It is really important to spend time considering all the options when picking a web host for your shiny new website. When you launch your site, the last thing you want to happen is for it to go down due to unreliability or another problem.

We’ll cover what you need to know before you get started, including;

• Cost
• Space
• Bandwidth
• Uptime
• Support
• Software Requirements

 

Cost

One of the first things to think about when choosing a host, is how much you will need to fork out. While a lot of providers will offer headline grabbing low monthly (or even yearly) fees, it is worth considering if this will have any effect on performance. To offer such low rates many providers put lots of sites on the same server, this can slow things down even if you only have a simple site.

Space

How much disk space will your site need for storing content? If you’re only working with a small blog you probably won’t need much, however if you plan on uploading a load of photos, you’ll need plenty of storage so make sure you choose a lager amount of space.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth is the amount of traffic you transfer from your server. So many providers offer “unlimited” bandwidth, however in the small print you’ll find a fair or acceptable use policy, which means it isn’t unlimited at all! If you are hosting a small blog you won’t use much bandwidth, but if you plan on uploading hundreds of high quality photos, or videos, then like with disc space, you will need to allow for more bandwidth in your hosting package.

Uptime

When you launch your new site and get an influx of users, it doesn’t give a good impression if your host goes down. If there are problems, it is worth knowing how quickly your host will respond to it, some providers operate 24/7 technical support, which can come in handy if your site mysteriously disappears. To lose a website for a few minutes is one thing, but to be down for days is like a lifetime on the web.

Support

Should you have a problem with your new hosting package and need to contact the support teams, what times do they operate? With the way the internet works, you may not have a host that is actually in your time zone so would need to be aware of this when contacting them for help.

Software Requirements

What does your website need to run? PHP / mySQL, Ruby, ASP / .NET / SQL Server? You want your new hosting service to be able to run your site, for example, trying to host a Windows based ASP.NET site with a Microsoft SQL Server database on a Linux server won’t work. Equally, a lot of services come with “quick installers” to allow you to install and update various packages from their control panels, this may be of help you get your site started.

There are many things to take into account when choosing a hosting company, more than just the attention grabbing price point, so it is vital to get one that is good value but also gives you the right amount of space, bandwidth and good quality technical support.