Web Hosting For

Multiple Domains

Because domain names and hosting fees are offered at such low costs, it's possible to own several websites simultaneously and not go broke. There are different ways to manage multiple domains, so you need to know your alternatives and what the advantages and disadvantages of each method are.

The most fundamental option when overseeing multiple domains is whether or not to remain with 1 or have several hosts. Most hosts offer packages that can be grouped to allow several sites under 1 account, or allow individual sites to function under separate accounts.

If you're happy with the services your host provides with your current website, you may want to establish a new website using the same host. You'll have the support of a company you're familiar with and have confidence in. The host may even offer you a discount. You may also get a discount with each additional account opened. Then again, a new host for additional websites would allow you to do some comparisons in the hosting quality of different companies.

IP Separation

Separate hosts will also provide each of your websites with a different IP addresses. Different IP addresses can be an important factor if you plan to link the sites together to aid in search engine optimization. Incoming links are an important indicator of the importance of a website. Sites with several incoming links can get a higher position in search engines such as Google.

When all the links originate from the same IP address, their value may be discounted. Hosting an assortment of sites with different hosting companies guarantees that every site has it's own IP address. Individual IP addresses for each website are also available from most web hosts at an extra annual charge. This can improve the search engine ranking which is desirable if you want to have secure connections (https) on your sites.

3 Types Of Hosting Accounts

There are 3 basic ways to proceed, if you decide to host all your sites with the same company. Each site can have its own account, you can get a dedicated server account, or you can sign up for a re-seller account.

You have control of all the resources of an entire server with a dedicated server account. You're free to setup as many websites as you need and allocate disk space and bandwidth in any way you want. The downside is that you're responsible for maintaining the server. This requires a considerable amount of technical proficiency. If you don't have that expertise or don't want to learn it, dedicated servers are not the right option for you. You can, of course, go with a managed dedicated server. The downside is that it's pretty expensive.

As a re-seller, you're acting as an agent for the hosting company and are allocated a specified amount of disk space and bandwidth. The advantage of a re-seller account is that all the technical details are taken care of by the hosting company. Some even provide gateways for billing your customers. You're then free to use the space however you want. There may be a limit to the number of websites you can host with your re-seller account, but whatever space is left over, you could earn some extra money by selling accounts to others.

Hosting all your sites with 1 host has a lot of rewards, but there is 1 major disadvantage. When your server goes down, all your sites go down with it. If you're depending on your sites for income, this can be a devastating situation. For this reason alone, it's a good idea to have at least 1 of your sites with a separate host.

If you count on your sites for your livelihood and you can't afford any down time, you should absolutely have multiple hosts.