Web hosts are companies, which provide storage space and internet services to multiple websites. Web hosting is also often known as virtual hosting as most web hosting service providers allows every website associated with them to have their own domain name as well as their own set of e-mail addresses. Most business companies go for web hosting service providers as hosting one’s own website can turn out to be pretty costly.

Facilities provided by most web hosting service providers

• The web hosting service providers provide space on a server owned or rented by a client.
• They provide fast internet connectivity.
• They also provide a control panel, so that all the clients can manage their own websites.

Types of web host service providers

The two types of host service providers are:

• Free web host service providers
• Commercial web host service providers

Factors to be taken into consideration before choosing a web host

• The most important factor is the internet connectivity. The internet service provided by the web host should be fast. The net server should not slow down when many machines are connected to it in case you are choosing a shared server.
• The service provider you choose should not be a reseller. Always go for companies, which lease their own web servers.
• In case of free web hosts, they may force advertising on your website since advertising is the only way by which they can cover the cost of giving out free web space. The advertisements may be in the form of pop up windows or in the form of banners permanently posted on your website. If a free web host does not impose advertisements on you, do not choose it, since such service providers close down very fast because they do not have the money to run their services.
• In case of free we hosts, they impose a definite bandwidth on the website, if the bandwidth exceeds the specified value. They close down the website or ask you to pay for extra bandwidth. The commercial web hosts generally provide ‘unlimited’ bandwidth. This is a façade, never fall for it. Even they have a particular limit and ask you to pay extra when you exceed the limit.
• Always choose a service provider, which has an all year round technical support system. The technical support staff must be available on weekends as well as on public holidays. Generally, all web hosts promise such services, but you must ensure that these promises will be fulfilled. You can check their technical support system by e-mailing them on weekends and holidays.
• In case of commercial web hosts, you need to make sure that they have FTP, PHP, Perl, SSl, .htaccess, SSH, MySQL, etc. These are needed when you want to make some changes on your website and since you are paying for the web host services, it is extremely necessary that you make sure the above-mentioned services are provided. For free web hosts, it is completely necessary that an FTP access be provided.
• The web space provided by them should be sufficient to fulfill your needs.

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Web hosting services are a necessity, if you are planning to start a new website. All you need to do is make sure that they fulfill your requirements.