Hosting

Introduction

So, you want to create a website?  The first thing to do is find somewhere to put it.  This requires two items:  a computer (connected to the internet at all times of the day) to store the pages; and a URL.  You could, I guess, use your own computer at home to store the pages but if you're connected to the internet via ADSL or cable broadband then it's highly likely that your IP address will change every couple of hours.  Which means that no one will ever be able to find your site.

A 3rd party hosting service, however, ensures that your site will have a constant IP address.

The first thing to decide, then, is your URL.  Many URL's will already be taken so you'll have to find something that's available.  Most hosting services should allow you to type in a URL and they'll then inform you if it's available.  I used StreamLine, which allowed you to query them in just this way.  To gain ownership of a URL generally costs about £3, but if you register for hosting with a company they'll often register a URL for you for free.

EasySpace and StreamLine

These are the two hosting companies I've used.  EasySpace were fairly cheap, and have responded to my questions promptly, but I have found the service a bit slower and less flexible.  For example, I have no ssh access to my website, and there's an HTTP upload size-limit that hindered my ability to load Website Baker (I managed to find a workaround for this, though).

StreamLine were recommended by a friend and so far I've been impressed with them.  The control panel access is good, there's ssh access to your website and it's easy to use everything.  I've not had any problems with either service in regard to down-time, but overall I'd currently recommend StreamLine on the basis that they offer SSH access (and I prefer their control panel access, which is cleaner and easier to navigate).