Tutorials

If you have a web hosting account, you’ve probably come across mentions of nameservers. But even if you’ve had to deal with nameservers when managing your hosting account, your web host probably didn’t explain what they are or how they work. Nameservers are provided by web hosts, and they’re key to your website being visible […]

Whether you’re a pro website admin or just an enthusiastic amateur, you’ll eventually be asked to describe web hosting to someone else. You may want to blog about hosting matters in simple terms. Knowing the right way to explain hosting can be a real bonus. Explaining technical concepts to non-technical people can be a challenge. […]

Although estimates vary, Linux – the most common type of Unix – is generally accepted to have an overwhelming majority over Windows servers. It’s no fluke: Google uses more than 15,000 Linux servers to serve up its content. Why is Linux so popular when it comes to web hosting? Linux vs Windows Linux has struggled to get […]

Let’s get one thing right: we love cPanel. But like all software, it’s not perfect – yet. Here are some things we’d like to see done differently in a future version. 1. The Welcome Screen The welcome screen in cPanel can be overwhelming. Log in and you’re immediately hit with dozens of icons, all labelled […]

Not all hosting providers offer the same control panel software. cPanel is probably the best-known and most common – and for good reason. Nearly every major host uses cPanel, though it’s sometimes well hidden underneath a clever skin that makes it look quite different. It’s popular because it gives users an intuitive graphical interface and […]

If you run a website long enough, the day is going to come where you need to ask your support team for some kind of assistance. Whether your site is down, you need help fixing some kind of error or you need a new feature enabled, you’ll have to file a support ticket and get […]

Amazon S3 has been upgraded, and it now offers true web hosting. Amazon S3 has always been a compelling option for hosting static files, but it lacked the features needed to host a full site (the ability to setup a root document, and the ability to specify error documents). But Amazon recently added both of these features to […]

If you do Web development long enough, whether professionally or just as a hobby, you’ll probably find yourself building a website for someone with a lot less experience than you. It could be a client, a favor to a friend or perhaps even a gift for a family member. You’ll get it all started and […]

When it’s time to tweak your website, you might want to use a test version to perfect your changes before they go live. The changes you’re working on may include a new theme, a new CMS or a major upgrade to an application. You may just need to tweak a script. Doing this on a […]

As WordPress grows, theme makers are specialising and diversifying their creations. One theme, Swift Basic, claims to be the “fastest loading” WordPress theme on the block. A test by WP Addict [no longer online] suggested that themes may influence site loading time. But what makes one theme perform better than the rest?

Finding a good hosting account isn’t just about finding the cheapest account that you can survive on, it’s about finding the best one for both you and your site, meeting your needs at the best possible price. But while no one likes to overspend on hosting, there are plenty of situations where you should be […]

Hosting providers often have to plan downtime to update something. You might also need to plan downtime to work on your own site. Google recently released its suggestions on how to deal with planned downtime. Let’s explore them. What Not to Do Here’s how not to handle downtime. Take your site offline and serve a […]

It’s important to search for savings when you’re looking at hosting accounts – depending on the deal and the account, finding a good hosting sale can literally save hundreds of dollars over the course of a year. For small businesses, this can be an especially important action because a deal on hosting can save a […]

With the new year comes a chance to do some analysis and reflection. It’s a chance to look at all aspects of you life, physical and digital, and decide what changes you might want to make. Though I personally loathe New Year’s Resolutions, there’s no doubt that the turning of the calendar is a great […]

There’s not much doubt that it’s the holidays. The shopping malls are full, the roads are packed and Web traffic, for the most part, is down. Unless you’re a webmaster of an ecommerce site that does most of its business during this time of year or operate some other holiday-themed site where there is peak […]