There are some extremely professional & reliable hosting providers out there who provide both cheap & dependable services packed with many features. The trick however, is to be able to identify a cheap hosting company from a cheap hosting company

Before finalizing your decision regarding which Internet hosting company you will be negotiating with, it is essential that you first establish the amount of Web space you need. It is rare for a site to need over 100MB of space for its daily operations. The usual rate for 1MB of space is 10 cents.

Find out your site?s bandwidth requirements. Bandwidth refers to how quickly the transfer of data, graphics, and images from your own Web site to that of the consumer?s computer can take place. Relatively higher bandwidth is needed to transmit enormous files such as video, audio, and high-resolution images. Generally, one GB of bandwidth costs less than $3 for one regular Web site.

It is important to choose an Internet hosting service provider that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The normal uptime of a hosting service provider should be at least 99%. Reliability should go hand in hand with affordability when you choose your provider.

So this is what you can do to ensure that you don’t fall prey to an unscrupulous web hosting company…

  • Trust Factor - Profile Is the hosting company well known with a profile. For instance you would probably choose a well known name over a name like ‘Joes Cheap Hosting Service’ The higher the profile of the company, ie the more well known it is, the more trust you will have in its services & be safe in the knowledge that you won’t be let down.
  • Presentation - Website The company’s website will give you a feeling of the level of their professionalism. Also have a look at its page rank which will give you an idea of its popularity & integrity Look for contact details, 24/7 live support and so on.
  • Reliability (Uptime) Most web hosts will ‘guarantee’ 99.9% uptime - check for proof
  • 24/7 Customer Support Test out their customer support & see how quickly you get a response
  • Features Obviously you need to compare various features in terms of your needs. Things to consider would be;
    • Disk Space (Min 600gb)
    • Bandwidth (Min 9,000gb)
    • Number of Domains and Subdomain Allowed - Unlimited
    • Email - POP3 Accounts - Unlimited
    • Database - Unlimited
    • Pricing
    • Site Builder - Included
    • Instant Backups
    • AWStats (Real Time Updates) - Website Statstics
    • ECommerce Features - osCommerce
    • Latest cPanel with Fantastico Features
    • 45 Day Money Back Guarantee
    • Free / Instant Setup
    • CGI
    • PHP 5
    • Ruby On Rails
    • Python

    This list is not comprehensive but should be the minimum provided by any reputable web host.

  • Search Online for Bad ReviewsDo an online search (by the company name) for bad reviews & comments.

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