Choosing The Right Web Hosting Provider

One of the most important aspects of choosing the right web hosting provider is first determining the specific needs you will have concerning your web site. You'll want to plan for future needs as well. For example, if you plan on selling products through your site you will need a good e-commerce web hosting provider that will equip your site with shopping cart software, secure (SSL) pages and more. Many web hosting companies now offer advertising credits for major search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing - great incentive to get your Internet marketing off the ground running. You may have specific technologies you'd like to run on your site. For instance, if you plan on developing your pages in ASP (Active Server Pages) you'll want to make sure you select a web hosting provider that offers accounts on a Windows platform. What are your database needs if any? What scripting tools will you be using? Making these types of determinations is the first step in choosing a provider.

Obviously price is a factor, but don't make the mistake of getting too caught up in the pricing. There are hundreds of web hosting providers that have popped up pitching really cheap prices, but limited or poor support. Even the more expensive providers are still cheap overall. It is rare that you'll need to spend more than $10/month for a basic shared web hosting plan.

Don't ever underestimate the value of good customer support. There's few things more frustrating than going to visit your web site only to find out that it's down or your email is not working or you can't upload files, etc. You should insist on 24/7 support in some fashion whether that be via phone, chat or email, preferably phone.