If you look online for web hosting, you're going to see a LOT of results. How do you choose? I'll try to provide some simple guidelines.
- Look for reviews. There are a number of hosting reviews sites, but one of the best places to find out what people think of a host is within the host's own support forums! If you see a lot of complaints, or a lot of glowing reviews, take those into account when making a decision.
The overall positive or negative trend in the comments is more important than a few 'loud' outliers that might catch your attention first. Sometimes you can register for the forums even if you're not a client of the host - if you can, do that, and post your questions. - How much room or bandwidth do you need? You may not know, but if you plan to use either a lot of space or a lot of bandwidth, or both, then look for a plan that offers unlimited storage and bandwidth options. If you're a photographer or artist uploading lots of imagery, or if you provide software downloads, you'll probably need more bandwidth. If you go over your allowance your site will be suspended, but you should be able to upgrade easily enough.
- I need ___ for my site. If your website uses a database (virtually all CMS, gallery, blog, mailing list, forum sites do), look for PHP and MySQL among the host's offerings. If you have specific needs as far as the number of email or FTP accounts, Webmail, Windows vs. Linux platform, etc. the host should provide a comprehensive list of features for you.
- Customer support. How is it handled? Is there a phone number and email contact information clearly visible on the host's site? Are there well-trafficked support forums? Do they also offer chat-based support? If you can't find a way to contact the host immediately, look elsewhere.
- Guarantees. Almost all large hosts will offer a 99.5 to 99.9% uptime guarantee.
- Price. As with many things, in hosting you get what you pay for. Don't trust your business website to a free or cheap host solely based on price; high-quality hosting is a relatively minor expense these days.
The number of hosting choices can be overwhelming, but a little research can help a lot. If you go with one of the major hosting companies that offers good support and a plan that will let you grow, then you’re unlikely to make a bad choice. If you have questions about building or improving your web presence, please email me or visit my site at http://www.redkitecreative.com. I’ll be happy to answer them.
Tools For Your Website
Wufoo (www.wufoo.com) is a web-based application that will help you build forms to collect survey, contact and invitation data online. Wufoo is free for limited accounts (up to three forms).
This newsletter is now being produced (quickly and easily!) in Semaphore, Red Kite's new email campaign management tool.
To try your first Semaphore mailing (up to 1,000 addressees) for free, just email us and we'll set you up with an account. If you like Semaphore, from then on you'll only pay when you send out the final mailing, and our prices are competitive with other major newsletter sites like Constant Contact and Emma.
Get a template that matches your website - contact Red Kite for more information. And if you've already signed up for Semaphore, login here.