Choosing the Right Web Host

When planning for a new website, there are only two things that you absolutely must purchase – a domain name and a web hosting account.  And while domain registration is pretty straightforward, choosing the right web hosting company for your needs can be a bit more complicated.  So today, let’s look at what web hosting is and what features you should look for from a hosting company.

For starters, if you’re new to the world of website maintenance, you can think of web hosting as “real estate” for your web business.  If you were starting an offline, brick-and-mortar business, you’d need a physical space in which to set up shop – possibly a shopping mall vacancy or a suite in an office complex.

Similarly, your web hosting account provides the digital real estate on which you can park your business – except that, in this case, you’re talking about servers and databases instead of square footage and street frontage.  A web hosting account provides the resources needed to power your website; although, just as commercial real estate properties vary in terms of sizes, features and costs, not all web hosting accounts are created equally.

So you’ll need to put some time into researching potential hosts for your business website.  But before we jump into figuring out which web host is right for you, there are two key terms that we need to define – disk space and bandwidth.

Disk Space/Data Storage – The amount of disk space granted by your hosting provider determines how large of a website you’ll be able to host in terms of the number and size of your files.  In most cases, you won’t need tons of space (for example, the base installation of WordPress is only 1.5 MB and most shared hosting plans offer at least 5 GB to start), but if you’re planning to build an exceptionally large site, the amount of disk storage your plan provides could be a concern.

Bandwidth – The second term you need to know when evaluating hosting providers is “bandwidth”, which refers to the amount of data transfer capacity your site will have to deal with incoming traffic.  At first, this concept can seem a little complicated, but think back to our previous shopping mall example.  A mega-retailer like Target can’t set up in a tiny storefront, as the number of people coming in and out will be too much for the store to handle.  Similarly, larger sites need more bandwidth in order to fulfill the data requirements of more people coming and going.

Of course, knowing these terms is one thing – knowing exactly how much data storage and bandwidth your site will need know and in the future is an entirely different matter!  If you’re struggling to determine the kind of resources your site will need, the best thing to remember is that you can always upgrade your web hosting plan.  Start with the smallest (and least expensive) hosting plan you can find, and then move up to the next larger option once your data needs require it.

The next most important thing to consider is the type of web hosting account you need.  The following are the four most popular options to consider:

Shared Web Hosting – Shared web hosting accounts are the entry-level option in the world of web hosting.  Typically, these accounts cost a very reasonable $5-$15/month, although most (but not all) have some restrictions in terms of the amount of data storage and bandwidth you’re allowed to use.  Shared web hosting is offered by thousands of different companies – all of which vary widely in terms of quality and reliability – but it’s typically the best type of web hosting solution for beginning webmasters.

Reseller Web Hosting – Reseller web hosting accounts offer slightly more data space and bandwidth than shared hosting plans, but their major advantage is the ability to create a separate control panel for each separate website you launch.  While most shared hosting plans will allow you to host multiple sub-domains, hosting separate domains this way can be messy if you plan to sell any of your sites later on.  Consider a reseller plan if you plan to launch five or more websites, or if you plan to sell your sites in the future.

Dedicated Server Web Hosting – Dedicated server web hosting is just that – instead of sharing server space with dozens or hundreds of other shared hosting accounts (which can slow down your site’s performances), you get your own server to do with as you please.  Sites stored here have more speed and power, but they’re much more costly to run.  Consider this option only when your site has grown large enough to justify this extra expenditure.

Self-Hosted Programs – In a self-hosted program (like the Intuit’s Website Designer), you’re provided web hosting as a part of a package deal.  You don’t have to go out and find your own web hosting account – instead, space is automatically set up for you and managed by a third-party.  This is a great option for beginners, as it takes the burden of monitoring hosting provider performance and dealing with web hosting glitches off of you.

So now that you have a basic understanding of what web hosting is and what types of companies provide this service, how do you go about choosing between them?  As I’ve mentioned, the quality of web hosting providers varies, so it’s important to do your due diligence.  Choosing the right hosting provider for your business is critical to ensuring that your site is built on a stable, reliable foundation.

Here’s what to look for:

• Up-time – Up-time is a measurement of how frequently a hosting provider’s servers are functioning correctly and how often they’re down for repairs.  Ideally, this number should be as high as possible, with 99.9% up-time being the industry standard.
• Customer service – If this is your first time building a website, you’ll likely have some questions throughout the process, which makes a responsive customer service team a must-have.  Look for hosting providers with thorough knowledgebase articles, as well as a live chat feature that lets you get answers to your web hosting questions as quickly as possible.
• Databases/PHP – Many popular web hosting scripts (including the WordPress platform) require SQL databases and PHP scripting in order to function, so you might be surprised to find that not all hosting providers offer these features.  Double check the fine print and be sure your chosen host offers these options before committing to a contract.

Finally, a word on free hosting providers…  As you’re conducting your search for the right web host, you’ll undoubtedly come across at least a few free web hosting providers.  Avoid these at all costs!  The trouble with free hosting services is that they’re notoriously unreliable and frequently claim ownership to any web properties built on their servers.   Why go to all of the trouble of building a website if all of your hard work could be eliminated overnight?!

If, after reading through this tutorial, you’re still struggling to narrow down the immensely large field of web hosting providers, consider teaming up with Intuit’s Website Designer program.  Partnering up with a proven company like Intuit means no worrying and no hassles when it comes to web hosting maintenance – giving you more time to focus on what you do best.