How to choose your web hosting plan

What are the most important factors you look for when you want to choose a hosting service? In this article, I shall tackle some of the features you need to consider when you choose your host. I will list some important factors and some guidelines on how to choose what is best for you.

Hosting Platform
There are mainly two hosting platform you can choose from: Windows based and unix based.
Depending on what programming you will be using when you program your site you choose the platform that suits you best.
If you are planning to use asp or asp.net and have an Access or MSSQL database, you would choose Windows hosting, on the other hand, if you are using php, or perl you should choose a unix based platform.

Speed
Try to test the hosting speed. Are pages hosted on that hosting server fast to load? This is a very important factor. Try to test the servers during different times.

Availability
Your hosting server should gurantee at least 99% up time. Most guarantee 99.9% up time. You don't want to loose any traffic or potential customers due to the fact that your site is down.

Bandwidth
Bandwidth is a very important factor to consider. If your site hosts big files (such as videos) and you are expecting to have heavy traffic on the site, you should choose a hosting package offering a large bandwidth per month.
Bandwidth is calculated using GB per month: That is how many GigaBytes of data is being transfered (or downloaded) by users per month.
Do a simple calculation to know roughly how much bandwidth your site will consume per month so that you don't run short on bandwidth.

Database Support
Does your site a database? Maybe more than one? Then you should be careful to how many databases your hosting supports. Most hostings now allow unlimited databases, but you should double check it.

SSL
Do you have some sensitive information that is being exchanged with users visiting your site? Do you need to install SSL on your site? Check the requirements of your hosting and if it is supported.
Do you need to buy your own certificate? Or does the hosting service provide you with a certificate that is shared among other members? Check all information you need concerning SSL with your host if you need it.

Disk Size
Your site might need a lot of space (provided you are hosting a lot of files). Check the disk space reserved for you. For example, if you are hosting some videos and you have an average of 10 MBs per video and your host is providing only 200 MB, then you will be able to host only 20 movies.
Do your calculations and see if the disk space provided is sufficient.

Price
Of course one of the most important factors is the hosting price. Try to compare different hosting services and packages and suit what is best for you weighting price with services provided.

Other factors to consider
Here is a list of other factors to consider:
- Domains parking: Does your host allow you to park more than one domain?
- htaccess: Can you use htaccess on your directories?
- pre-installed scripts: Are there any add-on scripts that are pre-installed and you can directly use from your site?
- Emails: How many emails can you have? Can you create Aliases?
- FTP accounts: An FTP account is a must. Can you create more than one FTP user?

Dedicated Server
Finally, this is an option some people might consider if they need some special features and speed. You will be able to fully control your site and server in all its aspects.