Before rushing for a web hosting account, you need to check the
following features which are important for any web hosting
account. Many people overlook this features and pay the price
later. So here are the important features you need to check with
your hosting company before paying for it.
Technical Support: Technical support is one of the most
important factor you need to consider when a choosing a web
host. Test different companies before you sign up by sending
them an email with a question or two. If they respond quickly,
this is a good sign.
Uptime: The more uptime they guarantee, the better. 99% uptime
is the minimum acceptable standard. Look for 99% plus guaranteed
uptime. 1% of uptime is about 87 hours in a year.
Disk Space: Decide how much disk space you will require. A basic
web site with few images and about 10 to 20 pages will not take
up much web space . If you require a lot of graphics or
multimedia or you need to store a lot of information, you will
need a bit higher disk space. Again you can increase your web
space as required with almost all the hosts by paying the extra
charges.
Data Transfer: This factor is usually overlooked until the data
transfer limit is reached. If you go over your alloted data
transfer, you will get a hefty bill. If you are running a site
with lots of downloads, or a site with lots of images such at a
photo post site, your data transfer will be higher than a site
with mainly text. The average website uses less than 200MB of
bandwidth per month.
Scripting Languages support: If you using a scripting language
to output your html, you need to check whether the plan has
support for that script. You will need a windows hosting plan
only if you are using microsoft scripting languages like asp and
asp.net.
CGI Bin: This is now standard feature with almost all hosting
companies. If you do not have access to your own CGI Bin, you
cannot install your own cgi scripts and programs.
Perl: If you do not have Perl, you cannot run Perl Programs.
Many good scripts that you buy or get for free are written in
Perl. In my opinion, it would be a limitation not to have the
latest version of Perl installed
SSI: Server Side Includes are great if you want to spend minimal
time updating your site. Again this feature is provided by many
hosts.
FTP Access: Unlimited and unrestricted FTP access to your site
is essential. You will need an FTP program to transfer files
from your computer to the server.
Statistics Program: A good stats program is handy if you want to
keep an eye on how many visitors you are getting, where they are
coming from, referrers, top entry and exit pages and so on. Some
companies offer excellent stats programs as standard while
others offer basic stats but you have to pay extra for advanced
statistics
If you don't have time to do research, you can choose the
webhost from our top
10 web hosts which our team of experts has choosen after a
lot of research and testing.
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