Finding the best hosting service for your Web site can be really difficult if you don't know what to look for. These tips from June Carroll will help you winnow out the chaff and choose a web hosting service that will meet your business Web site needs now and in the future.
1. Be cautious of free web hosting services. Not all offer server side support which is needed if you require guest books, polls, counters, etc.
2. Free or very inexpensive web hosting can result in experiencing frequent "down-times" (inability to access your web site) or poor technical support.
3. When shopping for a web hosting service, ensure that there is a technical support phone number which is either local or toll-free. Long distance calls may be costly and e-mail only support may in some cases, cause confusion and not resolve the issue promptly.
4. Shop around. Price differences are common in the web hosting service industry and some are needlessly high.
5. Ask yourself the following:
Can this web hosting company accommodate potential future needs?
Will I have to look for a new host in the event I want to add e-commerce or wireless capabilities?
If I need a database, can the web hosting service accommodate it?
How much does the hosting service company charge in the event that I need extra web space, e-mail, or bandwidth?
If the web host service offers different packages, what do I have to do to upgrade my existing package and do I have to pay an extra setup fee?
How fast will my account be activated?
Does this web hosting service company claim to have few down-times? Be cautious of companies that claims to have 0% down-time.
If I need a domain name, can this host get me one free of charge?
Are there any specials or discounts?
How much bandwidth am I allowed? Each person that visits your web site will use a portion of bandwidth to access each page. (Example: It takes more bandwidth to download a photograph in one second than it takes to download a page of text in one second.) If you're expecting a very large volume of visitors, please account for this and enquire about how much bandwidth you're allotted and how much the web hosting service charges for extra bandwidth.
Contributed by June Carroll of Welutions Inc - providing a broad range of internet based services including specialized web application development and design, complete web sites, and consulting services. Call 1-866-470-7483 or email june@welutions.com.