Finding The Hosting Company For You
By Sean Burns
2003-10-14
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Price
Ever heard the expression "you get what you pay for"? Whilst not always true with web hosting companies, this can be used as a basic guide. Another thing that I believe to be very important is that if you are planning to make a living online, paying $50 per month should not be an issue. You don't need to pay this much but you need to look at your motivation for setting up your site - this will tell you how much you want to spend. To start off, you should be able to get a good host for $20 per month or less - an excellent host may cost a few dollars more.
There are lots of other things that can come into play when it comes to making this decision. Do you want a Unix or Windows server? If you don't know, go with Unix - it's cheaper due to Windows 2000 being commercial software. Do you need MySQL, do you need e-mail autoresponders (most hosts offer these). Keep in mind that it is usually quite a simple process to upgrade your hosting package so you may be fine with just the basics. Also keep in mind that it is a lot harder to switch hosting companies later on so make sure the company you choose gives you the option to expand.
Now that you (hopefully) have an idea of what you require, you now need to find someone to host your site. This is the hard bit!
The web hosting industry is extremely competitive and is also very mindful of marketing. Therefore, almost all hosting companies run an affiliate program. This seriously clouds peoples judgement when it comes to recommending a host - they are doing it for the money. One of the biggest hosts in the world is recommended on thousands of sites across the web because of their affiliate program - most people seem to ignore the fact that they have become a bit of a joke in terms of customer service. In fact many sites run by people I respect still recommend this host - a host I have recently left due to almost non-existent customer service and their fondness for charging what appear to be made up amounts to my credit card (which they are still doing despite my requests to cancel the account). I can't name this host here but if you are worried that you might sign up with them, send me an e-mail at mailto:seanb@webmastersreference.com with a host name and I'll tell you if it's them or not.
So, you can't take recommendations from sites on the web. Additionally, many hosting directories are notorious for the amount of influence that paying advertisers have on their recommendations (I have also been burnt by this in the past).
If you found this article interesting, you may want to read these as well:
» Add-On Domains, Parked Domains & Sub-Domains
» Web Hosts: Helping Us Navigate Through This Future Techno-World.
» Web Space or Bandwidth: Finding the Right Balance
» A Domain Name & Web Site - The Key To The Door.
» Web Hosting: To Switch or to Stay?
» What's In A Web Host?
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