Comparing Web Hosting

Before you get into the business of publishing a website, whether for profit or just as a hobby, you will inevitably face having to make a choice between the hundreds of Web Hosting Accounts that there are out there!

The problem is that there are so many different kind of Web Hosting accounts on offer, with so many different features that you are probably not familiar with. And Web Hosting is available at such a bewildering range of prices that for the newbie it can feel like an information overload.

Even using the many comparison website doesn't really help, as there are so many of them, and so many of these are sponsered by the Web Hosts that it becomes hard to know who to trust. And even the trust-worthy ones don't tend to compare on anything but the most basic features, so you have to visit each hosting services website separately to get a decent overview.

The other problem is that very often these Web Hosting companies can have started off very positively, but have grown too big too quickly to be managed properly. So you'll sometimes find that the Web Hosting companies you've already heard of will be the ones that actually under-perform, especially when it comes to customer service and technical support.

It is for this reason that any reviews you read here or anywhere else about Web Hosting services should not be taken as gospel.  Few, if any, sites that compare web hosts can claim to actually use all of the Web Hosts at the same time.  Remember that information can become very quickly out of date, and of cause this applies doubly to anything internet and IT related.  

Anyway, sooner or later, you are going to have to make a decision about which Web Hosting provider to go with, but all-to-often we can be let down. And if you make the wrong decision and go with a hosting service that doesn't score well with 'up-time', or loses your website (This does actually happen!), then it can be heart-breaking if you are a hobby-ist, and catastrophic if you are trying to run a web-based business. Even if you are not tied to a long-term contract with your web host, trying out, cancelling and transfering from bad hosting services is time-consuming, disruptive and often costly.

Suffice to say, choosing who will provide your web hosting may be one of the most confusing thing you have to do in terms of setting up a web-site. I have broken down the aspects of Web Hosting that you really must consider into three areas that will help you make the right decision for you. These are: Features, Support and Value.