Web Hosting - The 10 Most Important Things

Posted on February 14, 2008
Filed Under web hosting review, webhosting reviews, web hosting deals, web hosting company, web hosting, web host |

With all of the different web hosting companies online, and with all of the constantly changing web hosting specials that many of them run, at one time or another, its easy to get roped in to what looks like a good deal. but choosing your web host doesn’t have to be all that confusing.

No matter what special deal is running at whatever hosting provider this month, or this week, you should remember that this is hopefully a relationship that you’re going to have for many years in the future. Moving your website (or all of them), your domain names, and all of your databases from one host to another is a time consuming, multi-step process. Plus, moving can cause glitches in how everything functions, until you work out the kinks. Although a “special deal” might save you a couple of bucks today, higher overall pricing and lack of support can really cost you, in the long run.

Every web hosting company out there can give you basic hosting, and there are hundreds that offer business or e-commerce plans, as well. There are only a few who specialize in business hosting, however, and they’re a good place to start, if you plan on monetizing your website. In my experience, from using a variety of hosting companies over a period of years, and hosting an assortment of e-commerce web sites, these are the important things to look for in a web hosting provider. In order of importance, with the most important first, they are;

1. Tech Support and Service. Really, this is almost a toss-up with reliability, but whether my site is up 99.90% or 99.95% of the time, isn’t a huge consideration. When I have a problem to be fixed or a question I need answered, I want help from a knowledgeable source, and I want it quick. Lack of exceptional tech support is a real deal breaker, for me. Quick ticket response, chat support, an extensive, searchable FAQ database, video tutorials and even phone support are all things to look for.
2. Reliability. You want your web site to be up and running almost 100% of the time. Your web host should have state of the art servers housed in a secure, limited access facility. Many use redundant servers, have back-ups available, and all should have a secondary power source (usually diesel generators) to insure a minimum of 99.5% up-time. Any web host is going to have minor downtimes, due to service and upgrades on their servers. Many hosts that utilize redundant servers can guarantee 99.9% uptime.
3. A Stable Linux Hosting Platform. Some people will argue with this statement, and claim that a Windows based environment is just as good. I will agree that it has come a long way in the last few years, but I would still prefer my hosting to be on state of the art Linux based servers. Windows may still rule the desktop world, but in my opinion, Linux is still the best choice for your web hosting.
4. Multiple Site Hosting. Some hosts advertise huge bandwidth and space, but only allow one website per account. The odds of just one your web sites using up that space or bandwidth is almost non-existent. Along with a large amount of space and bandwidth, you also want to be able to host several websites on the same account, so that you can actually utilize most of that space.
5. Ease of Use. You should have access to all of your websites from one control panel that is simple and easy to use. Personally, I prefer cPanel, probably because I’m used to using it, but also because the up to date version of it is well organized and intuitive to use, and it gives you access to all of the functions that you need to build and maintain your websites.
6. Space and Bandwidth. Basically, if all of the other features listed above are great, you want a host that gives you more space and bandwidth for your money. You may not need it all now, but having it available gives you room to grow. One note, some web hosting companies offer the ability to host an unlimited number of websites with some of their plans, as long as you don’t go over your allocated space. This is a good feature, and something that they can really provide. However, beware of a web host that offers unlimited space or bandwidth! Quite a few companies offer this, but I’ve yet to find one that can actually live up to that promise. In fact, if your website becomes really successful, and you actually start using up huge amounts of bandwidth, they’ll usually insist that you upgrade to a private server, at a much higher cost.
7. MySQL Databases and Crontab. A ton of space is almost useless for a really good web site, unless you also have access to a number of databases to use (at least 5 per website is good). The ability to schedule tasks using Crontab (also called Cron jobs) is essential to running certain scripts and pre-scheduling certain tasks, like an automated mailing list.
8. Tools You Need and can Use. Now that you have your domain name and web space, having a host that provides you with essential tools to make building a great site easier is a real advantage. An online Site Builder is a really good start. It can save you hundreds of dollars over buying a good WYSIWYG software program. An extensive scripts library that includes blogs, galleries, one or two shopping cart options (for e-commerce), forums, discussion boards, etc. is a real time saver. You could install these scripts yourself, if you know what you’re doing, but having them pre-installed and accessible with just a few mouse clicks makes it much quicker and easier.
9. Alternatives for Web Content Management. If your web host also offers one click installs of the more popular web content systems, like Joomla, Mambo and Droopal, you’ll have a variety of ways to build a high quality, professional website. Without your web host providing these as options, installing them yourself can be a bit tricky and frustrating.
10. Bonuses and Extras. Some people get distracted by all of the bonuses that some web hosts offer, and don’t pay enough attention to the essentials, until its too late. But once you have a host that gives you all of the things you really need to build a great web site, having a few things thrown in is always a good deal. Some extras that you can really use, and what it can save you, are a free domain name ($10), free advertising bonuses ($50-$200), and free Search Engine Submission ($10-$40).
11. Price, or What is This going to Cost Me? A web hosting company that offers all of the above features can be expensive, and some really expensive hosting providers don’t have what you really need. I know this is number 11 on my top ten list, but that’s because while it is important, compared to the other ten, it isn’t nearly as important. Web Hosting prices, with one domain name included, run from about $45 a year, to a high of over $500 a year. If you found a web host that gave you everything listed above, and spent $500 a year, you’d still be better off than hosting somewhere for $45 a year, and finding out that you didn’t get everything you needed.

The good news is, although you’re not going to find a premium host that gives you everything you might need or want for $45 a year, you won’t have to pay anywhere near $500 a year, either. In my next article I’ll start reviewing the premium web hosts that provide most or all of the the important things you need, and show you how they compare to each other on features and price.

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