It is
particularly important for individuals and SMBs (Small and Medium-sized
Businesses) that build their own websites, or spend very precious capital to do
so, to find a good web hosting plan. If you are just now getting up to speed in
this area, it is important that you know how quickly things change in this
industry. In addition, you need to know what the basic components of a good
hosting plan are, and learn to compare apples with apples, as they say.
It used to
be crucially important to pick the right web host, as there were fly-by-night
firms actually ripping people off and running away to Belize or somewhere.
Things have settled down quite a bit, and there are scores of hosting firms to
choose from, all of which are reputable and honest. It may still be true that
some hosts have better uptime statistics or offer better deals, but as long as
you stay with an established host you should not have any problems with rip-offs.
After
making a list of potential companies, you should get these 10 questions
answered before choosing a web host:
#1. Will
you get unlimited disk space?
You
certainly can’t afford to run out of disk storage space when people are relying
on your site to provide important information or services. Most of today’s
plans, even low-cost ones, feature unlimited disk space, a testament to how
much the price of hard drives has come down.
#2. Is
there unlimited bandwidth?
This term
refers to the amount of traffic that can be sent back and forth, to and from
your site. When a lot of people want to connect to your site at the same time,
limited bandwidth is a real problem and a business-killer, too. Again, even
low-cost plans now offer unlimited (or extremely high amounts of) bandwidth.
#3. Is
there a 99.9% uptime guarantee?
No web host
can honestly guarantee 100% uptime, but many hosting services get very close. A
standard in the industry is now 99.5%, but leading hosts will advertise a 99.9%
uptime guarantee.
#4. Do you
get free setup?
Setup fees
were appropriate at one time when the tools were less powerful and the process
less automated. There is currently no reason in the world to pay setup fees,
and companies that advertise that they “waive” these fees are essentially
imputing a value to something they wouldn’t charge for anyway.
#5. Do you
get subdomains allowing for unlimited sites?
You may
begin your Internet strategy with a single site, but when you want to launch
others you will need a way to do that, and without setting up a new domain at
new cost. This option is quite
important, as subdomains (with the format, subdomainname.maindomainname.com)
allow you to spread out and create other separate online entities that may not
be strictly related to the main domain’s purpose.
#6. Is 24/7
support available, and how much of it is from real people?
Some
hosting services don’t let customer call by phone, which should throw up a red
flag. Support is absolutely critical, so
make sure it’s available, and the best companies will provide it in several
ways—via e-mail, online web forms, chat and phone calls to real human beings.
#7. Do you
get installed software for databases, scripting, email, etc.?
Even if you
don’t understand or make use of Perl, CGI, MySQL, PHP or other acronyms you’ve
been told are important, you do need them. You can make use of them through
graphical-interface applications that ease the process, or your IT consultant
or employee can handle all of it. You do need these.
#8. Is the
cPanel hosting tool used?
This is by
far the most useful control panel for managing sites, and is made available by
many of the leading hosts. If not cPanel, what tools are offered? If you can’t
find much information in a web search about the toolkit being used by a
potential host, considering choosing only a host company that has this one
available. The cPanel took is the best example of its kind.
#9. Is the
plan affordable?
Many
hosting plans start at under $10 per month.
That’s very affordable, but you can do even better by paying for a
year’s hosting service in advance. When you start requiring e-commerce
components and huge database access, your hosting cost will increase, of
course.
#10. Are
there contracts, excessive fine print and/or hidden fees?
Everything
in the plan should be made crystal clear from the beginning. Read every word of
the user terms and conditions, and don’t sign up for anything if you don’t
understand them. If you start hearing about extra fees, scratch the company off
your list of potential hosts. | 
