2.2 Hosting

For each webhosting plan you should look for these voices :

• DNS Management
This is important to have it in order to control your domains and subdomains.
• Subdomains
The more number of subdomains you get, the more digital product title names you can use. Ideal for the case 2
• Multiple Web sites
The more web sites a hosting plan offer the more domains you can add to this hosting plan. Ideal for the case 1.
• Monthly Data Transfer
This is crucial because you will host your own digital product. The more you get is better because more customers can download your products. The worst 'Max Number Of Daily Downloads' can be found using the formula below: Max Number Of Daily Downloads = Monthly Data Transfer In MB/(31*Digital Product Size In MB)
• Disk Space
Most web site providers give you a lot of space nowdays anyway take a look at you needs and see if the Disk space offered cover your needs.
• PHP
This is offered by all of them just make sure that you have it because the logical part of our site will be PHP - Based.
• MySql
It is not needed for this e-book but is always good to have a DBMS for your site.

With few words i can recommend godaddy.com and hostgator.com for a decent domain and webhosting solution all in one. Please note that the entry level plans offer only one domain but have the support of multiple subdomains. Keep in mind also the Monthly Data Transfer that they offer. Some webhosting providers offer unmetered data transfer. There is no such thing, they just intend that they will offer you all the band that they have. Using these kind of solutions can be risky. An important thing : free webhosting. There are some web hosts that offer free webspace with PHP but this solution is not professional at all. Even if they will work, who would buy from a free web server? Your business will lose only credibility. Stay away from solutions like these, if you really want a cheap solution go to godaddy and pick the entry level plan.

Hosting OS : Windows or Linux? This e-book will give you a general solution which is tested on Windows and Linux servers so it is indifferent what hosting type plan you have. Pay attention that you need a directory with writing privileges, this under Linux can be easily done with any ftp client like Filezilla (CHMOD 755 or 777) but under Windows you have to find the writing folder usually is a folder named 'public'.
The Linux hosting will be easier for the reader to setup since he will not have to change the structure of the website, under Windows you have to move the 'secret' download folder to a writable directory like the 'public' directory. So if you have to chose a hosting plan it is recommended Linux over Windows because the installation should be easier.
The provided solution has been tested with success on Windows (Aruba.it) on Linux (Godaddy.com) and on a free webserver (Freehostia.com). The free server has been selected in order to be sure that even this 'extreme' solution would work decently with our web application.