First off, the phrase Cloud hosting has given way to several vague definitions, which contributes to the confusion. In truth, cloud hosting is a type of web hosting that’s just as reliable (some swear it’s more stable and dependable) as other web hosting systems. If we want to oversimplify technology, cloud hosting can be defined as a technology mechanism that connects a large number of servers, along with their infrastructure, platforms and applications through a remote, high speed network to create a large-scale, virtualized off-site field of servers, where companies can store their applications and data over a secure IP connection.

Unfortunately, some analysts and industry observers see cloud hosting as a disruptive technology; while others see it as a welcome change that is destined to modify the way people think and work, and the way business transactions are done. So that in spite of the escalating number of companies that are carrying out a trial run of this low-cost, no-nonsense and straightforward method to store data, so do the misconceptions and bewildered questions rise.

With such a vital technology, it is essential to stay on top of these wrong notions. Here’s some information to dispel five common misconceptions surrounding cloud hosting.

Myth #1: Data Is Not Secured With Cloud Hosting

Data is not secure. Companies are used to having direct physical access to both equipment and data and, understandably, this is equated to security. What you don’t realize is that stored data at your office is more exposed to high risks. Someone could break in and steal you equipment; or an employee could tamper with it once everybody’s out. How about fire and other disasters, which are not under your control? Being able to see and touch your data doesn’t make it safe. The fact is in-house security systems are often patterned from untested home-grown security models, which may render them less secure. Cloud hosting comes with applications and platforms that use a collective benchmark security model to provide supplementary security from top to bottom; paying more attention to such issues as temperature control, around-the-clock monitoring, controlled and restricted access to files, virus protection and firewall security.

Myth #2: You Lose Data Control In The Cloud

You lose control of your data. Most of this mistaken notion stems from the fear that you won’t be able to access your data whenever you need them just because you don’t have the physical equipment at your office or place of work. The truth is with cloud hosting, you can maximize access to your data; thus allow you better data control and management through the web-based control panel. You can then focus on data management of the more important aspects of your business and quit worrying about day-to-day maintenance, which you can leave to the hands of the cloud hosting provider.

Myth #3: Restriction In Accessing The Data

Your data becomes a hostage. Some companies hold the misconception that providers can somehow dictate when and where you can access your data as a way of locking you into using their cloud hosting services. No reputable cloud hosting provider would ever do that and you have, in fact, complete control of your data whenever and wherever you want or need it. A cloud hosting provider with good reputation will never deny you access to your own information and should even have a provision in place to transfer your data if you ever decide to switch providers. So, accessing your data is literally at your fingertips and available on demand anytime, anywhere.

Myth #4: Downtime Risk With The Cloud

Cloud hosting increases downtime risks. So you have this theory that because there are so many businesses or professionals operating on a single machine, the Cloud may not be as stable as it should be and becomes unreliable at a certain point. Your apprehension may not be totally unfounded but you can junk the theory – completely. The great thing about cloud hosting is that if any one of the servers crashes, your data can easily be redeployed to other servers, so you won’t experience any downtime. The “move” is so speedy (it only takes a few minutes), you won’t even notice any difference. Now if your business experiences a sudden spike in traffic, you need not worry either. Available resources within the cloud network will temporarily be afforded to you and when everything slows down, the bandwidth is simply reallocated elsewhere.

Myth #5: Cloud Hosting Is Flawless

Cloud hosting as the cure-all. The flawless web hosting provider is non-existent. No single web hosting system or provider is impeccably perfect. And cloud hosting is not an exception, no matter what marketers would have you believe. Cloud hosting cannot absolutely solve all your server headaches and storage issues. Cloud hosting providers cannot and do not provide total assurances, thus service-level provisions in the agreement are practically non-existent. Realistically speaking, cloud hosting still comes with its fair share of downtime and is definitely not for the faint-hearted.

While it is true that converting your traditional web hosting to cloud hosting can be a little intimidating, you should take heart and treat the experience just like any new technology. Assess the benefits and risks, segregating the fact from illogical trepidations. In the long haul you may discover that cloud hosting just might be the reliable friend that can help you with your hosting needs. Don’t let the misconceptions deter you from exploring the possibilities. You could save yourself a lot of time and huge cost.

About Author: Garen Arnold

Garen Arnold is a graphic designer out of Kansas City, Missouri. Garen provides people with the Best Web Hosting Service by using his expertise to help people choose the best web hosting service for their business.

As contrary to common believe that vDeck is not as good as cPanel, the perspective should be put to test again with vDeck 4. Back in years, vDeck 2 is really not very useful due to the insufficient features and user unfriendliness. However, those were the days. With the release of vDeck 3 in 2009, the industry changed a little. And now with vDeck 4, we should really take a more serious look at it.

So What’s New with vDeck 4.0?

Under the new vDeck 4, Fatcow users enjoy a better navigation across all the hosting features: tabbed, drop-down menu, clean design, one-click access to QuickStart tool, which walks you through adding domain, creating a mailbox an building your site. It’s all under your control with simple mouse clicks. In short, the layout and design of FatCow is now more efficient. Tasks are easier to accomplish and things are easier to organize. This is definitely something built out of experience!

FatCow’s Install Central with Over 20 Website Applications

One of the famous features of vDeck 4 is the Install Central. It’s a scripting and add-ons library that content over 20 website applications. By choosing the application you want, Install Central will step you through the process of setting up your administration credentials, choosing your installation location, and setting up your database, with just a few clicks. There are wide range of applications for you to choose from, including WordPress, Joomla, osCommerce shopping cart, phpBB and etc.

With vDeck 4, FatCow has again gained momentum in the web hosting market and it’s becoming the most popular vDeck host. I believe FatCow will be more powerful with the brand new control panel and changes the industry a little. Let’s see the performance of FatCow in the time to come.

Here are 17 of the most usable WordPress theme in my collections. You may find some of them a bit old but their design is so practical and usable that it surpasses the years easily!

1) Arras Theme

2) Blue Rooster

3) Magazeen

4) Magazine Basic

5) Morning After

6) Blue Bubble

7) Premium News

8) Miniml Press

9) The Daily Grind

10) Vostok

11) Copy Blogger

12) Tipz

13) IsoTherm News

15) Magazine Gabfire

15) Arthemia

16) Mimbo

17) Freemium

With VeriSign’s decision back in December 2009, the price of .COM and .NET domains will go up by 7% and 10% respectively, effectively 1st of July 2010. Although the price rise is addressed to the registrars like GoDaddy but unfortunately it will eventually reach us. A 7% increase on .COM may not seem like a lot of money, but if you have 100 names at GoDaddy and pay the full price of $10.69, a 7% increase means you will need to pay an extra $75 EVERY year! Piece of reminder, if you have not renew your domain name yet, do it NOW! Get your domains renewed for a few years and save some money.

Although the price rise is unavoidable but there’s still little you can do to get some saving on your domain name – COUPON CODE! There are kind Samaritans around who are willingly to share their discount coupon. Do search for coupon code before paying. Google terms like “ GoDaddy coupon” and this is my favorite page – http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/725207/. Bookmark this page and go back to it when you need it. The coupon codes are updated from time to time.

Good luck!

FatCow hosting is giving away a Smart-for-2 through their Host Smart Drive Smart Campaign. Sign up FatCow now and you may be the lucky star to drive away the Smart! Besides the Smart car, there are 5 more prizes await to be won including a Vespa scooter.

The giveaway starts from May 17, 2010 and ends on 11.59pm ET on September 20, 2010. There are plenty more time to participate!

According to the official rule, you will automatically receive one entry into the sweepstakes when you sign up for a new hosting or domain service. But since it’s a giveaway, there are many other ways for you to win the Smart car asides of signing up a hosting account!

On top of the tolls, to users who are new to web design and webmastering, the 4,500 free website templates of Hostgator is meant to cater most of the users’ needs, depending on their preference and purpose of each website created. With these free templates and tools, users not only can save their time and effort in designing their web page, at the same time can also observe some ideas from the readily available templates.

Each of the templates is designed based on a category and they are arranged systematically for optimum view and easy to understand. Before selecting the template, there are some basic information available such as template type, designer name, total downloads and also template size. All you need to do is to select a website template and start customizing it using the site builder tool.

For example, under the automotive category, there are currently 28 designs available from the web hosting company. One of the top download designs is as below:

The standard templates comprise from more than 100 categories. Believe the web host will surpass the 4,500 mark as and when there are new designs available and creating more categories. Believe it or not, there are some weird or not-so-popular categories like chiropractic services, clowns, farming or roofers.

For more information, read Hostgator review or take a hosting demo tour on Hostgator hosting.

Hostpapa Coupon

Coupon Code: WHD24 UU4F
Descriptions: $24 off of total purchase
Coupon Expiry Date: 28th February 2010 3rd August 2010

If you find the coupon not working, please refer Hostpapa Coupon for the latest version of coupon.

How To Apply Hostpapa Coupon

1. Go to Hostpapa sign up page
2. Click “Get Started Now”, and it leads you to the order form
3. Choose your domain name and you will reach on the page that asks for the coupon code.
4. Key in “UU4F” and then Calculate Total.




5. You will see the $24 discount shown on the “Order Details”

Please be reminded that there is an expiry date to the coupon mentioned above. It’s 28th February 2010! For more information, check out Hostpapa Coupon and Hostpapa Review.

There is no official news on the deadline of this discount. So to play safe,secure your plan now.

InMotion Hosting: Business Class Hosting New Price List

* Hosting plans come with FREE setup and FREE domain!

InMotion Hosting: Is It A Good Host?

Action always speaks louder than words. This website WebHostingDeals.org is hosted on InMotion Hosting. You do not think I will stick with them if they suck right? A YES is definitely affirmative. Anyway, read my InMotion review to find out more!

Anyway, it’s always good to enjoy the discount since that’s absolutely free money! So let’s get into the meat:-

iPage Coupon Best Security Hosting Unlimited Storage & Bandwidth Secured Web Host with SiteLock Security 24×7 Telephone Support in North America Price: $63/year  $42/year Claim the discount using this special link. * You don’t need to enter coupon code.

iPage Coupon

Just a remark, the discount does not require coupon code and it is available through the discount link mentioned above. Click through the link and you will land on a discount page stated with $3.50/month on iPage hosting. The coupon is time limited and I do not know its expiry date. I can only hope the discount is still valid when you read this. So if it happens that the promotion has expired, please refer iPage Coupon for the latest promotions.

Further reading: iPage Review

Update: The issue was resolved when their support called me directly to my cellphone. Well, in short words, inmotionhositng.com was moving to a new server and by don’t know what reason my computer was not able to locate their new server. Weird? I thought so too. Anyway, there is this website providing a useful tool to check if one website is down for just you or the whole world – Down for everyone or just me? You can use it for a quick reference.

It was yesterday the down time of InMotion Hosting started!

I have been watching this since yesterday right after I signed up a hosting account with them! So I waited patiently and wanted to know what is going on there. After more than 24 hours (which is now), the down time continues! I think that is too long for a commercial hosting company. I do not know whether their customers are affected. So please anyone do feedback on this if you find your site hosted with InMotion Hosting is down too. (My account is not activated yet due to some technical issues so I cannot tell if my account is down!)

I just want to know what is going on.

InMotion Hosting Reply On The Issue

Anyway, I have sent an email to their support and this is their reply.

Dear Daren,

Thank you for your email. Is it our website, inmotionhosting.com you are referring to? If so, you may have tried to visit while we moved the site to a new server. We make these changes overnight (U.S. time, since most of our customers are here). The site may have been down for a few minutes during that period.

Hmm..I’m being reserved in judging anything now as I do trust InMotion Hosting. Hopefully they will handle the issue right.

Further reading: InMotion Hosting Review