How to Choose a Good Web Host
October 16th, 2008 by Adam
Web hosting is the backbone of all websites, without web host companies, the internet be as diverse and vast. A web host company buys an amount of space, and then sells it to site owners for a set price. Generally these payments can be made monthly, yearly, or quarterly. Aside from paid hosting there is also free hosting.
Free web hosting is an option for users who are new to building sites, or cannot afford a paid site. A good free web host will have ads to cover the costs, but will not overwhelm your site with them. Bandwidth is usually lower than a paid site, but this isn’t a problem for small sites with low traffic volume. If you want a high traffic, and large site, its important to look for a free web host or a paid one that can meet these needs.
Free hosts also have limitations on file sizes that you can upload and only certain files as well. Speed and reliability are also factors in the free web host decision. Sometimes free hosts have slow access rates, causing the site to be temporarily unavailable in some instances. This can cause lack of traffic. If you would like to find a reliable free web host, make sure you consider all of the factors listed above. They are out there, its just a matter of you finding them. Free web hosting is great for a number of things, so don’t be intimidated.
Paid web hosting is ideal for those with a serious interest in building up their site for fun, or profits. When looking for a great paid web host, consider their reputation. Do users complain a lot? Are there a lot of users that use their services? Are the prices reasonable, for high quality hosting? Uptime speeds should be 99.5% or higher as well as a guarantee if it doesn’t quite reach that.
If you have a small site, you should be able to purchase smaller packages through a good web host. A good web host will try to accommodate to a vast user base with different package sizes for everyone’s needs! If you run across problems with your site, you will want technical support. Since many companies do have tech support, but are closed on holidays or weekends, or after work hours, its important to find one that is open 24/7 365 a year.
All web hosts should be willing to answer your questions, if they ignore customer service emails, then that’s probably a bad sign. You will also want to look for a good host that can meet your needs for your site. If the host you have in mind cannot, you should find a different one. A good web host would be willing to refund you your money if you are unsatisfied, or if they mess something up on their part.
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