Cheap
web hosting revealed.Does your web hosting cost too high?
Choosing
the right host is an important aspect in lowering your web
hosting costs. The web hosting industry, boasting several
thousand web hosts, is still young and growing at a remarkable
pace; hence finding the right host is not only difficult,
but very time consuming; fortunately though it is worth
the time and effort. There are a few things to keep in mind
when exploring; when deciding to form a partnership with
the host. Below are just a few things to consider, which
directly attribute to final cost.
* Disk
Space — Knowing how much web space your web site needs
and compensating for a bit extra, for growth. For example,
if your web site needs 200 MB of disk space, look for the
plan which offers at least 250 to 300 MB of web space; this
will prevent a large unexpected bill at the end of the month
when high priced costs, charged by most web hosts for extra
disk space usage, are added on to your bill. As a rule of
thumb, an average web site should cost you no more than
$1 per 10 MB
* Bandwidth
— Figure out how much bandwidth (data transfer) your
web site uses. As above, ensure you get more bandwidth than
your site uses. For example, if your website uses 8GB bandwidth
per month, then choose a plan, which offers at least 8 or
10GB bandwidth per month. This again will prevent 'spikes'
of over usage, leading to higher extra costs. As a reference,
an average web site should pay no more than $3 per GB for
bandwidth usage.
* Block
buying — Ask the web host if they have "block
buying" facilities for purchasing projected extra disk
space or bandwidth. But, be careful, if your web site needs
only 2 GB extra bandwidth, you may have to buy an extra
package in blocks of 5GB bandwidth; in this case, look for
the host which will allow you to purchase extra disk space
and bandwidth allowance as per your needs, this is crucial
to cost savings.
Note:
Ensure that you know the over-usage allowance rules; you
need to know what happens if your web site uses more disk
space or bandwidth than you have been allocated. The web
host who informs you of possible over-usage well in advance,
allowing you to take measures to reduce or budget for extra
usage, is 'worth their weight in gold'.
* Number
of web sites — if you have more than one web site,
sign up an account with a web host who provides multiple
domains hosted on one account; this will work out a lot
cheaper than an account per website.
A good
tip would be to ask your friends and colleagues if they
want to host their websites with you on one account. For
example at M6.net a person or persons with 4 websites can
save roughly $20 per month by signing up an M6-2, multiple
hosting account.
* Applications
and databases — Ensure that all the applications your
web site uses (FrontPage, ASP pages, databases, cgi, PHP,
etc.), are supported within the chosen account type. Find
out if there are any extra fees for particular applications
or associated database support. For example allot of hosts
charge extra set-up fees to install FrontPage, which may
be avoided by choosing another host offering the same features
with no extra costs.
* Mail
Server — Emails are the lifeblood of your online business.
Ensure that you get a sufficient number of email addresses
with your own domain name (preferably unlimited); these
are necessary for other email features like forwarders,
and auto responders, etc. There is no need to pay an extra
fee for use of a mail server as many hosts offer this service
now for free, within the hosting plan.
* Avoid
long-term contracts — Many web hosts offer huge discounts
on yearly or half yearly payments in advance, this may appear
a good way to go, but note how long you are locked in. If
possible avoid long-term contracts until you are sure about
the services and reliability offered by that particular
host. Paying on a monthly basis obviously has its benefits.
If there are concerns with your service encouraging you
to seek a new host elsewhere, you may lose out on many months
of hosting fees when breaking a yearly or half-yearly contract;
but, if the necessity arises, a loss of only a few days
to close a troublesome account, is preferable.
Thinking
ahead with reference to an established plan of action will
help you avoid most surprises, and definitely help towards
cutting costs, short term or long-term. Work out your growth
rate and project future expansions. Keep a good record of
past and present bandwidth and web space usage, this will
help to project future needs.
Savings
are mostly a matter of common sense, but in this industry
of high technology most people forget this rule and try
to look for the best, most efficient and most expensive
technical programs and software to save them a buck or two.
As in most businesses good cost effective groundwork is
the best start to cutting costs.
Web
Hosting providers and Cheap Prices
WIZ WEB HOST - $6.99
/ month
Blue
Host - $6.95 / month
Lunar
Pages - $7.95 / month
IPowerweb - $7.95 /
month
Globat - $4.95 /
month
Start
Logic - $7.95 / month
MidPhase - $7.95 /
month
Host
Excellence - $2.95 / month
Host
Gator - $6.95 / month
Easy
CGI - $7.96 / month
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