Picking A Webhost

What to know when picking a webhost

Picking a <b>webhost</b> can seem like an exercise in futility to some. There are so many choices for everything from what operating systems the host supports to what specific feature sets will be available or allowed.

Thankfully, for the average user most of these choices aren't even that important. For example, unless you're a serious programmer it probably won't make a difference to you what operating system the webhost supports, because basic HTML and web scripting is all your site will likely contain, and those will be supported by whatever operating system the webhost offers.

Only if you plan to utilize PHP, ASP or .NET coding will the operating system matter to you, and most people who would be using those coding languages are already going to know what they need in a webhost, so this article isn't for them.

Having once worked as a support technician for a webhost I can say that the vast majority of people need (and want) simple, easy to use interfaces and stable applications for having a forum, blog or similar features on their web sites.

To get that I advise most people to look for a webhost who offers cPanel hosting. cPanel is a control panel, or administration area that the hosting customer will see when they login to their webhost account. There are others, but cPanel is by far the most common and easiest to use. Everything is laid out in a clear manner, and most things you need are single-click operations. In-fact, cPanel uses icons, so when you login you see graphic icons for entering your email section, your file manager and other webmaster tools.

The second thing I tell people to look for in a webhost is a feature called Fantastico. This is an add-on to cPanel that allows the user to install dozens of common and popular scripts for forums, blogs, classified sections and so on with the click of their mouse.

You don't need to know anything about databases or script installations when using Fantastico, it handles all of that backend work for you. Just pick the script you want and click install. It's that easy, and a real time saver even for experienced web users.

The last thing I tell people to look for in a webhost is reputation and price. With the lowering costs of hardware and software it's become very easy to launch a webhost startup, but sadly just being able to get the hardware and software doesn't make those using it good at keeping it updated and secure online. As a result the last few years have seen a ton of new webhosts come and go, often disappearing without warning to the customers. There's nothing worse for a customer than to wake up one morning and find your website is offline because your webhost disappeared and you can't access you site files or domain.

So, while price is important, so is having the stability of a reputable webhost. Try to find a webhost that's been in business for a few years already. Most webhosts have a forum for customers on their site, so browse through that and see if the general tone of existing customers seems to be happy with the webhost provider or not. That will give you a good idea of what real customers are thinking about the service.

Pricing can vary, but most webhosts are going to fall into the $5 to $10 per month range for their basic accounts, which is all that most users will really need. Your circumstances may be different, and if so do some comparison price shopping to see what the average for your needs seem to be, but for the majority of people you should be looking at paying between $5 and $10 per month for a basic hosting account.

Anything more than that and you're probably being taken advantage of, and if you find a webhost offering accounts for much less than $5 per month be careful because that often indicates the webhost is over extending their capabilities to pull in business which ultimately leads to lesser support levels and increased technical issues. Basically, if a webhost is charging too little for hosting they have to cram too many users onto their servers and cut back on support costs in order to make a profit. As a user this means your site is likely to be offline frequently, and your requests for help will take much longer to be responded to.

I hope this helps you in picking a <b>webhost</b> that's right for you.

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