We have seen how reliability, disk space and data transfers play a crucial role in the selection of a web host.

Let’s read further to find out what else needs to be taken into consideration.

E-mail Accounts

Decide on the number of e-mail accounts you are looking at.  While some web hosting companies limit the number, others have plans that provide multiple e-mail accounts, which is a better option as one has to make a provision for future growth. Some hosts also restrict the number of e-mails per hour, which doesn’t work for businesses using autoresponders to build lists.  But does the host allow autoresponders? Do you need a Web-based e-mail or POPS access, or both? Based on the users’ needs, these points should be kept in mind.

Operating System

Web hosting plans are available in both Windows and UNIX, with the latter being more popular as it offers the stability, flexibility and reliability that users need.  These plans are usually cheaper than the Windows plans.  UNIX–based plans using the Apache web server are good for webmasters as they offer a lot of features; such as blocking email harvesters, blocking IP address, error pages and others. Read about Apache servers on the net to understand how they work.

Coming to the Windows-based plans, they give users the option to use different dynamic content and specialized databases.  These hosting plans are needed for websites that use FrontPage, MS Access databases, MS SQL Servers, ASP and several Microsoft applications.

Multiple Domains

For webmasters who are into flipping websites or need multiple domains/sub domains, it is important to find out if the web host gives this option, and if they do, what they charge.

Control Panel/DirectAdmin

C-panel web hosting is a dream come true for webmasters and is extremely easy to work with even for new users. A web host has to offer both C-panel and DirectAdmin. This gives users the ability to handle their web accounts without having to depend on the support for all the maintenance tasks.

E-Commerce Sites

What is the website all about?  If there are physical goods being sold through the website, then e-commerce web hosting services that offer shopping cart software, SSL support to collect credit card payments and a merchant account are required.  Such web hosting plans are usually more expensive than the regular plans.

Policies

A web hosting company has to be well-equipped to take care of any contingencies. It is only natural to get a few spam complaints occasionally and no one wants their website shut down at the first suspicion of spam. There should also be an upgradation policy, where the hosting company allows the users to upgrade from shared hosting to dedicated hosting if required.

Shared hosting is basic hosting, where several websites share a single server.  Dedicated hosting is where users rent a complete server without sharing it with anybody.

Support

A good web hosting company ensures their technical support is on its toes at all times of the day or night.  It understands that time is money and businesses cannot afford to have any issues with their websites.  Go only with a web host who is available round the clock, including on weekends and holidays, and responds to urgent questions within reasonable time.  Never take them by their word.  Check them out by opening a ticket and seeing how quickly and how efficiently they respond and solve the problem.

Extra Features

Many web hosts provide a lot of stuff that is usually not required by all users and charge them for those features.  Some of the features are MySQL, MS SQL, MS Access, FrontPage, SSI support, PHP support, Peri support and ASP support.  If the webmaster does not require these, then it has to be ensured that they are not paying for them.

Payment Options

Web hosting companies usually accept both monthly and yearly payments. Annual payments are offered cheaper than monthly. But the smart thing would be to test out the web host by paying monthly initially and once the trust factor is established, it can be changed to annual payments.  Monthly payments leave users with the option to change web hosts if necessary.

While these are the important things to look for when deciding on a web hosting company, checking out the daily server backups and the speed of the servers helps.

All this may seem complicated at first, but it really is not. There are several good web hosts out there serving top marketers and zeroing in on the right one for you is going to be easier than you thought.  But before going on a hunt, note down your requirements.

This is a continuation of:  Zeroing In On The Right Web Host – Part 1

Looking for that perfect web host is almost like searching for a needle in a haystack.  For one thing, there is no such thing as “perfect.”  Perfect is only relative and it all depends on what one is expecting from their web hosting company.  Every business owner understands the importance of web hosting, as it is the lifeline of a business.

But for the uninitiated, this can be a cumbersome process, not so much because there are no good paid web hosts around but because there are so many of them that it is a huge task segregating the good from the not so good.

Choosing a reliable web hosting company is no rocket science as long as webmasters know what they should be looking for.  The first and the most important pointer in the right direction is – never look for “cheap” web hosting; although expensive may not always mean the best. Okay, that’s confusing.

Look for what your business needs.  Look for features.  Look for reliability.

Reliability

It is important to use a hosting company that has been in business for a few years and has a good reputation.  Word-of-mouth is one of the best ways of finding a reliable web host.

A good host is one that can guarantee at least 99% uptime.  Uptime is the time the servers are up and working.  Downtime is the time when they are non-functional, resulting in inaccessibility of the web pages, which can lead to loss of business and money.  In fact, at times even that 1% downtime has the potential to harm the business.

Look for a web host that offers a guarantee on the uptime and has some sort of a clause to offer a money-back guarantee if the uptime is not maintained.

Disk Space

The disk space needed for a website depends on the number of pages on the website.  Don’t fall for those advertising “unlimited disk space,” as not all websites need huge amounts of space.  For a website with ten pages or less, a small disk space is sufficient and there is no need for 500 MB.

The very fact that people usually look for a large amount of disk space, makes the web hosts tap into that interest by offering all that extra space, knowing fully well that it is not going to be used.  The requirement of disk space should be assessed first, before venturing on finding a web host.

Data Transfer

How much data is going to be transferred?  Hosting companies allot specific data-transfer limits per month, based on the plan the user opts for.  Large amounts of traffic/bandwidth means huge data transfers.  Webmasters will have to look for the right plan that allows the required data transfer.

Here again, “unlimited bandwidth” is a common marketing technique used by web hosting companies. There is always an unspoken limit to how much bandwidth can be used.  If the user crosses that limit, they will be charged extra on top of what they already pay for the plan.  Read the fine print carefully to see how much traffic is allowed.

For your benefit, let’s try and understand bandwidth requirement:

Most new sites need no more than 3GB of bandwidth on a monthly basis.  But keeping in mind future increase in traffic, it helps if the web host has a good policy in place for the usage of extra bandwidth.  Some hosts charge per GB over and above the allotted bandwidth.  There are some that take pre-payment on expected future usage, which is not really user friendly.  Who knows what the future holds?

These are just a few of the important things that determine a good web host.  There are many more factors to look into.  Tomorrow we will post part two of the, “Zeroing In On The Right Web Host” series.

Continue Reading:  Zeroing In On The Right Web Host – Part 2