How to Choose a Web Hosting Company
Web hosting is a big business on the internet nowadays...so big,
in fact, that it can be difficult to choose from amongst the
myriad of options.
How do you know you're going to get reliable service and
customer support at reasonable prices? And how do you compare
what one company offers versus another?
A web hosting review site can help you sift through the multiple
options by showing you the good, the bad and the ugly of web
hosts. A good review site like www.hosting-review.com
basically does the homework for you - you can compare prices and
packages easily in one place, as well as read detailed
information about various web hosts, as written by webmasters
who have both user experience and customer feedback on the
different hosting companies.
Still not sure what to do? Let's go through some of the
different criteria you should consider when evaluating the best
web host for your needs:
Space & Bandwidth
Your needs for space and bandwidth will depend on how large
and/or graphics-heavy your site is, as well as your expected
volume of traffic. Most plans typically offer at least 50 MB.
However, make sure that you are not going to get charged extra
for features such as mail, system programs, and other elements
of your web site as these may or may not be included in disk
space limit provided. The same goes for bandwidth - 500 MB is
typical for many average-sized sites, but you may need more or
substantially less.
Price
How much does the hosting package cost? (remember, the lowest
price is not necessarily the way to go here). Is payment monthly
or annual? Is a contract required? Some hosting companies offer
substantial discounts when you sign up for a multi-year
contract. What price implications are there if you go over your
bandwidth limit? Read the fine print!
Scalability
If you run out of space or use up all your bandwidth and need to
upgrade to a more robust package, what are the implications? Are
you able to upgrade packages easily if required?
Technical Support
What types of help are offered, what are support hours, and is
support free? You'd be surprised - web hosts range from offering
virtually no support all the way up to free phone, fax, email
and chat support 24 hours, 7 days a week. Also, beware that some
hosts charge for certain types of support. This is more info
you'll get from those hosting reviews.
Domain Registration Does the web host supply domain
registration services or must you register your domain yourself?
How portable is your domain name? You will want to be able to
take it with you if you ever change hosting providers.
Additional Services What additional services are offered
with your package? This can include free scripts, web traffic
statistics tools, shopping carts, design help, and many other
features and functions. Many of these can be very useful and are
worth checking out. On the flip side, try not to pay for what
you won't use.
Speed & Uptime
Above all, you want a reliable site that does not bog down or go
down. It is a nightmare to have visitors leave your site because
it is not working or it is so slow that they lose interest. A
good web host will have an uptime guarantee and will notify you
of any scheduled downtime.
Email Addresses
Ensure that your chosen web host package gives you enough email
addresses for your needs. Remember, too, that if you're a
one-man show, it can't hurt to have multiple email addresses
(eg. sales@mysite .com, customerservice@mysite .com, etc) - even
if they all go to your inbox, you look like a bigger company,
which can add to your credibility.
Choosing that hosting company can be time-consuming and
complicated, so use hosting reviews to your advantage - after
all, these are webmasters who have used different hosts
themselves!
About The Author:
Hosting-Review.com
is an independent source for finding the best web host to match
your needs. Find out the good, the bad and the ugly when it
comes to web hosts.