Are you feeling a little confused by the different types of website services and web hosting plans?
If so, don’t feel bad, you’re not alone. With hundreds and hundreds of web companies competing for your business with thousands of different web hosting plans, things can get pretty confusing pretty quickly.
Add to that all of the “technical geek” terms like bandwidth, GB, and DNS and it’s easy to see how someone who just wants to start an online business and make money online can get easily discouraged.
As your online business grows, your Web hosting needs will increase and become more complex. Free and inexpensive web hosting plans may have been fine in the startup phase of your online business, but if your website is starting to feel sluggish as it continues to grow and you get more website traffic, you may need to start looking at beefing up your Web server.
Think of this list as the progression of the type of hosting plans and services a growing online business can consider.
With that said, let’s talk a look at the most common types of web hosting plans and determine which one would best serve the needs of your business; whether you are just starting an online business or looking to take your online venture to the next level.

1. Shared Web Hosting

Shared hosting means just that. Your website is hosted on a server shared by other websites. The advantage of this setup is the shared cost. You can pay as little as $5-$10 per month for sharing a super server with (probably) hundreds (or thousands) of other websites.
The biggest disadvantage of a shared hosting account is that you’re at the mercy of the other sites on your server. A really popular site may adversely affect the performance of your own site. On the other hand, if you’re the most popular site on the server, you get to use a super server for a very low price.
When most people start an online business they usually start out with a shared hosting plan to minimize costs; and they’re not likely getting a ton of traffic initially.
Shared hosting is good for a brochure type site, or a newer site that doesn’t get a lot of traffic.
Price Range: $5 – $20/month.
Bluehost is a very popular shared web hosting option.

2. Reseller Web Hosting

Reseller hosting packages are basically a shared hosting account with extra tools to help you resell hosting space.
Reseller packages come with greater technical control (often via the Web Host Manager (WHM) control panel), billing software to help you invoice clients and other extra perks.
Some of those perks include:
  • free website templates
  • white label technical support — that means the hosting company handles your clients’ tech support issues
  • private name servers — make your company seem even bigger by telling your clients to point their domain nameservers to ns1.yourwebdesignfirm.com
Price range: Reseller packages range from $15 – $50, depending on features and resource limits.
If you’re planning on selling web hosting as a business then reseller web hosting is perfect for you. Otherwise just stick with a shared hosting plan if you’re just starting out.
Also, if you’re interested in making money as a web hosting affiliate you’ll want to check out this article on how to make money with affiliate marketing.

3. Cloud Based Web Hosting

Cloud Based Web Hosting refers to a fairly new hosting technology that lets hundreds of individual servers work together so that it looks like one giant server. The idea is that as the need grows, the hosting company can just add more commodity hardware to make an ever larger grid or cloud.
The advantage of cloud-based web hosting is that if you get an unusually large amount of website traffic the web hosting plan can accommodate the surge of traffic – rather than shutting your website down.​
If you’re website is growing and you’re driving more traffic to your website, this is probably the first point you would upgrade too from a shared hosting plan.
Price Range: All grid computing packages use some form of pay-for-what-you-use pricing structure.
See Also: iPage Web Hosting Review

4. Virtual Private Server (VPS)

Virtual private servers share one physical server but acts like multiple, separate servers. A VPS is a stepping stone between shared hosting and getting your own dedicated machine. Even though each VPS instance shares hardware resources, they are allocated a dedicated slice of the computing resources.
A VPS avoids the problem of having your hosting neighbors bring down your website, while avoiding the cost of a dedicated server.
Price Range: Most VPS hosting packages cost between $50 and $200. Pricing is based on the guaranteed CPU and memory (RAM) you get.
See Also: Namecheap Web Hosting Review

5. Dedicated Web Server

When you have a dedicated server, it means you are renting one physical server from a hosting company. You can have full control (called “root” permissions in Linux) if you want it.
With a dedicated server, you don’t have to worry about other websites on a shared server taking up your resources and slowing your website down.
A dedicated server is generally the highest level of server you would need if your online business grows into a presence that is getting a lot of website traffic. While the costs of a dedicated server is significantly higher than shared hosting, your business will be at a point that can easily afford the necessary costs of having your own server.
Pricing: Dedicated servers are priced from $100 and up. But if you are considering a dedicated server, you should also consider the costs of hiring a system administrator to take care of the technical details.
See Also: GoDaddy Web Hosting Review

6. Colocation Web Hosting

When you colocate, you rent rack space from a data center. You bring in your own server hardware and they provide power, cooling, physical security, and an internet uplink. This means you’re responsible for your own server software, data storage, backup procedures, etc. If hardware fails, you’re responsible for replacing it and getting the server back up and running.
Unless you have the technical know-how in-house, colocation is probably not worth the investment in time, expertise, and money for most small businesses.
See Also: The Benefits of WordPress Optimized Web Hosting

7. Self Service Web Hosting

The ultimate hosting plan — you do it all yourself! You buy the servers, install and configure the software, make sure there is sufficient cooling and power in your machine room, and double up everything for redundancy. Some of the things you’ll have to take care of:
  • data center space
  • cooling
  • power (with backup)
  • bandwidth
  • server hardware
  • systems administrator
  • data integrity and backup
  • … and the list goes on
Similar to colocation web hosting, this most likely beyond the scope of what you’d want to do as an online business owner.

8. Managed WordPress Hosting

With the increasing popularity of WordPress as a web building platform, many web hosting servers are offering what’s referred to as “Managed WordPress Hosting.
In a nutshell, managed WordPress hosting is a service where the web hosting provider will keep your WordPress installation up-to-date which can help protect your site from security threats that would allow hackers into your website.
While not the as inexpensive as shared web hosting, this is a great option for both start up businesses and established businesses that use the WordPress platform.
See Also: Why You Must Host Your Own WordPress Blog

9. Web Hosting for WordPress: Which Hosting Type to Choose


Choosing a web hosting provider for your WordPress website is a major decision in the process of your website creation. It’s incredible how much of your success depends on hosting: website performance, security, its downtime, even Google rankings, and so much more.
But here comes a question: is WordPress hosting any different than any other generic hosting? Yes, it is. You can choose a generic one for your WordPress site as well, but specialized web hosting for WordPress will give you a better experience by making WordPress installation easier, being compatible with all software you might need, and offering more perks. But let’s keep the details for later and get back to the hosting market.
Aabaco Small Business Review (formerly Yahoo! Store)
Note: Yahoo! Store is now known as Aabaco Small Business.

What is Aabaco Small Business (formerly Yahoo! Merchant Solutions)

Established in 1998, Yahoo! Store (formerly known as Yahoo! Merchant Solutions and Yahoo! Commerce - and now operating as Aabaco Small Business) is a fully hosted e-commerce operation that provides merchants with all the tools they need to build, host, manage, and promote their stores.
Aabaco hosts more than 45,000 online stores of varying sizes, including more of the top 500 Internet Retailer stores than any other hosted platform.
See Also: The Top 5 Web Hosts for Your Online Business

​Aabaco Small Business (formerly Yahoo! Stores) Pricing Plans

While Aabaco Small Business (formerly Yahoo! Stores) undoubtedly offers excellent support to the businesses it hosts, it is definitely more expensive than most of the competition. However, most of the businesses say that the quality of hosting support offered by Aabaco Small Business (formerly Yahoo! Store) makes the extra cost worthwhile.
There are 3 primary plans to choose from; a Basic plan at $29 monthly, a Professional plan at $79 monthly, and a Premier plan at $299 a month (note: all plans are billed annually). Transaction fees range from 1.5% down to 0.75%.
See Also: Bluehost Web Hosting Review
All of the plans include an unlimited number of products, unlimited storage space, unlimited bandwidth, and a free domain name (you can use an existing domain if you already own one).
Email account range from 10 to 1,000 depending on which plan you choose.
See Also: How to Select and Register a Domain Name for Your Website
All plans also include $100 in Bing Search Advertising credits.
See Also: How to Drive Traffic and Grow Your Business with Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Why Aabaco Small Business (formerly Yahoo! Store) is Great

The biggest strength of Aabaco Small Business's (formerly Yahoo!
Store) e-commerce solution is the long experience and immense infrastructure of Yahoo. The long history of Yahoo Store means it has features smaller players haven't had time to develop - the cross-sell engine that examines customer history and viewing behavior to recommend pages of potential customer interest is one example.
Another key factor is availability of 24/7 customer support, including priority phone support at the Premier level.
See Also: The Benefits of WordPress Optimized Web Hosting

Why Aabaco Small Business (formerly Yahoo! Store) is Bad

In many cases, Aabaco's (formerly Yahoo! Store) greatest strength can also be viewed as its biggest weakness; the fact that is uses a propriety platform that is unique to the company. It is not as easy to access and work with as more common development languages, and limits your ability to outsource work only to people who have specific expertise with the platform.
However, many of the merchants feel that the power, flexibility, and large developer network make up for the headaches. Also 24/7 customer support (as mentioned above) are helpful as well.
When it comes to building an e-commerce store there are several benefits to using a proven infrastructure like Aabaco Small Business and it's sure to make the shortlist of anyone comparing various e-commerce solutions.
See all of our Web Hosting articles here.
Editor's Note: This article was updated by Online Business/Hosting Expert Brian T. Edmondson
How to Build a Website for Free
So you’re ready to start your new online business. Give yourself a pat on the back as this is one of the easiest paths to entrepreneurship with the lowest start-up costs. Even better, e-commerce offers very high potential returns on investment, high profit margins, and the ability to live and work anywhere in the world.
It’s not like the opportunity to make money online is over either. According to industry watcher eMarketer, e-commerce spending reached nearly $2 trillion in 2016 worldwide, representing about 8.7 percent of total retail spending.
As you can see, there is still plenty of room for new Internet entrepreneurs to get in on the action.
But first things first. If you want to start an online business, you need a website.
This will be where you market your business and products on the internet. How you communicate with your prospects. How you convince them to become customers. It’s the basis for all your online marketing efforts, no matter if you use email marketing, paid advertising, social media marketing, or whatever. This site can also be an online storefront where you can offer physical products or information products for sale.
One thing you might overlook if you’re thinking you can simply sell products through sites eBay or ClickBank. When people in your niche search Google or another search engine for products like those you sell, you need a website to ensure that they come across your business in the search results.

Build Your Website for Free

The great thing is you can set up a website that does everything you need without having to hire a web designer, which can be quite pricey. In fact, you can create your own customized website yourself for free. And I’m going to tell you all about the resources you can use to do it and what steps to take to make it a reality.
And don’t worry, you don’t need to be a tech genius, coder, or programmer to do it. There are plenty of programs, called website building software or content management systems, that make it possible for anyone, no matter their background or experience, to create, update, and maintain a website.
A website makes your business legitimate and provides you with a platform to become successful. And if you’re worried that a free solution will mean that you look unprofessional or that your site will look a million others out there… never fear. These free programs allow you to customize the look and feel of your site — you’ll be unique and your business will stand out.
Oh, and the site will look great on mobile devices too. This is key as the number of people surfing the web on a smartphone or tablet overcame desktop computers in 2014. And around 30 percent of e-commerce sales are done from mobile devices now.
Now, let’s get started building your website.

Choosing a Website Building Solution

Your first step is choosing the free website building program that’s right for you. You have some quality choices. The number one thing to look for is if it will support your business goals. If you plan to have an online shopping cart, use it for marketing purposes, and all that — you must make sure the content management system can handle.
Fortunately, that’s not a problem, as even free solutions offer e-commerce support.
Hands down one of the best free web design tools is WordPress, which is an open source software, created by a nonprofit company. You can download it for free here: www.WordPress.com.
WordPress is a very versatile tool which can be tailored for streamlining your online business. But here are some similar resources you can take advantage of to create your free website. Each has a unique interface to set up all the elements of your site. Just follow the instructions.
Other options include:
These solutions also offer free hosting, which is what allows your site to “live” online. You do have to register and set up an account.
Note: While this article focuses on free resources, if you have a commercial intent to make money with your website, then I'd seriously consider getting your own paid hosting account and utilize your own self-hosted WordPress solution.

Picking the Domain

Once you’ve determined which content management system you’re going to use, it’s time to set up your web address. This is how people will find you online, so this is not something you should not take litely.
The name should be attention-grabbing, memorable, and related to your business. It also shouldn’t be too long. You want to make sure it’s easily sharable by word of mouth offline and online, through social media. And it should be easy to type in a web browser.
For example, say you have a business selling nutritional supplements for weight loss. You wouldn’t want to use this as your domain:
Nutritionalsupplementsforweightloss.wordpress.com
It would be better to use this: Loseweightnow.wordpress.com
Once you’ve settled on the name, or better yet, a group of names, you try to register it. Hopefully, it’s not taken! That’s why you should have alternatives in mind.
With these free programs, you’ll usually have their name included in your web address, as in the example above. You can later register a paid domain if you’d like to change this in the future and have only the “.com” or suffix attached.

Design, Tweak and Create Your Web Pages

Fortunately, with any of these content management systems, you don’t have to settle for the default layout, colors, or fonts. There are templates you can use to radically alter the look of your site and make it unique, as well as ways to tweak the pages in more subtle ways. For each web building solution above, there are dozens of templates available.
Overall, remember to keep things simple. You want your website to be easy to navigate and use. A great way to test this is to have a friend or relative visit your site and give you feedback.
There are some necessary elements to create a website that catches your potential customer’s eye and keeps them on the page. You don’t want them to click away because your site isn’t visually appealing. Photos related to your business are a must. Videos are a great way to engage your prospect. You should also have marketing copyon your site that clearly outlines the benefits your business and your products can offer. Be authentic, not “salesy.”
The most important things you want to get across to your customers — what will sell them on you — should be “above the fold,” so they do not have to scroll down to see it. In this vein, it can be a great idea to include a headline at the top of your site, something that quickly tells the prospect what you’re all about. This could even be more prominent than your business name.
Some other necessary elements of an effective website:
  • About page — tell your story and background so that the prospect comes to know, like, and trust you.
  • Proof — include testimonials, positive reviews, industry awards… anything that backs up your claims about your products.
  • Big noticeable buttons for buy buttons, email signups, and other calls to action.
  • Make special offers very prominent and noticeable.
  • Include a “menu” at the top that allows a web surfer to see what’s on your site at a glance.
And to make sure that the search engines like Google notice your site, and place it higher in the search rankings, you should also regularly add content, including written content like blog posts and videos. You want to become known as a trusted authority in your niche. This also lets the prospect get to know you.
Of course, the design should be appropriate to your business. If you’re selling information products, say a travel guide to Italy, you don’t want to have photos of the Grand Canyon.
If you’re stuck for ideas, you can always “borrow” design elements from the websites of your competitors.

Final Thoughts on Building a Free Website

You might feel overwhelmed at this point. But you don’t have to be. Just take the creation of your website a step at a time. Once you go live, you won’t have an overnight success. But follow the guidelines above and you'll start getting more website traffic to your online presence.
Soon enough you’ll have an effective web presence — and constantly be adding new ways to make money online with your website.
An important issue that new internet entrepreneurs should address prior to setting up their online businesses is the question of an appropriate web platform.  What type of website do you need to build, and what kind of content should you post to attract your ideal customer?
Among the options at your disposal include the services of a website builder.  Website builders take the drudgery and hassle out of website creation by offering “point and click” solutions.
  A far cry from the early days of the World Wide Web (WWW), when dedicated coders had to use HTML, Flash or some crazy computer language to put up a webpage.
Web.com is one of the most established services available, offering a potpourri of e-commerce tools that are more than adequate for getting even the most technophobic among us up and running fast.
The Pros: Features and Benefits.
Web.com offers important benefits for its subscribers, including many essentials that you can immediately implement for your business:
  • A quick three-step sign-up process that lets you choose your own domain name, pick out a customized website design for your business/hobby, and publish it instantaneously on the Internet.  All it takes to get started is a telephone call or a live chat.
  • Web.com’s easy to use website building tool (SiteBuilder) with hundreds of starter design templates that aim to enhance your online presence.
  • Access to a vast stock image library that allows you to make your website more relevant and enticing to your customers.
  • Design enhancement capability including multimedia, i.e. sound, music, Flash animation and video.  The ability to drag and drop widgets like: date and time stamps, roadmaps, visit counters, guest books, and other helpful items on your website.
If you wish, Web.com designers can build you a customized e-commerce site that can completely knock your socks off!  If you are not a hands-on techie, the editing software and premium back office gives you access to tools that put it in a class of its own.
Web.com sponsors regular small business summits throughout the United States and Canada, a testimony to its three million person customer base and three decades of experience.
The Cons.
On the surface, a website builder seems like the logical way for “newbies” to announce their arrival on the Internet.  Web.com is a decent product, arguably the best website builder available today.  However, by using Web.com to create your platform, you surrender a big chunk of your business independence.  Your creativity will be limited to Web.com’s library of templates, skins, and other features.
Web.com designers can make great websites, no doubt about it.  However, yesterday’s model will have to be maintained, upgraded and adapted to new market conditions, and pre-fabricated creations have a habit of burning through your operating cash flow very quickly.  It remains somewhat lacking in marketing tools, especially when it comes to loyalty programs and enhancing your Facebook and social media marketing presence.
Web.com’s basic e-commerce package only allows twenty products with about 1 Gigabyte of storage.  Therefore, your scalability might be limited to comparable software packages that offer more.
In addition, Web.com charges for every transaction which can really add up regardless of what stage your business is at.  Its fees for eCommerce services are among the highest for its business category.  You have no choice but to buy the most expensive software version to be able to sell downloads.
As Web.com looks to upsell you towards more enhanced e-commerce packages, it departs the role of website builder and becomes just another web host.  Benefits like e-mail accounts, e-mail storage, and unlimited web storage are standard elements of a decent web hosting package from most reputable companies offering the service.
  Chances are that you can find better pricing outside Web.com, since traditional web hosting companies survive in large part based on price competitiveness (and customer service, of course!).
Final Verdict.
With a minimum package price of thirty-five (35) dollars USD, Web.com may be worth a peek for people who really want to minimize their face time with the technical details of e-commerce.  In the short term, these template-based sites are probably easier and less expensive than other options (like WordPress or customized sites) but only up to a point.   They are limited in options; and you're "stuck" with them once your business moves beyond its initial stages.  Your eventual transfer from a builder like Web.com to regular hosting where you call all the shots may not be as smooth as you would like.
My personal recommendation is to go with a solution like WordPress right away, especially the version that you host yourself (Wordpress.org, not WordPress.com).  It gives you more control, especially on the marketing front, and you will not lose your content should Web.com’s Terms of Use and other “legal” clauses change against your interests.  Affiliate marketers in particular are advised to use WordPress as the anchor of their referral marketing empire.