If this is the first time you look for a web host, you are probably looking at some of the cheapest ones. People that only own one site, both for personal or non profit, don't want to spend a lot of money on web hosting. So, what choices do you have, and what do you need to look out for?
The most inexpensive web host is at no cost to you.
If you are looking for hosting for just one website, then free may be even better than cheap! There are many free hosting possibilities these days and they have improved greatly since the early days of the Internet. Some of the Internet giants such as Yahoo and Google offer free templates and many tools you can use to customize a free site.
Unfortunately, you can't use your own domain name with free web hosting. You have to work within their domain, which will make it crystal clear to anyone visiting your site that you are using free hosting. It might even have ads for the free host. While most people would not worry about this if they own a personal site, they might want something more professional for a business site.
Shared hosting: What packages can you choose from?
The cheapest web host alternatives to free sites are shared hosting packages where you host your site on a server along with many others. Nobody visiting your site would ever be able to tell that you are using shared hosting.
You can find shared hosting packages that only cost you about $3 a month. But, you can run into some problems.
Should you select depending on cost or quality?
If cost is the most important thing for you, and you go with the cheapest web host, you might run into some issues. The cheapest packages are cheap because some type of service was trimmed out. Some of the issues that you may have with a web host include downtime (when your site is not accessible) and poor support.
Good technical support is essential when it comes to running a website. You will almost certainly have questions that you will want answered quickly and helpfully. And, certainly, good technicians cannot be hired by web hosts for cheap. This is one area where many cheap web host companies cut corners, and it can result in a lot of frustration for you.
It may be frustrating enough that you will end up changing hosts. And in most cases, this is only going to bring you extra stress and loss of money. It is not easy to move sites, and you will likely experience some downtime while the DNS resolves to the new web host.
You can do yourself a favor by avoiding the very cheapest companies in most cases. For just a few extra dollars, you can get good shared hosting.
As an example, you can buy the Hatchling plan from Hostgator, which includes one domain with unlimited disk space and bandwidth, for only $4.95 a month. But if you are thinking of hosting more than just one site, the next package up, the Baby package, might work better for you. For just $1 per month more, you can host unlimited domains. Hostgator may not be the cheapest, but it is definitely inexpensive and reliable, and worthy to be recommended.
The most inexpensive web host is at no cost to you.
If you are looking for hosting for just one website, then free may be even better than cheap! There are many free hosting possibilities these days and they have improved greatly since the early days of the Internet. Some of the Internet giants such as Yahoo and Google offer free templates and many tools you can use to customize a free site.
Unfortunately, you can't use your own domain name with free web hosting. You have to work within their domain, which will make it crystal clear to anyone visiting your site that you are using free hosting. It might even have ads for the free host. While most people would not worry about this if they own a personal site, they might want something more professional for a business site.
Shared hosting: What packages can you choose from?
The cheapest web host alternatives to free sites are shared hosting packages where you host your site on a server along with many others. Nobody visiting your site would ever be able to tell that you are using shared hosting.
You can find shared hosting packages that only cost you about $3 a month. But, you can run into some problems.
Should you select depending on cost or quality?
If cost is the most important thing for you, and you go with the cheapest web host, you might run into some issues. The cheapest packages are cheap because some type of service was trimmed out. Some of the issues that you may have with a web host include downtime (when your site is not accessible) and poor support.
Good technical support is essential when it comes to running a website. You will almost certainly have questions that you will want answered quickly and helpfully. And, certainly, good technicians cannot be hired by web hosts for cheap. This is one area where many cheap web host companies cut corners, and it can result in a lot of frustration for you.
It may be frustrating enough that you will end up changing hosts. And in most cases, this is only going to bring you extra stress and loss of money. It is not easy to move sites, and you will likely experience some downtime while the DNS resolves to the new web host.
You can do yourself a favor by avoiding the very cheapest companies in most cases. For just a few extra dollars, you can get good shared hosting.
As an example, you can buy the Hatchling plan from Hostgator, which includes one domain with unlimited disk space and bandwidth, for only $4.95 a month. But if you are thinking of hosting more than just one site, the next package up, the Baby package, might work better for you. For just $1 per month more, you can host unlimited domains. Hostgator may not be the cheapest, but it is definitely inexpensive and reliable, and worthy to be recommended.
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