Anyone intending to set up a website will need to have an understanding of what a web host is and what it does. No website can exist without a web host. In layman's terms, a web host is a specialist company that provides computers for your web pages to be stored on, and from where they are accessed by anyone visiting your site. To do this they provide you with two key services, memory space on their computers to store your web pages, files and images, and bandwidth, which is used when people view and download your pages. Bandwidth is essentially a measure of data transfer over a length of time.
With millions of websites out there, needless to say there is no shortage of companies offering web hosting services. While this means you have plenty of choice when it comes to finding one, it also means it can be very difficult to choose when they all appear to offer very similar services and promises. Sadly they are not all the same in terms of quality and service, so you do need to take some time to research when you come to choose a web host company.
There will be certain technical requirements you have for your website, and this will serve to narrow down your search a little, and to focus on the most appropriate types of hosting plans on offer. The provision of web hosting does cost money, so you can expect to be charged in proportion to how large and busy you expect your site to be. These factors will dictate how much disc space and bandwidth you ask your web host to supply you each month, and the more you need, the more it will usually cost.
The other factor that will affect the cost of hosting is the provision of good technical support. Many web hosts have deals that look extremely cheap, but some of them will have such awful technical support that you begin to see why it is so cheap. That is not to say that some hosts do not provide packages which are both inexpensive and with good support, but you cannot tell which ones these are without doing some research. The most important thing to know is what existing customers think of the service provided by the web hosting company.
Given the nature of a website, you naturally want it to be available 24 hours a day. Less reliable web hosting companies may have more technical problems and more times when the servers are not functioning properly, so your website is unavailable. This is known as downtime. Almost every web host will brag of 99.9% uptime, but again, you need to check the reality with existing customers, unless the web host publishes an uptime report by an independent third party monitoring company.
Web hosting companies provide a vital service, but choosing the right one can make the difference between online happiness and misery. A little time invested in reading reviews and recommendations before signing up to anything will be well rewarded.
With millions of websites out there, needless to say there is no shortage of companies offering web hosting services. While this means you have plenty of choice when it comes to finding one, it also means it can be very difficult to choose when they all appear to offer very similar services and promises. Sadly they are not all the same in terms of quality and service, so you do need to take some time to research when you come to choose a web host company.
There will be certain technical requirements you have for your website, and this will serve to narrow down your search a little, and to focus on the most appropriate types of hosting plans on offer. The provision of web hosting does cost money, so you can expect to be charged in proportion to how large and busy you expect your site to be. These factors will dictate how much disc space and bandwidth you ask your web host to supply you each month, and the more you need, the more it will usually cost.
The other factor that will affect the cost of hosting is the provision of good technical support. Many web hosts have deals that look extremely cheap, but some of them will have such awful technical support that you begin to see why it is so cheap. That is not to say that some hosts do not provide packages which are both inexpensive and with good support, but you cannot tell which ones these are without doing some research. The most important thing to know is what existing customers think of the service provided by the web hosting company.
Given the nature of a website, you naturally want it to be available 24 hours a day. Less reliable web hosting companies may have more technical problems and more times when the servers are not functioning properly, so your website is unavailable. This is known as downtime. Almost every web host will brag of 99.9% uptime, but again, you need to check the reality with existing customers, unless the web host publishes an uptime report by an independent third party monitoring company.
Web hosting companies provide a vital service, but choosing the right one can make the difference between online happiness and misery. A little time invested in reading reviews and recommendations before signing up to anything will be well rewarded.
Read web host reviews and recommendations now on the author's website. Keith Garrow created his first website to showcase his abstract art, but it now also includes detailed guidance and advice on web hosting, search engine optimization, setting up an online business and how to create a website.
