Finding somewhere to host your website is the next step once you have got your website designed. There are many hosting companies to choose from and it can be very confusing.
According to Wikipedia.org
| A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their own website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own or lease for use by their clients as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data centre. |
So simply put, once you have your domain name and your website, the next step in the process is to have some space to store your website on so that it can be accessed 24/7. The amount of bandwidth a site takes up will depend what you have on your website. Simple text takes up the least amount of bandwidth, images take more, audio,video and flash – a lot more!
Similarly if you have a large shopping mall type website you will need a very large amount of space. The average website takes up around 25mb of space which is more than enough for most. If you look hosting companies that offer around 1000mb bandwidth, and 50mb disk space that should be plenty.
Charges vary according to the space you will take up, the average cost will be around $9.95 per month(£6.30 at the time of writing), some smaller sites are less. Remember you get what you pay for, the service they offer is the most important aspect, not the price.
You should also be looking at the future, if the site is going to grow expotentially then the hosting company should be able to accommodate your changing needs.
When choosing a hosting company check how long they have been operating, 3 years or more is the sign of a good, reliable host, look at the terms and conditions and any feedback or testimonials. Uptime should be around 99.9% and they should also offer 24/7 support.
We recommend Hostgator.com whose have been online for more since 2002. Based in Texas their Web Hosting plans includes 24/7/365 support, a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and a 45-day, money-back guarantee. Their support is second to none.
If you are at all concerned about hosting we will go through it with you. Please contact us for more information.
