If you’re planning to launch a low-budget website, you’ll find countless low-cost web hosting plans. Sometimes you will be confused after looking at these plans as they promise everything and sometimes too much at surprisingly low cost.
Define your needs first
The first thing to do is to clearly define your exact needs and requirements. Consider how much disk space you’ll need initially, and try to anticipate the additional space you’ll need later. If your site is going to have static pages with few images, even 20 MB of disk space is sufficient. But if your site is going to have dynamic pages with audio and video content, then more disk and database space is needed. Some low cost plans offer only 1 or 2 databases of limited size ranging from 10MB to 50MB. Let your technical expert assess how many databases will be needed and how much you can grow in the near future. Another important factor is the monthly data transfer. If you are going to spend some budget on SEO and advertising your site, then you can anticipate a decent amount of traffic within six months. Remember, the bandwidth consumed to maintain and upload content to your site is counted towards your monthly data transfer fee. So if your site is going to have a lot of new content on a daily basis, you’re going to need a fair amount of bandwidth.
Choose the right plan
Once you have clearly defined the requirements and features of your website, it is time to do some research to choose the most appropriate hosting plan that suits your requirements and your pocket. A typical low cost hosting plan is in the range of $4/mo to $6/mo. Most hosting providers offer discounts if you take the plan for 12, 24 or 36 months, which can save up to 20% of your cost. Please read all the terms and conditions carefully before taking the plan, as it may have some hidden costs that may haunt you later. The most effective way to get hosting company feedback is to contact existing customers and listen to their opinion. Ask specifically about support services. If existing customers are satisfied with the support services, please include this company in your likely list. When you have shortlisted all the companies, you can compare their hosting plans and you should choose wisely based on your analysis. Always involve your technical expert in every phase of decision making. Your prospective hosting company should provide 24/7 technical support. After taking the plan, you should check how fast the tech support is within a week at peak times as it is crucial to run your website successfully and smoothly.
It may happen that you don’t get a good experience with your first hosting provider. Many new website owners and novice webmasters may experience this situation. Choosing a good hosting provider and a suitable hosting plan comes with experience.