How to Choose the Best Web Host

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Topic: How to Choose the Best Web Host

Learn how to select the right web host

See the subtopics menu for FAQs about how to choose the best web host. For additional information about web hosting, see the topic list directly below.


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How to Choose the Best Web Host - Subtopics

· Cheap Web Hosts
· Choosing a Web Host
· Foreign Web Hosts

· Compare Web Hosts
· Reliable Hosting Providers
· Free Web Hosting

Cheap Web Hosts
What are some good inexpensive web hosts?

Some good inexpensive web hosts that are popular today can be found on our top five web hosts list. Most of the time, cheap web hosts cost around $5-$15 per month. The feature set available is usually limited with these types of plans.

For example, $6.95 per month can lease 100 GB (or more) of storage space from some web hosting companies and include 1000 GB per month of bandwidth (how data much you can transfer to and from the website per month), and 1000 email accounts. This would be more than enough space for the average person to use on their website, and they would likely never exceed it.

Keep in mind that a lot of the features with cheaper Web hosts are often similar. These types of plans are often comparable, so you must look at other factors to help you make your decision. How many other websites will be hosted on the server with yours? How long has the particular hosting company been around? Will you have the ability to cancel your account without be charged cancellation fees? Will you be able to upgrade easily if the need arises?

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Choosing a Web Host
How do I choose the best Web host?

The best web hosting provider is not always the cheap web hosting provider. Web hosting providers are like car dealerships; you should examine them carefully before purchasing something from them.

You should talk to users who are with that company and see what they have to say. Check to see what kind of sites are hosted at the provider, and ask them what their quality of service has been like. Compare web hosts to see what features are available and what rates they offer. Make sure you know what catches there are, like if you are going to have advertising on your website in exchange for not being charged to host it.

Don't just look at the price and features offered. Look at miscellaneous factors as well. In short, do your homework before buying.

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Foreign Web Hosts
What could happen if my web host is in another country?

Most of the time you don't need to worry if your web host is located outside of the United States or not. There are situations, however, in which this could be a concern.

If you store sensitive data on your website that is not allowed by law to be exported to other countries, you could be in violation of federal law. If you need technical support, you have to keep the time zone difference in mind. If the country's laws change and the material on your server is deemed to be unlawful, then it could be taken down, even though you reside in the USA. And if someone breaks into the facility where the server housing your data is located and steals equipment, you won't have the same legal recourses as you would in the USA.

In short, be aware of what data you have, and be sure that if something drastic occurs, you can still access a backup of it.

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How to Compare Web Hosts
How should I perform a web hosting comparison?

The following merits should be included when you compare web hosts:

Reliability/uptime - how often do the servers go down for maintenance or because of problems?
Price - how much does it cost to have a website hosted? Are there extra charges for more features?
Backups - does the company perform backups of your data? If not, do they at least tell you how to back it up yourself?
Customer service - are they available via phone and email? Do they have a physical address? Are they available for questions 24/7?

Uses these guidelines to compare web hosts, and you'll be well on your way to finding the best web host out there for your specific needs.

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Reliable Hosting Providers
Is there a difference in shared hosting plans?

A reliable hosting provider is a gold mine in and of itself. All providers will have downtime at some point or another; what makes them reliable is their response and customer service attitude when that downtime does occur.

To check on the reliability of hosting providers, do some research. Check any help forums that the provider might have and see how many complaints there are, and what is done to resolve them. If the provider lists any companies that it hosts, send those companies an email asking them how they like the hosting from that provider. Do some research before signing up, and you'll be much better off.

Most of the time there is little difference between shared hosting plans. Server hardware is generally fast enough that it can provide consistent service and power to each website, regardless of the user.

Software features are generally standard, and though they may differ slightly from host to host, they will not generally differ much across similarly priced plans. The time when differences in plans really comes into play is in dedicated hosting plans, not shared hosting plans.

Some of the standard software that is typically included in a shared hosting plan is support for FTP access, mySQL, and Microsoft Frontpage extensions. Standard features for shared hosting plans includes a moderate monthly bandwidth limit (i.e., 100GB/month), a modest amount of email addresses (i.e., 20-30), and a moderate amount of storage space on the server (i.e., 5-10GB).

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Free Web Hosting Traps
What's the catch with free web hosting?

Free web hosting is often touted by services as a way to entice users to register their website with that service. However, free doesn't always mean good. Most of the time, when a provider offers hosting for free, they want something in exchange; usually they require there to be banner advertisements on your website. For personal websites, this arrangement might not be too bad, but for a lot of people, having ads pop up on their website is not something they want to have happen.

For businesses who have a lot of users, this is not a proper solution. But for people who want a simple website without the fuss of ads, a service like this is perfect. You only have to pay a fee to register the website (i.e., www.yourwebsite.com) and then the hosting is free.

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Note: This information is for general use only. Use this information as part of a full research process. General advice does not always apply directly to individual matters. Please consult a local expert with specific and complex questions about your individual situation.


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