Archive for July 7th, 2008

Finding Affordable Web Hosting

Whether you are looking to create a personal website to outline your family tree or one to power your business, there are many web hosting companies that will help accomplish both tasks all the same. A web hosting provider is an internet-based service that offers you a leased space to store data, share content with others and sell your products online. During your search you are sure to come across many different web hosts, some of which provide a free hosting service while others charge a fee. Although a few of them are costly because of the great number features, several are very affordable and just as good.

What to Consider when Selecting a Web Host Provider

Even though you want to save a few dollars, a web hosting service must provide several important features in order to be considered reliable. Before choosing a host, it is essential to learn how much bandwidth they offer. The amount of required bandwidth can be estimated by measuring the number of visitors you anticipate each month times the actual size of your website. Of course it is quite difficult to determine how much bandwidth is needed before even creating the site. You will find several web hosting companies offering a robust 100 to 500 GB of bandwidth. It is very difficult to ever use this much bandwidth; an exception would be a site that holds numerous high resolution images or streams audio and video files. In truth, the typical online business website only uses an estimated 1 to 2 GB of bandwidth. To be on the safe side, we recommended selecting a web host that offers at least 5 to 10 GB. This will give you extra room to build and function while limiting downtime that could lead to loss of sales. It is best to build your pages small in the beginning to grade the site’s performance. This will give you an idea on how to proceed.

If you are new to web hosting, technical support is perhaps the most critical feature of all. Free web hosts generally offer less than favorable support while some offer none at all. A more advanced yet affordable service may provide online tutorials, community forums, live chats and 24-hour phone support if you’re lucky. If you intend to run an online business, having immediate support at your fingertips is crucial - this is certainly one feature than make or break your business.

Extras Make The Difference

Additionally, you should keep an eye out for other key features such as the number of email accounts, FTP clients and the amount of storage space being offered. The best advice we can give is to do your own research. By doing this you will become more familiar with the service and be able to determine if it fits the needs of your website. Don’t hesitate to contact the web hosting provider regarding the details of their service. This is a great way to test the company as it may indicate how responsive they are when it comes to providing technical support.