How To Find A Good Hosting Company

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One of the more common questions I’m asked is whether it’s necessary to switch from free hosting sites (like Blogger or WordPress.com) to make money blogging. The short answer is: absolutely. No one likes to hear that, though. Finding a reputable and affordable hosting company seems like a daunting task, and people don’t like the thought of sinking money into an endeavor without knowing for certain it’s going to pay off.

So let me put it this way: with many of the great companies I recommend (see the link at the top of the page), you’re 100% guaranteed not to make one thin dime if you’re using a free hosting site.

Why? Because you — the blogger — have absolutely no control over the content you put up there. Most free sites prohibit bloggers from using paid links, and there are plenty of stories on the internet about bloggers who’ve learned about this the hard way when their blogs were taken down. Worse yet, free hosts don’t even have to have a valid reason to delete your content: it’s been known to happen for no other reason than because a competitor or malicious person “flagged” a site as offensive. So if you’re serious about making money with your blog then you need your own host. Now.

How do you choose web hosting? There are a number of important factors to consider: including bandwidth, features, reliability, customer service and, of course, price.

1. Bandwidth - Since bandwidth reflects the amount of data transferred, so your needs depend largely on how much traffic your blog has and what kind of data you’re making available. New bloggers, who’ve yet to establish a large audience, obviously don’t need as much bandwidth as a site getting tens of thousands of hits per day. But even a new site can use a lot of bandwidth if it’s crammed with downloadable files, podcasts and bloated images. The general rule of thumb is to find a host that offers smaller bandwidth packages for lower monthly fees to begin with, then upgrade your hosting plan as needed.

2. Features - As the folks at WebHostingBluebook.org explain, it’s a good idea to list out your plans for your site before you start shopping for hosts. Do you intend to run numerous scripts? Will you need a large database? What about forums? Compile the list of your planned (or even hoped-for) features before you begin shopping around for a host to ensure you’ll find one that can meet your future needs, too.

3. Reliability - Anyone who’s been blogging for a while can tell you nightmares about finding their site’s not responding shortly after they’ve been linked by a high-profile blogger. Or having their data lost due to a massive server failure. (All too often bloggers learn the hard way why backing up one’s own data regularly is the most important blog-related task.) But don’t just take the company’s word about their up-time: do some research to find out what others have to say. One good place to start is the web hosting bluebook which rates and reviews in detail the top 10 hosting sites.

4. Customer Service - Although this is usually addressed in company reviews, your own experience is important, too. Any company which takes more than 24 hours to initiate a new account after you’ve signed up is almost guaranteed to take that long when you’re a paying customer having problems. So remember: until your data’s on their server it’s still an easy thing to find a different, more customer-oriented host.

5. Price - Even a quick glance at those hosting reviews shows that prices for basic monthly hosting are all over the board. I’ve seen bloggers moving from free hosting tend to make one of two mistakes. Some go for the company with the cheapest hosting prices only to find themselves dissatisfied a few weeks later when they discover the service isn’t reliable, the server’s speed is slow and their requests for help are never answered. Or they go top-dollar in the belief that their site is going to make it big right away. Personally, I’d recommend a more middle of the road approach: $5 to $6 per month is a fair price for a reliable hosting site with good customer service, plenty of bandwidth and a number of features.

Yes, making the move away from a free hosting company will cost you money in the beginning. But it’s also necessary if you plan to make money in the future. As the saying goes, you’ve got to spend money to make money… but when it comes to hosting fees you don’t necessarily need to spend a lot if you know what you’re looking for to begin with. Good luck!

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 at 2:17 pm and is filed under Starting a blog (Blogging 101). Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

How To Find A Good Hosting Company

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