Most people who are looking to start a website and need web hosting services want something cheap or even free. The truth is, starting a business is expensive and it is always tempting to cut costs in any way. Web hosting, as a basic service, is extremely easy to find for very low prices or as a free service, with some ads thrown in for good measure.
However, as with most things, the cheaper the service, the less you get. If you want to start your business with a free web hosting service, there are plenty of options. Some services require that you host their advertising along with your content, others offer a free service but with a URL that is host specific, such as WordPress.org or Blogger.com. These are great options if you simply want to start up a blog or an informational service, but if you plan to sell products and want to brand your business from the start, a specific URL may be important to you. Switching URLs later on may lose you customers, clients, or followers.
Once you have chosen a dedicated website name, and if you prefer to be consistent over time, there are plenty of cheap options for inexpensive web hosting. Online companies offer bare bones services for as little as $10 per month, which will give you flexibility and a unique web address without ads. The basic packages come with limited services, too, however, and you may find that you want or need a faster, more flexible web hosting service once your business picks up.
The more established businesses that use virtual private servers have often started with shared servers. The truth is that until your business evolves and your traffic increases, a basic plan is probably enough to get you going. The security of a virtual private server offers a few additional benefits. Not only will you have more space, but many companies also spread out your server room so your site is functioning from multiple sites. This ensures that if one server is slow due to high traffic, another can kick in to take up the slack.
When you really hit it big, you will finally evolve to a dedicated private server, but only the big guys go for this option. They are much more expensive, but they offer incredible bandwidth, completely secure hosting with data backup services, and much more flexibility. One day you will need a dedicated private server, but for your immediate web hosting needs you can probably rely on a shared server to get the best value for the cheapest price.
However, as with most things, the cheaper the service, the less you get. If you want to start your business with a free web hosting service, there are plenty of options. Some services require that you host their advertising along with your content, others offer a free service but with a URL that is host specific, such as WordPress.org or Blogger.com. These are great options if you simply want to start up a blog or an informational service, but if you plan to sell products and want to brand your business from the start, a specific URL may be important to you. Switching URLs later on may lose you customers, clients, or followers.
Once you have chosen a dedicated website name, and if you prefer to be consistent over time, there are plenty of cheap options for inexpensive web hosting. Online companies offer bare bones services for as little as $10 per month, which will give you flexibility and a unique web address without ads. The basic packages come with limited services, too, however, and you may find that you want or need a faster, more flexible web hosting service once your business picks up.
The more established businesses that use virtual private servers have often started with shared servers. The truth is that until your business evolves and your traffic increases, a basic plan is probably enough to get you going. The security of a virtual private server offers a few additional benefits. Not only will you have more space, but many companies also spread out your server room so your site is functioning from multiple sites. This ensures that if one server is slow due to high traffic, another can kick in to take up the slack.
When you really hit it big, you will finally evolve to a dedicated private server, but only the big guys go for this option. They are much more expensive, but they offer incredible bandwidth, completely secure hosting with data backup services, and much more flexibility. One day you will need a dedicated private server, but for your immediate web hosting needs you can probably rely on a shared server to get the best value for the cheapest price.
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