Our Web hosting company can be our site’s best friend or worst enemy – depending on the level of service. A successful Web site depends on a good Web host, but it’s just as important to select the right kind of hosting account. So firstly we have to choose which kind of hosting is the best?

Every server connected to the Web has its own IP address. The IP address uniquely identifies that server much like a child number or driver’s license number identifies a particular individual. IP addresses are also bound to domain names.

Server and child relationship means that Web users can either enter a domain name or an IP address in a Web browser to access the information on a Web server. Most small to medium-sized sites use a type of hosting called “virtual hosting” where a number of Web sites run on the same server. Because the sites share a server, they also share an IP address.

Large and or busy sites usually can’t share server space because the volume of Web traffic from many sites would quickly overwhelm the server. Those sites either operate their own servers or select a “dedicated hosting” option from their Web host. Dedicated hosting means that our site is the only site that runs on the server and so we aren’t sharing an IP address with any other site.

The best thing about virtual hosting is the price, it’s usually really low. Depending on our site’s technology, storage, and bandwidth requirements, virtual hosting can cost anywhere from some dollars per month. It’s even possible to get free hosting in return for displaying ads from the hosting company or one of its partners on our site.

Sharing an IP address with known spam sites or adult sites enhances a warning flag with search engines. Spam sites try to trick search engines into giving them an underserved high rank, so some search engines respond by banning the entire IP address from their index.