Olga: There are an increasing number of web hosting companies that have started upgrading their plans to larger amount of disc space - 100 Gb, 200 Gb, and even more. Some say this is an overselling. But let's take look at this trend from a different point of view.
It's useful for anyone to bring a number of web projects in one web hosting account. This saves money on web hosting and allows anyone to host multiple domains (some web hosts even allow unlimited domains to be hosted in one account) using one web hosting plan only.
Dimitar: The Multiple web hosting account is a convenient way to store data. The user can upload photos to their private web site and to share the them with friends instead of making a many CD copies. I've seen how a couple saved more than $1000 on print invitations for their wedding. they just purchased a web hosting account and sent the invitations by e-mail. Some families save a lot of money on phone calls and organize their home work using Microsoft exchange hosting or just by organizing their tasks on the web.
A web storage solution is also a very convenient option to keep music and video files as well as multimedia business presentations and etc. It is a real alternative to the PC hard drive for things like photo albums, archive organized by topic and to anything that someone can keep on their PC.
Of course if you plan to move your files online, you'll need a plenty of disc space. And it is better to make sure that the web host is reliable enough so you will not loose data.
Olga: Anyone can find a Multiple web hosting plan for their storage purposes, that comes with 100 GB - 300 GB of disc space for about $10 per month. Having your files hosted with one of them makes your data accessible from any Internet connected PC worldwide.
Another advantage of the outsourced storage solutions is that the web hosting companies take the responsibility to maintain the information and to do backups. This provides a guarantee that the user will not loose information after a possible hard disc failure.
Web Servers Fight The Personal Computers
Dimitar: I've seen many questions within the popular web hosting forums when members ask if they can transform their home PC to a web server and to host their files at home. This is not just a question of saving some money. Many people just need find a convenient solution that combines the advantages of the personal computer and the web server.
The home PC is becoming something like a temporary storage solution where anyone usually holds personal or sensitive information. Any other data however can be stored in a web server.
Olga: Now the average shared web hosting plan offers enough web space so the users can store about 500 video clips or 70 movies. So why should I buy a new HDD if there are many web hosts out there that offer Multiple web hosting accounts?
Dimitar: Most people of course still prefer to use their PC to store files. But the web is changing however and the growing demands for multimedia products and services bring new business oportunities to web hosting providers.
At the same time more and more individuals and businesses are looking for large amount of outsource storage solutions. There is a boom of file and photo hosting services within the last year. There are many companies that offer free file or image hosting and profit from advertising placed on their web pages. Those are visited by thousands of users every day.
Olga: To tell the truth, I think that offering a web hosting packages which offer a large amount of web space is more a marketing trick web hosting companies use to attract customers, than a real threat to home PC. Anyway, try to take into consideration that the level of support and the reputation of any given hosting company, when choosing a storage or web hosting solution.
Dimitar: I always say that overselling and marketing tricks can bring some customers to web hosts but can not make those customers to stay for a long. Anyway, outsourcing the storage from our personal computers to web servers is a trend. And it is not about web sites. It is because of accessibility, flexibility and etc. So it is good we have more options on the table to archive our works. A painting, a typewriter, a PC, a Memory Stick and of course a web server.
Created By Olga Elizarova and Dimitar Avramov (
