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coachme4success
Member
Joined: 11 Jul 2005
Posts: 1
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# Posted: 11 Jul 2005 12:52
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I've been building websites for years on both the Windows and Linux platforms and I get a lot of questions from folks about what to look for in a good website host. In most cases, that can best be answered by first determining what it is that you want to accomplish with your website - there's a world of difference between the needs of a business site from that of a more personal nature. While a free web site might be fine for a family site to show off your recent photos, it would be hard to take you seriously as a business unless you have your own domain and a real email address, not yahoo.com or hotmail.
Another question to ask yourself is how much experience do you have with building sites? If you know how to code a page already, you can usually save quite a bit on your hosting charges by staying away from the sites that offer extensive site-building tools designed for folks that just want a push-button solution. One of the best hosts that I have found offers unlimited webspace, unlimited email addresses, unlimited sub-domains and unlimited databases - the only limitation is only being able to host one domain there. But, even that does not have to be a real limitation as you can always buy a domain name and simply redirect to one of the sub-domains.
Before you spend your money for a website host, think about what you need!
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Vishal P. Rao
Joined: 23 Jun 2005
Posts: 1022
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# Posted: 13 Jul 2005 07:42 · Edited by: Vishal P. Rao
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Thanks for sharing the info coachme4success! However, apart from the things you mentioned, there are lot of other factors to consider before choosing a web hosting for your website. Some of the cirtical things include:
Support: This is by far the most deciding factor in choosing a web host. Check out their response time by emailing them. Email other websites hosted with them regarding their support. You can find out websites hosted with them by looking at their testimonials. Most web hosts (should) have a testimonials page.
Tip: I always find it interesting to see whether the websites mentioned in the testimonials are still hosted with the current host! If a large no. are not, then it probably isn't a good idea to host with them. ( You can find the host of a website by doing little snooping with tools like www.samspade.org)
Cost of Upgrading: Packages that are cheap to start with may be expensive when you outgrow your current package and need to upgrade.
Years in Business: Number of years in business also determines the reliability of a web host.
Trial Package/Money-back Guarantee: Look out for ones that offer trial packages. You can then take your time to evaluate their service, features, etc.
Finally, no matter how well you might have done your homework, it is always possible that you may regret your decision. Being prepared for the transition always helps and makes the process stress-free.
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Vishal P. Rao
Joined: 23 Jun 2005
Posts: 1022
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# Posted: 1 Aug 2005 02:57
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One more thing to consider is the option of hosting multiple domains in one account. Many web hosts do not offer this facility and you may have to sign up for separate account for each of your domain. This can prove to be very costly if you have many domains.
Web hosts who offer this option share the resources (bandwidth, space) between your domains resulting in maximum utilisation of resources and cost saving. Moreover you can also manage your resources better by being able to control all your domains from one account.
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cathy_ysh
Member
Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Posts: 14
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# Posted: 20 Apr 2006 05:47
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Another plus point if the hosting company has the reseller or affiliate program, it some sort like creating another add on business opportunity for you. 
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cupbucket
Member
Joined: 7 Jun 2008
Posts: 226
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# Posted: 15 Nov 2008 13:15
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I agree that you need your own domain for business!
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