2.)
HEADLINE ARTICLE
__________________
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»
The 7 Most
Important Qualities Of A Top of the Line Web Host
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»
If you're just starting out with an
online business, or even just a personal web page, you need to find
a host that is reliable, inexpensive, and one that offers all of the
tools you need to make your business prosper. Most people
start out with one domain, and later on add more domains to expand
their business.
I've worked an online business for
over five years, and I've been through many web hosts in my search
for the elusive "Super Host".
Here are the things you will need to
know:
1) How much diskspace
does the hosting account offer?
Even though you may think you only
need a small hosting account, you may find that in a couple of years
you need to expand. If you've chosen your host wisely, by
finding one that offers at least 2 gigabytes of space, you won't
have to upgrade or move all of your files to another host - a very
time consuming and frustrating job.
2) Does the hosting
account offer unlimited use of mySQL databases, email accounts,
subdomains, addon domains, and bandwidth?
I'm speaking from experience, when I
tell you that all of these things are very important! Even
though you start out small, if you're anything like me, you'll want
to add scripts and programs to your site which will require mySQL
databases by the dozen. You will need various email accounts
for your projects, and plenty of subdomains as well. If you
are running an online store, you have to know that you are not going
to be penalized for the amount of visitors to your site, so
bandwidth is very important - the more the better. Now, when
you've graduated to owning more than one domain, having an account
that offers addon domains, especially unlimited addon domains, will
make your life a whole lot easier, believe me. No need to set
up multiple accounts and have to worry about multiple monthly
payments, which can run into hundreds of dollars - with addon
domains, you have one account and one monthly payment!
3) Does your host allow
you to send out as many emails as you need to when you have to
contact your list members?
This is extremely important to your
business. I've been with some hosts that only allow a small
number of emails to be sent out per hour - very hard to do, when you
have a list of thousands to contact! Make sure you know what
is allowed before you join.
4) Does your host have
only a monthly payment schedule, or can you purchase yearly, or even
lifetime?
It can be very costly with a monthly
plan as opposed to yearly. You usually get a much better deal
with a yearly plan. Something that is being seen more lately
is "Lifetime Web Hosting". This is the way to go
people! My current hosting account is a lifetime hosting
account. I paid one fee upfront, and I NEVER have to worry
about paying again. Talk about a relief! Hosting fees
can definitely cut into your monthly revenue, so do away with it,
and host for life.
5) Does your host
takes advantage of the latest advances in audio and video
technology?
If you are going to be running
scripts, graphical programs, audio programs, you're going to need a
host that is on the cutting edge - totally up-to-date - one that has
everything you need now and in the future.
6) Does your host have
24/7 technical support?
Even though things go smoothly most of
the time, if a problem does occur, you have to be able to get help
right away - this is one of the most important features, right up
there with price, and technology.
7) Does the host offer a
99.9% up time?
Anything below 99.9% up time is no
good, period. The norm is 99.9%, and if you see anything below
this, you can probably bet that it's an inferior company.
These are 7 of the most important
things you must ask yourself about a hosting program, and you will
do well to research everything before signing up for your first
hosting account.
=======================================================
Joanne Martell is the owner of Wannaberichtoo Webmaster
Resources. Visit http://www.wannaberichtoo.com/lifetimehosting
to read Part 2 in this series on how Lifetime Hosting will make your
online marketing experience a whole lot easier, and definitely more
enjoyable.
[Back to the Table of
Contents]