Choosing the Best Web Hosting Service

Choosing the perfect Web hosting service is not rocket science, but it doesn’t hurt to do a little research before taking the plunge. You should know what technologies you plan on using. Will it be Windows or Linux? If you plan on making a dynamic Website this choice will be important. The nice thing about Linux is that it is Open Source, which means it’s free. You also get the huge following of developers that love making free software for it. Each has their own set of features, functions, pros and cons. Now if you are just make a static site (one that doesn’t change without uploading new files), it doesn’t really matter.

What did you use to create the Website? Did you use FrontPage or some other Website building software? FrontPage for example has the ability to connect directly to a server making updating a static Website, creating feedback forms, and a variety of other dynamic Web functions a snap. If you used FrontPage to create your site, you should consider a Web hosting service that not only offers FrontPage support, but the ability to reinstall the special extensions needed to use FrontPage, quickly, and without any charge. FrontPage extensions tend to be unstable and like to break on you.

You should also consider what you plan on doing with your Website(s). Will it be an information Website, a personal Website, Blog, picture site, download site, or game site? How much disk space do you think you will use? If you plan on making a information site or Blog, disk space is not really an issue. You can make thousands of pages on just 100 MB of space. Many hosting companies try to lure you in with outrageous amounts of disk space they know you will never use.

Another question to ask your self is, how many Websites do you plan on making? Many hosting companies are now allowing you to host multiple domains on one account. This is really a great value considering you tend to never use all the disk space, bandwidth, and email accounts provided with your hosting account. Why buy 5 hosting accounts at $8 per month when you can have all 5 sites on 1 account for $10/month. Get my drift?

What types of features would you like to offer to your Website visitors? Control panels such as cPanel offer the ability to instantly install features such and forums, photo galleries, and counters with one click. If you are not a seasoned Webmaster, features like this can really jumpstart your Website!

How new are you at this? Do you think you will need a lot of help? A good technical support team can really make a difference when trying to get your Website up and running and getting it back up when it breaks.