subject: Photo Hosting 101: Choosing The Right Provider [print this page] Photo Hosting 101: Choosing The Right Provider
Web hosting comes in several different types including file hosting and photo hosting. Web hosting per se is considered as the most utilized hosting service available as it allows a user's website to be viewed across the Web uninterruptedly and at any time people wish. A data center having several servers is often available in web hosting services. Software packages are also being offered by host services to allow users access to email as well as particular databases. Thus, web hosting in itself guarantees that websites are accessible on the Internet through the server of host providers.
File hosting is similar to web hosting in a way although only the files are stored and not the whole website. A huge amount of data is stored and registered so that the data can be accessed from anywhere across the globe. Successful and prominent corporations and companies having subsidiaries around the world make use of file hosting to ensure that information is readily available to the corporation as a whole.
On the other hand, photo hosting is comparable to file hosting; however, a web host server stores the image files only. Users can choose photo hosting websites to serve as means of sharing their images. This type of hosts allows users easier methods of making personalized photos accessible to whomever they want. Apart from downloading images, most photo hosting websites also offer users video downloading options. The chosen images for upload can be linked to blogs, social networks, online scrapbooks, and message boards among others.
Most users opt for a photo hosting provider so that they can have means of storing as well as sharing their images less the hassle of taking the memory space of their personal computer. This type of web hosting is used for storing photos, mostly for online auction sites. Say, if a user has items they want for auction on eBay, all they have to do is take pictures of their items and store them in the server of an image host until they are ready to display them for online auction.
Users should consider several factors in choosing the right image host. One of the most important factors to consider is that the image host can provide enough compatible space and band width suited for the needs of users. Having a lot of space does not necessarily mean it has enough band width. Thus, space is wasted if the band width is not sufficient. As such, it is advisable to find an image host offering unlimited band width. Some image hosts offer users the means to create photo albums with the personal URL of the users. This allows the family and friends of the users to view the images anytime, anywhere. In addition, some image hosts provide features for customizing photos and photo albums to give users a personalized touch.
Most image hosts offer their services at free cost while some have varied ranges in price. On the other hand, some users opt to pay for the image hosting services as these providers offer a more complete package. A complete package usually includes
unlimited image size, links, domain restrictions, and ability to upload multiple image files among others.
