What to Look for in a Web Host
The first questions you have to ask yourself are: how
much space and bandwidth do I need; do I want one site or
several sites; how much will I have to spend; am I going
to use an SQL database; how much uptime does the web host
offer; does this site host spammy adult sites; what extras
are offered; are there script limitations; do they provide
a control panel; and if my site gets too big, what is the
next level and how much does it cost?
Bandwidth
Let's take bandwidth for instance. If you are starting
a brand new site and don't have a lot of other sites to
link to it, which, by the way, is becoming increasingly
less efficient due to changing search engine rules, it may
take over a year to build any real traffic to even worry
about this point. But, with bandwidth being a lot more reasonable
lately, why not go ahead and pay the 6-10 dollars a month
for 1 - 4 gigabytes currently available. After all, your
goal is to grow right? So get something a few sizes too
big and grow into it. Don't think that you necessarily have
to pay a lot of money to get a good web host. You could
just as easily spend 20 dollars or more a month and have
terrible uptime and any number of hassles. Now if your site
is going to be filled with images, especially wallpaper
size images, then get as much bandwidth as your budget will
allow. If you plan on having a growing site and it becomes
even moderately popular, you'll need all the bandwidth traffic
allowable you can get. Watch out for hosts that claim they
have unmetered bandwidth. Read carefully, especially if
we're talking about a host that charges below 5 dollars
a month. It's better to have a clear number that you can
keep track of in your control panel. You don't won't them
to come up and give you a generic excuse like "Your
site is using an unfair amount of system resources or traffic
as compared to our other customers so therefore we have
to shut you down". Please note that system resources
and bandwidth are two different issues when dealing with
a web host. For instance a script that locks up and has
a bug could cause a server to use a great deal of system
resources that could cause problems between you and your
web host if you are on a shared account versus a dedicated
server. So do your research on the type of script you want
to run. Bandwidth is the amount of traffic going out from
your site including your images, clips, pages, etc. As far
as images, sounds, and clips this is easily monitored in
your control panel as long as you have a clear number of
what you are allowed to use. Unmetered bandwidth could mean
anything and really is worthless in the long run if you
plan on getting a lot of traffic sometime in the future.
And why wouldn't you want to get as much traffic as possible
for your site?
One Domain or More
Some hosts allow to host more than one domain on your account.
This could be a very great way to cut costs especially with
new sites that may take a while to build up traffic. Once
any of your sites grows too large you can always move it.
Please be cautious though heavy interlinking between sites
on the same i.p. address may get you dinged by search engines.
Price
For the most part 6-10 dollars per month is what I consider
great area to be in cost wise. Anything lower than 6 and
I would get nervous. Anything higher than 10-15 per month
and it better have a lot to offer that I can't get anywhere
else like bandwidth, space, etc. That's a very basic rule
of thumb from my own experience, but it all depends mainly
on what your site needs are.
Scripts, Databases, etc
You need to know if there are any script limitations. Are
there scripts like cgi, php, etc you want to use that your
web host doesn't allow? Of course most are going to work
with php and cgi with no problem. Also find out about how
many SQL databases you can get and if they offer it at all.
Databases can be a very powerful tool that can save you
tons of time and are usually necessary for forums.
Uptime and Customer Reviews
Do research. Check out sites with reviews from actual customers.
You need to see what your average joe says about the uptime
and other factors of the web host you're thinking about
using. Remember, most people will complain more than take
the time to praise, but a really good host will have a lot
more praise then criticism.
Spam and Adult Sites
A new thing is starting to come up. Certain search engines
may penalize sites that are on a server with red flag sites
like gambling, spam sites, adult, etc. Gambling and adult
sites tend to spam a lot so search engines may be penalizing
whole servers that house these sites. Make sure your web
host will put you on a server free of these types of websites.
Think Ahead
Always think ahead to save time and money having to movie
to another web host. Always get as much bandwidth and web
space you can get at an affordable price. Ask yourself if
your site grows faster than you predicted what is the next
level with the web host your using? How much is it going
to cost to upgrade if necessary, and what do they offer?
Some companies that offer reasonable rates and good plans
only offer one plan, but they tend to increase their plan's
offerings every year or so. So keep that in mind as well
when considering how much bandwidth and space your going
to need in the coming year or so.
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