subject: Choosing Web Hosting: What Extras Are On Offer? [print this page] There are such a large number of web hosting providers that it can be tricky to choose between hosting plans and packages. In order to choose the plan that is right for your personal website or for your business you will need to find a provider that will give you an amount of server storage and bandwidth that is right for your website. Different plans will be more suitable for either personal hosting needs or for business hosting. Bandwidth and storage space are the key elements of hosting a website. The storage space will provide a place for your site to live and the bandwidth will enable visitors to actually view your website. Though these aspects are vital parts of a hosting package, many different hosting providers will offer high amounts of storage space and bandwidth. In order to choose between hosts it can be useful to look at what else you will get with your web hosting package. Many providers will offer extra features to try and stand out from the sea of competitors.
A crucial part of any website is the domain name; it is the address for your website and means that people can find it. In order to have a domain name for your site you will need to register one with a domain registration company and renew it, generally every year. Many hosting companies may offer to look after this for you so that you can have your website hosting, domain registration and renewal all tied up together. This makes the process much simpler and easier to keep track of. A few hosting providers may even offer free domain registration.
A web hosting provider may also offer advanced email options. Some providers will limit the number of associated email addresses you can have attached to your website. This can become problematic in the future if your website has grown in size and traffic and you need additional email addresses. You can find packages that come with an unlimited number of email addresses and in-built ways to check inboxes and messages.
Another form of service that some hosting providers offer are website builders or content management systems. A host may provide an in-built WYSIWYG editor that you can use to change the style and content of your website. Others may have one-click installations of blogging tools and content management systems like Wordpress. Another option is supplying templates that those on the hosting package can easily use to stylise their websites. Some providers may even go one step further and offer a website design service.
Many web hosting providers will offer content management systems to varying levels of complexity; some will only feature basic systems, editors and templates. Others will offer more advanced setups that can add more to your website. For example, you can have the option to add forums and mailing lists to your website that can improve the professionalism of your website. Equally some may offer set ups for e-commerce. They may able to organise an SSL certificate for your website. This can be particularly helpful in e-commerce as it provides a secure browsing environment and is a widely recognised symbol of a reputable site.
Other extras may be on offer that can be particularly helpful to your website. For example, some providers will create a mobile accessible version of your website. Another option is advertising credit. Some hosts will offer their customers credit towards Google AdWords or other advertising schemes. This can be useful because it can help to create awareness of your website and spread its name around the internet.
Most hosting providers will be competitive about rates of uptime, levels of virus protection and the support system they have in place. You will need to make sure that you have looked around at what is available to you before you decide on a package to go with. The extras that are provided with a plan should not be the main deciding factor between different packages, but they can be a useful way of comparing providers and plans. The most important features of a web hosting package are the amounts of bandwidth and storage space and you will need to ensure that you have found a plan with the amounts your website will need. Once you have done this, shop around to see if there are any other providers offering similar plans but with useful extra services.
