Choosing a web host is very important because you want everything to be as perfect as possible so you don’t come across very many problems. You want to mainly focus on your blog so picking the right web host is very important. Here are six things you should consider when choosing a web host:
1. Speed of Webserver
This is probably more important than anything else on this list. Most web hosting companies are really overselling. Some oversell so much that it really affects their servers speed. This isn’t good for someone like you that is hosting on those servers. The good thing is you can test how slow a server is. If you can find out addresses that is hosted on the different servers then you can input these into various speed testing web sites. One that I like is Iwebtool.com.
2. Disk Space
It is coming that time where we are all about multi-gigabyte hosting packages. However, you probably will never need that much disk space unless you have a massive photo or video gallery. Then you might want to think about getting a lot of disk space. Otherwise, 50MB to a 100MB should be plenty for most blogs.
3. Bandwidth
You really do not require very much bandwidth on new blogs. Usually web hosts offer something like 10 times your disk space quota for your bandwidth quota and that should be plenty. So if you have 50MB of disk space then you will probably be given 500MB bandwidth. There are a lot of web hosts that give out unlimited bandwidth but make sure to read the fine print as it will probably say unlimited bandwidth equals a certain amount of megabytes or gigabytes (This is the same for unlimited disk space).
4. Uptime
When I talk about uptime I’m referring to the percentage of time a web server continues to function and make available your site to users who visit it. Most servers will suffer some downtime due to hardware or software failure. Because of that most web hosts promise uptime of around 99%. The best way to check uptime is to verify a host’s uptime yourself. You can use a service like host-tracker.com to track the uptime of sites hosted by your web host or a web host you’re looking to buy.
5. Add-on domains
The add-on domain feature will allow you to manage multiple domains/web sites on one hosting account. This will allow you to use your disk space and bandwidth with multiple blogs if you choose to do so. Even if you think you want to have one blog it might be a good choice to pay for a web host that includes add-on domains. The reason why I say this is because you never know when you will want to create a second blog, a third blog, and so on. Otherwise, if you buy a hosting package without add-on domains and then decide that you want to create another blog, you will have to pay for another hosting package.
6. Mysql Databases
If you are wanting to host multiple blogs on your web host then you’ll need to make sure that you have multiple mysql databases. It would make sense that every web host offers this but they don’t. So it is a good thing to check before paying for a web host.
One other thing you should make sure to do is to look for deals. There are plenty of deals for web hosts all across the Internet so make sure to search on Google for a deal or coupon that goes with the web host you are going to purchase.
If you can think of any other things that are important when choosing a web host or just have something to say then please feel free to comment below.
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Franklin runs on the Thesis Theme for WordPress
Thesis is the search engine optimized WordPress theme of choice for serious online publishers. If you're a blogger who doesn't understand a lot of PHP, Thesis will give you a ton of functionality without having to alter any code. For the advanced, Thesis has incredible customization possibilities via Thesis hooks.
With so many design options, you can use the template over and over and never have it look like the same site. The theme is robust and flexible enough not only to accommodate a site like Franklin's, but also to enable the site to run far more efficiently than it ever has before.
My name is Franklin Bishop and I'm an expert on Blogging, Social Media, and Internet Marketing. I started this blog to help people looking for information on those subjects.
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Price, ease of use, and a decent affiliate program.
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I love a good affiliate program.
And how about good support?
Usually my choice is based on the above, but more importantly what support they can offer when something goes wrong.
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Yeah, good support is huge. I’ve had no problems with BlueHost.
For me the back end support was the most important thing.
A lot of people have been saying that. I guess support is a bigger deal than I thought.
Brother,
I just signed up for host gator. I’m just coming off of blogger, and I find the whole hosting thing to be confusing. I’m getting some help, but I tried to load a new theme to wordpress yesterday…I went at it for 3 hours, and still could not figure out how to do it. Do I somehow load the theme to hostgator?
Go to your ftp uploader and then Wordpress folder -> Content Folder -> Themes Folder. Upload it in your theme folder. Let me know if it works. Otherwise I’ll do it for you.
I have host gator and really really enjoy everything about there service, support, and nothing but great things to say. Just wondering what hosting company do you go with Franklin?
Almost you have to upload the files to the server. You will need a program to do this. One that I would suggest to upload files is filezilla it’s great!
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I use BlueHost. Absolutely love it. Unlimited bandwidth, unlimited disk space, and host multiple domains on 1 hosting account.
Franklin,
Thanks for the reply! Do I get to the ftp uploader by signing into hostgator or by signing into wordpress admin? I’ve looked around both and am having trouble finding it.
Thanks
Sign into Hostgator
OK, I was able to find it when I focused my search on hostgator. Still unclear on the process though. I think the best thing for me to do is to leave it to the experts before I mess something up.
Peace brother.
I have been using hostgator, which meets all of the points raised here. Support has been quick and friendly as well. The only problems – my account has been shut down temporarily twice due to excessive cpu/ram load. In both cases I got hit with StumbleUpon spikes of traffic. I don’t know if you use any caching plugin, but I have since installed WP-Super Cache to help in those types of situations – indeed, it was the only way I could convince them to restore my account without buying one of their dedicated server plans
Unfortunately I have nothing nice to say about Hostgator, and more so now that they have oversold their servers to oblivion. If you do an ip:xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx search in live.com on your hostgator IP address you will see just how many people have been indexed by MSN alone on that one IP address. (And that does not even cover the people hosted on other IP addresses on the same box!)
Personally I am happy to pay for my Dedicated server even though it means I have to dip into my own pocket to pay for it. At least then I have control over what goes on the server and it is a simple task to run updates and create accounts.
If you are looking for something upwards of shared hosting (with guaranteed CPU and Memory) take a look at VPSLink.com. I had a Link5 with them for ages before I upgraded, but their VPS’ start at $7 a month!
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Those are good tips for choosing a web host. I use 1and1.com and it’s cheap, reliable, and handling 8 sites very well so far! It is nicer than the others I’ve used and don’t have any plans on switching ever.
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I have been wondering what kind of web host is the best? I mean I know you give me all that information to look for but I think it would be much easier for you just to compare each of them so that we can see the numbers. No one really likes the surf to the information themselves.
This is a really good list of things you should look for in a webhost. When I first started blogging I didn’t know about these things and therefore I paid WAY too much for my webhosting. However I will not make the same mistake again. Spending too much on hosting takes away from your income and I want to get as much income as possible.
Great post
thanks !! very helpful post!
There is obviously a lot to know about this. I think you made some good points in Features also.