Cheap Web Hosting For Beginners
In Part 1 of this article we considered several issues that you must decide about your website before you begin your search for the best web hosting for beginners. Some of those factors that will play into the choice you eventually make include website complexity, how much and what types of content you’ll be publishing, and how involved you yourself are going to be involved in setting it up. Because you just want to start small, a basic personal website will become our model. (The author also assumes that you’ve already registered your website’s domain name with an Internet registrar such as GoDaddy.com or one of many others.)
Because the site you’ll be putting up will be simple and basic in nature, you’ll only need some of the more fundamental tools. All of the cheap web hosting for beginners providers include a simple web design tool (usually a set of automated templates), a file manager utility to manage your website’s files on the server, and more than enough email accounts. As far as disk storage and network bandwidth allowances go these days, the trend is to offer unlimited levels for both, even in the most basic hosting package. (You can always purchase more later if you want to take your website up a notch or two in complexity.)
Now that you have identified your website’s basic requirements, it’s time to consider several more issues. The first one will be how long do you plan on keeping your website up and online. The best web hosting for beginners providers all offer monthly plans, and all also offer discounts on annual or multi-year hosting plans. I’d suggest hosting your site for at least a year, so not only do you give it time to become established on the web, but it also allows you to take advantage of any annual discounts.
When signing up for any hosting package, you’ll be prompted to provide a credit card number to pay for your hosting services. Your host will probably keep your credit card number on file so that they can auto-renew your web hosting account when it comes due; you’ll also be emailed renewal reminders closer to the date. I’d suggest setting up your account that way, as the last thing you’d want would be for your hosting account to be suspended – and your website disappear from the web! – for any length of time due to accidental non-payment.
The reliability of your hosting company and network should be important to you too, so you’ll want to surf some of their sites and do a little research. Here are a few things to look for when comparing the best web hosting for beginners providers:
- Take a look at your prospective hosting plan and see if you can tell what kind of hardware your website will be hosted upon. If it’s not a brand name like Compaq, Dell, HP, or Sun, it’ll probably be a cheaper, less-reliable “white box” server.
- As you’re a beginner to website hosting, see if your potential hosting company offers toll-free technical support by phone in your hosting plan. Chat and email are adequate, but you may want a higher degree of support available.
- One IP address is typically shared among the more inexpensive hosting accounts all located on the same server. If any of these “neighbors” of yours engage in disreputable behavior like spamming, that IP may be blocked. This effectively can make your own website inaccessible to others. If that happens, get your own IP address for your website; it’s typically only a couple dollars per month extra.
These tips may seem like a lot to remember, but if you do, you’ll be one of the better-informed new webmasters out there and will come out ahead. Try to take full advantage of any pricing specials being offered. Make your pick and it won’t be long before you’ll have your own unique presence on the World Wide Web. Enjoy!
With 15 years of technical experience, Internet expert Markys Robertson writes frequently about website design, cheap web hosting for beginners, internet protocols, and other Internet related topics. If you’re seeking the best web hosting for beginners, click here to see some of Markys’ favorite providers.
