With many different possibilities of web hosting companies on the internet, which one should you choose? The best way to choose is to analyze what type of features and services they offer. Knowing what some of these features and services are will help you narrow down your decision.
Disc Space
Disc Space, the more the better right? Not exactly having a lot of disc space is wonderful, but not necessary. A normal website might use 50 MB and a large website could use 2 GB. It really matters on how many pages and what type of multimedia files you are. Images, movies and flash application could take lots of disc space. Website page files don't take hardly any space. Try to think of what you might need to your website; remember to think down the road. Find a web hosting company that can provide you with a desired space and a reasonable price. Don't pay extra for space you don't need. There are lots of shared hosting companies that offer unlimited disc space. If you are looking into a dedicated server, this can be expensive. On a dedicated server you will pay for different amounts of disc space.
Bandwidth
How much traffic are you going to have a month? Lots, little, not sure? When looking for a web hosting plan watch for how much data you can transfer in a month. This could get very expensive if you go over the quota. A regular website won't have any problem going over the bandwidth quota. But keep in mind if your website expands. If your website has 20,000 unique visitors a month, you're going to need a large amount of bandwidth and could be costly. What type of multimedia files are you doing to have? If your website has lots of pictures, movies and/or flash, you could be using lots of bandwidth to stream.
Domain Names
Most web hosting companies will give you a free domain name if you sign up for their service. The trick here is to see how many domain names you can host on one account. Maybe you have a main webpage, but you want to have smaller branches that will require a unique domain name. Some web hosting companies will limit how many domain names you can host on one account. I think unlimited is a good number. I don't see why they should limit you to how many websites you can have on your account. If you have the disk space and the bandwidth, then there shouldn't be a problem. There are a couple of companies that will offer a Free Domain Name for Life. A domain name for life is that the hosting company will pay the renew fee for your domain when you are using their service. Web hosting features to look for in the domain department is add-on domains, parked domains and sub domains. These different domain names will help you keep things organized and could help with usability.
Email Accounts
Your own email account from your website can look very professional. Web hosting companies will have an easy way to create and access them. But how many can you have and how much space will they allow for them? Do a quick look at how many email accounts you can have and how much space they will allow.
MySQL
If you are planning to have databases, ecommerce store or a content management system you will most likely need MySQL. Double check the company will support it and the web language you will be working with. Most companies will put a number of databases you can have on your web hosting account.
Extra Features
Everyone likes extras, right? See what else the hosting company can offer you. Maybe your website wants a photo gallery, blog, discussion board, shopping cart, or connections to third party companies. This could be valuable source. Not only for cost, but also time. These web applications are easy and quick. If you don't have a strong web development background, this would be something to look into.
Support
Check their support options. See what hours they are available and how you can contact them. They should offer phone service and email service. Usually they will also have a live chat that can get you in and out. Web hosting support can be a headache of a lifesaver. If something goes down on your server or you mess something up. Getting quick and knowledgeable support can be priceless.
Other Stuff
Watch for what coding languages they offer, you never know what you might use or want to try. Give yourself the option to learn something new and expand what you know. If you know what coding language you are going to develop with. Look at what version they are offering. Make sure they are up to date, don't fall behind.
Disc Space
Disc Space, the more the better right? Not exactly having a lot of disc space is wonderful, but not necessary. A normal website might use 50 MB and a large website could use 2 GB. It really matters on how many pages and what type of multimedia files you are. Images, movies and flash application could take lots of disc space. Website page files don't take hardly any space. Try to think of what you might need to your website; remember to think down the road. Find a web hosting company that can provide you with a desired space and a reasonable price. Don't pay extra for space you don't need. There are lots of shared hosting companies that offer unlimited disc space. If you are looking into a dedicated server, this can be expensive. On a dedicated server you will pay for different amounts of disc space.
Bandwidth
How much traffic are you going to have a month? Lots, little, not sure? When looking for a web hosting plan watch for how much data you can transfer in a month. This could get very expensive if you go over the quota. A regular website won't have any problem going over the bandwidth quota. But keep in mind if your website expands. If your website has 20,000 unique visitors a month, you're going to need a large amount of bandwidth and could be costly. What type of multimedia files are you doing to have? If your website has lots of pictures, movies and/or flash, you could be using lots of bandwidth to stream.
Domain Names
Most web hosting companies will give you a free domain name if you sign up for their service. The trick here is to see how many domain names you can host on one account. Maybe you have a main webpage, but you want to have smaller branches that will require a unique domain name. Some web hosting companies will limit how many domain names you can host on one account. I think unlimited is a good number. I don't see why they should limit you to how many websites you can have on your account. If you have the disk space and the bandwidth, then there shouldn't be a problem. There are a couple of companies that will offer a Free Domain Name for Life. A domain name for life is that the hosting company will pay the renew fee for your domain when you are using their service. Web hosting features to look for in the domain department is add-on domains, parked domains and sub domains. These different domain names will help you keep things organized and could help with usability.
Email Accounts
Your own email account from your website can look very professional. Web hosting companies will have an easy way to create and access them. But how many can you have and how much space will they allow for them? Do a quick look at how many email accounts you can have and how much space they will allow.
MySQL
If you are planning to have databases, ecommerce store or a content management system you will most likely need MySQL. Double check the company will support it and the web language you will be working with. Most companies will put a number of databases you can have on your web hosting account.
Extra Features
Everyone likes extras, right? See what else the hosting company can offer you. Maybe your website wants a photo gallery, blog, discussion board, shopping cart, or connections to third party companies. This could be valuable source. Not only for cost, but also time. These web applications are easy and quick. If you don't have a strong web development background, this would be something to look into.
Support
Check their support options. See what hours they are available and how you can contact them. They should offer phone service and email service. Usually they will also have a live chat that can get you in and out. Web hosting support can be a headache of a lifesaver. If something goes down on your server or you mess something up. Getting quick and knowledgeable support can be priceless.
Other Stuff
Watch for what coding languages they offer, you never know what you might use or want to try. Give yourself the option to learn something new and expand what you know. If you know what coding language you are going to develop with. Look at what version they are offering. Make sure they are up to date, don't fall behind.
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Web-Hosting-Features-and-Services&id=2303407
3 comments:
Thanks for giving the valuable information about web hosting features and services.To find out the right service this is very helpful.
I think we need to bring more ideas for this purpose. Involvement of young people can be handy in this regard. I am happy to find a good post here. Thank you..
According to me,the features that a best web hosting service should have is that they should not have any hidden charges,support the customer at all times,satisfy the demands of the user,be economic,have the feature of upgrading plans at ease,keep up the promises and be trustworthy.I am hosting my websites with 9cubehosting.com and have no regrets in choosing them.
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