Assessing The True Cost Of Inexpensive Web Hosting

Sunday, 20 December 2009

It's a sign of the times, but everybody is looking to cut costs nowadays, and web hosting is an obvious area where this can be done.  However, sometimes low-cost equals false economy, so if you're looking for an inexpensive web host, you need to carefully consider the following things.

Reliability

No point having a kick-ass website if nobody can see it.  When looking for a web host, 99.9% uptime is the least you can expect, preferably with a guarantee that you will be compensated if they fail to meet that standard.  If it's at all difficult to find information on uptime guarantees, move right along to the next web host on your list.

Unlimited

This is the 21st century, we're all grown up web users and we don't need restrictions any more.  Look for the word "unlimited" in your web host research - unlimited bandwidth, unlimited web space, unlimited email accounts and so on.  These types of deals are available, and will ultimately mean more to your business than a few cents off the hosting price.  Remember, unlimited features mean the potential for unlimited business growth.

Support

What sort of customer support does the web host offer?  You may never need it, but you need to know it's there in case you do.  Look for prominently displayed customer support information, toll free numbers so that you can talk to real people, 24/7 support guarantees, and well-written, easy to understand tutorials, knowledge bases and FAQs.

Price

This will probably make or break the deal.  The average monthly fee is between $3.45 to $6.95 per month.  Although it's not too difficult to find hosts offering lower prices than that, treat them with caution.  Some of these deals run out after a year, or six months.  Far better to go for a slightly higher price and know that you'll still be paying that in two years time.
In the end, price is probably the least of your considerations when it comes to choosing a web host.  Pricing is within a broadly similar range, so it's important to look for reliability, features and support capacity before worrying too much about cost.  Low cost can work out very expensive if those other elements aren't in place first.