To set up a web hosting company requires a lot of investment; powerful servers must be acquired, high-tech hardware must be installed, sophisticated telecommunication gadgets must be put in place, system security software must be on ground, well-trained staff must be ready for smooth operation and so on. With all these financial commitments by a hosting company, can it offer its services for free?
The internet is currently full of free hosting providers claiming to be the best at what they do. But the truth of the matter is that they have their way of having returns on their investments. If you have ever signed up for a free hosting package, you would notice a lot of advertisements placed on your web pages. In fact, the adverts would be more prominent than your content. At times, you would encounter a lot of pop-up ads, porn-ads, pop-under ads, etc. If your planned site is a hobby site or one for friends and family, free hosting might be okay for you. But if your site is tailored for business, free hosting might ruin it.
Web hosting is now more affordable than before with different packages to choose from; shared, VPS or dedicated. If you can not afford VPS and dedicated because they are little bit expensive, shared hosting is your best bet. With as low as $3.95 a month, you can get one from a reliable company. What are the features you should look out for on a shared platform?
Disk space: Find out the amount of disk space that will be allotted to you. Make sure it would be enough to contain your present and future files.
Bandwidth: This determines the number of people who can access your website at the same time and at a particular period. The higher the bandwidth, the higher the number of visitors that can access your site. Confirm from the service provider the amount of bandwidth that would be allocated to you.
Control panel: Since you are trying to cut down on expenses, you should choose a service provider with a control panel on its interface. This will enable you to design your site yourself, set up multiple email accounts, monitor visitors to your site, edit your site, etc.
Server speed: Check out the speed of the server. Find out some URLs it hosted and try to open them. This will go a long way to confirm the speed of the server. Visitors to your site would go to your competitors’ site if your website is slow to open.
Multiple email accounts: A shared hosting provider should be able to include multiple email accounts in its packages. Restrictions on the number of email addresses that can be created in a web hosting package has now become a thing of the past with many companies providing unlimited email accounts.
