Finding a reliable web host and the right package can be tough. There are a lot of choices to pick from. So how do you decide?
Reliability
Pick a host that has been around for a while. If they are still hosting, they are likely doing something right. Note any uptime guarantees they may offer. Keep in mind these are difficult to enforce.
Bandwidth
Bandwidth, also known as “traffic” or data transfer, is the amount of data, in bytes, transferred between your web site and your web visitors.
Bandwidth is a commodity all web hosting providers are bound to. They may offer unlimited bandwidth, but someone will have to pay the bill at the end of the month. Watch for the hosting providers that offer unlimited bandwidth. They may actually limit it by burying it in their policy statements.
Disk Space
Just like bandwidth, watch for the unlimited disk space plans. Web hosting providers do not have an unlimited supply of free disk space (hard disks cost money). They may have redefined “unlimited” or put limits to what data you can store.
For typical small web sites need less than 10mb of space. If your site will be hosting video or many photos, then the storage needs will increase, and needing a couple gigabytes of storage is not uncommon. Our recommendation would be to start small when beginning and you can easily upgrade to more space when you need it.
Technical Support
What kind of technical support is offered? Are they truly available 24×7 like they say? Check the methods available to contact them. They should provide a “help desk” ticket system where you can open a support ticket. Having a phone number to call can be helpful when disaster strikes and your website is down. Many web hosting providers are offering live web chat as an alternative as well, although note those who staff their live chat strictly with sales people.
Programmability
What tools and applications are available for your website? If you are having your site developed, this is much less of a concern. Your web developer will know and make sure your site is hosted properly.
If you are developing your own site, think about what languages you will be using and what platform you want it on. For example, there may be differences between a Microsoft Windows platform and a Linux platform and these differences may or may not matter to you and your website, depending on what technology you need. If you are developing ASP applications, a Linux server is not going to be for you.
Typically, most hosts will provide FTP, PHP, Perl, and SSI access. Additionally, they will likely provide a database system, like MySQL. And being able to run “jobs” at a scheduled time, such as using crontabs or the task scheduler, can be a benefit. Some will even provide shell access, like Telnet or SSH. These should come already bundled. If not, you may wish to ask before getting into an agreement.
E-Commerce
Check the host if they are able to run a shopping cart or e-commerce package. Also check they can provide SSL services along with a secure server. There are additional costs with SSL so this may require a more expensive package or addon options. The web host takes on additional costs with server maintenance and static IP addresses. Ask your hosting provider what e-commerce sites they host and ask for links. Ask them some questions about what it takes to get an SSL certificate and get it installed. If they are not able to provide details, think again about going with them.
Email
The web is about trust. Regardless of what your website is for, you want to instill trust to others that your site means business. Having an email address with your website’s domain is very important to establishing trust with whom you contact. You will want the ability to manage your email boxes when ever you like, usually made possible with the use of a control panel. You may want email forwarders setup so you can redirect email to a specific box. Auto responders can be helpful for when you are out of town and wish to automatically respond to incoming email, or the auto responder can be used for automating other aspects of your business and website.
Email features are important, but more important is how can you access your email? Will you be able to access your email from your favorite email program? What if you are at someone else’s computer? Can you access your email over the web?
Control Panel
Most web hosting providers will provide a control panel of some sort. Without one, managing your website will be very difficult and require you to contact the web host to have simple changes, such as changing a password or adding an email box. Most control panels provide the same functionality. If you have a preference to a particular control panel, you may wish to note which control panel the web hosting provider is offering as this may influence your decision.
Price
Be careful on the price, as you often get what you pay for. If uptime and service is critical to you, you may need to pay a bit more to get it.
Monthly or Annual Payments
Web hosting payments work such that you are not in a contract, but you pay for a period of time, regardless if you use it all or not. If you go over, you may have overage charges to worry about (read the web hosting provider’s details carefully). If you pay for a month, you are only liable for one month’s worth of hosting. If you pay for a year, you are stuck with that web hosting provider for a year. So if you are just starting out with a new web hosting provider, you may wish to go with a monthly plan until you are satisfied they are providing the level of service you expect. Then pay for an annual plan to take advantage of the discounts.
Summary
Hopefully this sparked some ideas on what to look for when looking for a web hosting provider.
Tekro LLC provides web hosting plans and we would hope you consider us for your web hosting needs. We have been providing hosting services since 1999! We work very hard to maintain an uptime better than 99%. Our business depends on it, as well as our own websites!
Take a moment and check out our web hosting plans.
