Reliability
This is the percentage of uptime the host guarantees and don't accept anything under 99.5% of uptime. Look for what safeguards and backup servers a hosting company uses because downtime means your site is invisible.
Bandwidth
Bandwidth is the amount of material that can be downloaded or transferred from your site each month. Inexpensive web hosting packages offer you a lower amount because when your site is new you probably won't need much. But if your traffic takes off and you need that bandwidth your additional monthly charges could be high. Look for 10GB minimum with many web hosts offering 40 to 50 GB at no additional charge.
Disk Storage Space
You may start out with a small web site but when you expand you'll need more disk space. Again some less expensive web hosts will offer you a low amount of space and charge extra when you need more. Look for 200MB disk space as a minimum with 800MB to 1000MB being offered by the best web hosting packages.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
FTP allows you to transfer files to and from your Web site from your computer and is this recommended so you are in total control. One reason free web hosting services are not a good idea is most don't offer FTP. If you consider a web host without FTP you will be sacrificing price for control over your web site.
Advanced Features
Complete web hosting packages offer you advanced features like CGI Scripts, PHP, MySQL, and PERL. You may start off with a basic web site but these advanced features will be valuable tools once your web business grows larger. If you don't have the software to build your site, look for a deluxe web site hosting plan offering you a web site builder. This saves you from spending additional money on web building software.
Price
While price should always be a consideration, the best value for your money is always better than the cheapest monthly price. Be careful of web hosts charging low monthly fees because many make it up by charging you for additional services.
Guarantee
The complete web hosting packages should offer a 30 day money back guarantee if you are not completely satisfied. At least the best web hosting plans offer this kind of guarantee.
There are many more advanced options you can look for in a deluxe web site hosting plan but these basic considerations will make you aware of what is offered and make your choice a lot easier.
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