Web Hosting
There are many Web Hosting choices out there from free to 500.00 or more dollars a year. Your choice will be based on need and preferences. If your web site is for personal use or a small organization of some sort then free hosting might be your choice.
Remember though, free hosting places adds at the top and/or bottom of your page. You never know what might be there from time to time.
Our solution is to find you affordable web hosting to suit your needs. Contact us for more information.
Below are things you should look for in finding a web host.
Reliability and speed of access
Not only should the web host be reliable and fast, it should guarantee its uptime (the time when it is functional). Look for a minimum uptime 99.5% or higher.
Data Transfer (Traffic/Bandwidth)
Data transfer, often referred to as bandwidth or traffic, is the amount of bytes transferred from your site to visitors when they browse your site. Don't believe any commercial web host that advertises unlimited bandwidth. Always look for details on how much traffic the package allows. Stay clear of any host that advertises unlimited transfer, even if the exact amount is specified somewhere else. A rough idea of the typical traffic for a website use less than 3GB of bandwidth per month. Your traffic requirements will grow over time, as your site becomes more well-known and well-linked. Do they charge for over use of bandwidth?
Disk space
For the same reason as bandwidth, watch out for hose unlimited disk space plans Most sites need less than 5MB of web space, so even if you are provided with a host that tempts you with 200MB or 500MB or unlimited space, be aware that you are unlikely to use that space, so don't let the 500MB space be a factor in consideration when comparing web hosts
Technical support
Does its technical support function 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (often abbreviated 24/7), all year around? Test them out by emailing at midnight and on Saturday nights, Sunday mornings, etc. Check out how long they take to respond. Ceck to see if they are technically competent.
FTP, PHP, Perl CGI-BIN access, SSI
If you are paying for a site, you really should make sure you have all of these. Note that some commercial hosts do not allow you to install PHP or CGI scripts without their approval. This is not desirable since it means that you have to wait for them before you can implement a feature on your site. Check to see if these facilities are provided.
SSL (secure server), MySQL, Shopping Cart
If you are planning on doing any sort of business through your website, you might want to look out to see if the host provides these facilities. These facilities normally involve a higher priced package or additional charges. The main thing is to check to see if they are available at all before you commit to the host. You will definitely need SSL if you plan to collect credit card information on your site.
Email, Autoresponders, POP3, Mail Forwarding
If you have your own site, you would probably want to have email addresses at your own domain, like info@yourdomain.com, etc. Does the host provide this with the package? Does it allow you to have a catch-all email account that allows anyname@yourdomain.com to wind up being routed to you? Can you set an email address to automatically reply to the sender with a preset message called an autoresponder? Can you retrieve your mail with your email software? Can it be automatically forwarded to your current email address?
Control Panel
Called various names by different hosts, they all allow you to manage different areas of your web account yourself. At the very minimum, it should allow you to do things like add, delete, and manage your email addresses, and change passwords for your account. Do not go for a host where you have to go through their technical support each time You want to change a password or add/delete an email account. These are common maintenance chores that every webmaster performs time and time again, and you should not have to wait for their technical support to make the changes for you.
Price
While price is always a factor, you should realize that you often get what you pay for, although it's not necessarily true that the most expensive hosts are the best. There are some very good hosting companies that have low prices. It all depends on your needs.
Monthly/Quarterly/Annual Payment Plans
Most web hosts allow you to select an annual payment plan that gives you a cheaper rate than if you were to pay monthly.