7 point checklist to choose a web hosting service

[jayadev]

Before you can launch your web site, you'll need to engage the services of a web hosting company.
A web host, quite simply, allows you to rent space on a web server. Your web pages are then stored on this server, and the host computer allows other people connected to the Internet to view them.
There are literally hundreds of web hosting companies to choose from. How to choose the right one?
As with trying out any new service, you won't really know how good a web hosting company is until you try it. Therefore, ask around and see whether you can get any recommendations from those who already use a web hosting company. You might also want to consider how long the company has been in business, how reliable it is known to be, and how expensive it would be if you want to upgrade your plan in future.
Other areas to consider include:
Disk space
How much disk space do you need? Does you website have less than 10 pages? You'll need only a small amount of space. Is it a huge site that has thousands of pages? You'll be needing a lot of disk space. Most web hosting plans limit how much space you will have, so make sure the plan you choose meets your needs.
E-mail accounts
How many e-mail accounts do you need? You'll probably need one for each employee and one for each department (sales, accounts, support). Make sure you purchase a hosting plan that has enough e-mail accounts. Also, do you want full POPS access, Web-based e- mail, or both?
Data transfer
How much data do you need to transfer? Most hosting plans limit how much data transfer you are allotted each month. If you expect a lot of people to visit your site, you'll need a plan that allows for plenty of data transfer.
E-commerce
Will you be selling goods or services through your site? If not, there's no need to sign up for an e-commerce web hosting service. If you are, e-commerce web hosting services such as shopping cart software, SSL support and a merchant account will be vital.
Database, script and extension support
Some hosts will try to blind you with all the features they provide: Frontpage, MS Access, MySQL, MS SQL, Peri support, PHP support, ASP support and SSI support. Do you really need all these features? If not, make sure you are not paying for extras you'll never use.
Operating systems
Do you want a UNIX hosting plan or a Windows hosting plan? Unix is the most commonly used operating system among Web servers. It is known for its flexibility, reliability and stability. Windows hosting plans give you the ability to utilize many forms of dynamic content and specialized databases. Windows hosting plans are often used for sites utilizing Frontpage, ASP, MS Access databases, MS SQL Servers and other Microsoft applications.
Support
Is customer and technical support available 24/7? Can you easily get through on the customer support hotline? Or are you on hold for hours?

[monaghan]

You mention not paying for extras you'll never use, then go on to mention 24/7 support, do you really need 24/7 support? 24/7 support is ideal for a hugely popular site or a site that's generating your salary, however for the average user, then is it really that important?

Many budget hosts offer support via premium rate phone calls. You may be better off spending more wisely and going with a host that takes good care of their servers giving you a more reliable service.

[eria]

Its looking strange stated that 24/7 support ?
Is there some hosts who get off for some time .It will be my first priority to check if they are 24/7 ...............

[monaghan]

Originally Posted by eria

Its looking strange stated that 24/7 support ?
Is there some hosts who get off for some time .It will be my first priority to check if they are 24/7 ...............

So what are you hosting that needs 24/7 support ? If it's that critical, I'd suggest that a budget shared host is probably not the way to go.

When considering 24/7 support you need to think carefully about what's actually provided. Most hosts will respond to server down within a short time frame, however if you're business is that critical that you need to be going 24/7 then you need to think about SLA's.

Without an SLA, then you have nothing to base your support on other than the goodwill of the person monitoring the call queue. Many hosts will offer the ability to log an incident 24/7, however you're not neceserally going to get an immediate resolution. An SLA will usually define a standard time to resolution for a variety of different issues.

Also, think about how an incident is resolved, many newbie (and not so newbie) hosts will resolve a server issue with a reboot. Why ? Mainly because they don't know the real issue, but a reboot usually sorts most things, however they happen again and again. You often see people wanting remote reboot ports on their servers so they can reboot at will. I usually just sit back in wonder as to why these boxes need so many reboots. Coming from a corporate mini computer background, then usually a kernel update or hardware update is the only real reason for reboot. A well managed box doesn't need rebooting weekly / daily / monthly.

Also worth noting that most remote reboots are simply a power switch with a network interface, a server should really be cleanly closed down before having the power removed, ideally the power should remain and a soft reboot should be performed as this will stress the hardware less.

24/7 is quoted far too often these days, real 24/7 support backed by SLA's is not often available though.

[palefrost]

Wow this is a great read! Ive just started looking into creating a online business and i have learned so much from this site already!

Its pretty scary though to not have any prior notice if a web host will be good or not until you try it. Is there any word of mouth offered for web hosts?

[monaghan]

Best bet is the search engines and asking about on forums like this one. Many hosts will hang out on forums, check the replies they give, many forums are simply seen as chances to plug thier company and collect business. Other hosts will give good independant advise with no strings attached, I know who I'd rather host with

Generally a big host will offer less personal service than a smaller host, however, the only real way is to give it a try.

Never pay for more than 1 month in advance until you are happy with the host.

Some hosts will offer a money back guarantee, however from experience you may well find that this is not worth the electrons used to display the guarantee on their web page.

Look for several payment methods, a single PayPal payment link is not a good sign, also check whether you're paying into a PayPal business account or a personal one, this is often a give-away.

If you're looking at UK hosts, then check the company registration, you can do a lookup of the basic details for free on the Companies House website. VAT registration is also usually a sign that the company is legit (although some smaller companies may be legit, just insufficient turnover to be VAT registered)

I'm sure others will add the benefit of their wisdom as well.

[palefrost]

Again thank you so great information here on how to get started.

[monaghan]

Also, to get the best out of a host, you need to be a good customer

• Pay on time, every time.
• If you submit a support ticket, give ALL the problem details, account name, server name (or IP), detailed explanation of the problem including any error messages in full, the name and version number of the 3rd party software you're using (if applicable), what you've done to try and resolve the issue.
• Don't totally fill your account, remember that the web servers will need space for their logs, mail servers will need to deliver mail somewhere, if you use 100% of your web space, then other processes will break