Website Hosting

Where your website is hosted is one of the most important decisions you will make. Do not skimp on free hosting, to be a successful internet business a free host will not do.

Bite the bullet and get some professional webspace. It will stand you in good stead for the future expansion of your site.

There are literally thousands of hosts out there, so how do you choose?

Firstly draw up a list of what technical spec you need. Make sure your hosting can expand with you. Check that it is easy to upgrade if you wish. We thoroughly recommend Unix/Linux servers. Stay away from NT servers, there have been a number of virus outbreaks in recent years attributed to the security vulnerability of IIS/NT. *nix servers are generally well known for their robust and secure operating systems and are used by the majority of the professional web design/development industry.

What you should be looking for is reliability, network speed (throughput) and flexibility. Of course all hosting companies will claim they are all of these, so it's worth getting some independent advice before going ahead.

How much Webspace?

Although most hosting companies will offer perhaps 500Mb of webspace, don't be swayed by it. To be honest it's very unlikely you will need more than 50Mb unless you have a lot of music or video files. An average small - medium size company website should generally use less than 5Mb. However you want to be sure your webspace is scalable. Be certain your host can up the amount of disk space available to you if needs be.

What Else?

The most important feature you will be certain to need is CGI. This allows you to run scripts in your webspace that can handle things like email forms and shopping cart software.

If you plan to use a database on your Website to capture data or feed data like names and addresses to Webpages, you should have PHP and MySQL

You will only need Frontpage extensions if you are using Frontpage software to design and upload your Website.

Who do you recommend?

OK. We're not resellers so we suggest you seek out independent advice for this. You ought to choose a host that is located in the country you live or at least near enough to bug on the phone if you get problems.