James is the web hosting expert at Which Domain Host
In the most simple of terms an analogy using water flowing through pipes gives the easiest explanation of bandwidth, the wider the pipes (i.e. higher bandwidth) the more water can be moved per second (or data).
So Bandwidth is the amount of data passage per second and is generally measured in Gbps (Gigabits per second).
It is easy to confuse bandwidth, i.e. the speed of your connection with data transfer allowance, which is the amount of data that can be transferred to and from your server or web site per month and is measured in Gb. Most web hosts actually incorrectly use the term bandwidth in place of data transfer allowance, and it is important when choosing a web host, or a web hosting plan that you have a rough idea of the amount data transfer you will require.
Put simply each time somebody looks at a page from your site they download that page from your server, using up some of your data transfer allowance, if your average page size is 100kb and each of your 100 visitors a day looks at say 4 pages then per day you are using 40Mb which equates to a data transfer of 1.2Gb per month. Unfortunately customers visiting your site are not the only ones to use up your data transfer, sending and receiving email, uploading new pages to your server, and believe it or not GoogleBot, MSN Bot and the Yahoo! Robot to name but a few of the countless spiders out there, all use up a portion of your data transfer depending on how many of your pages they spider. In-fact the various web spiders out there can use up a significant amount of your data transfer especially when it is in it’s infancy as they attempt to categorise it for production in organic search results sometimes spidering your web site up to 10 times a day. It is possible to tell these spiders not to crawl your site, not to crawl specific pages or not to follow specific links but that is beyond the scope of this discussion, and generally they are your friends because it is these spiders which will get you listed in the major search engines and ultimately drive customers to your site.
So, the more bandwidth/data transfer the better?
Yes, decide how many visitors you ideally would like/can cope with and then choose a web hosting package with twice the bandwidth you think you need, this serves two purposes, firstly and most importantly it allows you room to grow. Secondly having more bandwidth than you need means you are ready for any surges in popularity you may enjoy, and will avoid having to pay any excess data transfer charges (usually around $2/£1 per Gb).
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A
Common Law Capers
By: Katheleen Bloom | 08/07/2009Trademark registration and its protection is an important part of running any business. However, it is not as simple as it seems. The first and the most common mistake made by most up and coming businesses is to take on a a common law trade name. Very often the names that are chosen are names that are generic or inappropriate and should remain available to all of those who compete in that industry. This is not always kept in mind leading to litigations and claims which can prove to be detrimenta
Terminator Lawsuit
By: Kevin J Smith | 23/06/2009While most of the people see only one side of the movies there is actually lot of that can be found if you look deeper. A recent lawsuit revolved around the popular Terminator franchise. Terminator two was the movie that became Arnold Schwarzenegger’s most successful role up to date and gave him immense popularity that finally helped him to become the governor of California.
Violation of Copyright Law 1957
By: Vijay Gupta | 20/06/2009The Indian Copyright Law under the Indian Copyright of 1957 is the true manifestation of the Berne Convention of Copyrights, of which India is an active member. The law clearly states that the owner has the sole right on his copyright. The law not only protects works of art from ‘theft’ but also protects dramatic, artistic and musical works along with cinematography films and sound recording. Violation of copyright law 1957 is an offense and is punished likewise.
Patent and Copyright Lawyers
By: David Done | 16/06/2009Patent and Copyright Lawyers - You will probably have to talk to several patent and copyright lawyers before you find the one that you want to hire. Making the right decision is very important, so you want to take your research seriously. Learn more about Patent and Copyright Lawyers at Aplegal.com.
Copyright Attorneys
By: David Done | 15/06/2009Copyright Attorneys - One of the most useful ways to help you determine which copyright attorney you should hire is to make a list of several firms and agencies so you can contact them and get relevant information about their practices.
Copyright and Patent Attorneys
By: David Done | 12/06/2009Copyright and Patent Attorneys - Patent and copyright law can be difficult for laymen to understand completely. That is why you might need the services of an attorney to help you fill out the paperwork that will protect your patented or copyrighted materials. Learn more about Copyright and Patent Attorneys at Aplegal.com.
How To Copyright Your Own Work
By: Mark Sanford | 10/06/2009Recently, one of my articles was placed on a site without proper credits. It was brought to my attention by another article submission site. I had submitted my article to them for posting, when to my shock; they informed me that someone else was claiming ownership of my work!
How to obtain copyright
By: Katheleen Bloom | 08/06/2009Copyright information is available on most of the products that we use. Taking a moment to read and absorb this information will clearly lay out what is and what is not considered to be acceptable usage of the product in question. Obtaining such a copyright is a fairly detailed process.
The 18 Steps to Perfect Web Hosting
By: James Betchley | 01/12/2008 | Web HostingChoosing a web host can be a daunting process but follow these 18 simple steps and you will have no problem finding your perfect host.
Getting Ranked in Google
By: James Betchley | 17/11/2008 | SEOOnce you have created your web site you need to get Ranked by Google and the other search engines, and more importantly, ranked highly in Google and the Search Engine Result Positions SERPs. Search engine optimization (SEO) has been compared to an art form, and while it is true that due to the changing ranking algorithms of Google and the major search engines it is not an exact science, but there are some tried and tested methods which will help you towards that coveted first page position.
The 6 Steps to Good Web Hosting
By: James Betchley | 15/11/2008 | Web HostingThe webhosting market is flooded with tens of thousands of different webhosts all offering lots of choices, so how do you decide? The truth is 80% is these hosts all offer great hosting and to avoid the 20% that don’t you just need to follow the following 5 steps.
Green Web Hosting
By: James Betchley | 13/11/2008 | Web HostingGreen Web Hosting has become a major consideration over the last couple of years, and due to the already massive and still increasing global energy demands of the IT industry, green energy web hosting is here to stay.
Setting Up a Web Site to Make Money From Home
By: James Betchley | 08/11/2008 | Online BusinessSo you’ve decided to set up a web site to make money from home or supplement your income. It is important when setting up a web site which you intend to make money from that you decide early on what your theme and target audience will be – a top tip is to choose a subject or product that is close to your heart, this will make the whole process a lot less laborious as you will find it easier to keep motivated through the tedious process of search engine optimisation.
Making Money Online
By: James Betchley | 27/10/2008 | Online BusinessMaking money from home on the internet, is a great way to supplement your income, especially for non-working mothers or anyone for that matter with a connection to the internet and a little drive.
Making Money Online
By: James Betchley | 23/10/2008 | Online BusinessHow to get started in e-business
Review of Web Host Webfusion
By: James Betchley | 25/09/2008 | Web HostingWebFusion offer a range of 4 shared web hosting plans, 3 Virtual Private Server packages and 4 levels of dedicated server, ensuring that there is something for everyone all plans are available on a choice of Linux Windows and hosted on the Apache and Windows 2008 Servers Respectively.