Wizard of the Websites
Everything you need to know about starting your own Website
Finding The Right Host Provider
Finding the right host provider is a crucial step in the development and implementation of your website. Choosing the wrong one could have great effects on the success of your website and how well you work with its limitations. There are many factors that can revolve around choosing a host provider and they can differentiate according to your needs and the needs of your website or blog. There are however several factors that, no matter what type of website or blog you are creating, should play a role in your decision making process.
Pricing seems to be the number one issue when people are looking for hosting for their site, especially if they are working on a tight budget. This is a factor to consider, but is not recommended overriding all of your other priorities. Sometimes, but not all the time, host providers will offer cheap prices, but will lack in other areas like customer support or the amount of space you may receive. Most quality host providers will offer a good package that not only has what you are looking for technically, but also what you are looking for financially. These “all around” packages will usually run between $3.99 and $7.99 a month. If you require additional technical specifications then the price may go up. There is of course providers that offer even lower prices, but there again you need to look at what you are getting with that price.
Compare and contrast hosting prices of the top host providers.
Technical specifications are another major feature to look at when choosing the right host provider. If you want to create a massive website consisting of hundreds of pages, images and databases you are going to need a lot space in order for your site to run smoothly for its visitors. If you want to create a smaller, more personal website, you are not going to need as mush space in order for your site to operate efficiently. If you have no clue how much space you may need, almost all host providers allow you to start off small and add on as your site grows. Other technical specifications you may need to look at when picking the right hosting are; number of domains allowed, number of email accounts, number of databases allowed, percentage of serve uptime, and amount of traffic allowed.
If you are a newcomer to starting your own website and are having trouble with the technical side, you may want to look into hosting that provides you with design templates. These templates help you develop the design of your site by allowing you to customize a pre-made web page to fit the content and feel of the site you want to create. This feature requires no knowledge of programming skills and is great for people who want to test the waters. If you do have some programming knowledge though, these templates will also allow you to still edit the HTML source of the web page if needed. This feature is usually included in the monthly price and is a quick and easy way to get your site up on the web.
Customer Support
Last but not least, customer support is a big issue when choosing the right host provider. It can be an even bigger issue if you are purchasing hosting for the first time. All hosting companies will have some sort of customer support, but not all will have the type of support you may need. Most customer support levels include; 24 hour phone support, email support and live chat support. The best would consist of all three and the worst would consist of only having email support. Email support is not usually bad, but when dealing with host issues most people prefer constant live interaction like over the phone or in a live chat. This way customer concerns can be addressed and answered in a timely manner. In order to find out about host providers and their customer support you can do Internet searches on testimonials concerning certain host providers in order to receive a more accurate account of how well their customer support is.
In the end choosing the right host provider can be a tricky process if you do not take your time and evaluate what you need and what type of features meet those needs. Low pricing is always going to catch your eye at first, but make sure you compare and contrast other features they may offer in order to find the right host for you. Below is a list of popular host providers and the features they offer for you to compare and get an idea of what they have to offer. Remember that there are tons of host providers on the web today so if at first you do not find one that fits your needs do not get distressed.
Recommendations:
One host provider that has a great all around package is www.GoDaddy.com. I have used them for the past two years and I can safely say they have great customer support as well as loads of features to meet your technical specifications. The biggest thing they advertise is their low prices, offering cheap domain names and hosting packages. To compare and contrast GoDaddy and other popular host providers you can find a list on the Website Hosts Page.
