Is selecting good web hosting plan, really important? Many people who are starting out in Internet marketing wonder about this question. However, unfortunately, much attention is not given to, selecting a web-hosting plan. Many people just trust their web designer or web developer to choose a web hosting plan for them; they don’t even review their hosting plans, as they consider choosing a web hosting plan as a minor factor that will not matter too much.
Usually people do not pay much attention to web hosting plan unless there is a problem with it. So, if one is fortunate and gets a decent web hosting plan without considering his/her options, he/she perhaps will not think of choosing a web hosting plan as a very important aspect of website development. On the other hand one may view the selection of a web hosting plan in a different light, if he/she had an insufficient web hosting plan, or he/she been burned by a unreliable web hosting company.
Important points to remember are-
1. Security
2. Support
3. Speed
4. Space
5. Administrative functions
6. Cost
7. Email capabilities
8. Reports
9. Reliability
10. Extra features
Security
For website development, the security features of a web hosting plan’s servers is important, particularly if website is an ecommerce website through which customer payments are processed, or personal information is transmitted via their website. Customers may be cautious to transmit personal and financial information through their website, without a secure server. One should look for security features like: -Encryption capabilities and the ability to set up a dedicated secure server for his/her company in their web-hosting plan.
Support
Different web hosts have different levels of support with some responding to email or online requests while others offering person-to-person phone support. 24 hour technical support is being provided by few web hosts but not by all. Technical support should without any doubt be a part of a web-hosting plan. Before choosing a web-hosting plan one should make sure to find out about the quality and convenience of technical support that is being provided by that web host.
Speed
In an e- business, loading speed of a website is very important. Because, if the site takes more than a few seconds to load when people visit the website, they get annoyed and go on to the next, forgetting this website altogether. So ensure to find out the type of Internet connection the web host is using for example whether it is a high-speed connection or not, while evaluating a web hosting plan.
Space
The space and the bandwidth that ones web hosting plan allows for his/her website use matters. Any web hosting plan offers adequate space for a standard website, in most cases. However, one should make sure that if his/her website grows, he/she can increase the space provided for his/her web hosting plan if necessary. Restrictions of bandwidth can obstruct the ability of website visitors to download or upload data.
Administrative Functions
The owner of the website should be able to quickly and easily make changes to the website though sometimes a web developer serves as a Webmaster. Through the administrative features of a web-hosting plan, this can be accomplished, normally on online accessible control panel.
Cost
While choosing a web-hosting plan, cost is very important; though, it is not the most important consideration. Sometimes one really gets what he/she pays for. Therefore, cost should be one of the factors while deciding upon web hosting plan but picking cheapest web hosting plan is not always the best idea. Furthermore, it�’�”s not worth having free web hosting plan.
Email Capabilities
In every web hosting plan email capabilities should be included. The ability of using email aliases, number of email addresses being provided, and the ability of setting up auto responders are things, which should be considered. Restrictions on the size of files that can be sent and received or stored on the email server can also be of much value.
Reports
Reports about website activity and access to server logs should be standard features of a web hosting plan. These reports helps in marketing pains, as one can know from where his/her traffic is coming from and which marketing mediums are producing results. With the help of reports, one can even find out which of his/her web pages are most popular and which ones are not being visited at all.
Reliability
The reliability of the company who will be providing web-hosting plan is important. Like their percent of uptime, the duration of time they have been in business, and their backup and data retrieval practices play an important role in deciding whether or not the web-hosting plan one is deciding to take is reliable. Reliability is an important concern, as downtime of sites results in the loss of business.
Extra Features
Apart form standard features that are provided in a web-hosting plan, there can be options that may cost extra. Limited plans cost less than a full- service web-hosting plan. However, Full- service web hosting plan may be worth if chosen. Some of the extra features to look for are-
FTP access capabilities for sharing files and
support for software one may use for his/her website.
