How to find the perfect web host

Hi all!! Midweek...everybody's hanging good?? I sure hope so!
I received a lot of email requests about how to decide over a web host provider and what should one look before taking the plunge to ".com" domains. Well I thought that maybe sharing a list of things that need to be considered before signing with a web host provider would be the right way to go.
So naturally the topic for today is: how to find the perfect web host

First off let me start by telling you that this is my personal opinion coming from my own experiences and it's in no way the ultimate solution to everything. I am not almighty knowing so take this post as only my personal opinion stated:) Also, i look at this from the point of view of a bloger/small company business owner, running their own personal blog or their small e-commerce business, etc.


1. Bandwidth

The bandwidth is the amount of data that your website can pass to customers over a period of time. Why the bigger the bandwidth the better? Because you need to consider that videos and graphics or e-commerce scripts, take more bandwidth than plain HTML, so for that reason you need to have a proportional balance between bandwidth and price. Some hosting providers offer unlimited bandwidth to their customers while others give a limited one. Having unlimited bandwidth doesn't necessarily mean you've found the "goldfish" if the hosting provider is not reliable. But if you do want unlimited bandwidth ask the provider why is it unlimited and what does that exactly imply or if you go with a limited one ask what happens to your site if you go over your allocated bandwidth and what is the cost for the extra bandwidth if that is permitted.

2. Disk Space

The disk space is the amount of space that you are allocated for your website. Again, in this case there's the same situation when some hosting providers offer unlimited space to their customers, while others allocate space at a cost. And again don't go with the assumption that unlimited is better, even tough in some cases it might be. It's important again to go over those two questions: what happens if exceed the space and how much will cost the extra space if that is permitted.


3. Website builders

Not everybody is an IT-geek, and while you can create web pages with just HTML, XHTML and CSS, most people that will use their site for personal journal-ing/recipes/family blog/etc. will eventually want some type of builder that can make life easier for them when they want to design their website skeleton, accessing their database, or archiving document. So if your host provider offers that, well that's a plus:)

4. Extra Services

Most of the well known hosting providers offer services beyond hosting, so whenever you consider one, look into their detail offer and see if it includes: domain names(kind of an important one if you want to get a .com domain:), content management, web analytic tools, support options like chat/email etc.


5. Prices

And last but not least, the price of the services should probably one of the most important parameter to choosing a web host in balances with what they offer. But if you do your searchings right, then you can find a provider with all of your requirements for a good price.

When you are a blog owner/small business owner, you don't actually need too much to just take the .com plunge, but doing some research definitely helps. Having .com domain will help you look more professionally and also will help with the SEO as long as your domain name is relevant for your niche. But that is another topic for another time:)
Now that's it for today! Hope it helped!! Check back to see what comes up next in Blogger tutorial section, SEO tips department or how we teach new HTML tricks and tips every day!