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Step 1
Consider the company before you consider the plan. No matter how attractive a web hosting plan appears, if it’s with a poor and unreliable web hosting company, then you’re setting yourself up for frustration.
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Step 2
Think about your bandwidth. Bandwidth is the transfer of data between the web host and your website. Some websites require high bandwidth. Sites that download music, videos, large files, etc require larger bandwidth than text an all text site. If your website is mainly text, you don’t have to pay for the extra bandwidth. However, if you’re showing videos, downloading music, etc., spring for the additional bandwidth.
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Step 3
Decide whether you want to use Windows or Unix. This is a matter of personal preference and cost. Unix web hosting plans are usually cheaper than its counterpart because Unix is a free operating system. Therefore, if you have to choose between two plans offering similar disc space, bandwidth, bells and whistles with the only difference being that one is Unix and the other is Windows, the Unix web hosting plan is usually cheaper.
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Step 4
Determine which bells and whistles you need. Do you need things like Front Page extensions, a sophisticated shopping cart or WordPress capability? If so, make sure the web hosting plan you choose has all of these items. It’s best to make a shopping list of the features you must have before you begin shopping for a web hosting plan.
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Step 5
Establish a budget. Web hosting plans can range from free to several hundred dollars. Some offer monthly payment options and others annual. Sit down and establish your web hosting budget before you start to shop. It’s easy to get carried away by attractive features offered by web hosting plans and spend more than you bargained for if you don’t establish a budget before you shop.
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Step 6
Visit on Webmaster forums. Webmaster forums are one of the best places to find information about web hosting companies and their web hosting plans. Nothing beats hand on experience from seasoned webmasters.
