How to Select the Right Hosting Company for Your Website or Blog

Selecting the right hosting company is an important step in the life of a website. Because the relationship between a webmaster and the web hosting company is a rather long and intimate one, you have to make sure to do your homework up front in order to avoid the hassle of “divorcing” your web hosting company and finding another one. Here are a few things to consider when looking for a web hosting company.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Consider the purpose and scope of your website. If you’re developing a website or blog as a hobby or to keep friends and family updated about the goings and comings in your life, you might consider hosting your site on a free hosting company. If, however, you intend to eventually use the website as a revenue generating source, stay away from the free sites as they won’t offer the flexibility you will undoubtedly need.
   
   It’s best to fully scope out the extent and purpose of your website. Consider the features your site will need before you begin looking at hosting companies and their plans.

2. Understand the difference in web platforms. Most web hosts operate either on a Unix or a Windows based platform. Use the one most comfortable for you. If you’re a newbie to web hosting and have been using Windows based products all your life, then it might be easier for you to use a web hosting company with a Windows operating system. Unix, on the other hand, may require a little learning, but it is easy enough to learn and is a stable and reliable operating system.

3. Review the web host’s uptime and reliability. This is especially important for moneymaking sites. Your income is very closely tied with the uptime and reliability of your website. Even if you mange to create a killer website that generates thousands of dollars a day, it will do you no good if your web host constantly is apologizing to you because the servers are down.

4. Compare hosting plans and costs. Costs range from free to very expensive depending on the plan and the operating system. Web hosting plans based on a Unix operating system are usually cheaper than those with the Windows operating system. Unix is a free operating system, where as web hosts must pay to use Windows, thus making their operating costs higher than Unix based servers.

5. Narrow down the web hosting plans. There are as many web hosting plans as there are web hosting companies. As a matter of fact each web hosting company offers several plans. The plan you choose all comes down to reviewing your information in step one. Consider the purpose and scope of your website. That will help you to make a wise decision when it comes to selecting a web hosting plan.

Tips & Warnings

• It is a little overwhelming when you first start shopping around for a web host, but the more you start to shop, the more you will learn. Take your time.

[Life-is-sweet]

on 11/7/2008 Seriously, it' so overwhelming! However, you're right I am learning more and more as I look into things.

Thank you, great article!