What to Look for in a Web Hosting Package

Ok, so you finally made that decision to take the plunge and start your online presence. But how do I get a web site? Where is it going to be? You probably have alot of questions, which I will be happy to answer here.

Surely you have seen the web hosting ads on the Internet, search results, and even in this blog. Surely you have clicked and visited their pages, and read about their great service and everything you get with the accounts. Now its time to "understand" what all of this means.

Research your web host and the account setup based on "YOUR NEEDS". Here are some questions to consider:

1) What kind of web site? Business or Personal
2) Expecting high traffic? low traffic?
3) Will it be dynamic or static? What's the difference?
4) What tools do I have to design web pages? If any?

So let's tackle some of these questions and see the kinds of features you need to be on the look out for your web hosting account:

Personal web sites: You are putting out your resume, or family photos, or the latest update from a family member on an excursion around the world. What do you need? You need a domain name and a "shared" hosting account. Shared hosting accounts generally mean "lower price" hosting accounts because your web site will be on the same computer hardware as a number of other web hosting customer's web sites. This is how a web host makes his bread and butter, by selling you a small partition of his total available computer hardware, storage, and network bandwidth. Think about it, this isn't very different from how the phone company makes money. Do you actually think that the phone company has a circuit for every home? Have you ever tried to place a phone call during a disaster, such as a blizzard or tornado? People get the busy signal when trying to dial out because "all circuits are busy". This is so because these 2 businesses operate on the principle of over selling in the hopes that not all of their customers will ever be on the same circuit at the same time. This is no different for a web hosting company.

Business web sites: Now we need to be more careful because the type of account you get will also play a crucial role on your bread and butter lively hood. You will need enough storage and bandwidth to upload all of your product/services information. No doubt you will have some type of marketing in place to bring visitors to your web site, now you have to make sure the bandwidth will be there for those days when you hit critical mass and attract thousands of potential customers. You will definetely want to consider a higher priced hosting account. Generally such accounts go on computer hardware that is not overly populated with shared accounts. If you plan to accept credit cards online, you will also need a Dedicated IP address.

Next time I will continue to discuss features of your hosting account comparing personal vs. business and what to look for.

Questions and comments --->

The Not so Cheap Accounts

In the previous article I began a discussion of the $2.99 web hosts. The bottom line in that article was that either the web host had enourmous power of economies and scaling to offer accounts at that price, or the web host is a small business trying to grow their client base through really cheap account sales (and don't guarantee that the price will remain the same).

On the opposite side we have web hosts that cost considerably more than $2.99. Now with these hosts you need to look at what is being offered in the package. Remember, generally UNLIMITED promises, especially on the storage/disk space may indicate that the hosting company may be inexperienced, as web hosts, like any other business, derive their livelyhood from accounts and also have expenses to pay in connection with running a business.

So take a closer look at whats offered. Researching several hosting companies will show you that most people will put a cap on the amount of storage and bandwidth available on your account, as well as database access. When you see packages with limitations such as this you can expect that the web host is duly running a business, and plans to stay in business, for a long time to come.

Now that you may have done some price research, its time to tackle whats being offered, from an account point of view (features) and a service point of view (technical support and reliability). I will be discussing these finer points in my next few posts, stay tuned to learn2host for more tips on researching web hosting companies for the best bang for your buck!

As always, feel free to ask and drop in your own opinions and experiences --->
Next time: Evaluating hosting packages.

What sets the price?

What determines the price you pay per month for your hosting account? Further, what is the difference between a $2.99/mo account and a $18.99/mo account?

Folks, no matter what kind of business you are in, price is generally determined by market factors and your gross sales versus your expenses. Web hosts, like any other company, have expenses, and these vary wildly depending on the hosting company.

Often expenses are associated with cost of server hardware, network connectivity, technical support, software licensing, administrative staff (if any), and advertising/marketing. Now with that in mind, let's tackle the $2.99 host first:

The $2.99 host, in my opinion, will fall under only 2 categories: A web host that due to leverage of economies is able to provide you with this excellent price, or a very small web host that is not very experienced in running a business, thus lowering the price to gain more customers.

Needless to say, the web hosting market is totally saturated. Searching for the keyword web hosting on Google yields millions of service providers. Really. So how do you know when a deal is really a deal? Do your research...(using my blog).

If you come across a web host selling accounts for $2.99/mo and offering UNLIMITED everything that should sound some warning bells. Remember, web hosts are just like businesses and have very real expenses. As you evaluate this web host, draw your own conclusions as to if the price will remain this low, for how long, and if how long this web host will be in business.

Next time we will discuss the flip side of the coin, the hosts that come in at the not so cheap prices...

Comments/Questions always welcome -->

You and Your Web Host: A Novel from a Former Hosting Director

Most of you that have web sites have been at least burned by a web host once in your life time. Needless to say sometimes as customers we strike out on our research of a web host, sometimes the price is simply too good to be true, and sometimes, things are not as they appear on the surface.

As a former web host business owner and implementer I would like to share with you how to go about finding and hiring a web host that will satisfy most of your needs. From technical support, to server uptime, to pricing, through my blog you will learn how to discover what kind of web host you are looking at (or already have). Sometimes this exercise will prove you that you got a great deal from your host in all fronts, and sometimes it will reveal that you did not do so well.

I will show you what to look for when selecting your web host, and you will draw your own conclusions. In addition, I will share with you my internal knowledge of running a hosting business so that you can put it to use in optimizing your web site for complete success. I will discuss emerging technologies, programming, system administration, running an online business, and how to find and hire Gurus to take the technology portion of your business to the next level. I will be posting in this blog fairly frequently, so come back and learn2host!

--Alex