Assuming that you are researching on the above topic, since this topic is very fundamental I do not wish the reader to go through the same repeated step he/she knows!
One you have bought a domain name or planning to buy one, the next step usually will be finalizing a webhost to host your webpages. If you would like to know why you need a web host, you may go through one of my prvious posts at http://www.webreviewer.info/how-to-buy-and-own-a-domain-name/ .
Things to know prior to a web hosting contract
There are few things you need to know about the website you are planning to build/host, prior to selecting a webhost. These things will help you choose an economic hosting plan and also save your time in resolving issues which may come across in lack of proper planning.
- Disk Space: First thing you should know is how much disk space your site may occupy. A 10 page static website (containing only few static HTML pages, css and images) will need under 10MB of space whereas a blog, a video site or a large scale site may take up more space depending on the software script package used.
- Bandwidth: This is an estimation of the network bandwidth which may be consumed by the website, similar to your internet connection bandwidth which you may be familiar if you have an internet connection which is not under the ‘unlimited’ bandwidth plan. If you have a number of visitors visiting your website everyday (or may be once you launch the site), you may need a higher bandwidth plan. The rule of thumb is to start with something lower which you feel sufficient and to upgrade as and when needed. This need proper bandwidth monitoring as well as a good webhost who offer easy bandwidth upgradation options.
- Server technology: Its a very key point to know prior to choosing your website. On a broader scale, there are hosting computers running majorly on windows platform and Linux. Its not that these are the only two but commercial webhosts rely majorly on these platforms. Choosing between a Windows or Linux host depends on what the server technology your website will be using. For example, running a wordpress blog, Linux host with Apache, PHP and MySQL support is ideal as it provides much flexibility while working with your wordpress setup. The same setup cannot be used to run a website which is intended to run on ASP.Net. Most of the windows host also do support PHP and MySQL, means you can run a wordpress blog on them too, but with some limitations which the Apache webserver provide such as search engine friendly URLs using the mod_rewrite module. Once not sure, its always good to have a conversation with the hosts’ sales team to understand what they provide and what works for you
- Database support: If you are planning to host a data driven website, its important to know the database support provided by a host. Windows host usually provide MS SQL DB support and MySQL as an optional addition in some cases. Linux hosts provide support to MySQL DB and SQLite in few of them. If you need support for Oracle or something hifi, its not that easy to find a host too! Few webhosts restrict the number of databases you can use and the in the size limit of these DBs. You need to do a thorough research if these are critical for your website
- Addon Domains:If you are planning to host multiple domain names in single webhosting account, this point is important for you. Webhosts vary in the number of addon domain name support they provide in each account. For example, Godaddy’s starter web hosting plan allows you to host only single website per account, if you want another one, the only way is to change your webhosting plan. You can avoid such headaches when you research and plan on this area.
- Email Addresses:Your webhosting account in most cases allow you to add certain number of email accounts. Your mailbox will be hosted by the same web host. Since this also count towards disk usage, there are usually limitations in the maximum number of email account you can create on your account. If yours is a company who has x number of employees who need email accounts, you need to prior hand whether you can create that many in your webhosting account. But thanks to Google Apps standard edition, you can now host your emails at GMail for free and avoid this step here, but you need to know how to configure this one. (let me know if you need assistance in this, because I have used Google Apps 🙂 )
Above these points, you may still need some custom configurations for your website. The solution is to talk to the technical support of the webhost and see what they can do for your need.