Choosing a hosting company for your website

The web hosting business is huge and as such it can be quite overwhelming for someone new to the market looking to find their space on the web. I've been creating websites and other online content for a decade now and have used a wide variety of services and platforms for different projects. Having just been in the market for a new web host myself I thought I'd create this hub to share my thoughts and findings while shopping for web hosting

Before starting your search for a web host I suggest you think carefully about what you actually need to establish the web presence you're planning, or need to find a home for if you're transferring an existing site. There are many possible issues to consider which may affect the suitability of some web host providers. The following list is not exhaustive but indicative of some of the issues to consider in choosing a hosting company.

• Will your site be using any specialist web applications that require specific technology or support from the host? Some smaller hosting companies specialise in support for niche applications and are often the best choice if you're using something specific.
  
• Is there any reason your site needs to be hosted in a specific country? Hosting and bandwith are still quite a bit cheaper in the US than the UK or Australia for example, so if there isn't a US based server will be cheaper with no appreciable speed difference.
• How big do you expect your demands to be? Nearly every hosting deal now comes with enough space and bandwith for the majority of sites, in fact most US based deals are now unlimited space and unlimited bandwith. However there can still be issues with how well a host manages with a site that experiences a lot of traffic. If you're hoping to get a lot of visitors look for a host with a proven record of managing high traffic websites without them falling over.
• How easy is it to manage your presence? Many hosts now use the cPanel to allow users to easily manage maintenance tasks and offer fantastico apps that will automatically install common applications like Wordpress, Mambo, Joomla etc with just a mouse click or two. Even if you're familiar with doing this the old manual way why would you bother? If you're paying for hosting this level of provision and service should be included.
• Try to get real testimonials and feedback. Review sites will often have these but they can be unhelpful with equal amounts of positive and negative feedback for the same companies. Remember though that people always complain more readily than leave high fives, so give a bit more weight to the thumbs up comments. If you can get first hand feedback from someone you know recommending a host it is worth listening to!
• What kind of demands do you expect you might place on the support services provided by a host? Many hosts are great until there is an issue and then fail somewaht on the customer service and support score card. If your requirements are well within your techie abilities in all likelihood you'll never experience your hosting companies support, but if you expect you might be dealing with them pay particular attention to this area.

Having worked through these questions and any specific issues you need to address you're armed with a decent idea of what you want and need from a web host. If your needs are relatively modest it is worth considering if you can manage with a free web hosting solution. There are many good free web hosts with no advertising that will adequately meet the needs of many small websites, in fact your ISP may already be providing you with space. If you register a domain you can then simply point this to your free web space. Good free web space providers will usually provide enough for you to get going with an upgrade path should you outgrow the free offering.

The next step for many is into some modest paid hosting. Competition is so fierce it is possible to get a great hosting package for the price of a cup of coffee each month. A couple of cautionary notes on pricing; the amount many hosts showcase is often the monthly rate you get if you sign up for several years or more. Be sure to check through the order process to know you are comaring like with like. Also if you're outside the US you'll probably get automatically redirected to a country specific sub site based on your IP. Make sure you select the US site and shop in US dollars, it will obviously vary with exchange rate fluctuations but I suspect this will often get a better deal.

It is quite hard to find much to choose between the likes of Hostgator and JustHost with their packages simplified down to one huge bargain offering than is in all likelihood more than most users will need. Unlimted bandwith, storage, domains, databases etc all included in most of the big hosts offering now. Outside of the US hosts are not usually so generous; hence my tip to look at US based hosting wherever you are. Many deals also include a fre domain for life, a nice enticement but be mindful it is offered as an incentive to keep you as a customer for life!

A twist on this is offered by Lime Domains who offer free basic hosting with every domain registered. Domain registration costs less than even the cheapest hosting so this is a good deal if their free web hosting is sufficient for you. Their paid upgrade is a little pricey though if you outgrow the free space.

A welcome recent development is the increasing number of hosting companies making a green effort to be carbon neutral, or even carbon positive! This is being achieved in a variety ways such as using wind energy and carbon offset tree planting schemes. Given the constant drain on energy severs create and the growing demand I think this is a great trend and I've picked my hosting deal largely based on the green issue; which shows it has marketing power for companies taking the right steps. SuperGreenHosting offer a competitive deal and service with the added feel good factor that I've made a positive choice for the environment and my hosting hopefully won't contribute to climate change! I hope it won't be long before green web hosting is the norm but in the meantime making a green choice should encourage other hosting companies to think about their energy issues.

This article covers the likely web hosting needs of individuals and small to medium businesses. Larger organisations or those with sensitive material perhaps will need to consider dedicated servers and more complex web hosting solutions.