How Do You Read Web Hosting Plans?
A Web Hosting Article Contributed by Raj Rao
What are Web Hosting Plans?
Web Hosting is the process of putting your content and web applications on the Internet to be visible to the users globally. Web Hosting is a service that is offered by Internet Service Providers(ISPs) or Web Hosting companies. Web Hosting is available at different levels, depending on the resources used for Web Hosting, like email accounts, bandwidth, disk space etc. Based on the resources allotted, the Web Hosting company usually provide you a choice of plans to choose. These are collectively called Web Hosting Plans.
What are Some of the Types of Web Hosting Plans Available?
The basic type of Web Hosting plans are those which allow you to pay on a month-on-month basis or Yearly basis. The Yearly payment Plans are usually 10 percent to 20% cheaper than the Monthly plans, because you pay in advance. The second type of Web Hosting Plans constitute the Operating System used - Linux or Windows.
A third type of Web Hosting Plans is based on the actual resources used, like amount of Disk Space (in Megabytes), email accounts, bandwidth, database access etc. Before you can select a Web Hosting Plan, you need to make an estimate of the resources required. Your Web Master or Web Designer may be in a position to do this for you.
How Do I Select a Web Hosting Plans
Use the following tips to select the Web Hosting Plan:
a) If you are using a Web Host for the first time, then always use a Monthly Plan, even if it is relatively more expensive. This will give you the choice to shift to another service provider, if you find this one lacking in service and support.
b) Decide whether you need Linux or Windows Web Hosting or either will do, based on your discussion with your Web Master or Web Designer, then accordingly short list the Web Hosting Plans.
c)Always choose the lowest possible plan that fits your requirement, which can easily be upgraded to a higher plan.
d) Due to reduced cost of disk storage, the disk space is no longer a constraint for web hosting. So, ensure that whichever plan you choose, you have sufficient disk space to take care of your content and email storage requirements. If your basic plan has less than 10 MB of space, then look for another plan or a different web host.
e) Always ensure that you have email accounts available in the Web Hosting Plan more than your current requirement. You will certainly feel the need for additional email accounts in the future.
f) If you have any special requirement of application, like .NET Framework, then ensure that you choose a web host who specializes in this type of hosting, because he will be more experienced in guiding you in installation and maintenance of the application.
Whichever Web Hosting Plan you choose, ensure that you pay the Web Host on time and periodically review the requirements to move form one plan to another. If your requirements have shrunk or you find your current plan under-utilized, do not hesitate to move to a lower plan.
