Choosing a Web Hosting Provider

Every website needs a place to call home (Web host/server). It's the place where all of your website files reside so that when a person types in your URL, your website will appear -- and you want to be sure that 99.9% of the time, your site DOES appear when accessed. You also need a host so that you can receive your domain-based email.

Which host you choose depends upon your needs and budget. Consider the following:

Are there set-up fees?
What is the monthly rate?
Do you get a discount if you prepay for the year? Two years?
Do you have access to a control panel?
How much disk space do you get?
How much data transfer?
How many POP email accounts?
How many forwarding (alias) email accounts?
Do you get a WebMail account (so you can check your mail when traveling)?
Do you have your own CGI bin?
What languages do they support? Perl, ASP, PHP, etc.
Is it easy to cancel if you want to?
Do they offer 24 hour support?

Once you have choosen a host (and hosting plan), you'll need to update the DNS (domain name servers) with your registrar (ie. GoDaddy.com or Register.com). Allow 24-72 hours for the propagation of the DNS (a process where all of the Internet updates their DNS records to associate your domain name with your new hosting server addresses).

If you already have a hosting account and are moving to a new one, be sure to read our article on changing Web hosts.

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