Web Hosting Do’s and Don’ts

Working with a web host provider means anyone can have a little place to call their own on the internet and have people come visit them. This service enables people to upload images, have graphics and content about them on the site and tell some interesting tales about them or life in general. Some web host providers will offer this space in addition to the internet connection itself. They will likely host everything in a data center. Not every firm operates in this manner though and some will provide space with internet connections that are not owned by them. The correct name for this type of service is a collocation. It will provide an opportunity for many visitors to contact you and correspond or allow them to see your content. All hosts, including the small ones will provide the ability to host files and have some storage space. Some more advanced providers will provide a larger selection of tools and services to customers including the ability to manage email accounts and to utilize script installation tools.

Web Hosting Features:

Be aware of your budget, how much you need for storage and how much bandwidth your site is liable to use. Think about other things like if you offer shopping facilities, can you cater for your customers? Having a Secure Sockets layer encryption will enable this as will offering a shopping cart to your customers. Many people have web sites to encourage discussion and they have forums or boards on their site. To properly run one of these applications like CGI scripting, Perl or PHP can be really useful. Many people find database requirements to be really useful for running their site and this means packages like MySQL, Postgre SQL or Miscrosoft SQL server can be a great addition to your site. With so many applications available, it would be easy to have them all. However, they all cost money so only buy what you need. To do this best, try and gauge how much bandwidth you’ll require, learn what storage you’ll need and do you really need items like spam protection or site construction tools.

You need to have a web host firm you can trust to ensure that if anything goes wrong, they will be able to fix it and help you recover from any breakdowns. The following are a list of Do’s and Do Nots you should be aware of when trying to select a host company.

Somethings you need to Do:

Undertake a lot of research: Study all the different web host firms and compile a list of the features you need. Compare the firms and how they match your list. See which one offers the best deal. Remember to search forums and ask webmasters and other users for what they think about a company. Read online reviews of companies and see what other users say. Study the awards and achievements if a company. Try to find out what data centers they use, how many customers they serve, how many staff members they employ and what support they offer. If you can, discuss matters with a client who already uses the company.

Create a list of what you require: Items like bandwidth size and space for storage are vital for all site owners and a list should be made of what you really need. A higher level of these functions would be good but is it worth paying for? If you don’t really need them could you use the money in other ways? If you believe you may need these features but are not definite, try and find a host that offers some room to grow. This will give you a better chance of avoiding big bills for exceeding your usage limits.

Have something in reserve just in case: Every reliable business needs to have a secondary plan in case things go wrong. Although web hosts will claim to be reliable, things can go wrong, for some sites more than others. If your site offers backup and can help you fix things, this is not a major issue. This will enable you to recover quicker and prevent you from losing a lot of data. Make sure your host provider offers these facilities and if they don’t, consider finding a new host.

Make sure you will be supported: Prior to signing any agreement, take the time to speak to firm and give them questions. Ask them about their service options and what their experience and skills are like. It is easy to understand a company better just by talking to them for a short spell.

What you Must Not Do:

Do not choose a host on price alone: It is always better not to choose a web hosting company only on the basis of their pricing. You will find a number of cheap web hosting providers from whom you get only what you pay for. But there is a very less chance of getting quality service from them. For an average reliability, generally, you need to pay at least .50 cents for one gigabyte of bandwidth. However, if you want high quality hosting you will have to pay three or four times more.

Do not use free web hosting: Avoid the common web page mistake, if you want people to take your online business seriously. Free web hosting earns their revenue by placing numerous advertising on your site some of which may even harm a computer. Your customers will not like this at all; moreover this also gets in the way of your credibility. Further more, choosing a professional web hosting provider ensures that you have a reliable domain host and will also enable your customers to trust you with their credit card information.

Be wary of testimonials from “customers”: Be warned that not every testimonial you will read about a firm is true. Quite often the firm will create these testimonials about the company to make it look good. The stories may be partly true or not true at all. It is always better to read reviews from different sources and locations and to ask around for opinions. This is very true if you can find clients who have already used the company. People who have genuine experience of the firm will give you the best opinions about the service the company will provide. One way that a testimonial on a site may be believable is if they offer contact details to allow you to discuss this with the person who placed the information.

Do not look for web hosting that incorporates free domain: A large number of people like to find a web host who will also provide a domain free of charge along with its main package. If possible, try and keep these issues separate. The way this approach can work is if the domain is registered in your name and is your property. Sometimes this is not the case and the web host will register it in their name and grant you the opportunity to use it. If the name becomes popular they may seize control of it or if you want to move hosts, they may try and hold onto the name.

Republished with permission from, providing web hosting articles, industry reviews and ratings of today’s top web hosting companies. Go to webhostingmadness.com for more information about and exclusive deals on web hosting.