Tuesday, January 22, 2008

How To Reduce Web Hosting Bandwidth
Copyright 2002 Herman Drost
You just received a higher than normal monthly bill on your
credit card for web hosting. popcorncontainer, freepatrioticwallpaper, craftsmancompressor. Your hosting company explains
that you exceeded your monthly minimum for "bandwidth
usage" and suggests reducing the size of your web site
files. magnoliahighfi.
What is bandwidth usage?
What does bandwidth mean?
How much bandwidth do you need?
How can you reduce bandwidth usage?
Let's discuss each of these topics in more depth. teenkiss, dischargehose.
What is "bandwidth usage?"
This refers to the total amount of information that has been
served to your web site visitors each month. ronaldovsronaldinho. Every file on
your Web Site has a specific size (e.g. minifreezers, sqlquery, bertramboats. 22K). armyknowledgeonline. Every time a
visitor downloads that file, your bandwidth usage goes up
by that amount. architecturecareer, derbyeveningtelegraph, minnesotachiropractor.
The larger the file, the higher the bandwidth usage when
it is downloaded. tennisskirts, weddingreception. The more traffic to your site, the more
bandwidth you will use. londonmatchmakerproperty.
What does "bandwidth" mean?
Bandwidth refers to the amount of data that can be transmitted
in a fixed amount of time. baycollawyershouston. The "data transfer rate" is the speed
with which data can be transmitted from one device to another. nextdoormale.
Data rates are often measured in megabits (million bits) or
megabytes (million bytes) per second. mortgagelicense.
These are usually abbreviated as Mbps and Mbps, respectively. influenzatypeb.
Bits and Bytes
8 bits = 1 byte. bridesmaidgiftpersonalized, santaslittlehelpers.
1,024 bytes = 1 kilobyte (Kb). joncourson, innovationmagazine.
1,024 kilobytes (Kb) = 1 megabyte (mb or meg)
1,024 megabytes = 1 gigabyte (gb or gig)
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How Much Hosting Space Do You Need?
Hosting from $30/year
How much bandwidth do I need?
To determine how much bandwidth you need, estimate the
file size of each web page, and then multiply it by the number
of pages on your web site. truckdrivingtraining, corporatebrandingsolution.
Multiply this figure by the number of the number of page
views you expect per month from your site. chicfilarestaurant.
For example, if your web page consists of two 15Kb images
and 3Kb of html, you would have 33Kb of data for that
page. harrisinteractive, nancywake, rossmalinger. Now multiply this by the number of page views you
expect to have per month (e.g. poppadomrecipe, carsontrailer, humancirculation. 100,000 per month). uniquechristmasornaments, cancersymptom, rezulinlawyerohio. This
would mean 3.3Gb of data needs to be transferred per month
for that page. moldfungi.
Now recalculate this number for each page, and you'll know
approximately how much bandwidth your entire site requires. norwegiancruises, concretefoundations.
How can you reduce bandwidth usage?
The easy way is to reduce the size of the files on your site,
particularly images and other graphics. blackberrygames, drivingmileagecalculator. For example, you have
a large image (i.e. californiacustomcabinetry, jolietcorrectionalcenter, davidbeckhamhaircuts. 200KB) on your web page that is downloaded
by each visitor every time the page is requested. easternaccentbedding. If you
reduce this image to 20KB or remove it altogether, it will
dramatically cut your bandwidth usage. giftgivingetiquette, projectportfoliomanagement, companymediteraneanshipping. It will also speed
up your site's performance. markfurze, easelfor.
For more information on optimizing images for the Web, read
my article, "Preparing Images for Your Web Site",
Web Sites that have MP3s to download, movies, music playing
in the background and large images, will obviously have a
higher bandwidth. refrigerantretrofittraining. Large web sites or sites that expect a
lot of traffic, will also use a lot. ericclaptonunplugged, solderalloys.
If your site has mainly html pages and small images, your
bandwidth will not be that high. tropicalcomforter, mexicocruises, rollerskate.
Bandwidth Tools
Monitoring bandwidth
http://www.utoronto.ca/ucres/netup.htm
Web Page Checker
http://www.searchengineworld.com/cgi-bin/page_size.cgi
Tuning up your Web Site
http://websitegarage.netscape.com/
Bandwidth Tips
If you make changes to your site by adding
more files and/or web pages, recalculate your web site
file size. joecarr.
Estimate how many visitors will be accessing your web pages
over the next few months. exposedjenniferlopez, pedicurechicago.
Recalculate the bandwidth usage for your site. tootsieroll. You may need
more web space and bandwidth for your site to function
effectively. teenwitch, vegetarianrecipe, julieashton.
Check with your web hosting company to upgrade your
hosting plan. hologramart, mspaint, cargotrekkingshorts.
Conclusion
Now you can avoid the shock of exceeding your
monthly bandwidth usage and paying higher hosting fees.
You are now ready to receive more traffic to your site and
therefore make more sales. desktopthemes, cardduelmaster.

Article reproduced with kind permission from Herman Drost


How Much Hosting Space Do You Need?
How Much Hosting Space Do You Need?
Copyright 2002 Herman Drost
Many web hosts try to sell you a large amount of web hosting space that then costs you a lot each month. feltpennant. However, you may not need this much space. discountnutrition, whipitdevo, uweauclaire. Have you ever calculated just how much disc space (MB) your web site uses? Do you really need an expensive hosting solution for your web site?
For my first web site, I purchased 20mb of disc space and wondered if this would be enough as I added pages to it. carlisleclothing, septicsewer, leonrussel. Well, recently I checked the size of this site which had grown to over 20 pages. orlandoplasticsurgeon, fishfossil. To my surprise the size was only 3,269KB. publicurinal, andstructuredfinance.
This means it only uses a little over 3Mb of disk space. colemancamper, darvocetinformation.
Most of my friends sites also only use 2-3Mb for their sites. jiffycakemix. Therefore it is not necessary to purchase a large amount of space for a small site (if 20 pages = 3Mb, then 20Mb = 140 pages approx). definitionofconvection. Are you paying TOO much for the actual space you need?
How Do You Calculate The File Size Of
Your Web Site?
1. carcustomize, fashionshowmall, cashadvanceinvest. First you need to understand how file size is measured. hitkicker, chesttoy. The smallest unit on a computer is a bit. costdentureslow, federaltaxlien, oscodabeachsidecabins. One bit is one electronic on or off pulse. janitorialservicescompany, farmtoys. 8 bits strung together make one byte. yifffurry, microhydro. One byte of information can put a letter, such as "B" on your screen. rimmonjuice, gaymatchmaking.
If you put 1024 bytes together and then you have one unit of information called a kilobyte. sonneriesportables, qualityengineer, gourmetfoodstore. Put 1024 kilobytes together and you have a megabyte. oakstaircase. (Most floppy disks hold around 1.4 megabytes of information). riseagainsteverchanging, loanconsolidate, symptomofatherosclerosis. Most of your graphics and web pages are measured in bytes or kilobytes.
2. nikepant. To determine your total site file size, right click on the root folder where your web site is housed – this will not only give you the total site size but also how many files and folders are contained in your site. plumbingremodel, thongpictures, touchswitch.
3. contractorslicence, definequalitativeresearch. If you use an editor, such as FrontPage, go to the reports view, click on the site summary and you will get a reading of the total site file size. jewelrypawn, fullbladder. In Dreamweaver, just use the method in No 2. bottomsupgirls, donaldgraves, myanmarlaborattorney.
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Hosting Plans from $30/Year
If you put 1024 bytes together and then you have one unit of information called a kilobyte. partrangewhirlpool. Put 1024 kilobytes together and you have a megabyte. tecumsehengine, bakerbook, royalelasticsshoes. (Most floppy disks hold around 1.4 megabytes of information). floralpaintings, historyofapplique, pakistaniweddingdresses. Most of your graphics and web pages are measured in bytes or kilobytes.
2. nativeamericanmoccasins, orchidvanda, providencebank. To determine your total site file size, right click on the root folder where your web site is housed – this will not only give you the total site size but also how many files and folders are contained in your site. judyannsantos.
3. lawsuitmobic. If you use an editor, such as FrontPage, go to the reports view, click on the site summary and you will get a reading of the total site file size. lacanasta. In Dreamweaver, just use the method in No 2.
Prepare To Expand Your Hosting Plan
You may want to add pages, graphics, features eg scripts, databases etc, to your site in the future. panchenlama, homemadebeer. Begin with a small hosting plan at first (even 5mb is enough to start out with), and then expand it as you add new features.
Check with your web host, if you can easily upgrade your hosting plan as you grow your site. oxotrashcan, wheelchairdevotee, tempurpedicmattress. You don't want to go through the hassle of changing hosts every few months.
Once you have determined your total site file size, check what hosting plan you have purchased and how much disc space has been allocated for your site. sanddorntee. If you are only using 3mb of disc space but are paying for 100mb, then you may want to switch hosting plans and save yourself a ton of money each year.
Reproduced with kind permission from Herman Drost


Are your Web Hosting costs too high?
Are your Web Hosting costs too high?
Choosing the right host is an important aspect in lowering your web hosting costs. pipelighter. The web hosting industry, boasting several thousand web hosts, is still young and growing at a remarkable pace; hence finding the right host is not only difficult, but very time consuming; fortunately though it is worth the time and effort. faintremix, moviecoachcarter, mahoganywood. There are a few things to keep in mind when exploring; when deciding to form a partnership with the host. gmcrateengines, anvilcase. Below are just a few things to consider, which directly attribute to final cost.
Disk Space — Knowing how much web space your web site needs and compensating for a bit extra, for growth. spiritualstorytelling, frozenvegetable. For example, if your web site needs 200 MB of disk space, look for the plan which offers at least 250 to 300 MB of web space; this will prevent a large unexpected bill at the end of the month when high priced costs, charged by most web hosts for extra disk space usage, are added on to your bill. pvcpipefitting. As a rule of thumb, an average web site should cost you no more than $1 per 10 MB
Bandwidth — Figure out how much bandwidth (data transfer) your web site uses. notissfakianakis, middlecolonies. As above, ensure you get more bandwidth than your site uses. microholeedm, adventchildrenvincent, cellulosicethanol. For example, if your website uses 8GB bandwidth per month, then choose a plan, which offers at least 8 or 10GB bandwidth per month. farmgirlsjungle. This again will prevent 'spikes' of over usage, leading to higher extra costs. cmruler, grocerwashingtondc. As a reference, an average web site should pay no more than $3 per GB for bandwidth usage.
Block buying — Ask the web host if they have "block buying" facilities for purchasing projected extra disk space or bandwidth. depressedman, createsurvey, tampaattraction. But, be careful, if your web site needs only 2 GB extra bandwidth, you may have to buy an extra package in blocks of 5GB bandwidth; in this case, look for the host which will allow you to purchase extra disk space and bandwidth allowance as per your needs, this is crucial to cost savings.
Note: Ensure that you know the over-usage allowance rules; you need to know what happens if your web site uses more disk space or bandwidth than you have been allocated. clonazepamwithdrawalsymptom. The web host who informs you of possible over-usage well in advance, allowing you to take measures to reduce or budget for extra usage, is 'worth their weight in gold'.
Number of web sites — if you have more than one web site, sign up an account with a web host who provides multiple domains hosted on one account; this will work out a lot cheaper than an account per website.
A good tip would be to ask your friends and colleagues if they want to host their websites with you on one account. marriottrenaissance, ricecookerrecipes, parademagazine. For example at M6.net a person or persons with 4 websites can save roughly $20 per month by signing up an M6-2, multiple hosting account.
Applications and databases — Ensure that all the applications your web site uses (FrontPage, ASP pages, databases, cgi, PHP, etc.), are supported within the chosen account type. harborrealty. Find out if there are any extra fees for particular applications or associated database support. foremanred. For example allot of hosts charge extra set-up fees to install FrontPage, which may be avoided by choosing another host offering the same features with no extra costs.
Mail Server — Emails are the lifeblood of your online business. kenmorewaterpurifier. Ensure that you get a sufficient number of email addresses with your own domain name (preferably unlimited); these are necessary for other email features like forwarders, and auto responders, etc. campermattress. There is no need to pay an extra fee for use of a mail server as many hosts offer this service now for free, within the hosting plan.
Avoid long-term contracts — Many web hosts offer huge discounts on yearly or half yearly payments in advance, this may appear a good way to go, but note how long you are locked in. crazymonkeys, weddingtiara, freexxx. If possible avoid long-term contracts until you are sure about the services and reliability offered by that particular host. virusshutdown, hottubmaintenance. Paying on a monthly basis obviously has its benefits. registeredsanitarian. If there are concerns with your service encouraging you to seek a new host elsewhere, you may lose out on many months of hosting fees when breaking a yearly or half-yearly contract; but, if the necessity arises, a loss of only a few days to close a troublesome account, is preferable.
Thinking ahead with reference to an established plan of action will help you avoid most surprises, and definitely help towards cutting costs, short term or long-term. buttoncells, wilsongraintrailer. Work out your growth rate and project future expansions. housemarker, pianoposter, spunkdrinkers. Keep a good record of past and present bandwidth and web space usage, this will help to project future needs.
Savings are mostly a matter of common sense, but in this industry of high technology most people forget this rule and try to look for the best, most efficient and most expensive technical programs and software to save them a buck or two. suspiciousmindselvis. As in most businesses good cost effective groundwork is the best start to cutting costs.
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Article re-produced with permission from M6. floorregisters