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Some hosts will not let you change some of your files or the configurations that
you need to change when running your site. If you run into those sorts of
problems, then it may be best to change hosting providers.
Less Common Hosting Problems
It is not common, but some hosts may be configured incorrectly with the wrong
clock time or may be sending DNS errors that prevent your site from being
indexed. You can use a server header checker to ensure that your clock time is not
way off (like months or years
, that your home page provides a 200 code, and that
non-existent pages provide a 404 error code.
You also can use Web Bug or the Firefox Live HTTP Headers extension to check
your HTTP headers. See the references section at the end of this chapter for a list
of online tools.
Some hosts also improperly configure servers or place spammy subdomains on
sites. Be careful if you use a host like iPowerWeb, as some of their clients noticed
spammy subdomains that would appear out of nowhere. Search engines may
penalize your site for this sort of activity. That is yet another reason to go with a
reputable host.
Recommended Hosts
Most of my good sites are hosted by Dreamhost or Pair. Both have provided me
with reliable hosting and responsive customer service. Dreamhost allows you to
host unlimited domains on a single account for $7.95 a month. Pair costs a bit
more for their developer account, but it allows you to host sites on different IP
addresses, and I have NEVER had any issues with Pair.
Dedicated versus Shared Hosting
I have found shared hosting to work well for me, although some people
recommend using dedicated hosting (which is typically far more expensive
.
Shared hosting places many domain names on the same IP address and same
server, whereas dedicated servers allow you to place just your stuff on a server.
Search engines such as Google usually place spam penalties on domain names, not
IP addresses. Although it does happen, rarely does a hosting network get
penalized. I believe the SearchKing network is one example where a whole hosting
network got penalized, but this is extremely rare.
If you are going to be making major investments into the web, then it may be
worth it to buy a reliable dedicated server. Off the start, I could not afford one so I
used shared hosting. As my business model progressed, and my traffic increased, I
later bought a dedicated host for SEOBook.com. Most of my other sites are still
hosted on shared hosting accounts.