Web Hosting: Finding the Perfect Fit

It’s not a difficult concept to grasp that not all websites are the same. If you visit enough of them, you can clearly see that some websites appear to be superior to others. That could be because of the design of the website, the information on the site, or some other reason. The bottom line is, you know when a find a “decent” website and when you find a sub-par site. Unfortunately, it isn’t as simple when it comes to spotting the “perfect” website hosting service.

Contrary to what you may believe, not all website hosting services are equal. There are actually website hosting services that are quantifiably better than others. Here’s a look at some of the factors to compare when choosing a web host:

- Web Space (a.k.a. Disk Space)

This is the amount of room, usually measured in megabytes (MB), you’re given to “hold” all of the content related to the inner workings of your website. Informational websites with few pictures typically require less than 1MB of disk space. Websites with video, music, databases and other dynamic elements will require much larger amounts of space.

- Data Transfer

As the name suggests, data transfer is how much information can be accessed from your website; it’s a sort of “downloading allowance.” Data transfer is measured in gigabytes (GB) but sometimes the amounts are provided in MB. (1 GB = 1,000 MB). Unlike web space, the amount of data transfer that you’ll require is not dependent on how much content you have on your website but the number of people who are accessing the information on your site. As your website traffic increases, so will your data transfer requirements.

- Website Building Tools Compatibility

PHP. JavaScript. HTML. XHTML. MySQL. Dreamweaver. Frontpage. There are a variety of web scripting languages, database and web creation programs out there…and those are just some of them! It won’t do you any good to purchase web hosting from a provider that does not support the type of files with which your website is built. Check for compatibility before buying!

- Customer Service & Technical Support

It’s a fact: Customers freak out when they cannot access their website or the site is not functioning properly. Therefore, it’s always calming to have a web host that can be reached when you need them; the amount of accessibility that you prefer is up to you. The key here is that the web host is accessible and responsive.

- Cost

Bargain shopping is not exclusive to clothes and cars. If you can find a web host that provides everything that another is offering for half the price —from web space and data transfer allotments to customer service and tool compatibility—then by all means, go ahead and save yourself a couple bucks!

Now that you know some things to look for when narrowing down your potential website hosting providers, here’s the golden rule for determining whether a web host could ultimately be the choice for you. Are you ready? Okay. Here goes…

If the web hosting service provides enough capacity for your website to
operate as you need it to, it’s a right hosting choice; If it doesn’t, it’s not.

Mind-boggling, isn’t it? Well, while that is the primary determination of whether a hosting service is “the right choice,” here’s the factor that determines whether a “right choice” is a “good choice”…Good web hosts, a.k.a. reputable hosting services, do not oversell.

Have you heard of overselling before? Probably so…just not in terms of website hosting. Well, for those of you who don’t know, overselling is the website hosting equivalent of airlines that overbook flights. You know the scenario: When a plane is overbooked, people get booted off the flight until another comes along with more space. The same thing has the potential to happen when a hosting provider oversells web hosting accounts. Websites hosted on the provider’s server may or may not be able to utilize the full capacity they’re supposed to have. If not, select website functions may not function properly; Worse case scenario:  Websites could go completely offline until the web traffic on the host’s server decreases and there’s enough “space” for all of the host’s clients’ websites.

In the end, you will find that there are a number of website hosting services to choose from. Some of them will quickly stand out as wrong choices for you—because of inadequate disk space or data transfer allowances—and others simply because of price or customer service accessibility. Just remember that, when you need a tiebreaker to determine which hosting service is going to win your business, the winner will be the one that guarantees that they do not oversell. Find that web host and you’ll have found your perfect fit.