There is never one hosting option that's best for every website. Some of you may just want a small "About Me" personal website, others may want a larger, more interactive website for personal or business reasons.
Be sure you've made up your mind about the type of site you want to build because it has a great impact on the type of host you need.
Most web hosts don't help you with the pre-planning process. They just want you to sign up so they can host your site and collect your money. I created this page so you don't jump into the process too fast and make the wrong decisions.
"What is a web host?"
A web host is the backbone of any website and no site can exist without one. The web host is responsible for providing you with the space for building your web pages, setting up your email accounts (if any), giving you the option of setting up additional functionality for your site (message boards, order forms, games), etc.
Important: Not all web hosts allow you to add additional functionality and other interactive features, so that's why it's important that you read this page in its entirety. You don't want to start building your website and then discover you can't accomplish what you want with the host you've chosen.
"I want a free site."
Don't we all. :) I
would love to tell you that a free web host will allow you to create an outstanding site that attracts lots of visitors. Unfortunately that is a difficult feat to accomplish these days.
I tried going the free route but all my sites were eventually wiped out because the companies either shut down or I left because I wanted to add things to my site that just wasn't possible because of technical constraints. It was frustrating.
Free web hosts are very limited in what you are allowed to do. They don't give you your own domain (anyname.com). So your website address will be something like http://www.freesitehost.com/members/yoursite.html.
They don't allow you to add any additional functionality to your site so if you plan on adding order forms, chat rooms, games etc.
you can forget it.
The search engines also don't have much respect for them so it's very difficult to get your site listed in places like Google, MSN and Yahoo. That's a BIG problem if you plan on getting free traffic from all over the web. I get 90% of my traffic from the search engines and I can almost guarantee that would not have been the case had I chosen a free web host.
The only reason I'd suggest a free site is if you are a kid and are not old enough to register your own domain. Or perhaps you just need a temporary site for school or a one-time event. You also can't be expecting much in terms of the look and feel because free websites look cheesy. Most of them require you to display banners and/or pop ups and the design options are very limited.
Web surfers can generally spot a free site from a mile away and that might hurt your credibility. This is especially true if you are creating a business or ecommerce website.
Most free website providers also do not offer any email accounts so you'll probably have to use your existing email accounts instead of having an account that matches your site's domain (you@yourdomain.com).
As you can see, I'm not a fan of them. Especially because the price of web hosting has come down so much over the years. In my opinion, it's worth paying a few bucks per month for a site because you have the peace of mind knowing it will be there as long as you need it. There are no guarantees with free web hosts.
Choosing Your Best Web Hosting Option
Now that you know free websites are probably not the best choice for your site, let's get down to business and determine the method you should use for building your site.
Before I begin I want to mention that before you can start creating your web pages, you must reserve a domain name (unless you choose option #3 below). Once you have done this, the web host kicks off the web page creation process.
Now let's talk about the different types of web hosting options...
1) A Simple, Personal Website
If you just want a simple site that talks about you, your hobbies, vacations or anything personal that you'd like to share then you need a very basic web host. You don't need all the fancy bells and whistles for creating others type of functionality.
If this is the case, I'd recommend a web hosting option called Website Tonight. The entire building process is done through templates and adding your text. You don't need to know anything about programming. All you do is point and click to select your design, then type your text and add your pictures.
I wouldn't recommend this option for business sites or sites that want additional features like chat rooms, games, etc. because the functionality is limited. This is best for sites that are just for displaying text and pictures. Photo sites work very well with Website Tonight.
The entire process is browser based so there is no software to install. You simply choose the best package for your site and within minutes you start building your pages.
The downside to Website Tonight is that you are limited to a number of pages. There are 3 different packages (between 5 and 20 pages). So if you ever want to expand your site beyond 20 pages, you'll have to switch to another type of host.
However, if you know you won't need a site larger than 20 pages, this option will be fine. Beginners love Website Tonight.
Don't forget that you'll still need to register a domain name (someName.com) first and then sign up with WST afterwards to begin building your site.
2) A Personal or Business Site With Interactivity
Most people fall into this category because they want to have more flexibility with their site and be able to create an unlimited amount of pages. Generally people like having the option of creating ordering options, games, feedback forms, chats, surveys and other interactivity if they should decide.
If you choose this kind of host you'll either have to own some kind of web page building software, use the web host's building tools or learn how to code your own HTML. If you own Microsoft FrontPage for example, you'll be able to create and save your pages right to the web from the software.
I use this method now. I own FrontPage and create my pages using this software and then publish my work to the web instantly using its built-in publishing feature. My entire site is managed through FrontPage. If you want to do the same, always make sure the host supports "Microsoft FrontPage extensions." Almost all of them do nowadays.
The nice thing about using this method is that you don't have to learn HTML. FrontPage has an interface very similar to Microsoft Word so editing and formatting text is very simple. There are even sites out there that offer free design templates that are designed just for FrontPage users.
If you think this type of host is the method for you then there are two that I'll recommend below...
Powweb Web Hosting With Free Page Builder
Powweb offers 12,000 megabytes of space for $7.77 per month. In case you're wondering that's probably the best deal you'll ever find on the net. What that means is you're given this 12,000 megabytes (12 gigabytes) and you can build as many web pages as you wish as long as you stay within that limit.
That's enough room to build thousands of pages and add tons of pictures. Heck, I had a PC in the 90's with less hard drive space than that! :) To give you an idea of how much room that is, I have over 630 digital pictures stored on my home PC and they take up about 270 MB of space. So 12,000 MB's is probably more than enough room for anyone.
You'll also have the capability of adding interactive features (games, message boards, etc.) if you wish. This host does have Microsoft FrontPage compatibility.
Powweb also has a built-in web page builder so if you don't own any software, you can use theirs.
Turbo Charged Hosting
This is a very similar option to Powweb except there are no web page builders. You either have to use software like Microsoft FrontPage as I did or code your own HTML from scratch.
The nice thing about this option is that there are three different sized packages to choose from, unlike Powweb that just gives you the one package for $7 per month.
3) A Business Site To Earn Money
In my opinion, there's only one hosting option to use if the sole purpose of your site is to make money and that's a tool called Site Build It (SBI). This is especially true if you are a beginner.
Don't get me wrong, you can use one of the two above (Powweb or Turbo Charged), but you do not get the search engine ranking and research help that you get with Site Build It.
If the success of your online business thrives on getting free traffic from all over the web, you'll need to learn how to build your pages so they rank high in Google, Yahoo and MSN. No other web host besides Site Build It will help you with that. The rest of them just provide the tools to get your site online but you're on your own when it comes to optimizing your pages for the search engines.
Site Build It is an all-in-one web page building tool that acts as your domain registrar and web host. You don't have to go to a separate site to register your domain like the options described above because all that is done through SBI. That's why it is a bit more pricey than the above two hosts at about $25 per month ($299 per year).
No programming or additional software is needed. You create your pages by using a simple browser-based form. Adding images and formatting your text is just a point-and-click away. There are also several pre-designed templates available for you to use.
I wouldn't recommend this tool if I didn't use it myself. I actually have another website that was built using SBI and it's amazing at how much help you receive compared to regular web hosts. More on my SBI site in a bit...
Amazing Brainstorming Feature - My Favorite!
Before you register your domain name, SBI provides an online brainstorming tool you can use to research your topic so you find the most profitable niche. When you start out, you may think you have the perfect topic for your site but after using the brainstorming tool many people discover there's either too much competition or there aren't enough people searching for that topic to make a decent profit.
SBI helps you research even further until you've come up with a good topic that has a high enough demand (lots of searches in the popular search engines) and lower supply. Supply would be the number of sites that already exist on that topic. Once this is done and you're happy with your topic, SBI proceeds to help you select the best domain name for your site.
It's truly amazing what this tool does for you even before you begin building your web pages. SBI is the first and only web host to actually provide a thorough research tool to help you choose the most "profitable" topic and domain name for your site.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to start their own online business is that they pick the wrong topic, which then leads to difficulty getting search engine traffic and making sales. SBI makes sure you don't make that mistake.
Where was this tool when I tried my first online business and failed miserably??? :)
Good Rankings With Yahoo, MSN, Google etc.
Once you build your web pages, SBI will analyze the content and tell you what you need to improve for a high search engine rank. Then it will tell you when it's time to submit the page and will report back on your rank for the keywords you desire. It also keeps you informed on the major and up-and-coming directories and instructs you on how to get listed with them.
Site Build It has experienced researchers behind the scenes that keep up with the latest search engine technology so you don't have to. When something changes that my affect your ranking, they let you know so you can update your pages accordingly.
posted by Bouchara @ 7:17 PM
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