Something to be considered when choosing a web host

Very good advice about shopping for web hosting!

The only point I disagree on is:

JennyFine wrote: 3) No Bandwidth, No Access, or Hit Charges - There is absolutely no reason to use a web host that charges for bandwidth, access, or hit fees. Unless you have an adult web site. The best hosting services offer unlimited bandwidth with standard packages.

My experience has been that any hosting company that promises "unlimited" anything is either hiding limits somewhere in the fine print, or is doomed to go out of business.

The web hosting service I use sets limits on all their packages, but the limits are reasonably high (I've never had to move a client to a larger package yet) and they have generously increased the limits several times over the past 3 years as bandwidth and hard drives dropped in price.

But overall, your advice is excellent. 🙂

I also agree with eugene. Nothing is "unlimited" .When was the last time you went and bought a harddrive with "unlimited" space?
Other than that though pretty sound advice for everyone.

ummm... yeah... a little obtuse and some-what outdated, in my opinion...

1) Fast Servers - Quality hardware and redundant OC3 or T3 connections. How fast your web pages load is directly proportional to your income. Don't let anyone tell you a server can be too fast.

Well, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say a server is too fast
And, really, no one's going to know until they've signed up for the account and have started using their domain. This is where Money Back Guarantee and No long term contract are important.

One of the most common causes(not the only one) of a slow server, is too many websites on it. Cheap hosts tend to do this to maximize profit.

2) Domain Name Support & Registration Services - Your web host must allow the use of your own domain name. They should offer free registration and work closely with Internic to get things done fast.

I agree with the first part, but free registration? Absolute garbage.
Hosting is very competitive. So, offering free domains sounds like a great promotional gimmick. And, in some cases it works.
However, it can be very problematic on several fronts. Recently a client of ours had signed up with a host offering free domain. When support from this host became extinct, it was time to leave. Unfortunately, the host had put themselves as the Admin contact, which meant the client couldn't access the nameservers to move away. (Domain Hijacking)
This tactic is even being used by some of the bigger guys such as ipowerweb and earthlink, except for the Admin part. They basically don't give you access to the nameservers, which means you would have to transfer your domain to another registrar in order to change hosts.

3) No Bandwidth, No Access, or Hit Charges - There is absolutely no reason to use a web host that charges for bandwidth, access, or hit fees. Unless you have an adult web site. The best hosting services offer unlimited bandwidth with standard packages.

As mentioned above, this is highly inaccurate.
Unlimited bandwidth has become another gimmick. It's like buying a house and the owner says. "You get unlimited hydro".
Someone has to pay for bandwidth. If it's not you, it'll be the host. And there's no way a host is going to pay for the extra bandwidth, when it gets out of control. Read their terms of service.

4) Unlimited CGI Access (FTP/Telenet) - You will need CGI scripts at some time or another. Make sure that you have your own cgi-bin and the ability to upload any scripts you want. Never use a web host that limits you to the their scripts only.

I'm not sure how ftp/telnet gets lumped with cgi.
cgi-bin has become pretty standard now, allowing you to run any cgi/perl scripts that you want. However, cgi isn't the best solution. I'm always seeing hits in my log files trying to dig for a cgi script so they can send out spam. Better to use a php script.
ftp is pretty standard now. telnet is normally used by programmers. However it is also a security risk attached to this. Most hosts disable this. Some will enable it, if you supply identification.

6) Control Panel or Web Based Administration - Most quality web hosts have some type of interface that allows you to manage your server via the web. This is not necessary, but can be very handy for many who don't consider themselves to be the technical type.

I'm not sure I would say it's not necessary. For the highly skilled, a control panel may not be needed, but for most, it is a must... again, this is pretty much standard nowadays.

7) Secure Server - If you plan on selling anything directly from your web site, you'll need secure server capabilities. The best offer low or no additional setup fees, and a low or no monthly fee for SSL.

Again, some mis-information here.
Even if you're not selling from your website, but you provide a login area that contains sensitive information, then you need an SSL certificate. If you are selling from your website, but customer information and cc details are entered on an SSL page provided by your merchant account, then you probably don't need it.
An SSL certificate is not free, unless you are using the one provided by your host, which isn't really a professional solution anyway. An SSL certificate can cost anywhere from $50 and up per year. Most hosts will install it for free for you. But, if you are on a shared host, you will need a dedicated Ip address to install the SSL on, which will cost a couple dollars per month.

Sorry for the long post, but I hate it when someone comes off as an expert but provide information that isn't accurate

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Hm, cyanide? Are you a follower? 😛

Corey Bryant wrote: Hm, cyanide? Are you a follower? 😛

A follower ? :confused: Following you ? LOL

Well, not on purpose 😀

First time I caught a post on here from you. Just had to say Hello! 🙂

Corey Bryant wrote: First time I caught a post on here from you. Just had to say Hello! 🙂

haha Thanks Corey!
A big hello to you too. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods 🙂

Hey.. any one knows a webhost with a 99.8 or 99.9% uptime? with warranty at least? Thanks.

bizfanatic wrote: Hey.. any one knows a webhost with a 99.8 or 99.9% uptime? with warranty at least? Thanks.

My company offers 99.9 uptime guarantee otherwise your hosting for that month is free. We have a web-based server monitoring system that all our clients can view. There are probably hundreds of other hosting companies that offer the same.

bizfanatic wrote: Hey.. any one knows a webhost with a 99.8 or 99.9% uptime? with warranty at least? Thanks.

We do offer the 99.9% uptime and 30 day guarantee, and if you are looking for hosting, it is imperative that you find a hosting company that offer this! If you do not, you are just asking for trouble!

Re: Host...

But how do you know your site will be up 99.9% of the time when choosing a host?

My host came highly recommended and makes the 99.9% claim, but one of my sites is down ALL the time, particularly at the exact moment advertising goes out to thousands of targeted people. 🙁

Diane

The business writer who helps people grow their small business
http://www.BouncePublishing.com

That's a good point. You don't always know.

With regards to server going down when receiving large hits....
If you're on a weak server or if there are too many websites on it, a crash can happen. Although, it's good practice to notify your host if you are expecting a large number of visits in a short period of time

DiTryin wrote: But how do you know your site will be up 99.9% of the time when choosing a host?

My host came highly recommended and makes the 99.9% claim, but one of my sites is down ALL the time, particularly at the exact moment advertising goes out to thousands of targeted people. 🙁

Diane

The business writer who helps people grow their small business
http://www.BouncePublishing.com

Re:

How do you know if they're putting you on a weak server? When you sign up, you expect your site to be up 99.9% of the time. That's what you're paying for.

Every time I called to complain (which is a lot), they always said it was because of someone else's site.

They tried to move mine to another server last week but ended up causing so much trouble, they had to move it back.

So, how do you know if a host really does offer 99.9% uptime? When I called, mine wasn't even aware my site was down until I complained. And this is a huge company, not some dude offering hosting out of his basement.

Diane

The business writer who helps people grow their small business
http://www.BouncePublishing.com

That's a good point. You don't necessarily know. If you message me, I can give you some hints.

There's just so many factors involved that could affect performance of the server, type of server, hardware, security, connection, etc...