How to Choose a Web Host for Your Business Website
It is important to choose a reliable efficient and effective web host for
your web business. You need to make sure that your web host offers all the
features that you would require for your business web site.
Following is an overview of some of the most common requirements:
Disk space
You need to know if your web host offers enough disk space. If you plan to host
a small sized website with few graphics and html coding, 10 to 20 MB of disk
space might be quite sufficient.
Bandwidth
Bandwidth determines the amount of data transfer you are allowed per month. This
would be determined by the level of traffic that you are expecting to attract to
your website. Bandwidth of 1GB can support more than 3000 unique visitors, which
should be sufficient for a small web business.
Pop email
If you are running a web business, you would need pop3 email facilities. This
means that you can have an email address of your own domain. You don't need a
lot of email addresses for a small website, but "unlimited aliases" feature
allows you to have unlimited versions of email addresses going to the same email
box. This makes it easier for you to filter your email. For example: order@domain.com
for order related emails etc.
Free or paid
Should you pay for your web host or choose a free one? Both have their pros and
cons. However, if you use a paid web host, you would have full control over the
content of your website with no third party advertising. This would also create
a more professional and reliable image of your web business.
CGI, MySQL, PHP, ASP
If you want to run interactive scripts (counters, form-to-mail, guest books) on
your website you will need a CGI-BIN in your web hosting server. If you want
your website to have a data base (mailing list, message boards) you would need
php and MySQL facilities. ASP is also a data base related format that works with
Windows servers.
Support
It is essential for a web host to give 24 hours customer support and address any
problems of the customer immediately. You can check out the level of their
support by emailing them before you setup an account with them. They should
respond within 24 hours and answer all your questions in a satisfactory manner.
Cost
You can expect to pay anywhere from $10 to $30 for hosting a small website. If
you are lucky, you can find a web host who will fulfill all your requirements at
a reasonable price that suits your budget.
Uptime
Your web host should guarantee 99% uptime for your website. You can determine
this by contacting some of their current customers. Some web hosts have a list
of their customers on their website. If a list is not available, you can contact
them and ask for testimonials from current customers about their level of
service.
Try to choose your web host carefully, as having a reliable and efficient web
host would help immensely in the success of your web business.
By Cavyl Stewart
Cavyl Stewart is the owner of http://www.find-small-business-software.com which
is dedicated to providing resources and information on finding the software
solution that is right for your needs and budget.
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 