If you are looking for somewhere to host your web site you will no doubt have seen and indeed may have been tempted by an offer from a cheap web host. The question you are probably asking yourself about these offers is whether they are truly a good deal or just a cowboy merchant offering low value and low quality service.
In the past I might have warned you off deals like this because they were usually evidence of a scam merchant. However today, the highly competitive web hosting industry are having to revert to deals where they offer top quality service at rock bottom prices just so they can stay in business.
Fundamentally, you need to know that whoever you choose when you place your business with a company that even though they appear to be a cheap web host organization because of the price, you are in fact getting the right solution for you.
Thinking purely about your customer now, it is important that when they arrived at your website, it should load quickly, be easy to read and navigate and most of all give them what they want. You can only do this with an effective web site hosted with a reliable and more importantly, cost effective company.
So what can you expect from a cheap web host?
Well first of all just because something is labelled as “cheap”, it does not mean it is of a low quality or that you are only going to get a reduced level of functionality from the service. “Cheap” these days, is merely a reference to the price you are paying.
Whilst there are many companies offering to be your cheap web host, there are a few things you need to check that are in the offer to ensure that your choice means a good deal and not a limited and unreliable solution. The minimum you should expect to see are unlimited bandwidth and disk space, round the clock customer service, a rock solid money back guarantee (always a good sign of their confidence in what they will provide you with), easy to use control panel, 99.9% up time and a web site builder that anyone can use.
A few years ago, that sort of deal would have been a premium level account with the associated premium level fees but because of fierce competition these facilities are now seen as standard on the entry level packages. Starting at this entry level should meet the requirements of a small to medium sized business more than adequately and I would advise you begin with a package that suits your current needs.
Web hosting companies offer a range of packages starting from this sort of entry level deal (which is good enough for most) up to dedicated server farms and you can always upgrade as your business grows. This means you can keep your current costs to the absolute minimum, which is always a good idea for a start up business and then as your turnover grows and your profits increase, you can expand your web hosting without any further external investment.
So when you choose the right company, even one that appears to be a cheap web host you can relax a little, comforted by the fact that you have made a good decision to get a great service at a great price. It will be one less thing to worry about as you run your business.