Web hosting advice

I have done my home work and ready to launch my own website. Can you please help me in finding a good web hosting company?

Pratap Singh

I have received many mails from readers requesting me to guide them in finding a suitable web host to host their websites on a shared web hosting environment. I am glad to receive these emails because these people have taken a decisive step in the right direction. This article assumes that you have done your home work on your business concept, business model and idea. Make sure that you read this article on web hosting and domain names.

If you don't want to invest any money on your online venture, the number of options become somewhat limited. You can  start with a free-blog and when you make some money, you can go for your own website.

When you start an online business, your website becomes the lifeline of your business. No compromises can be made here. But that does not mean you have to spend a fortune on it. I will tell you about the cost and a few other fine points.

There are thousands of web hosting companies and hundreds of them are great. I can tell you of my experience. It is up to you to do your own research and take a decision. I have used many web hosting companies. Most of them are good. If you don't know much about web hosting, then sign up with a web hosting company of you choice by doing research in  webhostingtalk forum and you will be glad that you did.

If you don't have a credit card. you will have to find a local web hosting company. 99% of these 'local web hosting' companies actually buy reseller hosting account from overseas webhosting companies, subdivide the account, resell it  and make decent profit. Hey! you too can be a reseller. 

Cost of Web Hosting

How much will you spend when you want to start an offline business? Even for a substandard small office space in a remote place, you will be expected to pay Rs. 750 a month and a hefty rental advance. If the space is in a posh location, then you have to pay several thousands a month. However, with a small budget you can successfully start an online business.

If you want to host your website with an American company, there are two direct, unavoidable costs:

• Domain name: $8 - $15 (Rs.350 to Rs.650) per year
• Web hosting: $84 - $120 (Rs.3800 to Rs.5400) per year

Web hosting packages

Most companies offer many packages. Which one is right for you? You will find all the technical details on their  websites. Here I write about some business considerations when I want to buy from some fictitious web hosting company.

If you have just one idea, then start with 'Basic plan'. Get one domain name and work on it well. When you grow, you can upgrade your plan to "Better plan".

If you can afford Rs.120 more a month, get a 'Better plan' straight away. That gives you the advantage of hosting many domains under one account. You may have ideas for several web sites but not sure about the one to go after. Or you may like to develop all your ideas into profitable businesses. In such cases, it is better to sign up for 'Basic plan.'

If you just want to sell web hosting accounts to your friends and clients and make money, then go for reseller package. It is incredibly easy to be a reseller. A person known to me bought a reseller package for Rs.12,000 per year. He sub divided his account into 50 accounts. Then he sold each account for Rs.1,000 a year. His clients are extremely happy because they pay Rs.80 per month. This person make a cool net profit of Rs. 38,000 per year. He has not even passed his school finals!

I have tried to keep things as simple as possible so that any reader understands what I have written. I have not even mentioned words such as bandwidth, hits, scripts, and dedicated server. You will learn about them, when you gain experience.

If you have a credit card, have done your own research and ready to sign up, please find out whether that company gives you 30 days unconditional guarantee and they honor their promise. What else can you possibly expect from a hosting company?

The company I host with is a great, inexpensive, customer-oriented, safe web hosting company. But, as I told you earlier, it is not the only best web hosting company in the world. There can even be other better companies. However, a known monster is always better than an unknown angel.

[ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ]