Website design 114

Website Hosting

There are literally thousands of hosting companies to choose from offering all manner of technologies and incentives. You will likely be faced with the option of a Windows or Unix based server. As far as the end user is concerned there is no difference between the two, however each supports different native technologies so if a site was developed using Windows technologies (MSSQL for example) it may be better suited to being hosted on the Windows platform. Similarly if a site was developed using Unix technologies (MySQL for example) it may be better suited to a Unix host.

If your site is data driven you will need to find a hosting company that supports the database and other server side technology used for your site.

Look for a host that offers statistics or at least access to log files. See Log file analysis for why this is so important.

Ensure that your choice of host can offer sufficient disk space at reasonable prices to accommodate your site if it grows beyond the initial offering.

Ensure that your host offers sufficient bandwidth per month to accommodate your site traffic. Also ensure additional bandwidth is charged at reasonable rates. You might also look for a host that employs HTTP compression as this can greatly reduce bandwidth usage. HTTP compression is much the same as used by programmes such as WinZip. The difference is the web server automatically compresses pages before they are sent to the browser which then automatically de-compresses them. The end result is faster pages for the user and reduced bandwidth usage for the website.

You may also want to offer video on your site, in this case find a host who can offer video streaming in the format of your choice. This is not strictly vital as your video could be hosted on a separate network to your main site and still be included in your pages.

You might also consider one of three other hosting options; dedicated servers, virtual servers or co-location. A dedicated server is a server owned by the hosting company but rented to the user. This means a single machine is dedicated to serving your site. You also gain control over options such as setting sub-domains and FTP accounts. Virtual servers are similar to dedicated servers, with the elevated control options, but host more than just your site. Co-location is housing your own server in the hosting companies facilities. The advantages are many but include increased security, power backup options and fire prevention systems.

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Mighty Media are a full service multimedia company and have employed an in-house team of website designers since 1997. Our practical, marketing oriented approach to website design has resulted in numerous site launches that succeed in driving qualified, targetted leads to our client's businesses.

Mighty Media is regarded as one of the premier Buckinghamshire website design agencies with a track record in corporate communications that forms the underlying foundation of their work.

Established for over 25 years, Mighty Media began making TV commercials and later diversified into the corporate video production sector working with household names such as Procter & Gamble, Mars, Nationwide Building Society and other familiar names. With a strong background in internal and external communications Mighty Media progressed into new media production. Mighty Media now specialise in CD-Rom design and production, e-learning solutions, intranet design, extranet design, video production and website design.

Based in Bourne End on the border of Buckinghamshire and Berkshire Mighty Media now provide website design and online marketing services to businesses from all over the UK.

• Amersham, Ascott, Ashendon and Aylesbury
• Beaconsfield, Bellingdon, Bourne End, Buckingham and Burnham
• Chalfont, Chesham, Chorleywood, Cliveden, Cookham and Cores End
• Denham and Desborough
• Flackwell Heath and Furlong
• Gerrards Cross
• Hambleden, Hazlemere and High Wycombe
• Iver
• Lane End
• Marlow and Milton Keynes
• Primrose Hill and Princes Risborough
• Slough, Stoke Mandeville, Stoke Poges and Stokenchurch
• Taplow
• Wooburn and Wycombe

• Bedfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire
• Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cornwall and Cumberland
• Derbyshire, Devon, Dorset and Durham
• Essex
• Gloucestershire
• Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire and Huntingdonshire
• Kent
• Lancashire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire
• Middlesex
• Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Northumberland and Nottinghamshire
• Oxfordshire
• Rutland
• Shropshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey and Sussex
• Warwickshire, Westmorland, Wiltshire and Worcestershire
• Yorkshire