| Unless this is the first place you've looked, you have | | | | will give you "unlimited disk space." |
| seen the seemingly endless list of website hosts on | | | | How much bandwidth (data transfer) is allowed each |
| the internet. Each host has many great things to | | | | month? |
| offer its clients; however, all hosts are not created | | | | Once again, this may not be important to everyone. |
| equal. The first things you need to ask yourself is, | | | | This is actually very similar to storage space. Many |
| what kind of website do you need hosted? How big | | | | hosts will give you "unlimited transfers." If your site is |
| will it be? Will there be additional websites? The | | | | large or will have large amounts of visitors, make |
| answers to these questions will help to determine | | | | sure that your host will give you the data transfer |
| what is important for your website. If you have | | | | you need. |
| planned a small personal website or blog, most hosts | | | | Which OS does the server use? (Linux or Windows?) |
| will meet your needs. If you have planned a business | | | | While windows is a very well known company for |
| website, you will want to find a host that is very | | | | building PC operating systems, Linux has been the |
| reliable and that will meet all of your needs and | | | | most trusted and reliable for website hosting. Linux is |
| expectations. | | | | an open source OS that allows its users to leverage |
| Here is a list of the basics you will want to know | | | | the best and most popular in open-source |
| when selecting a website hosts: | | | | technologies such as PHP, MySQL, Python, and XML |
| * What is the monthly cost? | | | | How easy is the Control Panel to use? |
| * How long is the Contract? | | | | If you are new to website hosting, you will want to |
| * What is the startup cost? Hidden costs? | | | | use a control panel that won't require you to read 3 |
| * How much storage space does the web host | | | | inch thick manual to run. One example is Blue Host's |
| provide? | | | | control panel. They use CPanel 11. There are many |
| * How much bandwidth (data transfer) is allowed | | | | other versions that are all fairly easy to use. Find out |
| each month? | | | | what control panel the host is using search for |
| * Which OS does the server use? (Linux or | | | | reviews on that control panel. |
| Windows?) | | | | How many sub-domains are allowed? |
| * How easy is the Control Panel to use? | | | | This is very important to users who plan on hosting |
| * How many sub-domains are allowed? | | | | several websites on one website host. There are |
| * How many POP3 email accounts are provided? | | | | some that have limits, but most will give you |
| * Is there a guaranteed uptime? (What concessions | | | | "unlimited domain names." |
| are made if the guarantee is not met?) | | | | How many POP3 email accounts are provided? |
| * Is support provided 24/7? How is it provided? (i.e.: | | | | Website hosts will give you two very important |
| phone, email, chat) | | | | numbers regarding email accounts. The first, number |
| * What extras are provided for free? | | | | of accounts, you will want equal to or greater than |
| What is the monthly cost? | | | | the number of employees you have. The second, |
| Cost is obviously important; however, don't let it be | | | | amount of storage space for email, will depend on |
| the sole purpose for selecting a host. The quality of | | | | what your plans are. |
| a website host should always be placed over price. | | | | Is there a guaranteed uptime? (What concessions |
| How long is the Contract? | | | | are made if the guarantee is not met?) |
| When a host advertises its price, there is often a | | | | Not all hosts have great uptime reputations. The |
| small catch. They require a contract. The length of | | | | hosts on our list have a 99.9% uptime guarantee. |
| the contract varies from host to host, usually ranging | | | | Anything less is unacceptable. If your site is down, no |
| from one month to 3 years. Make sure that you | | | | one can visit it. If no one is visiting it, you can't make |
| know the length of the contract before agree to its | | | | money from it. Another down side is that if your |
| terms. $5 /month for 3 years can really add up when | | | | host is down, the search engine's crawlers could miss |
| you were only planning on one month | | | | your site. This could possibly hurt your organic page |
| What is the start up cost? Hidden costs? | | | | ranking. |
| Most hosts will waive the start up fee if you sign a | | | | Is support provided 24/7? How is it provided? (i.e.: |
| contract for one year or more. Be very cautious of | | | | phone, email, chat) |
| any hidden costs. Aside from the monthly fee, you | | | | In the event that something does go wrong, you will |
| should not have to pay anything extra with the | | | | need to contact your host. Make sure that you can |
| exception of additional features like a second domain | | | | get a hold of them any time. While email is easy, |
| name. If during the signup process you find that the | | | | talking to a real person can get things rolling a little |
| host is trying to charge you a hidden fee, just stop | | | | faster. |
| right there. Look for a new host. | | | | What extras are provided for free? |
| How much storage space does the web host | | | | While extras shouldn't influence what host you pick, it |
| provide? | | | | may be what separates two similar hosts. Many |
| This may not be important to everyone. Sites with | | | | hosts will give you free software, templates, ad |
| large picture, music, downloads, etc... take up space | | | | credits, and much more. For example, Web Hosting |
| very quickly. If this sounds like your site, make sure | | | | Pad gives you $25 Google Credits, $25 Yahoo |
| that your host provides you with all the space you | | | | Credits, and $50 MIVA Credits to help you drive |
| need. There are many hosting options out there that | | | | traffic to your new site. |