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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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