It’s important that you take some time to evaluate your web hosting needs before you actually choose a web hosting plan. This way, you can make sure you get the resources you need to make your website successful, without paying for a lot of features or services that you don’t really need. Let’s take a look at some of the things you should consider before you choose your web hosting plan.
Storage Space (Disk Space)
All of the files, documents, images, videos, and animations that make up your website need to be stored on a web server. Unless you plan to include a lot of video files or high-resolution pictures on your site, most web hosting packages will suit your storage space needs. A typical website needs about 40-50 MB (megabytes) of storage space.
Bandwidth (Data Transfer)
Bandwidth refers to how much data transfer you’re allowed by your web host. In order for a visitor to view your website, data has to be transferred back and forth from the web server where you site is hosted to the visitor’s browser. If your site receives a lot of traffic, then you need more bandwidth.
Most hosting providers offer adequate bandwidth even in their most basic plans, since the majority of websites don’t need the high bandwidth required by giant sites like Google, Yahoo, and Amazon. You can take steps to reduce your bandwidth requirements by reducing your page size, image file size, and the number of images on your site. As a general rule of thumb, try to keep your home page under 40 KB, and the other pages of your site under 30 KB.
Addon Domains
Addon domains are just what they sound like – additional domains added to your web hosting account. Some web hosts limit the number of addon domains you can host under one account, which is something you need to take into consideration if you plan to add additional domains in the future.
Many web host’s cheapest hosting plans only include one domain. This can become a problem if you want to add other domains, since you’ll need to open a separate account for each one.
Email Accounts
Some web hosts will limit how many email accounts you can create for your domain, which is something you need to look out for if you need more than one email address. Many e-commerce sites need multiple email addresses (such as sales@site.com, contact@site.com, support@site.com, and so on). If you need multiple email addresses (or think you might in the future), then be sure to look for a web hosting plan that can meet your needs.
Website Tools
This can include things like a web builder, website templates, analytics tools, etc. Some web hosts will offer you a collection of website tools to help make managing your site easier, but then again, some won’t. While you can get all of these tools individually on your own, it’s usually much more convenient to find a web host that offers them in their hosting plans. Be sure to look into what kind of website tools a web host offers before you sign up.
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