Almost all businesses could use a website these days. But finding an affordable and good website hosting company is not as easy as it might seem.
At one end of the spectrum, you’ll find a host that doesn’t charge you anything each month. However, they may have higher setup fees and post advertisements on your site. On the other hand, your space and speed requirements can be so high that you need a state-of-the-art dedicated server.
Fees and plans vary significantly, so make sure you understand the whole package, not just the monthly fee. Also check maintenance fees, domain name registration fees and website design assistance fees. They all add up. The goal is to get and pay for what you need, but only what you need.
Make sure you’re getting the space you need and that more space is available at reasonable prices for your future growth. You need at least 50 gigabytes (GB). If your bandwidth allowance is too low, your speed will suffer. A GB is the starting point. If you need the FTP log, check it carefully as it is not always available. Your web host must accept the file size you need to upload. Make sure your web host supports the same database, scripting and programming languages that you will be using.
Also, take a look at the reliability of your prospective web host’s system. This information is often difficult to obtain, but is likely critical to your success. For example, if you just need a basic website for your personal profile, you can probably handle a little downtime. But when you’re selling in bulk, even a little downtime can be very costly.
Are you planning complex graphics or animations? These take up more space and need more speed.
If your website accepts sensitive information, you need advanced security features. Personal identification, medical or financial information must all be protected.
Do you sell products on your website? In this case, in addition to security, you will most likely need an order processing system and possibly a customer service system. You also need a highly reliable web host to ensure you experience minimal downtime.
Will your website be accessible to employees and customers for order placement, order tracking, inventory counts, and the like? Here, too, high security is required and probably a lot of space.
Will your website be mainly concerned with downloading large files? You may need a dedicated server as opposed to the more common method where you and many other websites share a server at your web host provider’s location.
It’s important to understand your needs before finding a good web host for your new website. The price range is huge. Narrowing down your needs will help you better assess what’s best for you and still affordable.
Source by Musa Aykac
