Choosing a Joomla Host

The price, storage and bandwidth are some of the things to consider when choosing a web hosting system plan. But for some reasons I do not agree to include the storage and bandwidth of the host as one of the factors. Reasonably, there are lots of cheap web host plan that offers a large amount of storage space and bandwidth and so storage and bandwidth must not be the issue at all. Also, the cost must be considered too. However, it should not be the basis of your decision on choosing the best web host plan. Here are some tips to look for:

Look for a host that really varies depending on the needs of your prospect sites. However, here are some the prerequisites to be considered upon the installation of Joomla.

1.      MySQL 3.23.x or higher

2.      PHP 4.3.10 or higher

3.      Apache 1.3 or Microsoft IIS or higher

Likewise, it is never an issue at all because most web hosts that offer Linux hosting requires also these stuffs. Also, look for a host that offers easy tools for managing MySQL databases, that is phpMyAdmin. Most of the web hosts offer this tool.

In order to install Joomla, you must first have all of these requirements stated below:

1.      PHP 4.3.10. This is required in many web hosts too. So if you are engaged in a host that do not support this requirement, changing your web host might be a reasonable one.

2.      MySQL Support. In order to store and retrieve data, Joomla uses MySQL as its database engine.

3.      Zlib Compression. It’s a feature that supports the installation extensions. You cannot use the extension installer if your server doesn’t have this thing.

4.      Writable Configuration.php. Setting your configuration.php on a writable mode makes it easier for you to go through the installation process. However, it is said not to be a specific requirement on web hosting because it can be easily change on the server.

5.      XML Support. It is used for extension parameters management and extension installations.

6.      MultiByte or MB Language is on Default Mode: it allows you to support languages that uses so many characters and symbols that cannot be contained in a single byte.

7.      MultiByte or MB String Overload is Off. It is a kind of setting that allows programmers to use standard string functions for handling MB strings. It must be off when you use Joomla hosting.

Those requirements stated above are just some of the requirements that must be met by most web hosts. Here is another list of recommend settings for Joomla installation:

·         Safe Mode Off. It should be turned off because Joomla can’t perform any actions on any file folder. This safe mode limits PHP. It can only perform actions on folders and files that has the same owner as of the PHP.

·         File Uploads On: Through this, you can use the powerful extensions installation built into Joomla. Though there are many ways to install extension, this setting will make it easier for you. It also allows your server to upload files via http.

·         Display Errors Off. For testing issues, you can actually turn the Display errors On so that you can debug the problems on your site. However, for a live site you must turn it Off so that you can control the displaying of that error. You really don’t want your customers see any bug from your site don’t you?