Great web hosting --- what to look for

Web hosting can best be described as a modern-daymarriage: none of this till death do us part stuff, it'smore like I'll stick around as long as your uptime is 100%,you answer my frantic queries instantly, and you charge meless than a decent latte at Starbucks. What follows is afew tips to help make the relationship less rocky andpossibly prosperous!

First of all, we all need to take a little responsibilityand at least figure out what we think we need from a webhost up front. This isn't always as easy as you mightimagine. You don't always know your exact needs ahead oftime, and sometimes these things are difficult to forsee.Your site may become hugely popular, requiring morebandwidth or storage than previously thought. You maydecide to have data feeds hosted on your site, which willgobble up resources. On online store can do the same. Oneway I've found myself in the position of having to changeweb hosts is when a technology you want to use or implementon your site isn't supported by your host. This will (anddid!)prompt a move.

Ask friends and associates who they use. While their needsmay be somewhat different than yours, basic issues such assupport and uptime will be evident, as will cutomnersatisfaction. Check out several of the web hostingdirectories, as they maintain a wealth of currentinformation regarding the specifics you're interested in.Come armed with a list of things you're looking for andnarrow your choices down using this.

Make sure you can grow with this new host. Not only in thesize of your current sites, but also number of domains andsubdomains you can host there. If you're anything like me, Iwant to be able to get the most bang for my hosting buck!

In short, due your homework, check them out, do your part inknowing as specifically as possible what you're after, andmake your choice. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship!

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