Web Hosting Frequently Asked Questions

Bottom Price Web Hosting is North-America's lowest-cost Web hosting company, providing the best technical support and the best overall web hosting services. All our Web servers run on Sun Microsystem's reliable, proven technology. Our Web hosting centers are manned by competent, experienced personnel, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

USA & Canada, call toll free:    1-800-410-8495

In this section, you will find the answers to the questions we most often get. Additionally, we have created for you a glossary of terms used. Find all the commonly-used terms in the web hosting industry with our Glossary of Terms used.

QUESTIONS:

I'm using Frontpage to build and publish my website. Does that mean I need to be on any of your Windows hosting plans?

Answer:
No. All our Linux hosting plans (except the one at $ 7.25 a month) will support Frontpage extensions. There is no need to be on our Windows hosting plan.

I have Windows XP on my computer, so do I signup for the Windows hosting then?

Answer:
No. The operating system on your pc or workstation has no effect when selecting a hosting plan for your site. All our Web servers are fully transparent to the user.

Does your Linux hosting plans support ASP or .NET pages?

Answer:
No. Running ASP pages or sites developed using Microsoft's .Net on Linux is very limited in its use and we don't recommend it. Therefore, we will only support ASP applications and .NET on our Windows plan only.

What is the difference between Unix/Linux and a Windows hosting plan?

Answer:
Unix/Linux supports CGI, Perl, PHP and MySQL natively. Windows will allow you to publish in ASP and .NET pages, and has support for MS SQL and MS Access databases. Both our Unix/Linux hosting plans, as well as our Windows hosting plans run on Plesk™ and is the industry leader in server remote control software.

Unless you have a special need or specific request for running Microsoft applications like ASP or .Net, any of our standard Linux hosting plans are best for your website, and they even cost less than a comparable Windows plan.

I have never used Linux before so I don't know if I can manage my website with your Linux plans. Does this mean I have to pay an extra for a Windows plan?

Answer:
No. Any of our hosting plans, Linux included, do not require you to have any knowledge of that specific operating system. For the most part, our Web servers are fully transparent to the user.

Our Plesk™ control panel will help you manage things like email creation, password modifications, creation of new users, FTP parameter modifications, and a few other things. If you know how to use a mouse and keyboard, you will be able to easily manage your website with our easy-to-use Plesk control panel.

(Important note: However, this does not mean that our control panel will create your website. You will still need to have knowledge of how to create and design your site, write it in HTML, upload it to our servers, using FTP, etc.

What are MIME types?

Answer:
MIME Types allows you to set certain programs to be used for specific extensions. In easier-to-understand terms, MIME Types help your web server to identify what type of file is being requested by your browsers. For instance, when the web server gets a request from a browser such as Internet Explorer or Netscape, for a file that ends in .html, the web server knows that it is an html document because that extension is stored in the MIME Types.

If the web server gets a request from a browser for a file that ends in .gif, the web server knows that it is an image because that too is stored in the MIME Types. This applies to every file, image, application, etc. that may be requested by a web browser. If the extension is not stored within the MIME Types, the web server will not recognize it and will not be able to assist the browser and that particular file type will not be viewable by the user.

MIME types are identified by the server by the following format:

subtype/type extension

For example, adding the following two MIME Types will allow users to view ipx images on your web pages:

application/x-ipscript .ips
application/x-ipix .ipx

Where "application" identifies the subtype, "x-ipscript" identifies the application, and .ips identifies the extension used for that application.

Can I use the MIME types feature if I'm using FrontPage?

Answer:
No. This feature is not available for FrontPage users. If any MIME types are needed, FrontPage users will have to add them using FrontPage or else your web files may not be accessible online.

How come when I click on the Paypal, Visa, MasterCard or American Express logo it says "Make a payment to Sun Hosting"? I want to make a payment to Bottom Price Web Hosting, not Sun Hosting. Who is Sun Hosting?

Answer:
Bottom Price Web Hosting is a fully-owned and operated subsidiary of Sun Hosting, one of Canada's largest and oldest wholesale Web hosting company, in business since 1995. All payments are made to Sun Hosting and will appear as such on your credit card statement from your bank or financial institution. In fact, if you notice carefully, you will see that some of our servers are in fact named ns1.sunhosting.ca and ns2.sunhosting.ca etc. This information appears in the following question / paragraph.

Bottom Price Web Hosting is an authorized reseller of Sun Hosting and has been since January of 2003. Relax. You can shop in total confidence.

How come I cannot see my site using my IP address? When will I ever see it?

Answer:
Unless you specifically request a Static IP address when you place your order, we use virtual Internet IP adresses for all our customers. Therefore, until you transfer your domain name to our servers, you cannot see your site. Please note that there is an extra charge for Static (permanent) IP addresses.

However, while waiting for your DNS transfer to go through, one way to see your site would be to point your computer (under network settings / TCP/IP Properties / DNS properties) to our Web servers:

ns1.sunhosting.ca        69.10.136.76

How do I choose the right Web hosting plan that is just right for me? There are so many to choose from.

Answer:
You may host any type of site in any of our plans from our most basic at $ 7.25 Canadian a month, right to our top of the line, three site plan. Once you have chosen the hosting plan that is just right for your needs, you may add additional services, such as domain name pointers, etc. We provide you with web hosting plans of various user levels and sizes to select from, and your choice should be based largely on the following three factors:

       Required disk space
       Data transfer requirements
       Website general content, including graphics

Disk space refers to the overall amount of space that your site will occupy on our server. It is measured in MB (Megabytes). Data transfer is also measured in MB and is generated every time someone visits a page (or downloads a file) on your site. Thus it is a cumulative statistic. Transfer is measured in MB per month and depends on the number of people that visit your site and the size of the files on your Website that are being viewed. The more viewers, the higher the transfer. The more complicated your Website, the more transfer per viewer.

For example, our most basic plan includes 10 MB of disk space, and you can use all of it for your Web pages, also your non-html database and sound/image storage if you wish. Of course, if you have more questions about choosing the right plan for your needs, just call Bottom Price Web Hosting or send us an email and we will be happy to assist you in the fastest way possible. Since 1995, we’ve hosted all types of Websites and we’re anxious to share our expertise with you.

How long does it take to set up a new account?

Answer:
It can be done in a few minutes: If your order is placed between 7.00 am and 9.00 pm EST on weekdays, our tech support team is standing by ready to set up your account. When ordering hosting services from Bottom Price Web Hosting, we begin processing your account the same business day it is received, or the next business day if it is after hours. Once your account is activated, you will receive an email from us with your detailed account information and the necessary technical information for your web site.

IMPORTANT NOTE: We cannot activate your account until payment is received- that is, until you make a credit card purchase on our secure servers, or until your check is received at our offices.

All right! I'm sold! I want Bottom Price Web Hosting to host my web site. Can I pay with my credit card? Or, where do I mail my cheque?

Answer:
Payments by credit cards is the best and fastest way to settle your Bottom Price Web Hosting account. Through the very secure PayPal network, we accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover credit cards. Just click on the Paypal logo and follow the simple instructions on your screen. Your Bottom Price Web Hosting account will be set up as soon as we receive a payment confirmation from PayPal.

If you prefer to make your payment by cheque, all cheques are to be made payable to the General Center for Internet Services Inc.. Bottom Price Web Hosting is a fully-owned and operating subsidiary of the General Center for Internet Services Inc. (GCIS) of Canada, with offices located in Quebec, Canada. Please mail your cheque to this postal address:

GCIS Inc.
48 Principale
Boisbriand, Quebec
Canada      J7G 1P9

How will people and prospective customers find my web site?

Answer:
Excellent question. You can submit your web site to several search engines such as Google, Excite, Lycos, and AltaVista, etc., and also directories like Yahoo!, About.com and the Open Directory Project (DMOZ), Global Business Listing and others, to help new and existing customers find your site. You can also help prospective customers find your website if you have it optimized by a professional SEO (Search Engine Optimization) firm. On several occasions, we have successfully used Pagina+™ which is a search engine optimization (SEO) solution created and developed by GCIS Inc.

Depending on the exact model you choose, what it will do for you is place your web site at the top of search engine results pages (SERP), over and above your competitors. Marketing your online business through these and other tools will help you reach new customers and increase your business by a large factor. Another optimization firm we have used in the past and are still very happy with is Rank for $ales. They have been in business since 1997, and we are still using them regularly for our own clients, with very satisfactory results.

What kind of Technical Support do you offer exactly?

Answer:
From all of the continental United States and from any Canadian province, you can easily reach Bottom Price Web Hosting by our toll free telephone number at:    1-800-631-3221 and / or by email at support@bottompricewebhosting.com. Our technical support desk is open for email or phone support from 7.00 am to 9.00 pm (Eastern time), Monday through Friday.

As a rule, we always encourage all our customers in need of assistance to send us an email with questions or concerns about their Web sites and various hosting plans, as email is still the fastest manner to receive and answer to your inquiries, and it provides us and yourself a good record of communication, wich can be extremely helpful in resolving your problem. At all times, email support is around-the-clock. Technical emergencies will be addressed first, and support issues are handled in the order they are received. Our emergency support email address is: emergency@bottompricewebhosting.com.

When can I begin viewing my new web site?

Answer:
Our tech support department begins setting up your site upon receipt of your payment confirmation. This process takes about 10 minutes to 20 minutes if your order is received during normal business hours. It is that fast.

In order for you to see your web site, the following items have to be completed by our tech dept:

1 - Your Internet domain name ( www.yourcompany.com ) either has to be newly registered or transfered if it already exists. If you are getting a new domain name this will take about 24 hours to secure itself on your behalf and to insure it is well into the Internet's DNS (Domain Name System). If you are transfering your domain to us, this process may take 24 to 48 hours to complete. See our FAQ referring to transfering a domain name for details.

2 - DNS has to assign an IP address to your Domain. This is the process of converting a domain name into a series of numbers that only computers understand.

3 - Web server space in allocated to your account - This is where we assign disk space and setup your domain on our web servers.

4 - FTP user names and passwords are setup - This gives you permissions to upload and maintain your site on our servers, without limits, 24 hours a day.

5 - E-mail accounts - email admin access is set up on our email servers. This will allow you to set up your own POP 3 account using any standard browser such as Internet Explorer, or email program such as Outlook or Eudora.

6 - Stats server set-up - Some permissions will be given to you on our servers for you to see your site overall traffic statistics.

All the above steps take place within an hour of placing your order with us. You can start uploading your web pages, pictures, graphics and files as soon as you receive your welcome letter, with all the necessary FTP information. Your site is active as soon as you upload any index.htm or index.html file on our server. It's really just as simple as that!

Bottom Price Web Hosting is also a full-range Internet domain name registrar. Click here to reserve and register your web domain name. Find all the commonly-used terms in the web hosting industry with our Glossary of Terms used.

USA & Canada, call toll free:    1-800-410-8495