These days most of the hosting sites you'll see offer fairly similar services, and the bulk of them are at least decent. Some of the better known hosts, like Godaddy, 1and1, Lunarpages, and Host Gator, aren't night and day different. How do you make a decision, then, when there are so many choices?
Competitive pricing is nice, but features are more important. A lot of times the majority of the given features at any tier of hosting will be similar, and it's kind of sneaky sometimes. It's the 10% that differs that really matters.
Hosting Packages
Some hosting companies offer unlimited "everything", where others will impose limits on storage space, SQL databases, or even whether or not you can create emails based on your domain. Some hosts do not provide domain email by default; you have to pay extra for that. If those features are important to you, you might end up having to purchase a more expensive hosting package to get some of the features competitors may offer.
In an ideal situation, your host will offer a package with unlimited:
- web storage
- monthly bandwidth
- SQL databases
- add-on domains
- sub domains
- FTP accounts
To be fair, basic hosting packages that have storage limits, like Godaddy's, offer 10GB storage space. For a lot of websites this is more than enough. Does having a limit matter if you're unlikely to hit it? Fair question. Your WordPress website may never exceed a few hundred MB, for example. Same goes for its 10 SQL database limit; is your typical user likely to exceed that? Consider your specific needs. You might be a person that likes the peace of mind of unlimited even if it's not necessary, and if so, pursue that in your searching.
What Are The Extended Features?
Other things to consider, depending on the complexity of your hosting needs, is the cost and availability of the following:
- Additional language support
- Dedicated server (a server machine that hosts only your site)
- SSL certificate (secure connections)
- cPanel access (a more standardized back-end management)
- Number of email addresses and email storage amount
- MS Access databases
- Java support
- Discounted Pricing
Some hosts and domain registrars will offer discounted pricing if you buy for longer periods of time. For example, a given domain might cost $11.99 for one year, but $8.99/year for two years. Hosting often works the same way, so if you're opening a site you plan to have running for several years to come, you should consider buying a few years in advance to save cash.
Universal Hosting
As mentioned above, some hosting packages allow you to host multiple websites through one account. You pay for one hosting account and can then funnel as many domains through it as needed (you still have to buy all the domains). This can be a lot cheaper than obtaining individual hosting for each domain, or having hosting for your different websites spread out across multiple hosts.
Ask questions! If you're considering a certain host and want clarification on their different packages, don't be afraid to call their support number and talk to someone. Chances are, they'll be more than happy to explain everything to potentially gain a customer. If they're not very enthusiastic about answering your questions, you've just learned something about their customer service, and you might want to look elsewhere.
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