What is "hosting" ?

Hosting is the term given for the service that allows publishing of your site on a special computer with a permanent connection to the World Wide Web (a "web server"), making your site visible to the world.

Without hosting your site would not be seen by others. A "host provider" or simply a "host", charges an on-going fee (usually monthly) to provide this service.

You are renting space to 'publish' your web site files and to store your emails until they are downloaded to your own computer. Also you are paying for the expensive hardware, software and technical support required to keep your site visible to the world as close as possible to 100% ("uptime") and your email delivery fast and reliable.

Both the WebCentral Package and the WebLite Package includes premium hosting from Australia's biggest and best host provider WebCentral (www.webcentral.com.au). As your nominated WebCentral Partner we are able to manage your account and offer further value by bundling domain management and renewal fees, permanently discounted design rates, a comprehensive webmaster support plan, statistics and more into a consolidated bill on a quarterly basis.

The Netregistry Package and NetLite Package includes hosting at Netregistry, a fantastic alternative to WebCentral providing cheaper fees and Linux options (useful for Joomla! sites).

What are the elements of a good quality hosting service? 

The things that are important in a good hosting service are:

Reliability - how often the host computer is running, i.e. up-time (many web sites can experience a small amount of down time due to maintenance or problems).
Speed - the quality of the links the host provider's computers have to the World Wide Web.
Security - Password protection, hacking protection, virus protection and backup procedures
Web space allocated - how big your site and email storage can be before incurring additional charges (usually measured in megabytes Mb or gigabytes Gb).
Data transfer policy - how popular your site can become without incurring additional charges (measured in Mb or Gband usually charged per month).
Hardware and Software - how up-to-date the equipment being used is.
Technical Support - management and speedy rectification of technical issues by the host provider if problems arise.
Add-on services - Email accounts, premium email services, statistics and other value-added services can sometimes be restricted or incur additional charges.

What standard is the hosting service in the WebCentral Package?

The WebCentral Package provides a choice of premium hosting levels provided by the biggest and best host provider in Australia - WebCentral. It is for those who expect the best when it comes to reliability. A variety of hosting levels and products are available as well as WebCentral's add-on products and famous Mission Control web-driven control panel, Desk Control and an unparalleled logging system of support.

In short, after years dealing with many host providers, we know WebCentral are above the rest, especially when it comes to support.

We know there are cheaper hosts available, but we just don't want to deal with them any more and we believe neither should you.

Why is hosting included in the WebCentral Package?

Our partnership with the largest host provider in Australia allows us to provide quality hosting services with our package. It eliminates the need for customers to wade through the technical jargon from many host providers and then paying them separately each month in addition to a web designer to maintain their web site.

Centralising our host provider across many clients also advantages us by eliminating the need to deal with many providers (each with their own quirks). It helps us to streamline our operations and provide you with an efficient management service.

Put simply, the WebCentral Package includes a premium quality hosting service, managed and paid for by us then itemised on your standard quarterly fee because it benefits both our customers and ourselves.