As with any complicated or technical concept, web hosting has it's fair share of misconceptions, confusions and tricky issues.  Even people who have used the internet for years may find that themselves stuck on the set-up of a hosting account or lost as to the best way to modify hosted files.  It's important to ask questions before you irreparably 'break' your site or worse, lose your files and data.

One of the most common questions asked about web hosting is whether any additional hardware needs to be purchased by the user.  In almost all cases, the answer to this question is no.

Providing you have a computer and an internet connection, you shouldn't need to purchase anything new; after all, that's the whole point of paying a company to host your site for you - they effectively 'hire' their hardware out to you.

Another frequently asked question is which software to use to upload and control the files you are having hosted.  There are several free, shareware and fee-based programs that you can use, most of which can be downloaded directly from the internet.  If you are only running a small website for personal use or even for a small business, you probably don't need to be concerned with high-tech software.  Look for a program that lets you upload, edit, delete, create new folders and files, and download.  There are plenty around, most of which come with detailed Help manuals and 'How-To' guides.

123 Internet recommends installing the free Firefox browser and installing the Fire FTP add on application to upload your files and maintain your files in your webspace. For design of websites we recommend NetObjects Fusion which you would have to purchase for the full version, although NetObject Fusion Essentials is a cut down free version which you can download here >>>