subject: How to determine which type of web hosting is right for your site [print this page] How to determine which type of web hosting is right for your site
When you've made the decision to make your website live there may be many questions plaguing your mind, especially if you are entirely new to these situations. When making these decisions there are several general ideas to keep in mind in order to make a decision that will not be costing you extra in the end, or even worse such as ruining the quality of your website which can cost unnecessary money and lost opportunity in the long run. One important thing to keep in mind is what your options are in regards to types of hosting, offered packages, and the features these come with. Unfortunately specific advise would be on a case by case basis, but knowing what you are getting involved with should make all the difference.
Web hosting plans and packages come in many forms and each form offers something different, sometimes these differences are monumental. In regards to the types of hosting your popular options include free, shared, dedicated and collocated hosting. When considering plans consider how much traffic you realistically will be generating for the term of any contract, as well as how large the total file size of your site will be. Decide if you want advertising on your site and if so, whether or not you wish to retain control of these advertisements. Free plans, though great for personal websites, usually are plagued by banners and limited tools and layout options. Shared plans are ideal for small time sites, including small business sites, and allow you a good amount of control. Dedicated plans are similar to shared plans with the biggest exceptions being the bandwidth and disk space are significantly increased. Collocated hosting is usually the purchase of a server or part of a server rather than renting space on a server. When making a decision please keep in mind that thorough research would behoove anyone who plans to put their site live.
