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Many clients have talked to us about their online business and they would like to have some suggestion in choosing a web hosting company. There are so many companies and packages for them to choose. Here we will listed out some factors that need to be considered.

#1 Disk Space

Disk space is depends on the size of your web site. So, have a look on your web site folder and see how much disk space it takes up on your computer. You should always get more space than what is taken up on your computer. For example, if your web folder is 200MB, you should probably get 250-300MB of disc space. This extra space allowed you to further expand your web site and put more materials there. Remember that you need to think about what kind of materials you planned to add later. If what you plan to add is some flash animation or some audio/video file, you'd better to get some more buffer.

#2 Bandwidth

Bandwidth is the amount of data transfer that your web site can use. If you plan on having a massively popular site with a large amount of files, then you should have a high bandwidth. For casual web sites, bandwidth is not as big a factor. Again, consider cost and try to have more bandwidth than you need, not less. It is also important to check the bandwidth for local and overseas.

#3 Web site speed

Web site speed is seldom taken into consideration. Web site speed is a really important factor. If your web host has a very slow speed for all of its web sites, then you may not want to go with that host. People wont stay around at a page forever. If you want many people to visit your site, having a fast speed is very helpful. You should check with the web hosting company and ask them to provide a list of their sites. You can then try to access to see the response of these sites.

#4 Database / Programming Language support

Database and Programming Language support are important if you plan to have a dynamic website and interact with your customers. Currently, most web hosting provides support for database and programming language, but there are great variety on database and programming language. You should check and pick the one you plan to use.

Of course the above factors are depend on how much you want to spend on it. It's always difficult to take all the best. You should think about your own case and find out the best fit. For example, you have a text-centric site with little photos and target in local market only, you may find a hosting with little disk space, enough bandwidth for local (overseas is not important in this case) and normal web site speed.

#5 Technical Support

Technical support is one of the important factor you need to consider. But how to know their services level? You can test by sending them an email with some questions or just make a phone to their support hotlines. If they respond quickly, this is a good sign. If they cannot provides you answers, you'd better find another one.

#6 UpTime

The more uptime they guarantee, the better. 99% uptime is the minimum acceptable standard. You'd should Look for 99% plus guaranteed uptime.

#7 FTP Access

You need an FTP program to transfer files to the server. You should seek for an unlimited and unrestricted FTP access, otherwise it will troublesome to maintain your website.

#8 Control Panel

Most web hosting company will provides a web based control panel for you to maintain your web site. You should looking for one with a easy-to-use interface.

#9 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. You should ask the company what kind of statistics information they can provide.

Isaac Chu is Project Director of Evinco Solutions Limited. Evinco provides innovative business software, include emarketing web solutions, email marketing software, e-catalog publishing software, invoicing software, and electronic cheque writer. Visit: http://www.evinco.com.hk

Success in Niche Markets requires a strategic plan for the hosting of your websites. It's becoming a common practice to have upwards of 100 sites serving a variety of interests. To easily and effectively manage a large number of sites, and to contain costs, an overall hosting strategy needs to be considered.

And, of course, there are many with a smaller number, say 10 or more sites, intending to build their "empire" to a much greater size. With a view to controlling your business, it is also important to consider future growth before the workload and cost arising (as you "just add a few more additional sites") spiral out of control.

There are two special matters to consider at the very outset: The number of sub-domains allowed and the number of domains allowed on the one account.

Using a sub-domain means that you don't have to register a domain name in the early stages of a new website. It gives you a chance to first test the demand for a particular niche before you spin it off to a fully fledged site with a registered domain name. For example, if you have a hosted website called BettysHelpfulHints.com, you could add numerous sub-domains (or additional websites) to this - if your host allows it. Thus, You would be able to create sites with compound names like GourmetRecipes.BettysHelpfulHints.com; Onlinedating.BettysHelpfulHints.com; OrganicGardening.BettysHelpfulHints.com, and so on.

Web hosts have varying requirements about the number of sub-domains allowed. Naturally, the more that you have, the more bandwidth that is used, so it's often the case that lower-fee charging hosts will limit the number of sub-domains allowed on the one account.

Once you've decided that demand justifies it, you'll start thinking about registered domain names for your individual websites. This is much more cost effective and easier to manage if it can be done with the same web host, all on the same account. However, also keep in mind the caution behind the old saying, "Don't keep all your eggs in the one basket".

So it's probably wise to consider a structure that hosts your major multiple websites with 3-4 different companies. Also consider opening a reseller account with another hosting company for small and new websites and backup. This structure offers security along with the capacity to expand.

Other key factors to consider:

1. You'll want your sites operating with as little downtime as possible, so ensure that that they have the facilities to do this. Unfortunately 99% of web hosts will claim they are online 99% of the time. Using several web hosts spreads the risk of downtime. It's highly unlikely all your sites will be down at the same time.

2. Cost isn't a major concern when you have only 1 or 2 websites. When you have 10, 50 or 100+ the monthly expense can be crippling if you don't anticipate the growth and just add sites by opening new accounts. One option, mentioned earlier, is to use a reseller hosting account for those new and small sites. This would cost only about $15 per month. Sub-domains are also a possibility, with no additional cost if the web host will allow it. If you reach the stage of needing a dedicated server, this will cost upwards of $50 per month.

3. If your site development is likely to affect a production hosting site, carry out development and testing work on your reseller account and move the finished application to another server when you are satisfied it is functioning to your satisfaction.

4. Having backup facilities in place that have already been tested means you can easily transfer a major web site to another web host if required. A temporary or permanent change can be made in the few minutes it takes to redirect the domain.

5. There are many outstanding web hosting companies available. One that is highly regarded is HostGator.com, which will allow you to host an unlimited number of domains, as does MeWebhost.com. Another well-regarded host that comes to mind - TeknonMedia.com - allows an unlimited number of subdomains, even with their lower cost packages. I have no connection with any of these, knowing them only by reputation.

The growth of Private Label Rights and niche market products, including promotional material and websites, has encouraged a boom in marketing to a huge range of niche interests. Market segments that were once considered too difficult to cater for are now easily accessible. This has also resulted in a huge growth in the number of websites now controlled, or likely to be controlled, by individual marketers. A workable strategy to administer this growth needs to be considered at an early stage - that is, before your "empire" becomes too difficult to manage and the costs excessive.

Ivan Kelly managed a Direct Mail business with extensive mailing lists for ten years and has designed and promoted many websites. He also provides quality f'ree courses on key internet marketing subjects. A list of these f'ree courses is available at: http://www.WebStartAdvisor.com/info.html

Are you looking at lowering your annual hosting costs? Are you fed up with having to pay hosting fees? Are you unsure which company to use to host your new website? These are questions that many people would answer yes to. I myself have a large number of websites and the cost of hosting them all, does at times annoy me. In this article I look at alternative options that I have recently heard about which could be the answer to some of these hosting cost frustrations.

The popularity and demand of web designers has never been greater. More and more people are looking into the benefits of having their own website/s. This could of course be used to promote their own business and to even sell their products online. It could just be a site to promote their sports/social club or just a website about their family. A growing number of people are looking to make money on the internet by selling advertising space on their site, this could be in the form of a program like google adsense or some other form of adverts. As you can see lots of people want an online presence for lots of different reasons and web designers have never had it so good.

All of these people once they have had their site built then need to find a company to host it for them. This area can seem like a minefield with so many different options. Should you just simply go for the cheapest price? What is the difference between all of the companies? Should I stick with a UK company or should I go with a US company? Most people find all of this hosting business quite confusing and quite a pain. What people need is a simple solution.

A few months ago I heard about a company who was combining web design and web hosting under one type of umbrella. They basically stated that they would be a happy to build a site for so much money and would host if for you for free. This is a great idea and the price they quoted was very reasonable. I looked at their portfolio and was very impressed, I will be recommending them to many people in the future.

This is what could be the future of web design and web hosting. It certainly would make it a lot easier for the average man on the street.

Stephen Hill helps to promote a number of websites including:

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