How to choose web host

[myidealhost]

There are many things to pay attention to when starting your online business. These are: how to choose a proper domain name, what type of hosting provider to choose and where you can get the best deal. But the most important aspect of your online business is web hosting provider. It's a basis for your online business. If it is not good enough, you won't benefit from it.

Now many people may get confused when choosing the right web hosting. There re a lot of factors to consider here: which web hosting provider is the best? should I choose Shared or Dedicated hosting? What features will I need? How reliable is it?, etc. In this article we'll try to guide you in searching the right Web hosting provider and list the basic item for you to do a research accordingly and find the best one.

Space and Bandwidth.

First of all, you should consider the possible space and bandwidth required for your website. If you have a static website with a few pages, you can go for a limited monthly plan. In case your website is dynamic (like blogs), then you would need an unlimited hosting package. The simpler your site, the less space & bandwidth you will need for it to function properly.

Shared or Dedicated Hosting.

Shared Hosting means that several sites share a single server. Each website has its own space on the server. Shared hosting is cheaper than Dedicated hosting and doesn't require heavy maintenance by a user. This type of hosting is preferable for static websites with just a few pages.

In Dedicated web hosting, you control the whole server and only one site is hosted there. This type of hosting is proper for dynamic sites (e.g. blogs with new entries added daily). Dedicated hosting is more flexible than shared hosting as you have full control over the entire server. But it requires constant maintenance and costs more than shared hosting. To cut a long story short, if you have just started creating your website or you already have a static website with several pages, then you'd better sign up for shared hosting. In case you want to have full control over the server and be able to use additional features, you should go for Dedicated hosting.

Operating System

Before buying a hosting package, you also need to choose the operating system you would use to run your site and software. The most popular OS are Windows and Linux. Each operating system has its own differences and peculiarities, and depends on the type of website you develop.

Linux operating system is widely used due to better functionality and stability. Windows is stable too, but it has limits for some features. If you're developing you website in CGI/Perl/PHP, then you should choose Linux operating system because of its flexibility. In case your website uses ASP, you should go for Windows operating systems. Make a list of features/softwares you'll need to use for your website. This will help youto make the final decision.

Reliability

Along with other items stated below, reliability is the main thing you should be looking for. Many hosting companies provide 24/7 support. They co-operate with you and reply to all queries trying to provide a quick solution as soon as possible. Now you just need to be able to identify them.

The first thing is to check the users' reviews. Search for them on the Internet. These reviews provide a lot of information about the hosting company. Compare the number of positive and negative reviews.

The up-time guarantee and back up options are another thing you need to check for. No single hosting provider can provide 100% up-time. There's always a 0.1% of downtime. So check if there's a 99% of up-time included in the hosting package. Also see if the hosting company performs regular backups. It will allow you to restore the site data to a previous state in case of server crash or data loss. Finally, check whether the web host provides spam filtering and virus protection.

Post Scriptum

Price should not be the only option to consider. If the hosting company is offering you unlimited disk space and bandwidth for free, don't take it. The unlimited free package you'll get will deprive you of other features, such as up-time guarantee, technical support and others.

Proper technical support available via telephone, WebChat or email. Contact them and make some queries about the hosting package, and check the result (i.e. speed of reply, level of knowledge, level of communication, etc.)

Carefully read the terms and conditions of your future web hosting company. Check if there's any hidden fees. Also check for money back guarantee (in case you experience issues with hosting, you can always get refund within a period of time).
Choosing the perfect web hosting provider is not an easy task. There are complaints and bad reviews even on top hosts. So it is very important to do a thorough research about the web hosting company you are going to sign up with and only after that make your final decision.

_____________________________
contact@myIdealHost.com
MyIdealHost.com - unlimited linux hosting from $4.85/mo

[signin]

Excellent post about How to choose web host.
I really love to read it.

[myidealhost]

Maybe you have some other requirements when choosing a webhosting company if so please share them in this thread.

contact@myIdealHost.com
MyIdealHost.com - unlimited linux hosting from $4.85/mo

[Delois]

Web host is very important for the website. The tips for choosing the web host are like you should check the web space and bandwidth of the coating. You should concern the age of the host provider. You should check the customer service for the hosting and take review for the host provider. You need to make sure about the technical team is professional or not. Check the price of different host providers.

[mesasa]

1. Figure out what you need fisrt.

2. look for web hosting comparison

3. select best hosting provider according to your requirements

4. Let them know what you expect from them

5. See what they can offer if it fits your need..i think this are just the basics.

[SolidShellSecur]

Always avoid cheap template looking sites as they are probably just a kid slapping cpanel on a server and calling it hosting. Anyone who has been in hosting as long as us knows there is no such thing as cheap and unlimited hosting. That right there is a red flag.

[bidaddy]

Know your hosting needs.
Investigate on host reliability and uptime guarantees.
Study web host upgrading options.
Check all hosting features (such as number of addon domains allowed) based on your needs.
Check prices on both sign up and renewal.
Check hosting control panel.

[manoharparakh]

The functionality of a VPS can be described using four terms: compartmentalization, dedicated resources, root access, and isolated hosting environment.

Compartmentalization

To create a VPS, the physical server is divided into multiple virtual compartments (virtual CPU specs, RAM, hard disk space, etc). Think of it like segmenting a hard disk into multiple drives. However, with a VPS, compartmentalization goes beyond just allocating hard disk space.

Dedicated Resources

When the server software is set up, each virtual compartment is allotted a specific quota for using the master server’s resources. This includes a dedicated percentage of the server disk space, CPU, and RAM. Hence, when your website is hosted in this new compartment it will operate as if the allocated resources make up the specs for its server. This obviously means that the more compartmentalization’s that exist on a master server, the more powerful hardware it deploys.

Root Access

When compartmentalization and resource allocation are complete, the VPS behaves like a standalone, dedicated server. Hence, you will gain complete root access to the server (and hence complete control over server), allowing you to configure the VPS system as per your needs. As a result, every single server is allowed to select its very individual operating system, configure existing components, and setup new ones and be able to restart it at anytime.

Isolated Environment

Compartmentalization creates an isolated environment for your VPS. Whatever changes you make, or configurations you perform on your VPS cannot affect any other VPS on the same system. The same holds true for all other VPS on the master server. Hence, any instances of malware or cyber threats that have affected, or are affecting any VPS on the master server cannot affect your VPS.

Think of it like living in a colony of bunkers, where though each may be sharing the same resource pool, each is self sustaining and completely isolated from neighboring bunkers. Hence, with a VPS, even though all the VPS servers on the master server are sharing the same hardware resources, each will always operate differently from each other. If one server has a problem, it’s there problem alone and none of the other servers will be affected because of it.

SSD (Solid State Drive) VPS

SSD VPS options like the ones available here for Europe provide super fast and reliable hosting solutions paired with 1Gbps or 10Gbps bandwidth ports.

http://esds.co.in/