What shared hosting actually means is that it is a shared server that has several different accounts on it. Shared hosting is more affordable because servers are expensive, but by having several different accounts on one server the cost and resources are shared, usually making it possible for hosting companies to offer shared hosting at an affordable price.

You still get your own account and can set up your own domain and your own website. In fact, many shared hosting accounts allow you to set up multiple domains on one shared hosting account. This is a great way to have multiple websites at a very affordable price.

If you have a small business, or you are a hobbyist, you definitely need your own website. Having a personal site is a great way to promote yourself to peers and associates. It can even be put on your resume. It can also be therapeutic to have a personal site or blog, where you can write about your interests or your life in general. You can also use your website to sale items, promote your offline business, or make a little extra cash with advertising or affiliate offers.

No matter what you need a hosting account for, shared hosting is an affordable way to your own your site. This a much better option, than risking losing your work and intellectual property on some free blogging site.

Even though, I have had shared hosting in the past, I usually stick to reseller accounts now. A reseller account is similar to shared hosting, but you get more resources and you can have multiple accounts. Many reseller accounts use WHM and cPanel software. The WHM is a control panel for the entire reseller account. The cPanel accounts are created within the WHM and are used to set up individual hosting accounts.

Just like the name says, when you have reseller hosting you can actually sell some of the server space from your  account. So that others can host their sites on your account. These accounts are great for web developers who want to offer a full fledged solution for their customers. They can set up the account, create and manage the site, and host the account. They can be a one stop shop for their web customers.

Plus, it is easier to have control over the type of hosting, when you are creating and managing a site. With competition ever present, and many businesses wanting to offer more. There are one stop shop web design sites, that will create and host your site and even manage it. From upgrades, and backups, to SEO services, with a reseller account you can offer your customers everything they will need to have  successful site.

Another great use of a reseller account is for individuals who have many websites and would like to put each site on it’s own separate cPanel account. This offers many advantages such as ease of use and security by keeping all of your sites separate. If one site gets hacked, it is a lot easier to fix, than restoring several sites, with add on domains on one account.

Having every site on it’s own account also makes selling, transferring, and moving sites, much easier. If you sell a site on an auction site like Flippa, instead of going through the hassle of trying to move the site. You can just give the buyer all of the account passwords and they or their hosting company can download and transfer the files they need. Then when everything is all set up on their server you just delete the entire cPanel account, and use the resources for your next site.

If you want to run a web business or be in control of your online presence both of these shared hosting and reseller hosting accounts are great options. The one you choose will depend on your individual needs and your budget. Once you have hosting you will still need a website so check out this great deal Affordable Custom Small Business Websites.

Affiliate marketing has gotten more difficult lately. Fortunately, many of us have our web design skills to create additional income. I usually list my design sites at website designers list in the Small Business Web Designers category.

Last year I did a review on WP Affiliate Pro Versus WP Affiliate Elite where I declared WP Affliate Elite the winner. I still think this is a good tool but this year I am trying out Instant WordPress Link. It is similar to the two above, it costs $47 and is easy to install. The interface is very simple and you don’t have to do anything difficult. It will put any link into your site that you want, but it will also automatically populate your blog with links from Clickbank and PayDotCom.

It will also cloak the links and has a full tracking function. It also gives you the option of adding the no follow tag with the click of a button. But the most advanced feature of Instant WordPress Link is the  in-text advertising feature. Which will create a little pop up box when the users mouse hovers over the highlighted word. This is an advanced feature but it is easy to set up. You will need to get a free account from Shrink The Web which will only take a couple of minutes.

With this tool tip feature you can create a title, text, and even add an image. You can also edit the color of the pop up box and the text. I haven’t had any trouble getting this plugin to work. And a creative marketer could find a lot of ways to use a tool like this, without annoying the reader. I like the idea of instant clickbank links, or if you are selling an ebook you can have an image and a popup going to your product.

This is a well thought out easy to use tool. It speaks for itself but if you go to the sales page there are simple explanations and clear no nonsense videos. If you don’t already have a tool like this Instant WordPress Link may be for you.