Saturday, August 25, 2007

Choosing a Web Hosting Company - Which is Best for You?

Choosing a web hosting company is one of the most important decisions you will make when building a website. Switching hosts after you've already built a site is time-consuming and if you're not careful you could lose something important. Better to do some research beforehand and choose a host that has everything you need before signing up and realizing you're missing something.

But there are hundreds (perhaps thousands) of hosting providers from which to choose. Fortunately I'm going to share with you a short checklist to review before choosing a host. And at the end of this article I'll give you a link to a site that lets you compare some of the best web hosting options.

Web Hosting Checklist

1. Reliability. Every host will have a technical glitch now and then, but that should be the exception to the rule. Look for a host that guarantees uptime of 99 percent or higher.

2. Tech Support. No matter how experienced a webmaster you are, you can expect to run into a technical issue once in awhile. If that happens, you'll need to be able to reach someone in support. Choosing a web hosting company that offers 24/7 support is a smart move. Live chat support is a nice touch.

3. Are you building an online store or shopping portal? You'll need an ecommerce web site host that offers SSL (secure server) transactions and shopping cart functionality.

4. Do they offer free web design software? Many top hosts provide free software that lets you build web pages with a few clicks of a mouse. If your host isn't one of them you'll have to find your own software or learn html coding yourself.

5. Control panel. The look and name can vary from one host to the next, but having a control panel makes managing your websites easier. Look for one that includes Fantastico, which is a neat little program that lets you install many popular third-party scripts with the push of a button.

6. How many domains can you have? Many basic hosting packages only allow for a single domain. But if you want more than one site or domain name you'll want a package that allows for multiple domains. Some even allow unlimited domains for one price.

7. MySQL Databases. You'll probably never need to create one yourself, so it's not important to explain how they work. But some scripts and software you may want to use will require databases running in the background. If your host doesn't allow databases you could find yourself limited in what you can do.

8. Price. Web hosting is a highly competitive industry, which is great news for consumers because hosting providers have to offer low prices to keep up their competition. Most offer shared hosting plans with unlimited domains for only around $5 and $9 per month.

For more help in choosing a web hosting company, check out the independent webhost reviews and comparisons at http://www.webhost-comparison.com

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