Web Hosting Reviews

Web Hosting Coupon Code – What’s Up with Uptime and Why is it Important

February 5th, 2013

A term that has been widespread in the research that lead up to this article is “uptime”.  Uptime is of great significance to anyone who is interested in entering the world of webhosting. It can be defined as a unit of time that a computer system has been operating without any downtime, which is when a computer system is down due to hardware and/or software problems. It can be used as a measure of the stability or reliability of a computer’s operating system. This period of time represents how long a computer or server can be left unattended without a crash occurring and administrative or maintenance help is needed. On the reverse side, an extended period of uptime may mean that critical maintenance care isn’t being given; for example, some updates require that the platform be rebooted.  A steady balance is required in order to keep your system running smoothly and efficiently.

If you do happen to get a web hosting discount, like a Hostgator coupon code, you need to be aware of just what you are getting into.  It is wise to familiarize yourself with the terminology of the industry.  You need to understand what certain key phrases mean, and how they are pertinent to what you want to accomplish. There are four key factors that affect the uptime, and therefore the stability of, a hosting service. The main factor is the hardware. If there are problems with the server CPU or any other hardware component, this can mean trouble for your site. If the hardware goes down, so does your site and this can cause you loss of traffic which in turn can translate to loss of revenue.

The second factor is the software. Problems with the software can affect the speed, reliability and overall performance of the server, which in turn affects the influence that your site can have on its visitors. The way in which the hardware is configured can also affect its overall performance. How the configuration is set up can also alter performance; the number of clients who are trying to access a website at a point in time, or the number of languages that the site can be accessed in, are important considerations when deciding how the software is set up.

The final factor is strategy. A good strategy means that some kind of contingency plan will be put in place.  This ensures that should the worst case scenarios come to pass, there is a plan to deal with it. This can allow the hosting provider to give you, the customer, a certain level of guarantee as it relates to the uptime of a hosting service. One more important factor is price. There is a saying that you get what you pay for. This might be true in a reverse sense in the case of webhosting. There is a lot of competition in this market, and thus the prices are very competitive.  The final decision is dependent upon how much you can afford to spend, and what you ultimately want your site to do and handle.