Choosing The Right Web Host – Your Business Depends On It
Author: Adam Kline

There seems to be a lack of information on the subject of Web hosting. It amazes me, because the Web host is literally the backbone of your site. If you get stuck with a shoddy host your site won’t appear on the ‘Net. Your email won’t come through. Your shopping cart won’t function. Without a dependable Web host… your online business would be out of business!

So how do you make heads or tails out of the bandwidth, megabytes, POP3s, FTPs and SSLs? You probably feel like you’re lost in a sea of alphabet soup! Due to the lack of information, most people make one of two choices: they pick the least expensive package, or they choose the one that offers the most features “just to be safe”. Allow me to offer a few definitions to identify some terms. And to offer some guidelines so you can make a knowledgeable decision about exactly what features you really need.

Storage Space – This is the amount of space on the host’s server you lease. It is measured in megabytes. So how much do you need for YOUR site? Well, for most sites, one page with limited graphics and some text would take (on average) 5 kilobytes (Kb). If you have heavy graphics, photos, etc. your pages could require up to 30 KB. When you calculate the number of pages times the number of kilobytes, you can get a rough estimate of what you currently need.

If you have “thank you” pages that display after someone makes a purchase or subscribes to your ezine, those take up space, too. Be sure to calculate ALL your pages. Now consider what you are likely to add in the future and include that in with your total. You’ll want to have some room for growth.

Also, don’t forget other things that will be stored on the server. Ebooks take up an enormous amount of space, as do flash movies. Those would also be stored on the host’s server and need to be included in your estimate. A quick tip: just look at the file index on your computer to see the size of each page, book or flash presentation.

Bandwidth – When files are transferred from the host’s server to the site visitor it uses up bandwidth. When pages are clicked and displayed on the screen, when ebooks are downloaded, when shopping carts are put to use… bandwidth comes into play.

The more “active” your site is – the more there is for the site visitor to do – the more bandwidth you’ll need.

Email – There are two primary types of email offered by Web hosts. Web mail is email that can be accessed online using your browser. You pull it up and view it just as you would any other Web site. POP3 email is that which can be used with email software (called an email client) such as Outlook Express, Outlook, Eudora or Pegasus.

Where you need to be careful is in determining how you manage your email accounts and what charges are involved. Some hosts only offer a limited number of POP3 addresses and then charge you for additional ones. Others may not offer a “control panel” for the maintenance of your email addresses, and might charge you to process changes you need to make.

One additional service that will come in very handy is that of an autoresponder. This will allow you to send an automatic message to those who email you. You will find this useful when you are on vacation or when you want to reassure customers that their email has gotten through.

FTP and Front Page – FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. This is the process used when uploading your Web site pages to the host’s server. Most Web design software includes an FTP application including Dreamweaver and Go Live. Microsoft’s Front Page does not include FTP. It also has some other special considerations that make it necessary for your host to specifically support Front Page.

SSL – This is the process that allows the secure, encrypted transfer of data. Some confuse this with the acceptance of credit cards. Although most shopping carts and online merchant accounts use SSL, it does NOT mean that your host is including a merchant account with your hosting package.

In addition to using SSL with payment options, it can be used to collect sensitive data from your site visitors, to ensure your emails are not intercepted online and to provide a sense of security for your customers.

There’s More?!

Yes! Choosing a Web host is a serious process. A few other questions to consider during this decision-making time revolve around the function of your site.

Are you going to offer purchases online? If so, you’ll need a shopping cart.

Are you going to provide an ezine or newsletter? If so, it would be beneficial to find a host that offers list servers. If not, you can find a free one (which will include advertisements) or you’ll have to pay for that service from another provider.

Do you want to track your site visitors? That would be very wise! Be sure to view the types of statistics the host provides. Unfortunately, some don’t provide very detailed information. At a minimum you’ll want to see the referring URL (where the visitor came from), the number of hits per month and the pages on your site that are receiving the most views.

Think you’ll have questions from time to time? Then it would be an excellent idea to find a host that offers 24/7/365 tech support via chat or telephone.

And last, but certainly not least, be very sure to check out the “up time” and security. As I mentioned in the beginning of this article, if the host isn’t dependable your business will be out of business! It is imperative that your host has measures in place in case of crashes or outages. Likewise, you’ll want a host that offers security for the information you’ll be storing on his/her server. Find out about firewalls and other security precautions they have taken.

Knowledge is power! Knowing what to look for can save you a lot of money, time and aggravation… and can keep your business IN business.








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Adam is CEO of MyBizHosting. Visit http://www.mybizhosting.com to view a detailed outline of services for the beginner to the pro with LIVE interactive tech support & NO set-up fees. My Biz Hosting also offers a reseller program. Earn money for referring the most flexible and advanced host on the ‘Net to your friends, associates and customers. Java fans… visit http://www.myservlethosting.com

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