7 tips for Web Site Hosting

When it comes to choosing your Web Site Hosting Company, it pays to do a little research before jumping on the best too good to be true offer that you find advertised on the internet.

There are probably as many Web Site Hosting Companies as there are different needs for Web Site Hosting. You may only need a 3 page brochure web site which would only require very budget hosting, or you could have a number of niche marketing websites where multi domain hosting would be more suitable.

Also, It is wise to bear in mind that there are also many shady characters operating in this business, so it can be a good thing to take some advice from others who have already trod this path.

Here are 7 things you should start thinking about:

Monthly Bandwidth Allowance - Are you expecting lots of visitors or will you be hosting large files for download. Extra bandwidth can soon make your monthly bill creep up - but there are many Hosting Companies that have a generous bandwidth included in their more premiumn offerings. I have heard to beware of hosts offering unlimited bandwidth.
Disk Space - The amount of disk space is dependant upon how many websites you wish to host and how large the files are that you will be hosting. Of course, more MB’s usually = more $$$.
Server Up Time - You will see Web Hosting Companies offering uptime from around 95% t0 100% with many offering 99% uptime. Cheaper hosting will have less reliable uptime and this might not be a problem. However, if your livelyhood depends on your web pages being served, then down time can be more expensive than high quality hosting.
Web Site Security - We should’nt need to be warned about this, but it is something that can be un-wisely overlooked. Check it out when looking for Web Site Hosting.
Quality of Support - Will you need to call support if you don’t know how to ftp your home page. If so, expect to pay for it - Also, you would want to make sure you can call support (i.e. there is a phone number to call!). Try emailing or phoning all the Web Hosting Companies on your shortlist to see what responses you get (and how timely those responses are).
Number of Email Accounts - How many email accounts will you need.
Number of Domains Hosted - If you are planning on setting up a lots of web sites then it could pay to look for a Web Host that caters for this. Many offer multi domain hosting and some even offer unlimited domain hosting.