| "This article outlines the most important | | | | of their control panel to check their control |
| considerations one should keep in mind while | | | | panel features. The control panel should |
| looking for a website hosting service | | | | provide access to features like creating new |
| provider. Let's take a look at some of them. | | | | FTP and e-mail addresses, databases |
| | | | management and all other functionalities for |
| There are many things to consider when | | | | effective web site management. |
| choosing a web hosting plan which suits your | | | | |
| requirements. The 10 most important are | | | | Plesk, Helm and CPanel are the leading brands |
| listed below. | | | | of administration control panels. |
| | | | |
| 1. Types of Servers | | | | E-mail services |
| | | | |
| 2. Disk Space/Storage | | | | Checkout the number of pop3 accounts and |
| | | | email space provided with your hosting plan |
| 3. Bandwidth or data transfer | | | | .Choose a web hosting provider that provides |
| | | | both POP3 and IMAP e-mail accounts, web-based |
| 4. Database support | | | | e-mail, autoresponders, mailing lists, |
| | | | forwarding accounts, antivirus and spam |
| 5. FTP Access | | | | filtering software. |
| | | | |
| 6. Easy to use Control Panel | | | | Cost |
| | | | |
| 7. E-mail services | | | | It is very important that cost fits into your |
| | | | budget without compromising on features you |
| 8. Cost | | | | require .choose a Web hosting company which |
| | | | provides multiple web hosting plans. So if in |
| 9. Customer Support | | | | the future if you outgrow the selected |
| | | | hosting plan, you can upgrade another without |
| 10. Added Features | | | | changing the web hosting provider. |
| | | | |
| First thing to do is make yourself clear | | | | Generally the web hosting cost anywhere |
| about features you will use. If you are | | | | between 3 to 5 dollars per month for 100 MB |
| planning to make a complete static *.html | | | | of disk space .there are lot of web hosting |
| based website you can go with either windows | | | | companies on the web who provides web hosting |
| or linux server but if you are making a | | | | as cheap as 1 dollar PM but you may need to |
| dynamic website i.e. Php then you need a | | | | compromise on some features like support |
| server which supports PHP generally a linux | | | | ,bandwidth , number of email accounts and |
| of Unix server supports PHP. Webmasters using | | | | Uptime guarantee etc... |
| PHP probably will need MySQL database support | | | | |
| & if it is a ASP based site then you need | | | | Some web site hosting companies charge |
| choose with a windows hosting server. | | | | one-time setup cost. This fees in additional |
| | | | to the ongoing monthly web hosting charges. |
| Disk Space/ Storage | | | | While purchasing the hosting account findout |
| | | | the setup cost and their after monthly cost . |
| Now we are clear about which server to choose | | | | |
| and feature like PHP, MySQL supported... | | | | Customer Support |
| let's take a look at Disk Space/ Storage and | | | | |
| bandwidth or Data Transfer. This usually | | | | This is as important as the disk space or any |
| depends on number and size of WebPages you | | | | other feature in web hosting. Ask your |
| want to host. | | | | provider if it provides customer support |
| | | | whether by FAQ section, a knowledgebase, |
| Bandwidth or data transfer | | | | video and flash tutorials, toll-free support, |
| | | | e-mails support, live chat support or a |
| For an average user or a small company | | | | community forum. |
| website takes 100 Mb of disk pace and 1 GB of | | | | |
| data transfer is enough. But it is | | | | Try e-mailing the web host a couple of times |
| recommended to choose the web hosting plan | | | | to check how quickly they respond to your |
| which gives you at least 2 - 3 times higher | | | | requests. This will help in knowing their |
| bandwidth. As your website visibility will | | | | response time and on the basis this you can |
| increase with the time you might need more | | | | decide which host to choose . |
| bandwidth to coop up with your requirements. | | | | |
| | | | Added Features |
| Ftp Access: | | | | |
| | | | Most of the web site hosting companies |
| FTP access is used to upload your files to | | | | provide some added features or freeware to |
| the server or web space or to the hosting | | | | attract customers .these can be in any form |
| server. FTP access is provided by most web | | | | like i.e. ash ,gift vouchers, free domain |
| hosting providers. You may need more than one | | | | name, Free Site Builder ,one click script |
| FTP account if you have coworkers working on | | | | installers like fantastico, guestbook's, |
| your website from different locations. | | | | forms, surveys, newsletters, image-gallery |
| | | | scripts etc... |
| Easy to use Control Panel | | | | |
| | | | Last but not least read some web hosting |
| The web based control panel will help you in | | | | reviews to discover how satisfied the |
| managing your web hosting account and | | | | customers of particular web hosting company |
| website. Generally all web hosting providers | | | | are. Try to find their experience with |
| provide a web based control panel to access | | | | technical support and server uptime. Discover |
| and manage web site features. Ask for a demo | | | | how they are satisfied with control panel. |