Choosing a web host
Every website needs to have a host to store the files on, and serve the web
pages. However, in the current market, it can be very difficult to choose the
right host for you with thousands of companies all trying to get your money.
Different companies offer different services at different prices - but what do
all these options mean and what should you ask the prospective company?
A web hosting company, or host, is a company that owns or maintains a number
of servers which paying customers can rent space on. These servers are usually
located in a large data centre with many protection features like air
conditioning, backup power and security systems to name a few. Each server is
connected to the internet via a large backbone usually provided by a large
telecoms provider such as BT or Telewest (in the UK). The servers ‘serve’ the
content stored on them to internet users when they request the pages stored on
that server.
Most web hosts provide two core services – shared, or virtual hosting, and
dedicated hosting. The shared hosting is where you rent space on a server which
also has the files for many other websites on. You are sharing the bandwidth and
processing power of the server with other paying customers. This is the most
common type of hosting and it relatively cheap. On the other hand, if you have a
large website, you can purchase a dedicated server where you own the entire
server and you have direct control over it. That means only your site has to be
stored on it and you don’t need to share it.
I am going to deal with both type of hosting individually:
Shared Hosting:
When choosing a shared hosting plan from a company, you want to make sure
that it provides more than you need. If you buy a package that has just what you
need, the chances are that you will go over and end up paying more. You should
look in the features list and search for features like how many POP3 mailboxes
you get, if you can have e-mail aliasing, FTP access, how much diskspace you get
and how much bandwidth you get. Added bonuses would include SSL, scripting
features, databases etc. Don’t be fooled by the look of high bandwidth or
diskspace – many websites only use a few megabytes of space, the entire Olate
site, for example (excluding the database) is only 4.7Mb! Bandwidth is also an
important aspect to consider. If you are expecting lots of visitors then make
sure you go for a package that has a generous bandwidth allocation. 1Gb of
bandwidth (1000Mb) is enough for approximately 100,000 hits bearing in mind that
each page loaded, and each graphic downloaded is one hit.
Read my article on Web Hosting
Features for more information.
In addition to the features you are receiving, ensure that you have good
support that, ideally, is available 24 hours a day in case you need urgent
support. The best bet is 24/7 phone and e-mail support and make sure the phone
number is not a premium number. Try e-mailing them a few questions (see later)
or phoning them and asking them some questions to find out how quickly they
respond and how good the answers are. I can almost guarantee that you will need
to contact support at least once so make sure they are available. A large
company usually has a response time of 60 minutes for all queries and a local
rate phone line – one host even responded to one of my queries within 2 minutes.
Try and find out where the company is located. It is always a good idea to
see if they have a contact address on their website as that will reassure you
that they are a real company. Try accessing their website a few times a day for
a week or so to see how quickly it loads and if it is constantly available as
this will give a good indication on the reliability of their servers. If they
have customer forums, read through the comments posted and investigate any
complaints with the company.
Finally, make sure the package you want can grow with your site. Ensure that
it is easy to upgrade and ask what happens if your site suddenly goes over its
bandwidth allocation. It is no good if you site becomes really popular, then
your host suspends your account because you go over your bandwidth.
Dedicated Hosting:
Dedicated hosting, or buying a dedicated server, is the way to go if your
site is mission critical and must have all the processing power and network
availability possible. The entire server is dedicated to you and you can do what
you like with it – host just your site, or host other sites and charge for it.
Dedicated servers offer the piece of mind of a Service Level Agreement – if
your server goes down then the hosting company will repair it within a certain
amount of time or you get your money back. Some companies provide a 60 minute
downtime maximum for an entire month – if your server is down for more than
that, then you get a refund.
As you get ‘root’ access to the server, you have direct control over what is
installed, how it runs and any other aspect of the server. You can choose the
operating system (generally Windows 2000 or Red Hat Linux) and can choose the
hardware supporting it – from a small processor and one hard disk to four hard
disks, multiple processors, backup systems and firewalls.
This sounds brilliant – your own server dedicated to your site, but there is
a drawback. Dedicated servers are quite expensive – expect to pay more than £75
per month, plus a setup fee for the privilege of the server. You may also be
tied into a minimum contract. Finally, you must also have in-depth knowledge of
setting up and managing your server - which can be a full time job.
Questions to ask a potential web host:
When choosing your host, there are a number of things you have to find out
that may not be available on their website. E-mailing or phoning in with the
following questions will not only test out their support but also tell you what
kind of service they provide. Some of these questions are taken from the
Internet Magazine website:
Q Are there any hidden costs?
You need to find out if they charge you anything extra – do they charge VAT for
example
Q. How many people are there in the support centre?
Find out if it is just one person running the company, or if there is a whole
support team.
Q. What access speeds can I expect?
They should tell you how fast their connection is and may even give you an IP
address to ping to find out the response time.
Q. What kind of redundancy do I get?
What happens if the server goes down? How long will it be until it is back up?
Do you have any backup servers or systems ready to step in if the server goes
down?
Q. What happens if I go over my bandwidth/diskspace allocation?
Make sure they allow a small amount of excess bandwidth, around 500-600Mb over
should be allowed. They should not suspend you account if you go over and should
always warn you when you are approaching your limit.
Q. Do you offer a backup service?
Is your content backed up every day in case of a massive server failure?
Q. How much experience do you have? Can you demonstrate your financial
status?
Check to make sure they have not just started up and that they are not going
bankrupt.
Q. Can I transfer in a domain name? Do you offer registration services?
If you have an existing domain name, find out if you can use it on a new account
or if they will register you a new name.
Q. What are the restrictions on content?
Find out what you can and can’t have on your account.
Q. What happens if I want to leave?
Make sure they don't tie you in or charge you for leaving.
I hope that you found this article interesting and that you are now able to
make a sound decision when choosing a web hosting company.
Author: David Mytton
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