Affordable Domain Hosting

Affordable domain hosting is available through many Internet companies with a variety of features offered, depending on the size of the web site, and the goals of the customer's company. Prices vary, but one really cheap domain hosting company offers annual rates of $5.99 to $30.00. All hosts offer a certain amount of disk space and data transfer, a certain number of email accounts, and even sub-domains. Some of them also offer web designs. So, there are plenty of people out there willing to host websites to help people build their business with Internet exposure. 

Part of the host fees are based on the amount of bandwidth allowed. Bandwidth is the amount of traffic going out from a site, including images, clips, pages, etc., so it's a good idea to get more bandwidth than needed so there is room for growth. Customers must think ahead and be sure not to run out of space. Ask friends and business acquaintances about their cheap domain hosting services. This is usually a good way to know what one might get with a particular company. Of course, customers can always visit discussion boards where there are discussions complimenting hosting providers and griping about the ones who've earned a reputation of being unsavory. Host directories are another source for finding a good and inexpensive host. 

Technical support from the domain host, even if it's an inexpensive host, should be a high priority in one's search. Support should be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and customers should be able to reach them by phone, e-mail, online forum, or in person. The number of customers served and how many staff members available would be good information to have. Another important factor is customer service. It should be prompt, professional, courteous and effective. This is vital to building a good business relationship with an affordable domain hosting company. A good company should provide shopping cart software, merchant account setup support, and credit card processing. The host should have a library of scripts to accommodate forms, statistics, and guestbooks on the site. In addition, webmasters must have the ability to develop their own mailing lists, and web mail access that allows retrieval of e-mail from any computer connected to the Internet.

The company should offer a guarantee of uptime, and some compensation for any downtime suffered. For an individual's web site to go down is no big deal, but for a business, it is crucial. Serious business losses could result if the web site is down for a week. Reputable affordable domain hosting services will post statistics on their site stating what is the frequency of interruptions, and the average percentage of downtime. Those who settle for a host that does not monitor servers will have to do the monitoring themselves. 

Along with hosting, the customers will need a domain name. Make sure the cheap domain hosting service will register the domain name under the company's name. If it isn't registered, someone else can use the name. For their information, the webmaster will need a feature called a Control Panel for ease of maintenance. This tool will allow for regular maintenance, whether it's e-mail box additions or deletions, password resets, web additions, web count reports, statistics, and so on. For a business web site, this is an absolute must.

When looking for a host, ask if potential hosts have an auto installer. Auto-installers will save time if webmasters are going to install a forum, image gallery, or content management system. Customers don't have to be experienced to use these significant time savers. One might also ask about an online website builder. This program lets customers design a website in a few minutes, even novices who have no website creation knowledge. This program allows one to choose colors and themes, pick templates, and in general make the web site reflect the perfect image to project to potential customers. First impressions are important for a business just as it is for personal first meetings, so it pays to put one's best foot forward. A good, affordable domain hosting provider understands this.

It is possible to find great services, but without looking into all the other factors mentioned above before making a decision. The money saved up front may not be a saving later on. Like most other important decisions, it pays to do some research first to be certain one is getting the service really needed. In addition, webmasters need to talk to other webmasters and get recommendations for the right service. Other webmasters can also steer newcomers away from bad, cheap domain hosting. There have always been merchants selling products, but in Bible times they didn't have anything like modern electronic tools to help them build their businesses, but they managed to transport them across country. "Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue the royal merchants purchased them from Kue." (1 Kings 10:28)