Author: Kristofer Gafvert
First Published: June 8, 2005
Last Updated: June 8, 2005
Last Reviewed: June 8, 2005
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Make a list of what you actually need
Server-side techniques used
Disk space required
Bandwidth / Data Transfer
Database requirement
SSL
Email Services
Special Requirements
Evaluate the web hosting provider
Backup
Availability vs. Uptime
Reliability, speed of access
Knowledge
Security
Statistics
Deployment of your website
Management and configuration
Location
Support
Three general tips
Who owns the domain?
Nothing is free!
Don't believe in everything you read
This article will not recommend any specific web hosting provider. It will instead give the reader useful information and guidance in how to find the best web hosting provider for their website. Each web application is unique and has its own demands, so it is not possible to give a complete "do this...check that". Instead this is more of a general guide.
The number of web hosting providers is huge. The price can range from free up to several thousands dollar per month. Most people are however looking for a web hosting provider in the range of $100 - $300 per year, and in my opinion, you should not go any cheaper than that (the old saying "You get what you pay for" applies to this business as well, so if you are serious with your website, do not go beneath $100, you will most likely get disappointed). But of course, I am not saying that all web hosting providers offering cheap services are "bad", but it is more difficult to find a great web hosting provider in that price range.
The very first thing you should do is a list of what you actually need. Many people choose a web hosting provider based on what they offer (someone may offer PHP, but the organization have a website based on ASP.NET, and do not plan on using PHP), and not what they need. Remember that choosing a web hosting provider is not a one-time decision you do only once in your life time. If you later use something your current web hosting provider does not offer you can change web hosting provider! So your decision should be based on what you need today, or what you plan to need in the near future.
This list may contain:
Do you use ASP.NET, ASP, PHP, JSP, or a combination of them?
This is quite easily to find out, since you (probably) already have developed your web application. But remember that if your visitors are allowed to upload content, you may need much more than what your web application is using alone. If you use a disk-based database (Microsoft Access for example), or store content in XML-files, the disk space required may also go beyond what was thought in the beginning.
First of all, these are not the same thing. When looking at web hosting plans, you probably see that you are limited to NN amount of data transfer per month. Some refers to this as bandwidth, but it is not. Usually, you do not have any option for bandwidth, but you have a limit of data transfer.
For a small to medium size website, you will not send anymore than 3 GB of data each month. In the beginning (when the website is not yet well-known), you can probably live with a limit of 1 GB. But remember that if you have many downloadable files (PDF, ZIP, MPG etc.), you can easily go above the limit of 3 GB.
Another thing to check out for is the viewstate. Many developers do not seem to understand the purpose of it, and when to turn it off for a control. A huge viewstate can drive up the amount of data transferred (and it also makes your pages slow because more data is transferred to the end-user).
The amount of data transferred each month is (in my opinion) difficult to calculate for in advance. So make sure that the web hosting provider has a flexible plan for this (i.e. you can pay extra for the traffic, without upgrading to another plan, and that this does not cost you unreasonable much money).
Microsoft Access (some people would argue if this really is a database :-) and MySQL are often included without no extra charge. SQL Server on the other hand can cost. And it can cost a lot! If you are using SQL Server, compare the cost between many web hosting providers, it can vary tremendous. Also check how much storage your database requires. Web hosting providers often charges more per MB of database storage, than they do for disk storage.
Does your website require SSL for secure communication (for example for credit card information)?
Will you send out a newsletter? Do you need an emailing list? Do you need email, and how many do you need? Check with the web hosting provider so they support your needs.
Does your web application need some special configuration in IIS? For example mapping certain extensions to the ASP.NET ISAPI extension? Some web hosting providers may not want to do this on a shared server. So ask them before you decide you want to do business with them.