Choosing a Hosting Provider
So, you're ready to take the big step and put your business online. Before you do, you should consider the following, or you could find yourself without ownership of your domain name, and shelling out large amounts of money for very little value. As you call or research hosting companies, the very first question to ask is, who owns your domain name if they register the name for you? Although it doesn't happen as much as it used to, one of the tricks of the trade was to register a client's domain name under the companies name as the owner. This way when the client tried to leave, the hosting company would use the domain name as a bargaining chip – to keep your business. The client could leave, but they would not be able to take their domain name with them. This would mean your business website would have to be changed again, causing you to spend large amounts of money on new business cards and lost business because of a name change.
The next thing to be aware of is what your benefits will be from the hosting company as part of the hosting price. With the low prices for bandwidth, hardware, and software, hosting prices have come way down. As with OpenSourceAssets, many companies are big supporters of Open Source software because the software is free and it allows the companies to pass those savings on to their customers. The least expensive hosting provider I have found so far is $4.00 per month. At this rate, the amount of bandwidth and storage is more then adequate for many business websites. This is an especially good fit if your site doesn't use a database to control content, and you don't have a lot of images. Many hosting providers also offer tools that assist you in designing and developing your site, which can also be a big money saver because you don't have to pay anyone else for this service. Hosting providers also give statistics about activity on your site, which will assist you in determining how many visitors you had to your site, which links they clicked on, as well as how they arrived at your site. This information will be useful to determine what changes may need to be made to your site to increase visitor traffic.
If your hosting provider doesn't provide the software for designing your own site, or you don't like using the software, there are a couple of options here on OpenSourceAssets.com that can assist you in developing your site. If you need assistance using the software or if you would like other options, feel free to contact us and we can provide you with assistance. OpenSourceAssets also provides a forum where users can post questions to any problems they may be having and receive a quick response.
The best way to determine if you're getting the best deal or not is to compare various providers' offerings to ensure you are getting the best value for your money. I’ve provided some links below that may help you find a provider. Remember the following as you make your decision: