How to Choose a Web host : Points to Consider Before You Buy
What is a Web Host?
For your website to go live and others to be able to see it, you have to publish/transfer it to a Web Server (Basically a Powerful Computer). Web Servers are owned and maintained by Web Hosting Companies commonly called Web Hosts.
These Web Hosts serve your website to the world and that's what they basically charge you for.
Free Web Hosting Options
For a professional website, free hosting is not a good idea because the services offered are limited. But for a basic or starter website, Free Web Hosting may be an option to consider.
To decide whether you want a free web hosting solution or not, see Merits and Demerits of Free hosting.
Paid Web Hosting
For most of the Web Sites, Paid or Commercial Web Hosting is the solution. Especially for a Professional Website.
Points to Consider
There are certain factors that you should keep in mind when buying a Hosting plan from a Web Host. These things include,
- The reputation of the Hosting provider.
- Its Costumer Support.
- After Sales Support.
- General Reviews about Host.
- Money Back Guarantee.
- Your Requirements.
While Reading Reviews understand that negative reviews can be exaggerated some times. Remember a satisfied customer may not choose to post a review, but an unsatisfied customer is highly likely to do so.
For a detailed analysis of different features offered by Web Hosts, Do take a look at the article What to look for in a Web Host When You Buy.
Some Web Hosts You Can Use
- IXWebHosting: $3.95/mo - Tons of Features, 99.9% Uptime and 24-7 Customer Service
IX Web Hosting is an economical Web Hosting Solutions provider. Currently they are offering Web Hosting starting from 4.95 $ Per month for a one year plan and 3.95 $ for a 2 year plan. Their Hosting plan includes features such as A Free Domain Name, Unlimited Bandwidth*, Unlimited Storage, Free Site Builder, Google and Yahoo ad credit and much more. A 30 Day Money Back Guarantee is also offered. - GoDaddy: GoDaddy.com Hosting Plans from $1.99 per month! Now with Unlimited Bandwidth!
GoDaddy is more famous for their Domain Registration Services but they also offer Web Hosting Services at low prices. For a year long Hosting plan they charge 3.99 $ per month, but if you buy through the above link you will get 3 months Hosting for $1.99 per month. With Web Hosting a Domain Name can also be purchased for a cheap 1.99 $. Their features include Unlimited Bandwidth*, 10 GB Storage, Free Google Adwords credit, Daily Backup and more. - Micfo: Cheap Web Hosting by micfo
Micfo is another economical Web Hosting provider. They offer Web Hosting at 7 $ per month on a yearly plan. Plus, If you buy a yearly Hosting plan from them now, you will get a 20 % Discount on your total order. Features offered include Unlimited Disk Space, Unlimited Bandwidth*, A Free Domain Name ( as long as you buy hosting from them), Automated Daily Backup and 30 Day Money Back Guarantee. - Yahoo! Small Business: Yahoo! Web Hosting - 25% off for the first 3 months
Yahoo is certainly one of the most recognized name on the internet. Along with other services, they are offering Web Hosting services for quite some years now. They offer Web Hosting at 9.95 $ per month on an annual plan, but right now they are running a special offer, which gives you Hosting for 7.46 per month for 1st 3 months. This is not cheap as compared to most Hosting companies, but that's the price of their brand.
Yahoo's Web Hosting features include Website Designing Tools, A Free Domain Name, Unlimited Bandwidth*, Unlimited Disk Space, Google-Yahoo-MSN Advertising Credits, 30 Day Money Back Guarantee.
After you Buy, Set the Name Servers
When you buy a Hosting plan, your host gives you information about the name servers of the website, required for setting up a Domain name. You put this information in you Domain account with your Domain Registrar. This links your Hosting Server with you DNS server and your website starts working.
Tip : The default page that is displayed when some one opens your site is index.html. You can change this option if you like.
Related:
What to look for in a Web Host When You Buy
Domain Names
Website Designing
Link to this page :
Copy and paste the following code in an html document to link to this page,