Choosing the best web hosting service provider can be tedious and complicated. As we know, there are thousands of web hosting providers available and most of them offer almost identical web hosting packages. However, when looking for a web hosting plan for your business, you have to make sure the tools, features and services needed are included in their package deal. There are some major criteria in choosing a web hosting for your business, such as:
Server Up-time
A professional web hosting must offer reliable server up-time and fast Internet connection, using at least OC3 (Optical Carrier) lines (155 Megabits per second) or above to support servers or data center infrastructure. It should have 99.9% server up-time independently monitored and provides money back for its server up-time guarantee.
Bandwidth and Disk Space
This technical requirement is the most important in selecting a webhosting plan, especially if the website contains lots of pictures, videos, and other downloadable files. However there are several dishonest webhosting providers claiming they provide unlimited disk space and bandwidth for their customers. It’s a kind of trick where they don’t limit your disk space and bandwidth but they also don’t limit the amount of accounts per server. The more accounts are active in a shared server, the smaller bandwidth and capacity you can get. A good business web hosting typically has 10 to 50 accounts per server according to server specification. Or if you need greater capacity and bandwidth, you can take a dedicated server.
Supports and Features
You should determine what the provider supports and which ones it does not. In this case you two options, between a Windows web hosting and Unix/Linux web hosting. Windows web hosting is very suitable for any website that uses programming environments such as ASP, Visual Basic scripts, Cold Fusion and Microsoft SQL database while Linux web hosting is suitable for Perl, CGI, SSI, PHP and mySQL database. In addition you should also check the cPanel, Back-up features, builder and web analytics tools, and security like spam control and SSL transaction. [Read the rest of this entry...]