What is Shared Hosting? Is it a Good Option?

You are on an adventure; you have a business that the world needs to see. A website and shared hosting are the way to get your message across the globe. It can be daunting looking for the best way to proceed, but this simple guide will start you on the road to success.

Types of Web Hosting:

There are two different types of web hosting:

Free Hosting - is wonderful, for people without a business, sites that are small and do not expect a lot of traffic. It is not ideal for businesses, they tend to be unreliable, and they have a lack of customer support for you and your customers. Another drawback is you have to design your own website.
Shared Hosting - is a popular choice for businesses. Convenience is a major advantage to shared hosting. You can customize your website and have control of picture uploads, text, and you can monitor your website’s traffic, making your business more viable. They manage the minute details of running a website. Multiple sites on one server and slow updates are possible disadvantages to shared hosting.

Considerations for Web Hosting:

What is the speed and reliability of the host? - Ultimately, you will want to look for a high-speed connection of T3 or higher, effective bandwidth management or unlimited bandwidth. Also, what kind of backup systems do they have in place?
How much space and flexibility do you need from your web host? - If you plan to grow your business, you will want to look for a shared hosting site that will be flexible and have at least 100 MB of space.
What kind of customer service do you need? - Customer service should be there rain or shine, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and three hundred sixty five days a year. You will want to speak to a live person, instead of a machine during times of stress. You can find this out quite easily by calling their support services or emailing them and see how fast they respond to your acquisition.

Key Features to Web Hosting:

These are basic features to look for in shared hosting:

Domain Registration
Space-at least 20 MB of space if not more to accommodate your growing business.
Unlimited bandwidth-to accommodate expanding traffic to your website.
Free technical support
Shopping Cart Software-a must for a business planning to use credit cards.
Secure Server-this encrypts your credit card transactions so customers can shop with ease.
Online Web Site Manager-they help maintain your site and account.
Email services-such as POP3 Email accounts for professional emails with your business name, email forwarding, and email auto-responders.

Cost:

You can expect to pay anywhere from $5 to $50 dollars a month depending on the packages the shared hosting offers.
Shop and compare prices, look for hidden fees, and long-term commitments compared with monthly prices.

After reviewing this article, you can begin the process of finding a shared host that will be compatible with the needs of the business. Careful considerations and thoughtful questions about the requirements of your new adventure will help guide you to finding the right shared hosting site.