Long before you start your search for a reliable web hosting company, list down your particular web hosting needs. Keep in mind things like the amount of space required, the number of emails, how much would you allocate for transfers, whether you will require a database or even a shopping cart. Consider whether you might want chat features, set up a forum or need a merchant account. Doing this is essential because for a web host to be reliable, it has to cater to your specific needs. The few things that every web host should have are as follows:
Reliability and Up Time
More Uptime amounts to more user-friendliness. So see the amount of Uptime that the web host promises for the website. Some may give you an Uptime of around 99.5%! Check details of the hardware, protections and connectivity. These reduce the downtime
Costing
You should be charged a reasonable rate and be offered flexible manners of making payment by your web host. Carefully look through for setup fees, hidden costs etc. To cover their costs for having quality technical support, most companies nowadays charge setup fees.
Bandwidth- Correct Bandwidth
Bandwidth is a very important component is increasing or depleting the trade developments. If the host gives an undersized bandwidth then you pay more if you download more than the limit. However, many hosts will give more bandwidth at around the same costs. Select carefully. Don’t be fooled by any promises of ‘Unlimited Bandwidth′. It does not exist. Have a limit of at least 1GB of data flow. This will let more interchanges as the site becomes popular.
Storage Space of Disk
Space is another crucial factor as far as growth is concerned. You will find web hosts offering you 20 to 50 MB space while others offering 100 MB space, at again roughly a similar price. Go for the ones offering 100 MB and greater, for otherwise you will end up paying $5 to $10 more for every 10 MB additional space.
Server Speed-Velocity of the Server
Look into the server velocity before you choose a web host. Get a free mechanism like Net Mechanic to figure out the connection velocity for various things like connection timing, system speed, download timing, DNS research and lack of timeouts. The time required for download will give you an idea about the efficiency of the server. Make a quick search of the potential web hosts that you select, during the rush hours and no-rush times.
Fundamental Characteristics
Choose a web host that offers a wide array of features from the beginning. Some web hosts may charge you extra for features that they add on every month.
More than one Domain Names
Find out if your web hosting account will allow and charge extra for more than one domain name, if by chance you use multiple domain name. A few of the web hosts do not charge anything extra for several domain names.
Email Autoresponders and Mail Forwarding Accounts
Make sure that your web hosting account permits forwarding of emails. It becomes extremely efficient and easy if all your emails from many of your websites are forwarded to your ISP service. Without logging into each and every one of your accounts, you can simultaneously read all the mail. Autoresponder is another time saving device that also acts as a great marketing tool. It is a program that sends any of your wanted pre-written messages to anyone who mails you. You can stay connected and increase your publicity while drastically reducing your own workload with this program.
Mailing List
See if the web-hosting corporation will let you make mailing lists. Such a list or an online, mail based conversation assembly will be useful if you disperse the ezone for marketing strategies and endorsement episodes.
FTP
File Transfer Protocol or FTP service comes with almost every web hosting company, as it is a basic service. It allows quick and efficient file transfer from your Website to others and vice versa.
Setting up Anonymous FTP accounts
This service gives you a FTP website that lets users have accessibility to download the required data and files. These nameless mail accounts can get you good money if people make huge downloads of free e-books or software and so on. The best advantage is that if the Net service or phone corporation drops work while file transfers or downloads, you can still keep downloading from wherever you stopped as soon as you reconnect.
Using a Secured or SSL Server
If your business involves monetary transactions through your website, using a secured server is an absolute must. Often you have to pay extra web hosting charges for this facility, but without having a secured server can scare away your potential customers. Taking online orders and transference of sensitive and important information like credit card numbers require a secure server, as a SSL server allows such information typed into a form to be encrypted before sending it from the user’s Web browser to the server.
CGI Scripts
These are utilized to get data from any and the data is then sent to the email account. Proper web hosting corporations will surely have a range of CGI scripts that is utilized by those who host the website. However, the most efficient web hosts will let you have your chosen CGI scripts for utilization. Choose web-hosting companies that will give you this service. Even if you believe that CGI scripts are not for you, take them. You can require them afterwards.
Highly Developed Features
See if the web host has developed characteristics like RealAudio/Video, Java Applets, Database Access, Password Protection and PHP so that your site may use them if required.
Backup
Everyday, your web directory will most certainly be backed up by almost every web hosting service. It is unthinkable nowadays to not provide this basic service. To ensure that your website is not lost in the confusion, certain web hosts provide you with unnecessary and unimportant backups.
Guarantee
It often becomes difficult to distinguish or even trust the host of available web service providers. You can make a decision with accounts offering a guarantee or schemes like a money back policy within a month, if you are dissatisfied with the services. Those web hosting accounts that offer the money back policy are usually efficient and reliable in their services.
Flexibility of the Host
A stagnant web hosting service can be the worst bane for your website and your business. It too needs to grow along with your website and business. So if you desire to include newer features like ecommerce, it should be able to upgrade and provide you with facilities like shopping cart, storefront or a merchant account. The web host should have constant upgrades an should be ready to provide you services like more web space, or your own dedicated server or even a forum.
About the author: William MacMahon is a professional blogger and server admin in the web hosting industry. Visit WebHostingMadness.com to join him on his search for the top hosting companies each month.