The Basic Features of a Hosting Plan :-

Disk drive space
All hosting accounts offer a certain quantity of disk drive space you can use to store all of your files.

Precisely what is and isn't counted towards your disk drive space use will differ from host to host ; so be sure you check precisely what files you'll need to make allowance for when deciding how much disk share you'll need.

It might be a smart idea to have some kind of guesses on what you want for numerous jobs. What kind of space do you need for storing your e-mail, web files, databases and log files? By breaking down your use like this it is going to be far easier to work out what kind of space you must go for (when you know precisely what files are counted towards your disk allotment).

All plans will actually include all of your web accessible files when calculating disk usage. Some hosts will also decide to include e-mail and / or logs in the share, which may possibly make estimating your disk drive space necessities more complicated. While you will have an excellent idea of the drive space required for your web files, your e-mail and log file wants change consistently.

Should a host include every kind of file storage in the allotment, check to confirm if you can turn off your logs or exclude particular information? If the option is available it'll save everyone a lot of drive space, especially if you have got a busy site. But if you'd like to use any statistical data package that's available with your hosting, you'll need to permit some logging to happen.

If you enable your logs then it's also worth bearing in mind that you could be unable to remove a log file from the server till the server has stopped writing to it. Daily logs are reasonably controllable if you don't forget to log in and download and remove them continually. Issues with monthly logs can arise if you put down your log space wishes and you can not remove the file till the months end; which can lead to an additional charge if you are not careful.

If your e-mail settings and inboxes are included in your disk share, it could be an idea to set the maximum size of each mailbox if it's possible. This may protect you from storing too much mail on the server and accidentally going over your limit.

E-mail Accounts
E-mail accounts are a typical feature of hosting, especially if you're hosting a domain. Some hosts will let you have control of your mail settings, putting limitations on mail activities (for instance the quantity of accounts or maximum size of mail boxes) on the server side. Other hosts will do all of the set up for you, although setting up of new mail accounts can be less complicated than you think with the right software support.

How you configure your e-mail is a matter of private choice, but there are largely 4 main kinds of mail accounts; POP3, forwarding, aliases and auto responders.

* POP3 accounts are the standard "inboxes", you have space on a server to store your mail, permitting you to use an e-mail programme to log in and download your mail; each login and password mix sometimes is equivalent to one account. This works a little like an office mailbox, the post is left there till you do something with it; if it is full then your mail cannot be stored and rebounds.
* Forwarding mail accounts are helpful if you would like to send your mail to a service like Spam Cop or other e-mail filter before you receive it. Instead of store it on your mail server, it will redirect all mail to another single e-mail where it is dealt with reasonably. This type of account is helpful for redirecting your mails to a typical POP3 box.
* Aliases are names that can be utilized to identify differing types of e-mail account, redirecting them to POP3 mailboxes on the server or other addresses, where they're processed again if required. What happens to the mails will rely on whom they're being sent to. A catch all alias is commonly used to gather and cope with e-mail sent to folks or departments not recognized by your mail server.
* Auto responders aren't a mail account in their own right, however they've got their own e-mail and simply answer to any individual that emails them for info. They're useful if you'd like to send out pre-prepared info to people asking for it, as against you replying to all of the requests by hand.
FTP Access

One more thing that's common among paid hosting accounts is FTP access. FTP programs permit you to upload files and to edit and remove your content on the server much quicker than employing an internet-based interface. If you're hosting on a nix system, you may also be in a position to change your file authorization settings using FTP. One of the cooler features I have seen offered with hosting is the capability for you to make your own FTP accounts.