There are many affordable web hosting services around and every hosting service promises you the moon. Customers often get confused with the offers and pick up the first offer that looks attractive and then repent later. Here is a quick guide that will help you choose the best possible affordable hosting service:
Guaranteed uptime: Quality web hosting services guarantee 99%+ uptime and offer refunds if the uptime falls below the promised percentage. Though guarantees largely remain on paper and are not enforced, they however reassure the buyer that the web host is sure of his servers and capabilities.
Bandwidth: "Unlimited bandwidth" is a loaded term with a lot of strings attached to it. So, when you are buying an attractive package that offers you unlimited bandwidth, take a close look at the riders. Chances are that you will find "unlimited" defined somewhere in the agreement. Also check with your web hosting service how bandwidth will be treated when your traffic increases over time.
Drive space: How much space do you actually need? If you're a small business you can do with even 10 MB. So, don't get taken in by offers that promise you 500 MB space at 50% off - chances are that you don't need all this drive space.
Support: Your web hosting company must provide 24/7 technical and customer support. The support should be provided online as well as over telephone. Call the hosting service on weekends and at irregular hours to figure out if they're truly 24/7. Another thing to check for is whether the host's technical employees knows what they are talking about or are they actually customer support executives who are hired to pass messages.
Languages: Your web host must allow installation of all major programming languages like PHP, ASP, Perl, MySQL, and more. You should be in a position to install these languages without obtaining prior approval.
E-commerce tools: All quality web hosting provide their customers with shopping carts and SSL (Secured Socket Layer) certificates and are affiliated with payment gateways.
Email and customer service tools: Your host should have in-built POP3 and mail forwarding capabilities. He must also provide autoresponders.
Easy Control Panel: All reputed and affordable web hosting services feature an intuitive C-Panel (Control Panel). If you are looking at a control panel that will take days to lean, move on to another host.
Pricing and payment plans: Reputed hosts price their packs reasonably. They also offer many payment options like quarterly, monthly, annual, etc.
This checklist will help you choose a great affordable web hosting company. Good luck.
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