Help, I need a new host

With thousands of web hosting companies on the market it is sometimes hard if not impossible to recognise which hosting company will provide a hosting solution at an reasonable price. When you have a domain name with a good web hosting company, you can get reports on your site visitors and know which of your web pages your visitors are going to the most, as well as being able to check out many other statistics.

Your web host will charge you a fee for each month of services that ranges from $4.99 or $8.99. You will probably pay between $75 and $150 for each year of your web hosting. You can try free web hosting services, there could be bouts of server problems and you’re likely to have substantial limitations in the amount of storage, number of email addresses, FTP services and so forth. You should just check out a site like HostingTopList.com where there are current web host rankings of the top hosts.

Be sure the host will allow e-commerce, store fronts, blogs, forums, chats and anything else you may want to add to your site. Calculate what your growth needs are and check that your web host will continue to serve you as your site grows. The last thing you want to do is change hosts mid way unless you absolutely have to do it. Check your bandwidth capacity to be sure that, if your website grows rapidly, your visitors won’t have to wait to download or view info.

Three things you need to look for in a hosting company:

1. Top notch Customer Support: Your hosting provider ought to be there for you 24/7 and give you instant access to the techs you need to help with any problems you may have. Find out how long it takes for them to help with your problems. An effective test is to call them in the middle of the night to see if you get to a live person.

2. A Sound Infrastructure: Check to be sure they offer a multi-homed network that is powered by multiple bandwidth suppliers to make sure there is redundancy. Some offer a 100% warranty on its network availability or network uptime.

3. Financial Stability: If you are running a critical operation, you can not afford to be with a hosting company that may have only been in business for a little while.

If you are are confused by the jungle of hosting companies, take a look at the current HostMonster ratings. They are my favorite at the moment. Good luck with all of your online adventures.