Trying to choose hosting services for your Web site can be a hard thing to do. There are a lot of different things to know and understand in order to make your choice. The following information should serve as a helpful guide.

What Types of Hosting Services are Available?

Dial-Up Access: There are thousands of dial-up access providers across the nation providing Web site hosting services. Dial-up is a method of connecting to the Internet. The term dial-up refers to providers that you utilize with a telephone line and a modem. However, for our conversation it also includes high-speed access providers like cable internet and DSL. These providers can be small, local companies or huge companies with a nationwide base of customers. The key thing to focus on here is that these companies focus their business on, and earn their living from, providing you access to the internet. Many of these companies will offer Web hosting as a side service, but do not necessarily place a focus on understanding the hosting needs of small business.

Developer's Hosting: Many Web site developers host sites for their clients. Service is usually very good due to the developer's focus on their customers. This method of hosting also streamlines the process for the customer since they typically have one point of contact to handle the design and hosting issues for their site. The developer-host understands the site layout and function and therefore the needs required for the hosting account.

Web-Hosting Only Plans: There has been a lot of growth in the number of providers specializing in the hosting of business Web sites. They do not provide Internet access, just hosting and the related functions. They can provide a variety of services to the customer and can typically do so at bargain prices. They are so big that they can offer low prices, but in many cases the level of customer service is low. This is the "big box" store approach to hosting.

Large Web Site Hosting: If you have a very high traffic site, there are very large national hosting companies that are more tailored to your needs. These companies provide the greatest number of services and redundancies, but their prices can be high.

Does Location Matter?

How does it work if you sign up with a Web hosting service in Minnesota, but you live in Minnesota? It's not a problem. You access the Web through your local ISP, or high-speed access company and FTP (file transfer protocol) your files to your Web hosting company in Minnesota. This is similar to sending an e-mail. But what about e-mails, how do you get them if your site is hosted out of state? Again, this is not a problem. E-mails sent to you via your Web site are forwarded back to you through your local ISP, or high-speed access account.

Searching for Web hosting services can seem difficult given all of the terms used and the fact that it seems no two hosting companies advertise their services in a way that makes it easy to compare with each other. Here are a few things to look for in a hosting account.

Space: ISPs usually allot you a certain amount of space on their servers. 10 Megabytes is plenty of space for the Web site files and graphics for most small business web sites. Hosting companies that include e-mail accounts in their hosting allotment typically offer around 25 Megabytes.

CGI-bin: Business accounts usually need to access programs in a cgi-bin directory. This is often used to facilitate the use of response forms in the web site. When your customer fills in a form on your site, the information is processed through programs in the cgi-bin.

Virtual Hosting: Find out if the ISP offers "virtual hosting." This lets you have your own domain name like www.yourcompany.com versus using your ISP's domain name with a subdirectory like www.isp.com/yourcompany. You will want to use virtual hosting. To have your own domain name, you have to register for it. Expect that to cost you around $35/year.

E-mail Aliases: Once you have your domain name set up you will want to set up your e-mail addresses. Many ISPs allow you to set up multiple "aliases" such as info@yourcompany.com or service@yourcompany.com. You will want to find out if different aliases can be forwarded to different e-mail addresses. For instance can you forward sales@yourcompany.com to your sales manager and info@yourcompany.com to your marketing manager?

Dependence: How free are you to choose another Web hosting provider if you are dissatisfied with your current choice? What kinds of contracts lock you into using the services you choose and for how long? Have your name listed as the administrative contact with InterNIC, so you can transfer your domain from one provider to another. You can see who is currently listed as the administrative contact by going to http://rs.internic.net/cgi-bin/whois and entering your domain name.

Support: What kind of technical support is provided by your provider? What are the hours that technical service is available? What kind of help do they provide? If you need 24-hour technical support - and many larger companies and high traffic Web sites do - then expect to pay a premium for that service.

How Much Will You Have to Pay?

The best advice is to know the services you truly need, and only pay for those. Find out what you need and shop around. Check different types of providers and different providers within a certain type that fits your needs. If you discover a deal better than the one you have see if your ISP will match the deal. The toughest thing to know in advance is how responsive the Web host will be to solving problems.

As is often the case, choosing by referral often removes much of the risk. You will have a better idea of what to expect. Referrals to the best ISPs should be available through your Web site developer. Select your Web site developer before you select an ISP or host. But if you plan to shop on your own, put together a list of questions to ask to help you make the best decision.

© Cataluña 1999