Read this beofre you select your hosting account

Have you guys ever had your friends trying to sell you this "good" deal on a web hosting package? I fell into this trap once before and got burnt. Don't do it unless you've conducted thorough research into the web hosting package. Purchasing web hosting space is not just about finding the cheapest deal on the internet. There are many considerations that accompany such a decision not all of which are addressed within this post.

You often see entrepreneurs who have this budding idea for a website, yet they just jump into the cheapest web package they can find. Before you even consider purchasing a web package, I would make the following recommendations. I have purchased a NUMBER of web hosting solutions myself. This is what you should be looking out for:

*Technical Support: I cannot stress how important good technical support is. If your web server is giving problems, you need to be assured that the tech support team is going to be able to sort out the situation (and quickly). A capable technical support team will often translate into a reliable web service. Also, check what sort of times the technical support team is available. What happens if your service is crippled during the weekend? Is it going to be down until the Monday? These are important considerations.

An adequate technical support team will be willing to provide recommendations/tips to any of your web development questions as well. I regularly pose questions to the technical team of our service in regards to web development questions - they always return with a viable solution.

*Features: Check how much bandwidth a service is offering per month. How much disk space comes with the package? Will you need a back-end database? Will your site be utilizing a certain scripting language? The features you require are going to be on a per site basis - check the features you require are available.

*Price: Please do NOT jump into a year-long binding deal with a company offering the cheapest web-service. Red flags should be waving inside your head! Why is the company offering the service at such a "good" deal? How is the company offering the service at such a cheap price? What kind of service will I receive in return? Do I get adequate value for my money?

*Hosting company's size & company history: From experience, the larger web hosts tend to provide a better service. This is not to say that there aren't excellent small hosting companies.

Firstly, larger web hosts often have considerable experience dealing with customers and/or any technical problems. Larger hosts more often than not have larger capital and a better infrastructure. As a result, their servers, internet connection, and employees are going to be top-notch. With that said, a few large web hosts will consider their customers as merely another number. All companies should value their customers.

Is the web hosting company established? This is a very important question. The last thing a customer would want is a company going out of business. This would require customers having to transfer databases and web pages and acquire a new web host. This is such a headache! Many newly formed, ambitious web hosts flake out after a couple months. I would definitely recommend an established, driven web host.

*Test Server: Check if the web host has an available test server where you can see a working website in action. If so, I would recommend visiting the test server frequently over a 2-week period. This will allow you to check the reliability and availability of the web service. In addition, I would recommend pinging the server over this 2-week period. This will allow you to test the web host's internet connection. Website visitors DETEST sites that load slowly.

*Back-up support: Web sites DO go down regardless of what others might tell you. These services are provided by humans and therefore are not infallible. If you intend to keep important, valuable information in a database, make sure that the web hosting company has a WORKING back-up plan. You need to see some evidence of a back-up plan. Do not let the company just tell you that a back-up strategy is in place.

In this day and age, websites are susceptible to a variety of potential threats whether it is crackers or faulty hard drives.

*Domain: If you purchase a web domain through your web hosting company, ensure that you have ALL the rights to the domain. Some companies will try catching you with sneaky clauses. Do not be a victim.

If you want to change to an alternative web host how difficult is it going to be to transfer your domain? Are you going to be locked in with your previous web host?

Does your web host utilize domain locking? Will your domain be automatically renewed? Are you informed before your domain expires? Many web developers will lose their domain name because the web host failed to inform the web developer that the domain was about to expire and furthermore, the web host didn't provide the option of automatic domain renewal.

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