can enjoy a smooth browsing experience.

What’s so special about MySQL?

MySQL is the backbone of many of the most popular web sites in the world. You probably use many MySQL implementations every day, without ever realizing it – Wikipedia, Twitter, and Facebook all use MySQL databases. Facebook employs thousands of huge MySQL databases to store every like, picture, and wall comment generated by its 800+ million users. If MySQL can handle that much data for Facebook, it’s likely to be able to run any website, including yours, with no problems.

What makes MySQL so popular? First, it’s one of the best database servers available, comparable in features to commercial applications, such as MS SQL or IBM’s DB2. MySQL is also very fast, which makes it ideal for applications that need to process huge amounts of data in seconds. It’s also versatile and scalable, so it can be deployed successfully on Windows, Linux, and UNIX systems alike, from the smallest shared hosting accounts to the largest server farms.

Second, MySQL is open source and free to use. It works great with other open source applications, forming the popular LAMP stack together with Linux, the Apache web server, and the PHP scripting language.

Should you be actively looking for MySQL?

The answer is definitely yes! Unless you have very specific requirements and plans for your web server, MySQL support should be high on your shopping list. You can go without it if you don’t want any dynamic web applications or if you plan to use MS SQL Server or other competing products. But for a general purpose website, MySQL is highly recommended. WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, phpBB, MediaWiki, and other popular web applications all use MySQL for data storing. Even if you would be able to run them using other database software, it’s much easier to stick with a tried and true solution such as MySQL.

Due to its popularity and accessibility, most web hosting providers include MySQL in their standard packages. However, make sure to check before signing up for a plan, as there are still some hosting companies that don’t offer MySQL or have limited support for it.

Interested in running a MySQL-powered website? Certified Hosting has you covered

Whether you plan to run a blog, forum, or online store, you can rely on Certified Hosting to provide you with the best possible hosting experience. With more than a decade of experience in running high-performance hosting environments, Certified Hosting has the infrastructure and technical staff needed to ensure full satisfaction for every customer.

All Certified Hosting plans include MySQL databases and PHP 5, so you can run any modern web application with no problems. With hundreds of free applications available with just a few clicks and full MySQL support, Certified Hosting makes it easy to create dynamic online presences that impress visitors and converts them into clients and fans.

To learn more about our MySQL hosting services or to get you started with an affordable hosting solution, visit us at certifiedhosting.com.

Dedicated Server Customization in Three Steps

Certified_Guru — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:44:46 +0000

When it comes to web hosting, it doesn’t get any better than a powerful dedicated server. Dedicated hosting gives customers access to the raw power of an entire server, without the limitations that affect shared and VPS hosting solutions.

Modern dedicated servers are powerful machines that combine abundant physical resources with cutting-edge software technologies. Additionally, modern dedicated servers are finely tuned to maximize the potential of the hosting infrastructure. Dedicated hosting solutions span a wide range of specifications and budgets, with substantial differences between the two ends of the scale. You can get a reasonably capable machine that is well suited for smaller websites for less than $100. On the other hand, a fully-optioned dedicated web hosting service can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month. That’s the equivalent of purchasing a new laptop every month.

Most dedicated server web hosting service providers will let you customize your dedicated server. With so many options available and an equally diverse price range, it’s important to know how to select the components of a custom dedicated server in order to maximize performance and keep expenses in check. The following article will guide you through the three main stages of server customization and explain how to personalize your dedicated hosting solution. You will also learn how to keep costs in check by eliminating expenses that are not absolutely necessary.

Step one – choose the hardware of the dedicated server

It all starts with the physical infrastructure that will host your online properties. Arguably the most important part of the customization process, the initial component selection will determine how your dedicated server will perform during day to day operations.

Chassis and CPU

Most dedicated hosting solutions providers offer a limited range of server chassis that act as the foundation of the server, providing the electrical feed and a cooling system. Chassis are frequently overlooked when building custom dedicated servers, but a good chassis, with optimized heat exhaust design and hot-swappable power supplies, is crucial for the well-functioning of the server. Look for a dedicated server hosting provider that uses equipment from recognized manufacturers, such as Supermicro, Rackmount, or Cisco.

The next aspect to consider is the central processing unit (CPU), the heart of any dedicated server. The speed, cache, and other characteristics of the CPU have a direct influence on the functioning of your website. Beefier CPUs provide consistently high page load speeds, even during traffic spikes. At the very least, your dedicated server web hosting solution should boast a dual-core processor. Anything less than dual-core is not worth it, unless you have modest performance requirements. But if that’s the case, you probably don’t actually need a dedicated web hosting solution.

Avoid providers that sell desktop-grade processors as server processors, even if at first sight, the clock speeds are similar. Opt for a server-grade 64-bit processor with multiple cores and high on-chip cache. The processor is a major cost source, so try to strike a balance between your current and future requirements and the price of the solution. If your website receives only a few hundred visitors per day, you don’t really need a pricey dual quad-core machine.

RAM and Hard-Disk

The information processed by the CPU is stored temporarily in the random access memory (RAM) modules. With RAM, more is better, but the quality of the RAM module is a major factor that you should consider. Even the slightest defect in the construction of the module can cause errors and downtime, so make sure you choose a dedicated hosting provider that offers quality components from recognized brand names.

For small websites and web applications, 1GB of RAM may suffice, but the cost of memory modules is quite low, so it’s recommended to upgrade your dedicated server to at least 2 or 4GB of RAM. Generally speaking, about 4GB of RAM should be enough for most applications. For special requirements, you can install much more RAM, but expect a price tag to match the performance.

The hard disk drive (HDD) plays a smaller role in the functioning of a dedicated web server, but you should nevertheless choose an HDD that offers high data transfer speeds. Most server-grade HDDs spin at 10,000 RPM, and the higher-end ones at 15,000. The higher the rotation speed, the faster the hard disk will find and retrieve data, and the faster your applications will load.

If you plan to use several hard disks, you will need a RAID controller, either software-based or a physical RAID controller card. Depending on the number of drives you need to connect, the interface, and whether you need a BBU (battery backup unit), a multiple disk setup can set you back $80-$100, without the HDDs.

Step two – operating system and control panel

The software side of building a dedicated server is just as important as the physical infrastructure. The operating system and the administration software installed on your dedicated server web hosting service determine how well you will be able to configure and optimize your server. Additionally, the hosting environment determines what types of applications you will be able to run on your dedicated server.

Operating system

Most dedicated web hosting providers offers a limited range of operating systems with their pre-built servers, but allow customers to choose their own OS on custom machines.

Linux is the most popular operating system for dedicated servers, thanks to its wealth of features and affordability. There are many flavors of Linux available, so make sure you check with your provider on which distributions are supported. CentOS is one of the most widely-used Linux distributions, with Ubuntu, Debian, and Fedora following closely.

Linux is a great choice if you are looking for a secure, reliable operating system that is affordable at the same time. One limitation of Linux is the lack of support for Microsoft web development technologies. If you need to run a website built with the .NET Framework or ASP.NET, you have to install Windows Server on your dedicated server.

Quality dedicated hosting solutions include Windows Server 2008 R2, the latest version of the server OS from Microsoft. Windows Server 2008 is available in several editions – Web, Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter. For websites or small applications without extensive database requirements, Web Server is the ideal solution, as it provides a solid hosting environment at an affordable price. For advanced uses, such as enterprise scenarios, it’s recommended to opt for one of the other editions.

Control panel

Control panels are applications that simplify the task of administering and configuring web servers. cPanel, Parallels Plesk, or Interworx, are examples of popular control panels. Generally, it’s recommended to choose a feature-rich administration tool even if it will increase the cost of the solution, especially for Linux and Unix-based operating systems that do not supply a graphical interface.

With control panels, it’s easy to manage your dedicated server solution, including domain configuration, IPs, database management, email accounts, or scripts installation.

Step three – management and other services

A quality dedicated hosting provider will give you more than a box in a data center.

You can opt for a fully managed service, meaning that the provider’s technical team will handle every aspect of the dedicated server administration. Among others, common tasks included in managed services packages are system patching, security hardening, application configuration, and third-party software installation.

If you don’t need a full package, you can also go for the cheaper semi-managed option that only includes basic managed services and limited administration time per month. The third option is to manage the dedicated server yourself, which gives you more control and flexibility over the web server, and of course is completely free.

Other services that you might consider when choosing a dedicated server are regular backup services, additional IPs, domain services, and improved bandwidth.

Certified Hosting delivers the best experience in dedicated hosting

Certified Hosting is committed to providing the best possible dedicated hosting to all customers. From private users to hot startups and the most established businesses, every client at Certified Hosting receives full attention, the best brand-name equipment, and excellent managed services.

Whether you are looking for a fully-managed dedicated hosting plan or just a simple dedicated server without many bells and whistles, you will definitely find it at Certified Hosting. We offer dedicated server hosting solutions in various configurations, pre-built or custom, as well as quality services, including semi-managed and fully-managed solutions, for your complete peace of mind.

Visit us at certifiedhosting.com or call 1-909-498-4415 to learn more about our dedicated server solutions or to order a quality dedicated hosting plan.

Build a Vibrant Community with vBulletin, the Most Powerful Forum Software

Certified_Guru — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 09:41:48 +0000

Whether you are a hobbyist passionate about a topic, an online publisher looking to build an active following, or a business that seeks promotion, an online forum can be an extremely powerful tool. Creating an online community is beneficial in many ways, from the increased traffic to your website to the credibility that you win by hosting an active forum with many members.

Online forums, also known as message boards or discussion boards, require a certain amount of work to setup and get running. Perhaps the hardest thing about starting a forum is getting people to join the conversation and become an active community member. Creating a successful forum is a lot easier when you have the proper tools, namely a comprehensive forum platform such as vBulletin. In the following article, you will learn what makes vBulletin such a useful tool for creating attractive forums and you will learn how to select a hosting solution that lets you take advantage of vBulletin power.

What are the main features of vBulletin?

First released in 2000, vBulletin is one of the oldest and most popular discussion board applications. Based on PHP and MySQL, vBulletin can run on almost any web server that supports the two open source technologies, meaning that you won’t have any problems finding a vBulletin host.

The extended functionality offered by vBulletin is one of the main advantages of vBulletin compared to open source products such as phpBB. The latest version of vBulletin goes beyond the basic forum functionality, offering a complete content management system, blogging support, and a widget platform for easy customization.

Here’s a list of the most important features offered by vBulletin:

Complete forum functionality
When it comes to forum-specific features, vBulletin has no rivals. Administrators have many options at their disposal, covering everything from individual posts, to user preferences, thread management, privacy, and permissions.

Extensive functionality with built-in applications
Several built-in applications give you the ability to extend your vBulletin website beyond the basic forum functionality. You can create photo albums, set up groups, create calendars with event management, and consult the members of your community with polls. Many competing products either lack these functions or support them via plug-ins, which require additional workload and pose security problems.

Search engine optimization
By setting up your forum on a vBulletin web hosting service, you increase your chances of reaching top search engine rankings positions. vBulletin supports customizable, SEO-friendly URLs and meta tags, which play an important role in the way Google and other search engines rank web pages. Additionally, vBulletin includes an automatic Google XML sitemap module and a duplicate content removal tool, so it’s easy to promote and administer your content.

Simple advertisement and payment integration
vBulletin is among the few forum platforms to offer support for payment subscriptions. If you want to run a paid-membership forum, vBulletin is your best option, supporting PayPal, WorldPay, and Authorize.Net, among other services. vBulletin integrates well with Google’s AdSense, so even non-technical users will find it easy to setup an account and start earning revenue with their forum.

Enhanced security
vBulletin is very secure when compared to open source forum platforms. Any security vulnerability found in vBulletin is promptly solved by the development team from vBulletin Solutions, sometimes in as little as 24 hours. Because vBulletin is a comprehensive solution with lots of built-in features, users are not required to install third-party plug-ins, which are a major source of vulnerabilities such as in the case of phpBB. For maximum safety, only entrust your vBulletin website to a reputable vBulletin hosting provider that offers a secure environment and active monitoring against threats.

How to choose a reliable vBulletin hosting solution for your forum

Once you decide to use vBulletin to power your new forum, it’s time to look for a suitable vBulletin hosting solution. Because vBulletin is built with PHP and MySQL, you can run the forum software on just about any web server that has PHP 5.2 and MySQL installed. Nevertheless, it is recommended that you opt for a hosting company that has a proven track record in vBulletin hosting. For optimal results, check the system requirements section from the official vBulletin site and see if your vBulletin web hosting provider offers support for the recommended requirements, such as cURL or OpenSSL support and a Rewrite engine.

Another thing to look for is friendly and professional support. Especially if you are new at vBulletin hosting, you may find yourself in the situation of asking for the assistance of a professional. If your forum is large or if you expect it to become popular in the future, you may require the help of your vBulletin hosting provider to optimize your current web hosting solution or to move to a larger and more capable server. In these situations, good support can save you from a lot of problems.

Consider the scope of your endeavor before making any purchasing decision. With large vBulletin forums, you will need a lot of resources to keep the board running smoothly. If you are expecting thousands or even tens of thousands of users, the only viable solution is a dedicated server. On the other hand, a small forum with a few hundred members or less does not justify the investment in a dedicated machine. For beginners and for niche forums, a simple unlimited vBulletin web hosting plan may suffice.

Find a vBulletin hosting plan that comes with free services

Installing vBulletin on your web server can be tricky, as there are no 1-click installation scripts for easy deployment. If you are not sure that you can handle the vBulletin installation and configuration on your own, you can call in a specialized contractor or opt for the installation services provided by vBulletin Solutions on the official vBulletin website. Unfortunately, vBulletin services are not cheap – for example, vBulletin Solutions will install your forum for $150, which is close to the price of a full vBulletin license.

To minimize your expenses, look for a vBulletin hosting provider that offers free vBulletin installation if you sign up for one of their hosting plans. The free services are not limited to free vBulletin hosting installation. Quality vBulletin hosts provide free vBulletin upgrade services and free vBulletin template deployment. If you already have an active forum, you can move it with no expenses by choosing a company that offers free vBulletin transfers and free vBulletin database transfer services.

Certified Hosting is your best choice when it comes to vBulletin web hosting

Certified Hosting provides affordable vBulletin hosting solutions that give you anything you need to host an active forum and build a vibrant online community. To help you kick start your forum, Certified Hosting provides vBulletin hosting services, including free vBulletin installation, free vBulletin templates, and free vBulletin upgrades. In addition, you can move your discussion board from another host with no downtime and with no extra charges. Just ask the Certified Hosting support staff about the free vBulletin transfer and free vBulletin database transfer services.

With just a few dollars a month, you can host your own vBulletin-powered forum and grow it into a popular online destination. To learn more about vBulletin hosting services or to order a vBulletin web hosting solution, contact us at 1-909-498-4415 or certifiedhosting.com today.

Use the Power of osCommerce to Build Your Own Attractive Online Store

Certified_Guru — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:34:25 +0000

Ecommerce is a multi-billion dollar business that has experienced massive worldwide growth in recent years and is set to become even more important in the future. Artists, craftsmen that sell their creations online, charities looking to raise funds, small to medium sized businesses, bookstores, etc. Almost any company, organization, and individual, can successfully use the online medium to market and sell goods and services.

Setting up online stores used to be a difficult, time-consuming, and expensive endeavor. Nevertheless, with the costs of dedicated shopping cart hosting solutions plummeting, and the emergence of open source ecommerce applications, the investment required to start an online store has significantly decreased. One open source shopping cart in particular, osCommerce, is a popular solution for ecommerce, thanks to its rich feature set and low costs to implement.

In this article, you will learn more about osCommerce and how you can use this application to develop online stores that create consistent revenue. We discuss the installation and customization of osCommerce and show you why it is important to opt for a dedicated osCommerce web hosting solution. To begin, let’s go through some general information on osCommerce to understand why it is the premier choice for creating successful shopping websites.

Let the open source community work for you with osCommerce

osCommerce (with the “os” standing for open source) was created in 2000 by a German developer who intended to provide an easy to use and affordable solution for creating shopping websites. osCommerce proved popular and soon, thousands of website owners chose the free application as their shopping cart. A number of other popular shopping carts are based on osCommerce, including the widely used Zen Cart and Batavi.

As of today, there are more than 16,000 online stores powered by osCommerce. The popularity of the application is explainable considering that it is free to use and based on other open source software such as PHP and MySQL. The reliance on open source makes osCommerce widely available, with many providers offering osCommerce web hosting solutions. For the best functionality and reliability, it is recommended to choose an osCommerce shopping cart hosting provider that uses the latest version of PHP 5, MySQL 5, and the recently released osCommerce 3.

Another factor that explains the success of osCommerce is its extensibility. Many developers have created extensions for the core product, which are called contributions. The contributions (many of which are free) allow you to expand and customize osCommerce, greatly improving the usability of the shopping cart.

Choosing an osCommerce web hosting provider

There are many ecommerce web hosting providers that claim to offer quality osCommerce web hosting services. Among the factors that differentiate various competing offers, the most important are the available resources, number of supported osCommerce stores, and the additional services provided.

For optimal results, opt for an osCommerce hosting plan that gives you unlimited disk space and bandwidth. With unlimited resources, you can develop your online retail channel in any direction that you consider suitable, without worrying about traffic caps or errors that can drive away potential buyers. Additionally, the best osCommerce web hosting services include unlimited domains so you can host unlimited osCommerce websites. With one hosting account, you can build and run as many online stores as you like, which give you complete creative freedom to develop your business.

Another major selling point for reputable osCommerce web hosting solutions is complementary assistance for setting up your osCommerce website. While some companies will charge you for setting up your ecommerce web host, others provide free services that include free osCommerce installation, free osCommerce module installation, and free osCommerce templates.

If you already have an online store up and running, try to find an osCommerce hosting provider that offers free osCommerce transfers and free osCommerce database transfers. That way you can be sure that the host transfer is completed with minimal disruption and expenses.

How to install osCommerce on your web host

As detailed above, your best option is to go with an osCommerce web hosting solution that includes free installation and transfer services. If you choose to install the application yourself, you can do it from the cPanel interface, by using the Fantastico script library. The process is easy and it only takes a few minutes, so even less technical savvy users can complete the task. osCommerce can also be installed from other script libraries, such as Softaculous and Installatron.

If you need to setup osCommerce manually, you can connect your osCommerce web host with an FTP manager, such as Filezilla, and upload the osCommerce folder directly. This process takes more in-depth technical knowledge.

osCommerce setup and configuration

Once you have an osCommerce hosting solution installed, you will need to configure the installation to meet your requirements. Since osCommerce is a powerful and complex application, the configuration process requires technical know-how, especially if you have extensive modifications. Unless you are confident with your PHP skills, it is a good idea to ask a professional to configure and customize your shopping cart application. You can find plenty of competent developers online who can assist you in deploying and customizing your online store for a reasonable fee.

One attractive feature of osCommerce is the add-on system that lets you easily extend the functionality of the application. Among others, you can find templates, industry-specific modifications, and payment integration modules. Some of the modules available online are free of charge, while others require purchasing a license. No matter what modules you choose, you can use the services of an osCommerce hosting provider that offers free osCommerce module installation.

Get the best osCommerce web hosting solutions at Certified Hosting

Certified Hosting provides some of the best osCommerce hosting solutions in the industry, enabling customers to become online retailers with a minimum of effort and investment. Certified Hosting’s osCommerce hosting plans include unlimited resources and support unlimited domains. One affordable osCommerce hosting plan from Certified Hosting gives you the possibility to host multiple stores with no extra costs.

Worried about installing or upgrading your osCommerce solution? By choosing Certified Hosting, you get free osCommerce installation services and free osCommerce upgrades. Moving your website from a previous host is just as simple as Certified Hosting will transfer your website for free.

To find more about how you can establish your own online business or to order an osCommerce web hosting plan, please call 1-800-547-9995 or visit certifiedhosting.com.

Stay Secure and Enjoy the Latest Functionality with Updated Third Party Scripts

Certified_Guru — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 17:13:03 +0000

Third party scripts provide one of the most powerful ways to customize your online presence. Whether you are using your shared web hosting account to run a personal site or you are in charge of a powerful dedicated server, you can use a third party script to quickly install a web application such as a blog, online store, or forum. WordPress, Joomla, phpBB, or MediaWiki are just a few of the scripts used by website owners worldwide to improve the functionality of their online presences.

Many of the most popular web applications are open source software that is developed actively by a community of volunteers. The release cycle of popular open source scripts is often quick as new versions are released regularly, sometimes at intervals of a few months. In this article, we review why it is important to keep your third party scripts up to date by regularly checking for new releases and installing the latest version. Among the benefits of using the latest version of third party scripts, we will discuss protection against security threats, improved functionality, and fewer bugs.

Ensure top security by updating third party scripts to the latest version

Security breaches are first on the list of worst case scenarios for many system administrators that run high-profile online destinations. As the recent wave of intensely publicized hacking attacks and intrusions shows us, no one on the Internet is fully protected from threats. Even the owners of small websites should not consider themselves safe from harmful attacks from hackers. While obscurity does provide some protection, hackers and scammers think nothing of stealing private data, planting trojans, and compromising the privacy of your data.

Vulnerabilities in third party scripts are one channel that hackers, spammers, and fraudsters regularly use to compromise the security of websites. Most, if not all, web applications have vulnerabilities that make them susceptible to the attacks of knowledgeable individuals.

The most dangerous vulnerabilities found in scripts are the so-called zero-day exploits. Zero-day exploits are problems in the source code of an application that are unknown to everybody but the persons who discovered it. Zero-days allow hackers to compromise the security of a system for extended periods of time, without being discovered. The only protection against this type of vulnerability is to keep your third party script updated to the latest version. Script developers treat zero-day exploits with the highest priority and issue security patches to solve them as soon as possible. Always make sure that your script has the most recent security patches applied.

Only by using the latest version of your third party scripts you can be sure that your website is protected against data theft, bots, trojans, and spammers.

Increase reliability with the latest bug fixes

Another benefit of keeping your third party scripts up to date is better reliability. Software errors and flaws, commonly called bugs, can seriously affect your image, damage productivity, and decrease the reliability of your website. If you are generating money with your website by running an ecommerce business or using AdSense or other ad serving program, software bugs can have a significant impact on your revenue.

In most cases, bugs found in web applications are fixed by the developers of the script, tested, and released for the production environment in the next version. For this reason, the latest version of a third party script is generally the most reliable and robust. It is highly recommended to permanently monitor your scripts for new versions and apply the updates as soon as possible.

For improved functionality, keep your scripts updated

Third party scripts let you add almost any type of functionality to your online presence. Blogs, stores, forums, calendars, wikis, online manuals, portals… everything is possible with the right application. Even better, script developers permanently work to improve the functionality of their apps by adding new features and refining existing elements.

Most new features are added in major releases, but this does not mean that you should wait for a new major release to update your script. It is a good idea to monitor update channels and check changelogs frequently to see what improvements are made and what features are added to the application.

More functionality is usually beneficial, but this does not mean that you should upgrade just for the sake of using the latest version. Make sure to check all the changes made in new versions of a script. In some situations, new releases actually remove functionality. For example, the script may drop support for a file version or remove certain features altogether. And especially when you depend on specific or old (legacy) features, go through the changelogs every time you make an update to your scripts.

The bottom line

Third party scripts are useful tools in the kit of any website owner. By deploying a third party script instead of a custom solution, you can cut costs and add functionality, all in a fraction of the time necessary to create your own script. To fully benefit from the power of third party scripts, Certified Hosting recommends monitoring applications for updates and applying them whenever feasible.

Updated scripts are more secure and better protected against all types of malicious activities. What’s more, the latest version of an application includes fixes for most known bugs, which improves the reliability of the software, when compared to older, unpatched versions. New releases can also add functionality to the third party scripts, giving you more control over the way your website appears and works.

The responsive and experienced support specialists from Certified Hosting are prepared to answer your third party scripts questions at any time. If you need help deploying or updating a third party script, Certified Hosting is ready to assist you or even do all the work for you. To learn more about third party scripts or to order a capable hosting plan, visit CertifiedHosting.com.