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So, here I am writing my second post ever. I really like the topic of hosting because it seems like the first battle of anyone who wants to get a site going. There are many things to consider when choosing a hosting company, but there are a few extremely important things to consider. In the business of web marketing and the internet in general, web-hosting is the first thing that all my clients ask about. There are a ton of hosting companies out there, but choosing the good ones really makes all the difference.

Of course at first glance you want to look at pricing, this is actually mistake #1 Would you really want to pay $3.99 a month for webhosting that didn’t have good tech support and no services? $3.99 per month for a whole year adds up to about $50.00 a year. Now I know that is not a ton, but really, do you want to waste $50.00 a year on crappy service and bad hosting…NO! You could spend $50 bucks setting up your first Adwords campaign or some other affiliate-like program.

Mistake #2 is not doing the research and just signing up for some hosting company you found on the internet that looks good. With all the news services out there like Digg.com
or Yelp.com there is no reason why you shouldn’t do your homework. Didn’t your Mother tell you it’s important to do your homework to get good grades in school? All I can say is research, research, research!! Notice I wrote that three times, that’s because the third time is a charm and it will stick in your brain.

When researching a hosting company always look at features! Features, features, features! Whatever you do you want to make your life easy. What is the point of having hosting and then spending more money to hire some developer at $40-50 per hour to build you custom programs? Or would you want to setup hosting, not know how to build a website and then hire a designer for $75 per hour to build it for you? These choices are not sounding so good are they? Well, you don’t have to do either because with internet technology today, there are many dummy proof ways to go…no insult!

Don’t worry here is the definition of dummy by www.dictionary.com:
Dummy: up Slang
To keep silence; clam up.

Mistake #3 is setting up a web-host and not having a site or content. I see this one all the time and seems the most common. Clients call me telling me that they have a hosting setup ……..

Sorry I just got distracted, my wife brought me Ice cream with banana’s and chocolate…yummmy!

Okay, back on track!……so clients come to me with an idea and tel me they already setup hosting. Many times I find that they have chosen portly and gotten screwed with how much they are paying. First of all get your ideas together, Second map it out on paper, and finally get your photos and content together. Hosting has no purpose if you don’t have a site. Having a site does not matter if you have no content, so don’t rush it!

Okay now on to the Good Stuff! When looking for a hosting company, here is the main question you want to ask yourself, “What do I get for my money?”

1. Is there good tech support?
2. Is there good sales support?
3. Do they have good features that are easy to use?
4. Am I getting what I am paying for?
5. Will my site ever go down?
6. Are there built in templates and site builders?
7. Is the control panel easy to navigate?
8. Is it easy to setup email addresses?
9. What are the limitation of the service? (eg. Bandwidth and Web Space)
10. Is the service going to expand with your expanding business?

These kind of questions are extremely important to ask yourself during the process of any online purchase of web hosting! Here are a few hosting companies to check out:

1. www.powweb.com
   • Check out these 10 reasons why powweb is awesome!
2. www.1and1.com
   
   • From convenient Instant Domain packages to all-inclusive Shared Hosting plans, powerful Dedicated Servers and ready-to-run eShops, 1&1 offers a complete range of web services for every need, every skill level and every budget. All 1&1 products have been designed to provide the ideal combination of features and affordability, with no pricing gimmicks or hidden costs. You simply won’t find a better value for your money!
3. www.ipowerweb.com
   • IPOWER, Inc., founded in October 2001, provides web hosting and web services for small- and medium-sized businesses worldwide looking to build, manage, promote and profit from an online presence. The company, which offers domain registration, web site hosting, e-commerce tools, merchant services, application hosting, online marketing…read more…
     
4. www.ixwebhosting.com
   • Since 2003, IX Web Hosting is an AWARD WINNING company, with recognition being earned by dozens of organizations for the performance of its products, its guarantees, feature-rich plans and much more. read more…

Hopefully you can choose one of those hosting companies to get started, they all have good service, support and good features! Personally, I like the hosting that also has Affiliate Programs! Why? I’ll tell you why! If you love the service, why not resell it! Everyone has a friend, family member or a Co-Worker that needs a web-site at some point in their life right?
I signed up for Powweb.com and two days later a friend called me asking to setup a site. I joined their affiliate program, signed up my friend and instantly got $77.77 back in my pocket! How cool is that! And then I created a portfolio for my wife through Powweb.com, I got another $77.77 and then setup a website for a company I am working for and got another $77.77. So I basically made $233 cash in less than two weeks. Not a bad start, and there are affiliate programs out there that pay even more than that.

Enough said about hosting, so hopefully this information has helped you get a head-start on hosting. Remember to find a service that works for you and that can benefit you in some way. Take it slow and find the right hosting solution. Never jump into getting a website host until you have your product or service ready with photos and content. Research the market a bit to see if you will need to hire a designer or a programmer to help you out. With many hosting companies these days, they have built in design applications that assist in designing your own site. Setting up a hosting account and website should be easy , so make sure you have good tech support 24/7 and you’ll feel more secure. More importantly, don’t put yourself on a tight budget and find some “cheapy cookie cutter” hosting that doesn’t offer great service. There are too many reliable hosting companies out there, so don’t get stuck with a “lemon.” Okay, well off you go, and good luck.

I’ll see you next week with “TIPS on Building an Awesome Website!”