15th March 2010

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Cheap web hosting guide, how to choose the right web hosting company

Cheap web site hosting is easy to find, but good quality hosting at a cheap price is not so easy.

Every month we get numerous emails asking us about web hosting companies. Instead of answering each email individually, we decided to include this guide to the best affordable web site hosting companies on the web.

Whatever type of hosting plan you are looking for, cheap or not, we have it covered in our guide, including the best of US and UK hosting companies.

If you already know your hosting requirements then click here for our interactive hosting plan finder.

If you are not sure about what type of hosting you need then read our Hosting FAQ's. We have included the most common questions along with facts that can help you decide.

Once you have an idea of the hosting plan you need then click on one of the 'hosting plan finder' links, and our interactive guide will open in a new window (leaving this window open for you to refer back to if required).

What is SSI and do I need it ?
What is SSL and do I need it ?
Do I need a shopping cart ?
Do I need database support ?
What database platform ?
What is webmail ?
What are graphical statistics ?

Do I need a Unix or Windows platform ?

The choice between a Unix or Windows platform will depend on your personal needs.

Unix is the most common platform providing excellent security and a wide range of features. If you need a Windows specific feature such as ASP (see below) or are going to be using an Access database, then a Windows platform would be needed.

Do I need Frontpage extensions ?

If you intend to use MS Frontpage to manage your webpages and you use any frontpage components (such as the hit counter) then you will need this feature.

What is ASP and do I need it ?

ASP (Active Server Pages) is a feature similar to CGI that allows dynamic web pages to be generated utilizing Active X scripting.

ASP is ideal for people who want to use Visual basic or Jscript languages to enhance their web sites.

How much web space do I need ?

The amount of web space is how much physical space you need to store your web pages and images.

If the site is going to be less than say 200 pages, then 50MB will be ample as the average web page should be between 2KB and 50KB, leaving plenty of room for any images you want to use (200 times 50KB is around 10MB).

If you intend creating a large database or storing lots of pages/images then you will need more space. Hosting companies are flexible and will allow you to increase your web space as your web site grows (at a cost), although a lot of the web hosting deals include GigaBytes of storage (enough for nearly any purpose).

How much bandwidth do I need ?

Bandwidth is a measurement of how much data (information) can be transferred over a set period of time. For instance every time someone looks at a page / image on your website this increases your bandwidth use on your hosting account.

The average hosting company offers between 1GB and 5GB a month, which should be plenty if the site isn't going to be another Amazon! So the calculation for the bandwidth would be the size of the pages/images viewed by each visitor times how many visitors per month.

Hosting companies can be flexible with bandwidth and may allow you to increase your quota if necessary. Some companies like iPower, Inc offer 15000 GB of bandwidth on their hosting accounts!

What is CGI and do I need it ?

CGI (Common Gateway Interface) is a standard feature that allows the user to interact with your website. It provides a special directory where you can keep CGI scripts and then call them from the web page, if you intend to have any type of interaction on your web site for instance contact forms or database integration then CGI is essential.

What is PHP and do I need it ?

PHP (Pre Hypertext Processor) is a scripting language similar to Perl that allows the developer to create dynamic web pages.

The PHP script is embedded within the HTML code of the webpage, enclosed between PHP tags. PHP can be used for many tasks and has become one of the most popular languages for database applications, it is now a standard feature of most web hosting packages.

What is SSI and do I need it ?

SSI (Server Side Include) is a feature that allows the web developer to pull data from another file and insert it into the web page through use of a tag.

A common use is to pull page headers and footers from one file, this enables any changes to be made to the headers and/or footers by updating just one file instead of every page.

Another use is to insert the result of a script into a html page.

What is SSL and do I need it ?

SSL (Secure Socket Layer) provides a secure connection to your website.

This is essential if you intend to store or transfer any information that requires maximum security (for instance credit card numbers). If you intend to use a shopping cart (see below) and/or store personal identifiable information, then it is imperative that you have an SSL certificate.

Do I need a shopping cart ?

Shopping carts provide ecommerce capabilities, if you intend to sell anything on your web site then having a shopping cart is the best solution.

Many web hosting companies include a standard shopping cart with their hosting package. There are also a lot of free/cheap shopping cart systems available on the internet.

Do I need database support ?

This decision will depend on whether you intend to store any information in a database.

Database driven websites are very adaptable and have unlimited uses. Storing information in a database allows it to be easily searched and maintained.

Most web hosting companies provide this feature so you can always add a database at a later date if your requirements change.

Which database platform ?

There are two main types of database platform supported by web hosting companies, these are MS Access and MySQL.

Your choice will depend on personal preference as they both offer virtually the same features. If you decide you want an Access database then it is advisable to choose a windows hosting plan for compatibilty.

What is webmail ?

Webmail provides you with the capability of reading and sending your emails via a webpage (much like yahoo or hotmail).

You will be provided with a web address by your web hosting company, where you can logon to read or send email.

What are graphical statistics ?

Graphical statistics give you reports on how many visitors there are to your site in any given period.

They can also provide you with other reporting information such as the phrases people use to find your site in search engines, the different types of browsers people use and other demographic information.

Statistics are vital in assisting the marketing and promotion of your website. Without them, you wouldn't have any idea where people who visit your site are coming from and how they ended up there in the first place.

Most web hosting companies offer some type of statistics, the most common being AWSTATS and Webalizer.