CHOOSING A WEB HOSTING SERVICE

When you are shopping for a hosting service for your Web site, what should you look for? Here’s a short list:

· Adequate storage space. The main reason you want a Web hosting service is to host your Web site. That means you need a certain amount of disk space. Most sites offer different levels of service, dependent on the amount of disk space you need.

· Unlimited access. If you start to get a lot of traffic to your site, you don’t want your hosting service to shut you off because you only contracted for so many hits a months. Look for a plan that offers either unlimited access or a high-enough traffic level that you won’t be tempted to stop promoting your site.

· Affordable rates. All these services come at a cost—and that cost differs wildly from one host to another. Look for the best combination of space, access, features, and price, and don’t sign anything until you‘ve checked out several different sites.

· Reliability. Look for a hosting service with a good reliability record; 95% uptime might not be high enough if users access your site for critical information. If possible, evaluate the uptime records from several hosting services; some hosts even guarantee a particular uptime rate.

· Speed. Find out what kind of connection the hosting service has to the internet. You don’t want to be saddled with a host with a slow connection.

· Easy uploading and maintenance. When you are shopping for a host, don’t overlook ease of use. Look for a site that offers easy uploading, either via its own built- in tools or with a common FTP client. Also look for any other maintenance tools that are available free of charge.

· Domain name hosting. If you are creating a professional Web site, chances are you want to use a unique domain name. Make sure the hosting service handles domain name hosting, and consider going with a host that can handle the complete process from domain name registration through e-mail forwarding.

· Site statistics. Most hosting services offer some sort of monitoring utilities so you can track the performance of your site. Look for tools that measure traffic and track referring sites.

· Technical support. If you ever have any trouble with posting or maintaining your Web pages, you want to be able to get help fast. Look for sites that offer 24/7 live phone-based technical support, preferably via a toll-free number.