For most small business owners (who are not IT wizards), the thought of choosing a web host can be quite daunting. Chances are, you probably don’t even know what you are meant to be looking for. So, to try to help you out a little bit, we have put together a couple of tips, tricks and issues to consider for you. Everyone enjoys a good tip don’t they?

1. Supported Web Technologies: there are a variety of web technologies or programming languages in which websites can be built. So, as your first port of call, confirm which type of language(s) your website was built in. If your site was built using HTM, HTML or XHTML, then you will be able to go with just about any web hosting company. If you used PHP or CGI/PERL, then you’ll have to go with either a Linux or Unix web hosting company. Last but not least, if your site incorporates ASP or ASP.NET, then you will need to engage a web host with a Windows or IIS web hosting company.
2. Server Location: the majority of people mistakenly think that the location of a web hosting company is irrelevant. They could not be more wrong. An Australian business with a .com website address which chooses a web hosting company located outside Australia will not be listed in Google Australia’s search results (and so on for country specific searches worldwide). If the majority of your website traffic is local, then use a local web hosting company. Keep an eye out for local web hosting companies that use international servers. It’s the same as using an international web hosting company.
3. Customer Service: like any service contract, you want a high level of customer support. Cheap web hosting companies can sometimes be difficult to get in touch with. There is nothing worse than your website going down and your emails crashing, only to find you cannot get your web hosting company on the phone.
4. Web Space: It’s really easy to work out how much space you need on the web, just check what the total file size of all your website documents is. In general, hosting companies offer plans with ridiculously excessive web space. Consumers think they are getting a great deal – more space for the space cost. But really, the additional space probably never be used.
5. Traffic (Bandwidth): initially, it will be tricky to work out how much bandwidth you need. A new website won’t need a huge amount though. To being, anything between 1GB and 5GB of web traffic per month should be plenty. You’re better off to start small; you can always upgrade but most companies won’t let you downgrade.
6. Uptime Guarantee: Uptime is the percentage of time that a hosting company guarantees your website will be live. Anything less than 99.5% is too low. If possible, go for an even higher percentage. There is nothing worse than a potential client visiting your website only to find it doesn’t exist, chances are, they will never return.
7. Databases: If your website runs on a Content Management System or any other database driven facility then you will need at least 1 database. You can determine if you have one (or indeed need one) by confirming with your web development company. You probably will never more than one database.
8. Control Panel Access: Web hosting companies often give clients access to a control panel. The control panel will allow you to have remote access to manage email addresses, view website statistics and set up FTP access.