Selecting a web hosting company is like sending one of your children off to college. You may have complete confidence in your son or daughter's abilities but unless they are placed in the proper environment they will not have the opportunity to thrive. Likewise, no matter how sophisticated or impressive the website you have designed may be, if you do not place the site where it can perform optimally you will likely be disappointed in the results.
Selecting web hosting is not simply finding a place where your website can reside. It is finding the company that offers the resources that will allow your website to operate effectively and to grow as the business or public demands. This means that you must be able to store and transfer enough data so that your site functions smoothly but also remains affordable.
Free web hosting services normally require that you allow ads to be placed on your site. These generate revenue for the hosting company by enabling them to display ads to visitors to your website. Only you can determine if the ads are appropriate for visitors to your site. In addition you will have to decide if the amount of storage and the available bandwidth will be sufficient for the type of website that you want to display. A free service may be completely appropriate for a personal website that is periodically modified. But trying to operate a site with significant traffic or a commercial focus may be "penny wise and pound foolish."
All commercial web hosting companies are not created equal. Of course, cost is an issue but reliability and service will likely be major factors in the decision making process. You should expect your host to be up and functioning 100% of the time but you will likely only see guarantees of 99-99.5% uptime. Less than this is unacceptable.
If you will personally be managing much of the activity for your site, make sure that you are comfortable with the Control Panel. Some hosts present Control Panels that are cumbersome and complicated. You want to easily navigate through routine functions. You will also want to make sure that the hosting company has functionality that you may not be using now but will likely use in the future. These would include PHP, MySQL, SSI, .htaccess, SSL, etc. Examine the offers for email and autoresponders also.
Many web hosting services offer very low rates if you commit to a year or more of hosting. While this may turn out to be an excellent value in the long term, it may be advisable to pay each month until you are confident in the service and, quite importantly, the quality of the technical support that they provide. Getting accurate responses to questions quickly will make your life as a webmaster less stressful.
?Copyright 2004 Online Enterprises
About the author: Terry McDermott is an Internet marketing professional managing a portfolio of websites. He has had adventures with a variety of web hosts and now operates his own hosting website at http://www.alphawebhosting.com. He can be reached at http://www.alphawebhosting.com
recurring maid service Buffalo Grove ..A domain name and paid hosting are considered essential for... Read More
One of the important decisions you'll make when you decide... Read More
There is really no stopping VOIP (voice over internet protocol)... Read More
--Company Email Addresses--Web hosting companies should provide company email accounts... Read More
Why is dedicated hosting such a big hit on the... Read More
The BasicsSetting up a web hosting account for the first... Read More
There comes a time when the internet bug hits us... Read More
There are two main types of host providers. They are... Read More
For the "big things" to be build it was certainly... Read More
The matter of choosing between the operating system (OS) running... Read More
You must have done all the hard works for developing... Read More
So you've decided to create a website? The most obvious... Read More
Let's face it, the Internet is here for good. Today's... Read More
Once you have your company's web site up and running,... Read More
There are various reasons why an online business owner like... Read More
If you operate several websites, each with its own domain... Read More
Web hosting can be an exciting business start up for... Read More
When it comes to web hosting, the quality of the... Read More
John is very happy today, for the first time in... Read More
Some folks classify low cost web hosting on the same... Read More
John's online business is expanding. His customers are increasing day... Read More
For a website to appear on the Internet, you require... Read More
If you are looking for a solid, reliable web host,... Read More
You're not alone! Many people are bound to the old... Read More
Many business owners find themselves in a quandary over the... Read More
premium house cleaning Glenview ..The basic command for changing file permissions in unix based... Read More
Web hosting can be an exciting business start up for... Read More
Computers, Internet, Web sites?what do they all mean? Hey, you're... Read More
How To Select A Web Hosting CompanyWhen starting out, it... Read More
Yesterday I received a nice email in my inbox, I... Read More
With a little advanced planning, moving your domain to a... Read More
Many online entrepreneurs these days are faced with the problem... Read More
Once you have your company's web site up and running,... Read More
Web hosts are service companies that provide space on their... Read More
Choosing a budget web hosting company can be overwhelming. In... Read More
Once you have a website you then need to think... Read More
What is web hosting you ask? Web hosting refers to... Read More
If you are looking for a deluxe web site hosting... Read More
Web Hosting AdviceChoosing a web hosting company to host your... Read More
These days, web hosting companies are popping up faster than... Read More
Some web hosts are offering more than others for the... Read More
Why is dedicated hosting such a big hit on the... Read More
For a website to appear on the Internet, you require... Read More
Although we are aware of Linux adoption by large enterprises,... Read More
Ever heard the saying "Penny-wise and Dollar-foolish"?Well bargain priced website... Read More
Some folks classify low cost web hosting on the same... Read More
It's time to choose! Should you spend some money to... Read More
Finding a good and reliable web hosting company is like... Read More
Anyone who has ever shopped for web hosting knows that... Read More
Every website needs a great web host, however when you... Read More
Web Hosting |