How to Find A Good Web Hosting Company

by Travis Tracy

Trying to find the right web hosting company is not always the easiest process. For every quality web hosting company there are five terrible ones. Therefore, you should do a little bit of research before committing to a lengthy contract/agreement.
My first suggestion would be to evaluate the website you would like to be hosted. Much like your computer, all web hosting servers have some form of limit when it comes to speed and space. If you have your website stored on your computer, one uncomplicated route would be to check to see the quantity of disk space your folder is using. It is more than likely that unless you have a large website that is hosting a lot of videos or music, you more than likely will not be using too much space. Regardless, you probably should have some room to build on top of what you currently have. Be sure to find web hosting packages that meet your websites requirements in both space and bandwidth. Next, you need to look to make sure that your web hosting company has the important tools to manage your website. Some websites can be developed in specific languages that require certain tools. For example, there are some websites that have a requirement of a the latest versions of PHP. Or, you might find a website built in a programming language referred to as ASP which has expectations of a server containing a windows platform. Perhaps the easiest possible way to do this is to either have your website designer suggest a web hosting company or simply ask him what requirements the website has so that it acts properly. You can then take those requirements and any reputable web host will gladly tell you honestly if their plans will work for what you need.
Outside of physically being able to keep your web site up, you should also be looking into the reliability of the support of the web host. Generally, if you pay a fee you are not paying just for space and bandwidth being used, you are also paying for the time spent supporting you as a client. If you are running any form of business and your website is having problems that technicians can fix, you can expect that the problem is fixed in a timely manner. Regardless, the problem on-line is that a beautiful web site with very good prices does not mean great support. Asking a handful of questions to the support or sales staff is a good indicator of if the 24 hours a day technical support that many web hosting companies live by is actually the truth.

Also, up-time is a large important factor and could simply be an inquiry that you could ask before paying. You want to ensure that your web site will always be up without any downtime. Particularly if you are running a business website, every minute that your website is not online could be money that is being thrown out the window. I recommend trying to find someone that has a third party uptime meter being shown publicly. It typically means that they have intentions of keeping servers up and want to display that for the public.

In essence, just do some shopping around before trying to decide on a web host. Make sure you do not fall into any traps that seem too good to be true. Particularly unlimited bandwidth and disk space web hosting packages. These sound great but are considered to be a myth by a most reliable web hosting companies. Find something that is within your price range and needs. If needed, ask others to find one that would best fit your needs.

If you are looking for a good web hosting company, I encourage you to use us. We provide affordable e-commerce web hosting.

About the Author

Travis Tracy is CEO and Founder of TravSolutions.com which provides quality and affordable web hosting services for both business and personal needs.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com