How to find and choose a good web host? When you decide you need, or want, a website, there are quite a few things that must be considered. Building the site, registering a domain name, and finding a good provider to host the site are three basics.
Choosing a web hosting company can be a confusing task. There are literally thousands of choices, from large, international hosts to small web developers who offer space that they buy from a larger company and then resell to their clients. There are many providers that can handle all of your needs, from registering your domain, hosting your site to designing and building your site. There are companies that have site builders for do-it-yourselfers. Most offer an array of software and services. The key is in finding a host that has the right combination for you, at the right price.
Some things you should consider:
Price - Basic Hosting starts at Free (watch out for the strings attached) and goes up to around $40+/- per month. There are hosts out there who count on people not comparison shopping, and their prices are out of line. Don't get stuck paying more than you have to. On the other hand, don't be afraid to pay a little bit more for a plan that offers exactly what you want AND has a great service. You should be able to find good hosting for a small business or personal site for under $10 a month.
Customer Service - There are some wonderful companies out there that believe in old fashioned service, and there are evidently more than a few that cut corners. There is nothing worse than having a problem with your web service, and not having someone willing or able to help you in a timely fashion. If you are more comfortable on a phone than using email to sort out technical problems, make sure they have free phone support available for your plan. If you have problems understanding accented speech, ask if they outsource their support to another country. If you are a night owl, or a weekend dabbler, check that their support is 24/7.
Uptime - There is no reason to have a site if the servers that host it are continually experiencing downtime. When they are down, your site is down, and you are missing out on visitors, and if you are selling goods or services, you are losing money. Look for a great uptime record. (Over 99.5%)
Robust Systems with good Security - The data center, the physical machinery (servers), that contain your website files need to be fast, robust, redundant (having backups for power, etc.) and secure. If you are serious about your website, you really don't want a server that is in your nephew's garage, however cheap and easy that seems at the time. Check the data center of the host(s) you are considering.
Basic Needs - These include the amount of server space allotted, the amount of transfer allowed, and email accounts. Most providers offer an embarrassment of riches in this category, most unneeded or unused. I have seen hosting plans offering 500 email accounts, but face it, unless you are a very large corporation, you won't be using even a fraction of them. You just want to make sure they have enough for your needs.
You may also see offers of a huge amount of server space, 20 gigabytes (GB) or more, but a small or medium site, well optimized, will only use a tiny portion of this space, and they know it. Don't be wowed by offers of useless space. As a web developer I have never built a (non-ecommerce) site that needed more than 10 megabytes (MB) of space. And remember, if you end up needing more, a good host will gladly upgrade your plan.
Transfer (traffic) is dicier. Unless you have a highly popular, busy site (as we all wish we did) or are transferring a large amount of information (downloads), you will not need a huge amount of transfer either. Beware the host that promises large traffic numbers and oversells their space (you are essentially sharing space on a server with many other websites) they don't expect you to use that traffic bandwidth, but may have enough sites that actually USE a good portion of it, or just too many sites on a server, that it slows down the transfer speed and your site performance suffers as a result. Check performance reviews!
Special needs - If you are going to have a dynamic site, with database driven content, which includes e-commerce and blog sites, you will need to make sure your host supports the database type and scripting language you, or your database developer is using. For example PHP and MySQL. Check for versions too. If your database is built using MySQL version 5.x and your server is running 4.x you have a problem there.
If you are using Microsoft Frontpage to build your site, make sure the server supports that. Shopping cart software may need certain programs included and set up to run. Make sure you check before you commit to a plan.
Extras - There are just so many cool things that different hosts offer, and it all depends on what you want or need. Some have blogs, forums and chat rooms that can be added to your site for free with a few clicks of your mouse, no special knowledge needed. Some have site builders that allow reasonably computer friendly persons to build their own site using a template. Some support multiple domains on one account, which can be a money saver. Are you going to want a mailing list? Many hosts offer a free basic one. Though these extras can also be added to your site in many other ways, these extras can make it easy for even a web newbie to build a pretty cool site. Make sure you know what you want your site to include now, and possibly in the future, and see if your chosen host can offer you the goodies to make it happen.
Control Panel - No matter what host you choose, you are going to be using a control panel to work with your account, and with the parts of your site. It is so much more pleasant if you find one that is intuitive, simple and allows you to work with your site, billing info, email, domains, etc. without frustration, or confusion. Some hosts have a sample you can look at, or even test drive. Give it a spin first if you can.
