The 14 Point Web Hosting Checklist

The 14 Point Web Hosting Checklist
By Ed Zivkovic (c) 2004

How To Select A Web Hosting Company

When starting out, it is easy to overlook some of the most
important factors when selecting a web host while paying
too much attention on great features which you may not need
at the start.

For example, most new webmasters judge a web host by the
amount of disk space they offer. The thinking is generally,
the more the better. There are many other factors to take
into consideration. Each factor can be weighed up according
to the features each specific web hosting company offers.
Each company may also offer several different plans. The
features from plan to plan may also differ.

Don't Rush

Some deals may look good at first but if one feature that
is important according to your needs is missing, then that
deal may not be so good in your opinion. This does not cast
a value judgment on any particular web host. The deal in
and of itself may be good for me for example but not for
you. So do your research and compare different companies
and plans until you weigh up all the factors that are
important to *your* needs.

What Factors Do I Weigh Up?

Tech Support - I don't know about you, but I like the
feeling of knowing that support is available when I need
it. Test different companies before you sign up by sending
them an email with a question or two. If they respond
quickly, this is a good sign.

Uptime - The more uptime they guarantee, the better. 99%
uptime is the minimum acceptable standard. I look for 99%
plus guaranteed uptime.

Disk Space - Decide how much disk space you will require. A
web page with one logo does not take up much web space at
all. Calculate how big your web site is in relation to the
disk space alloted.

Bandwidth - This factor is usually overlooked until the
bandwidth limit is reached. If you go over your alloted
bandwidth, you will get a hefty bill. If you are running a
site with lots of downloads, or a site with lots of images
such at a photo post site, your bandwidth will be a lot
higher than a site with mainly text.

CGI Bin - This is now standard with good hosting companies.
If you do not have access to your own CGI Bin, you cannot
install scripts and programs.

Perl - If you do not have Perl, you cannot run Perl
programs. Many good scripts that you buy or get for free
are written in Perl. In my opinion, it would be a
limitation not to have the latest version of Perl installed.

SSL - If you intend to accept credit card orders directly
from your website, you will need Secure Socket Layer
included in your plan. This is one of those easily
overlooked features. You might sign up for a plan that
looks attractive for whatever reason, then down the track,
you might discover that you need this feature. If it is not
included in your plan, you might be gob-smacked if the
extra monthly charge is $10.00. To use this feature you
need a merchant account. There is no need to make this a
priority if you have no merchant account because you can
use a third party credit card processor.

SSI - Server Side Includes are great if you want to spend
minimal time updating your site. Here's how it works. My
site contains SSI's. The left and right nav menus and the
little search engine in the left nav menu are "included"
with an SSI command in the master page template. If I need
to update one of the nav links, there is no need to edit
all the pages that contain the menus. I just edit one file
which contains the menu HTML and upload it to my site. It's
awsome.

MySQL - What scripts are you going to run? Some programs
require a MySQL database to run. I had this problem with a
particular web host. They wanted to charge me $10.00 per
month for a MySQL database. WOW. I just took out a new plan
with another hosting company for under 10 bucks a month and
5 MySQL Databases are included in the price. Say no more.

PHP - Many new scripts and programs require PHP support.
Again, this feature can be a $10 extra but most good hosts
offer it standard. Imagine if you do not have PHP support
but the latest new free Toplist, Blogging script or
Shopping Cart requires PHP. Again, this feature is almost
standard these days.

CubeCart is an example of a free Shopping Cart Script that
requires PHP and MySQL: http://www.cubecart.com/site/home/

Domain Name - What's the point in buying web space if you
cannot point your own domain name to the site? Some
companies will help you register a domain name but you
should compare prices and learn how to register your domain
yourself. This way you are in control of your domain name
if you ever change hosts.

FTP Access - Unlimited and unrestricted FTP access to your
site is essential. You will need an FTP program to transfer
files.

Control Panel - Not all control panels are the same. Some
are easier to use than others. With some control panels the
learning curve is steep while others are easy. If you
select a plan where you cannot preview your control panel
before you buy, you can always use the 30 day money back
guarantee to get out if you are not happy. If they are not
offering a working demo of the control panel, maybe they
are not proud of it. In my experience, I have always been
disappointed with the quality of the control panel when a
demo was not available.

Statistics Program - A good stats program is handy if you
want to keep an eye on how many visitors you are getting,
where they are coming from, referrers, top entry and exit
pages and so on. Some companies offer excellent stats
programs as standard while others offer basic stats but you
have to pay extra for advanced statistics. If you find a
good hosting deal but the stats program is a bit basic, why
not email the company and ask if they can install AWStats
before you sign up. AWStats is an excellent Free advanced
statistics program: http://www.awstats.org

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The author, Ed Zivkovic is a self taught webmaster. His
website contains articles with all sorts of tips for work
at home webmasters. Here is the site: http://www.ezau.com
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This article was originally published in SiteProNews, one of the
Net's most widely read webmaster newsletters. An online version
of this article and other articles can be found at:
http://www.sitepronews.com/archives.html
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