Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Here are some articles that might help:
https://www.devnic.com/tutorials/pick_web_hosting_service_provider_review.h...
https://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6540_7-726566-1.html
https://tools.devshed.com/c/a/Web-Hosting/How-to-Pick-a-Web-Host/
https://www.frugalmarketing.com/dtb/pickwebhost.shtml

There are so many choices out there. I have had good luck with both BlueHost and HostGator. They are both very large hosts that have very economical plans. The services I have used with them are shared servers meaning there are other sites on the same server.

If you have any mission critical sites you may want to get a dedicated host from someone like The Planet. These will cost much more (several hundred a month vs less than 10 a month).

Be sure the host you are going to sign up with can handle your needs. Do they do streaming audio/video. Do they support the programming language and database you want to use. Most of the big hosts will be able to do all this.

One of the biggest factors is uptime. This is how long the servers are working. You will always want uptime greater than 99+%. Remember, 99% would mean the server could be down 3.5 days a year.

Hope this helps,
Mike

Not sure what your needs or budget are, but we have a managed, dedicated server with Rackspace that costs $230 per month.

The customer service is really outstanding. They have helped us with issues that were clearly not within the scope of their intended support. They have never, not once said, "We can't help you with that."

The server has not been down once in over five years.

Quality is the key.

I'm going to assume you're just running a small web site and not entering a major web operation.

Most web hosting packages will offer more than enough disk space, bandwidth and features for a small business' web site. Think about what technology your site is going to use - do you need databases and php or asp scripting or is it just a simple thing your making yourself with a package like dreamweaver. Then choose the hosting package that matches that technical requirement. Most hosts offer packages of either windows or linux hosting and your choice of database, php or asp technology will decide which is best for you. If you are just making a simple site, either windows or linux will do just fine.

On package sizes, by the smallest size. You can always upgrade almost instantly if you find you need more space and more bandwidth.

Few hosts (unless your buying something expensive) tie you into a long term contract. So you can fee free to choose, try, and if you don't like, change to another host.

The only long term contract you'll see is for your domain name. You don't have to buy your domain name from the same company as your web hosting. So you shouldn't fee tied to use that firms hosting just because your domain name is there.

Most of the big name hosting firms have good quality setups these days. However, support and advice quality may vary. Look for a host that is newbie friendly and has lots of advice to give you. Steer clear of hosts that point you towards FAQ or tutorial pages rather than answer your questions.