Choosing a Web Hosting Package
After you have made the decision to establish your presence on the world wide web, which web host you choose can made a profound impact on the success or failure of your web site. While there is no one right web host for every customer, there are certain things that you should look for in a web host.
The first thing you should consider is what technical requirements you have for your web site. If your web site will make use of more advanced technology like Cold Fusion or Active Server Pages, your web host will need to be able support a Windows platform like a Windows 2000 or Windows NT server.
If you plan to use PHP, MySQL or Perl, you can stick with a web host that offers a Linux/Unix platform. Linux platform hosting packages are usually priced lower than a Windows based platform.
You should also look at the size of your web site before selecting a web hosting package. If your web site is small, usually less than five pages, then the disk space that comes as part of your package may not be a primary concern.
However, if you plan to have a site with a lot of pictures, video files or mp3s, you should find a web hosting package that includes at least 500 MB of space.
The next thing you should consider when picking a web hosting package is the amount of traffic that you expect your site to draw. Naturally everyone wants a successful web site, but success is in the eye of the beholder.
If you expect your web site to draw a lot of traffic. Your should plan on finding a web site hosting plan that will offer at least 40 GB of bandwidth a month.
It is better to err on the side of caution and sign up for a bigger plan than you need. Most web hosts will charge a premium for any bandwidth that you use over the allotment that is provided with your web hosting plan. Make sure that you check monthly traffic patterns and adjust your plan according to your traffic patterns.
Once you have considered your platform, your disk space needs and your bandwidth requirements, you should analyze your web site plans and make note of any specialized needs that your web site may have.
If you plan to host a video archive, make sure that your web hosting package will be able to support popular video files. If you use a popular web authoring tool like FrontPage or Dreamweaver, you should make sure your web host has compatible service with these programs.
If you plan on putting an online store on your website, check to make sure that your web hosting plan offers full ecommerce features. Other things that you might want to consider are email packages that come with your web hosting plan, ftp accounts that are available to you and what control panel software that the web host uses.
