You’ve finally decided to join the millions of other people who have their own website. Now you need a web hosting company to host you site. There are literally hundreds to choose from. Where should you start?
Unless you are constructing a large e-commerce site, a low-cost web host is probably the best way to go. Most charge $4.99 - $9.99 a month. Some companies will require you to lock into a multi-year contract in order to get their lowest prices. Make sure you read the fine print before signing up with any company.
How much disk space will you need? The average website takes up less than 100mg of space. Many hosts are now offering up to 500 gigabytes of space. Chances are very good that you won’t even use 1% of that space. Find one that offers at least 100 gigabytes and you will have enough room for plenty of growth.
What about bandwidth transfer? Bandwidth transfer refers to the amount of information that is passed to and from the site. An average site that gets 100 visitors a day would normally use less than 1 gigabyte a month. Most companies offer many times that amount. A company that supplies 500 gigabytes a month would certainly fulfill most needs.
The amount of domains you need depends on the type of sites you will create. If you are strictly doing e-commerce sites, then you probably won’t need many websites. If you are creating information sites, then you might want to have several domains. A host that allows you to have unlimited domains is probably not necessary. I would choose one that allowed at least 20 domains. This would give you room to grow in the future.
If you are selling products on your site, check out the e-commerce tools the host has to offer. You will need an SSL to accept credit cards for your paying customers. Whether you will be sharing the SSL or not will determine if you will need a dedicated ISP. Check the fine print for the added charges per month. Make sure the host has shopping cart features. This is a necessity for e-commerce sites.
Many hosts offer a huge amount of e-mail accounts. Some will even give you an unlimited amount. A host that offers at least 100 will be fine. It is doubtful that you will use more than that.
Make sure that you check out what kind of customer support the host has to offer. Nothing is more frustrating than not getting help when you need it the most. At the very least the host should have 24/7 email support.
Now you’ve decided what options you need. Which host should you choose? That is entirely up to you. Read all the fine print before you sign up. See how long the company has been in business. Take plenty of time and choose the one that is right for you.
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