Web Hosting Course And Certification

What is Web Hosting?

Web Hosting is a service that allows individuals and organizations publish a website or a web page onto the internet. 

Web Hosting is the process of renting or buying a space to house a website on the World Wide Web. Website content such as HTML, CSS, Javascript and images has to be housed on a server to be viewable over the internet. 

A Web Host, or a Web Hosting service provider, is a business that offers the services and technologies that are needed for a website or webpage to be viewed over the Internet. Websites are stored or hosted on special computers known as Web Servers.

A Web Server is a computer or set of computers that host your web pages and makes it available to users from anywhere in the world. As the name implies, web hosting service providers own the servers, connectivity, and the required services and technologies to host websites. By offering a variety of hosting plans, they cover the list of hosting needs, from small blogs to large organizations.

Features of Web Hosting

Servers: Servers are a major part of web hosting. A Server is a special computer that provides data access to other computers connected to the internet. It can provide access to data on a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN) on the Internet. The types of servers that are commonly in use include: web servers, mail servers and file servers. 

Storage/Disk Space: Web hosting account has a certain size of storage/disk space that can be rented on a server. The amount of storage would include all of the content of the web pages, any graphic or other media content can be used on the pages, any files that are available for the visitors to download and any space that can be used for emails.

Bandwidth/Data Transfer: These two functions are very important factors to be considered when choosing reliable web hosting. They are similar but are different aspects of the same process that work hand in hand. Data transfer is how much data is being transferred on a monthly basis in your site while Bandwidth is how much data can be transferred at a time. 

Control Panel Features: The most important job that a website owner has the creation and management of the website(s) and its content and this has to be done on the hosting panel using its control panel. 

Uptime: This is one of the most important features of any good web hosting provider. Guaranteed uptime means a website is guaranteed to be up at least 99.9 percent of the time and available to visitors.

Email Features: Email hosting offers a variety of features for both individuals and businesses. Some of the features offered are customized email addresses, import/export address book, unlimited storage, webmail accessible from mobile phones, calendar alerts, mail forwarding, auto responders, email filters that protect from viruses and spam, phone and email tech support.

Privacy And Security: The security of communications such as unauthorized or sensitive data are a big concern. Some of the security tools that a web host might have are secure servers, SSL certificates, software that can prevent other websites from accessing their databases and files, firewall protection, antivirus protection, strong passwords, reliable authentication, well secure payment processing, encryption of emails and strict privacy policies.

Support: A reliable web hosting provider should have technical support made available 24/7. Get a quick reply to support ticket if any issues arise and getting instant support through a chat service or telephone support.

Benefits of Web Hosting

1. Reliability

2. Better Customer Support

3. Data and Content Control

4. Email and Domain

5. Visibility of your brand

6. Accessibility

Why Study Web Hosting

1. Gain essential web hosting and website management skills. 

2. Become a competent webmaster. 

3. Job opportunities and career advancement. 

4. Increase your earning potential. 

5. Self-employment opportunity

6. Become a full stack web developer.

Web Hosting Course Outline

Chapter 1: Explaining Web Hosting in Real-World Terms

Conceptualizing Web Hosting

Thinking about Your Site as a Store

Giving your store a name

Finding the right location (and landlord)

Hiring the right staff

Stocking the shelves

Avoiding Misconceptions and Missteps

Know what to expect from hosting support

Recognize that you’re the owner and you’re the responsible party

Don’t fall foul of your host’s terms and conditions

Don’t fool yourself: Unlimited is NOT unlimited

Chapter 2: Evaluating Web Hosting Technologies

Understanding the Terms

Domain names

Hosting accounts

Web scripts or platforms

Choosing between Servers

Using Windows as a server

Looking at the different flavors of UNIX and Linux

Web hosting in the cloud

Virtual Private Servers

Dedicated Servers

All Hosts Are Not Equal

As reliable as Old Faithful

Expensive doesn’t mean better

Location, location, location

Back that thing up

Sometimes the hare beats the tortoise

Not All Control Panels Are Created Equal

cPanel

Plesk

GoDaddy

DreamHost

1&1

Chapter 3: Using Hosted E-mail

Enhancing Your Brand with a Personalized E-mail Address

Creating E-mail Addresses

Picking a name

Picking more than one name

Selecting the right mailbox size

Reading and Writing E-mail

The webmail advantage

Going offline with mail clients

Reading Your E-mail in a Browser (Webmail)

Reading Your E-mail in a Mail Client

POP3

IMAP

Reading Your E-mail on Your Mobile Device

Becoming Friends with Your Auto-Responder

Forwarding Mail

Using Mailing Lists without Being a Spammer

Using Server-Based Anti-Spam

BoxTrapper

SpamAssassin

Using a Remote Mail Service with Your Domain Name

Chapter 4: Managing Files

Unleashing the Power of FTP

Finding your FTP details

Installing an FTP client

Using FTP

Determining file location

Securing FTP

Setting and managing file permissions

Creating New FTP Accounts

Managing Files through Your Control Panel

Performing Backups through FTP

Chapter 5: Working with Databases — It’s Essential

Understanding That Databases Are Information Storage Systems

Making Your Site Dynamic with Databases

Choosing a Database Technology

SQL (Structured Query Language)

MySQL

Microsoft Access

PostgreSQL

Creating a New Database

Managing Your Database

Four essential commands

phpMyAdmin

MySQL Workbench

Backing Up Your Database

Backing up using phpMyAdmin

Backing up using MySQL Workbench

Restoring from a Backup

Restoring a backup using phpMyAdmin

Restoring a backup using MySQL Workbench

Chapter 6: Protecting and Speeding Up Your Site by Understanding

Logs

Reading Logs

Using Logs to Identify Speed Bumps on Your Site

Opening web stats

Mastering the terminology

Reading your web stats

Finding Your Logs

Spotting Security Breaches Using Your Log Files

Chapter 7: Building Your Site Using Scripts

Making Life Easier with Scripts

Choosing the Right Script

Installing Your Chosen Script

Installing from your control panel

Installing from a downloadable script

Chapter 8: Taking Command of Website Security

Accepting That Security Is Your Responsibility

Protecting Your Visitors with SSL Certificates

Recognizing when you need SSL

How SSL certificates work

Choosing the right level of security

Sourcing an SSL certificate

Installing an SSL certificate

Firewalls

Protecting Your Site by Locking the SSH

Determining whether you need SSH

Configuring SSH

Securing Uploads with SSH

Protecting Folders with Passwords

Securing Your PHP

Appreciating Your Security Guard — the .htaccess File

Doing Your Part in Avoiding Viruses

Chapter 9: Decoding Domains and DNS

Understanding DNS

Is your address fully qualified?

The trouble with caches

Manipulating Your Domain Name

Getting creative with subdomains

Creating a new subdomain

Expanding your presence with add-on domains

Parking domains in your parking lot

Redirecting domains like a traffic cop

Setting Up DNS Effortlessly

Using DNS to your advantage

An overview of a DNS record

Nameservers

CNAME records

MX Records

A Records

Chapter 10: Configuring Advanced Functions in cPanel

Improving the User Experience with Error Pages

Automating Functions with Cron Jobs

Installing FrontPage Extensions

Chapter 11: Managing Your Control Panel from a Mobile Device

Navigating Using a Mobile Browser

Installing and Using Android Apps

Knowing where to find apps

Installing apps with ease

Finding the best apps

Using apps to connect to your web host

Installing and Using iOS Apps

Knowing where to find apps

Installing apps with ease

Finding the best apps

Using apps to connect to your web host

Apps for BlackBerry and Windows Devices

Chapter 12: Troubleshooting and Resolving Issues

Recognizing Common E-mail Issues

Removing Yourself from a Blacklist

Fixing FTP Faults

Losing Your Control Panel Login

Finding DNS Problems

Chapter 13: Moving to a New Host

Deciding Whether to Change Hosts

Getting Out of Your Contract

Knowing What You Need for a Painless Move

Scheduling Your Move

Making a Foolproof Check List

Creating a pre-move check list

Creating a move day check list

Chapter 14: Making the Right Technology Choices

Weighing the Differences between Virtual Private Servers and Dedicated Servers

Selecting an Operating System

Choosing Your Control Panel

Deciding Whether to Use Managed Services

Chapter 15: Keeping the Lid on Pandora’s Box with WebHost

Manager

Creating a Hosting Package or Plan

Setting Up Your Accounts

Managing Users

Securing Your Server

Managing Your Mail Queue

Repair mailbox permissions

Mail queue manager

Restarting Services

Updating Your Server Software

Automatic updates

Manual updates

Rebooting Your Server

Chapter 16: Getting Down to the Command Line with Secure SHell

Installing an SSH Client on Your Computer

PuTTY

Terminal

Connecting to Your Server

Connecting with Windows

Connecting with Mac or Linux

Using the Command Line

Inputting Some Basic Commands

Changing directory with cd

Viewing a list of files with ls

Making new directories with mkdir

Editing Files Using vi

Chapter 17: Ten Invaluable Free Apps

MySQL Workbench

FileZilla

Notepad++

CoffeeCup FTP

PuTTY

Transmit

Cyberduck

Komodo Edit

Terminal

Caesium

Chapter 18: Ten Things Your Host Won’t Help with (for Free)

Website Design

Writer’s Block

Spam

Malware

Increasing Traffic

Moving to a New Host

Web Application Problems

Uploading Files

Installing Some Software

Problems with Your Computer

Chapter 19: Using The Essential Web Resources

TentBlogger 

cPanel 

w3schools 

WebhostingTutorial 

kb parallels 

Your Host’s FAQ Page

PeterPollock 

Dummies Web 

WebHostMagazine

Chapter 20: Starting Your Own Web Hosting Business

Web Hosting Video Lectures

Web Hosting Exams and Certification