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The features you should consider when you are looking for a hosting company are:
- How much bandwidth are you given?
- How much drive space are you given?
- Is a MySQL database available?
- Does the company offer a shared SSL certificate?
- How is their customer service handled?
These are some of the key features that can determine how much more you will have to invest in order to run your site.
How much bandwidth are you given?
Bandwidth is the amount of information that is pulled from the server. When a person visits your site and it is loaded into their browser, it takes so much bandwidth to download that page. Most hosting companies today offer more bandwidth than you can use. The amount of bandwidth is also made up of the amount of email that goes through your site. Be sure to keep that in mind if you will be using your site for a business that will use a lot of email.
How much drive space are you given?
Drive space deals with the amount of space you are allowed to use for your website. If you are allowed 500 megs of drive space then your site must be smaller than this to fit. So what makes websites so big? Well the main thing has to be images and flash. If your site will incorporate a lot of these features then make sure your hosting company can provide you with enough space.
Is a MySQL database available?
The only reason this would be important to you is if you are looking to have an ecommerce site or some other type of database driven site. This is a good feature to have even if you are starting with a small static site. Many website owners soon move to a database driven site in the future once their site starts to grow.
Does the hosting company offer a shared SSL certificate?
If you are looking to have an ecommerce site where you will be accepting credit card payments through it you will need an SSL certificate. This is a secure page that encrypts the credit card information to secure your visitors' payments. If your hosting company does not offer a "Shared SSL", then you will need to research how to get your own. Depending on the quality of the certificate author, a secure certificate can be anywhere from $60 to $350 per year. This would be another factor you will need to consider in your business plan.
How is their customer service handled?
Even though we live in an "Electronic Age", some people still like to talk to a person if something goes wrong. Some hosting companies use what is known as a Trouble Ticket system. These are systems used to handle large amounts of "help" or "support" emails. Most often you will register, then you submit your trouble ticket through a form. Some Trouble Ticket Software will also create a dynamic list is FAQs that are commonly asked. If you like to speak to people then be sure the hosting company you choose has a phone number you can call.
These are some of the common features when you are looking for a hosting company. If you have special requests be sure to ask as many questions as you can to ensure that you are making the right choice.
External Links
- StartLogic. Free setup/domain, Web builder, unlimited emails, PHP, mySQL, CGI, FrontPage. From $6.50/month. Click Here for more info.
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- Globat.com-Web Hosting Made Easy-5000 MB, 75 GB Transfer -$4.95
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