Choosing a web host - Step 5

January 7, 2009 | By admin |

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This is step five in our Starting a New Website Checklist - check out that post if you happened upon this one and want to a handy link to all of the steps in order.

Choosing a web host is the most confusing part of the beginner webmaster experience except for learning the actual programming languages.

Hosting has become a commodity and because of exponentially cheaper servers, it’s possible now to rent server space for pennies on the dollar of what it used to cost. That said, here are some pitfalls to consider when choosing a host:

Being undercharged. Seems strange for this to be a problem but it is. Going for the cheapest is not necessarily the best. You can go find deals for terrabytes worth of space and “unlimited” bandwidth. It’s not possible to give unlimited anything - even air! I’d like to see the server they use that allows unlimited usage. Anyhow, the low down is that someone rents a server and then offers unlimited bandwidth and space figuring that, like at an all you can eat buffet, you’ll get full and stop at a certain point. The problem is your site is on the same server with someone else and if they get a lot of traffic, your speed suffers. There’s also fine print like “CPU usage” which is not unlimited and if your site does take up too much of their computer’s processing, they will boot you off or suspend your account. There’s the old adage “you get what you pay for” - that’s certainly the case here
Being overcharged. If you go with a web development company, a lot of times they will package in a third party hosting solution they work with that they simultaneously get a kickback on and mark up a lot so that they’re raking it in on both ends. Do some comparison shopping and make sure you’re not paying $500 a month for something that should be $50.
Unreliable or fly by night companies: With reseller programs, just about anyone can be a webhost. And for all you know it could be a 16 year old kid with good graphic design skills whose mom banned him from the computer for a month because he didn’t do his homework. Do searches for the hosts name with “review” or “scam” to see if there are any negative reviews out there about them. Try to go with a large host that may charge a bit more than the bottom feeders but guarantee customer service. You want help when you need it and how can you expect someone to bend over backwards when you’re paying $4 a month?

Hosting Search Resources:

WebHostingTalk

Host Gator Review - HostGator Gator Web Host - Gator Hosting

Recommended Hosts:

GoGrid - A new hosting method using “cloud” computing. The downside is that you need to completely set up your server yourself, which requires knowing how to telenet and a lot of advanced things. The upside is that you literally only pay for what you use, so there’s no all you can eat buffet.

ThinkHost - My favorite host for beginners - not only are they efficient and reliable, they are sustainable as well. They are powered by wind and sun, so you can tell your customers you website is helping reduce your carbon footprint!