Web hosting services offer a variety of features. If you have never looked at web hosting services before this list can get extremely confusing. There are all these terms you may not know and you are not certain of what you will need. Here are some hints and tips.
What should a web host do?
Web host servers should keep you informed. They should have tell you they have something for power failure and server protection and that they make regular backups of the server. To be safe you should still keep your own as well. If they have problems they will use their backup, but if you have problems the backup, you want to have your own. The best web hosting services will have 99.9% uptime, 100% is not realistic.
Do they offer support?
Talking to a real human being on Friday night to tell them your website is down is a lot more comforting than sending an email that may not get read until Monday. Email is good for some support questions, but you want a human being as well who can speak English or your language.
Do they allow multiple websites?
While you may only have one website now, you may have more later. Go ahead and get the plan that allows multiple domains. Please note, many host services will give you a domain name free with their hosting, you want to use that as a redirect. At some point you could decide to change web hosts, the current web host may or may not release your domain name. Even if the promise to release it, they do not say when. So make certain you get your domain name elsewhere.
Do you want common?
You want common features in web hosting so others can help when you need help. Most hosting services have cPanel which is a fairly easy to use control panel and very common. You also want a File Manager, most have FTP, File Transfer Protocol. These allow you to upload files, images and other things directly to your server and website. This is how you can load files on your website.
Is it easy?
Popular scripts typically have an easy installation. The best web hosting services provide these easy scripts that eliminate the need to download files, edit codes and upload the codes once again. The most common easy installation services are Fantastico and Simple Scripts. Fantastico offers a bit more control so it is better to use. While installation is not “one click simple” as some installation programs say it is much simpler than the other way.
