When it comes to web hosting, the economist Adam Smith's theories of labor division really apply. It may seem like a good, money-saving idea to be your own web host, but there's much more involved than it appears at first glance. Prior to purchasing any web site hosting equipment, consider everything that being your own web host will entail.

Server: The word "server" means a powerful computer with certain custom networking abilities. You might be able to get by with a small server for a minimally sized business for a short time. Servers that are good are made by Hewlett Packard and IBM. Dell manufactures servers as well.

Security: Securing your Server is probably the most difficult part of doing your own website hosting. Network Security specialists are trying to keep up with the hackers and spammers (not the other way around). Server Security is a highly technical task that never ends. It is certainly not a matter of installing an antivirus or internet security program. Unless you have a Certified Administrator or equivalent on staff, you'll probably need to forget doing your own hosting.

Software Licensing: Usually, server Operating Systems are licensed for a predetermined amount of users. You can end up spending an astounding sum of money for software licenses.

Network: It's necessary to obtain a data trunk at the location you wish to keep your server in. Directly connecting the server to your ISP very likely won't work at all. Some people go that route for personal websites and trial runs; however, you should not try that in hosting your own website or your bandwidth will be reduced. Examine the terms of service of your ISP if you only have an undersized website.

You will require other equipment, like a high-powered battery backup in case the power fails, and a good backup system for data that is off-site.

Employees: If you do not have an employee who is knowledgeable with regard to networks, it will be necessary for you to hire someone to be on call or on duty pretty much around the clock. Even the best servers and networks experience problems - very often. It isn't possible to just "set it and forget it" for very long at all. There is absolutely no chance of that.

Bottom Line: Your website will benefit from the powerful and reliable servers that leased web hosting will provide, saving you a large expenditure on hardware and labor. Unless you have an enormous amount of web traffic and a full-time IT staff, it will be much more costly and will cause many problems for you to host your own website. It is possible to find quality shared web hosting for sites that aren't sizable, beginning around $10 monthly. It would be pretty hard to improve on that!

About the Author:

Stephen Grisham, Sr. is a copy writer for InfoServe Media, LLC. InfoServe Media is a Houston Website hosting and custom Web site design company. If you just need a few changes to an existing site, InfoServe Media also offers website maintenance.