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Web Hosting

Clients hosting their website with IST have three options: Standard Hosting, Virtual Hosting or Dedicated Hosting.

  • Standard Hosting - The client's site resides on IST's Web servers, but without a ".com" domain name. The URL of the site would be http://www.ist.net/nameofsite. This is a cost-effective option for individuals, without the additional expense of a domain name.

  • Virtual Hosting - The client's site resides on IST's Web servers with a proprietary domain name. While the site still resides on the same type of server as a site with Standard Hosting, the server is configured to recognize requests for a www .nameofsite.com address and display the proper content. This option is best for businesses wishing to establish storefronts.

  • Dedicated Hosting - A dedicated web server machine is custom configured exclusively for the client's site. This option is used when the site requires a large amount of bandwidth or extended features, like Telnet client access, mailing lists a nd FTP.

Domain Name Registration

IST performs DNS registration at cost for our clients. The cost to register a domain name, such as .com or .org is $70 for two years.

Updates

A variety of methods are available to update a website's content, including:

  • Sending the new material via e-mail to IST's webmaster
  • Transferring the updated files via FTP to a common area of the Web server, which are then placed on the site by IST's webmaster
  • Using web-based forms in a secured area of the site to update select content "on-the-fly"
  • For sites with dedicated hosting, granting shell and/or FTP access to a technically competent client to perform all updates to the site
  • Mailing or faxing content to IST

Based upon an evaluation of the client's need and ability, IST will help to implement the most efficient method possible.

Statistics

Statistics tracking unique visits to pages by host and domain through time are available for all IST hosted sites. These statistics are an invaluable tool for determining what parts of a site's content are most popular and when and in wha t amount the site experiences its traffic. Statistics help to suggest what changes can be implemented in a site to improve traffic. IST can provide statistics to clients in either on-line or printed formats. More detailed reports are available for add itional cost.