If you're a beginner just putting up a simple site that uses no programming; you can probably do fine with the starter package offered by most companies. Service, support, reliability and value added features like free PHP modules are most important to you. However if you're site is for business and/or involves programming languages and/or ecommerce features ,you need to be concerned with other issues:
- do you need shared or dedicated hosting? If you expect very large amounts of traffic, or you need a lot of administrative control over your web site, or your site involves a complex setup of scripts, databases, multimedia content etc then you may need a web hosting company with dedicated hosting.
- do you want windows or unix hosting ? If you site is written in ASP or .net you definitely need windows hosting. Same if you use Microsoft databases like SQL Server or Access. Otherwise you are probably ok with either platform. Most companies have both available.
- disk space and bandwidth - make sure you have a good idea of the space requirements for your site as well as bandwidth. Usually disk space isn't a big issue since the typical web hosting company usually offers lots of space with even the starter web hosting plans. However if you're storing lots of data or video, audio files etc. than this will be something to look out for.
- how many domains and subdomains do you need ? companies all differ in the amount of domains and subdomains you can have within your web hosting plan. Think carefully about whether this is or will become important to you. Its nice to have room for expansion for your web activities without having to get another web hosting plan if you decide to host a new domain, for example.
- do you need ecommerce and other advanced features like shopping carts or credit card processing ? These differ by hosting provider, as does whether there's an extra charge involved.
- are you interested in custom PHP modules ? Some companies offer a selection of very useful PHP modules for no extra charge, typically with an easy installation menu. This can be great if you want to add a blog, MYSQL database, or other PHP feature to your site.
Other Issues
- Reliability - do they claim 99.5% or greater uptime ?
- Support - are there lots of resources available to you to help you out ? Can you reach a live person at the web hosting company for no-extra-charge help ?
- Speed - If the hosting company's home page takes a while to load - your site probably will to ! Take that as a bad sign and move on.
- Make sure that you can use and can setup fairly easily any CGI scripts you need.
- Email services - think of your needs and make sure you use a hosting company that provides you with the email solutions you want.
For the Top 5 Small Business Web Hosting Companies visit Small Business Web Hosts. Doug Bane is also owner of the Top 5 Low Cost Web Hosting Providers.