Web Hosting can be confusing for those looking to start their own business.
I recommend visiting the Top 5 Web Hosting Companies for a good selection of companies with good prices and reputations.
Things to Consider When Choosing a Web Hosting Company
Choosing a Small Business Web Hosting Company
- do you need shared or dedicated hosting? If you expect very large amounts of traffic, or you need a lot of administrative control over your web site, or your site involves a complex setup of scripts, databases, multimedia content etc then you may need a web hosting company with dedicated hosting. However shared hosting is often just fine for most small businesses.
- do you need windows or unix hosting ? If you site is written in ASP or .net you definitely need windows hosting. Same if you use Microsoft databases like SQL Server or Access. Otherwise you are probably ok with either platform. Most web hosting companies have both available.
- disk space and bandwidth - make sure you have a good idea of the space requirements for your site as well as bandwidth. Usually disk space isn't a big issue since the typical web hosting company usually offers lots of space with even the starter hosting plans. However if you're storing lots of data or video, audio files etc. than this will be something to look out for.
- how many domains and subdomains do you need ? Web hosting companies all differ in the amount of domains and subdomains you can have within your web hosting plan. Think carefully about whether this is or will become important to you. Its nice to have room for expansion for your web activities without having to get another web hosting plan if you decide to host a new domain, for example.
- do you need ecommerce features like shopping carts or credit card processing ? These features vary in hosting packages; as does whether there's an extra charge involved.
- do you want custom PHP modules ? Some ecommerce web hosting companies offer a selection of very useful PHP modules for no extra charge, typically with an easy installation menu. This can be great if you want to add a blog, MYSQL database, or other PHP feature to your site.
Other Issues
- Reliability - do they claim 99.5% or greater uptime ?
- Support - are there lots of resources available to you to help you out ? Can you reach a live person at the hosting company for no-extra-charge help ?
- Speed - If the ecommerce web hosting company's home page takes a while to load - your site probably will to ! Take that as a bad sign and move on.
- Make sure that you can use and can setup fairly easily any CGI scripts you need.
- Email services - make sure you get what you need in this area.
- do you need shared or dedicated hosting? If you expect very large amounts of traffic, or you need a lot of administrative control over your web site, or your site involves a complex setup of scripts, databases, multimedia content etc then you may need a web hosting company with dedicated hosting. However shared hosting is often just fine for most small businesses.
- do you need windows or unix hosting ? If you site is written in ASP or .net you definitely need windows hosting. Same if you use Microsoft databases like SQL Server or Access. Otherwise you are probably ok with either platform. Most web hosting companies have both available.
- disk space and bandwidth - make sure you have a good idea of the space requirements for your site as well as bandwidth. Usually disk space isn't a big issue since the typical web hosting company usually offers lots of space with even the starter hosting plans. However if you're storing lots of data or video, audio files etc. than this will be something to look out for.
- how many domains and subdomains do you need ? Web hosting companies all differ in the amount of domains and subdomains you can have within your web hosting plan. Think carefully about whether this is or will become important to you. Its nice to have room for expansion for your web activities without having to get another web hosting plan if you decide to host a new domain, for example.
- do you need ecommerce features like shopping carts or credit card processing ? These features vary in hosting packages; as does whether there's an extra charge involved.
- do you want custom PHP modules ? Some ecommerce web hosting companies offer a selection of very useful PHP modules for no extra charge, typically with an easy installation menu. This can be great if you want to add a blog, MYSQL database, or other PHP feature to your site.
Other Issues
- Reliability - do they claim 99.5% or greater uptime ?
- Support - are there lots of resources available to you to help you out ? Can you reach a live person at the hosting company for no-extra-charge help ?
- Speed - If the ecommerce web hosting company's home page takes a while to load - your site probably will to ! Take that as a bad sign and move on.
- Make sure that you can use and can setup fairly easily any CGI scripts you need.
- Email services - make sure you get what you need in this area.
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