Recommended by David

Okay, we saw in Web Hosting (2) that free web hosting was a bad idea, but we need to keep an eye on our budget. So let’s be sensible and also discount the other extreme: that of a dedicated server solely used by your own hosting account (let’s keep that in reserve for when we’ve made our millions).

What we’re left with is a happy medium: shared web hosting. You share the server with other users and so share both the cost and the resources. Two relevant points here:

1. The demands on any particular server need to be managed well by the web hosting company. What happens when you run too many programs on your pc? - it slows down. What happens when you run WAY TOO MANY programs on your pc? - it crashes. Servers are prone to the same problems. A good web hosting company will adopt practices that keep the downtime of all its servers to a minimum. The company I use for my hosting account boasts 99.9% uptime on all its servers and network equipment over a 12 month period.
2. You’ve no way of knowing what other websites are stored on the same server as your site; for example, there may be so-called “adult” sites. Because you share the same server, you will share the same unique web server address (aka IP address). Because you share the same IP address, the search engines may assume that your site is also an adult site - this could cause your business problems. Solution: pay a little extra per month to have your own dedicated (i.e not shared with anyone else) IP address.

What else will you need from your web hosting company?

1. a sizeable amount of storage space for your site on the server (again compare it with your own pc’s hard drive)
2. sufficient bandwidth for all the traffic to and from your site, with the ability to buy more should you need it (compare it with your broadband usage)
3. the ability to host more than 1 domain from your hosting account i.e use one account to host more than 1 website
4. e-mail accounts, a shopping cart and a blog
5. dependable customer service: there is a lot of technical stuff associated with hosting a website. When you need help, you need them to respond.

When you look at the website for a web hosting company, you can easily get blown away by all of the “geek” information; and there will be a lot of it, but equally there will be a lot of it you won’t use or need to know. I’ve tried to keep the information here to what is important when you first begin.

Do I recommend a particular web hosting company? It would be very hypocritical of me if I didn’t recommend the company I use for my own hosting account. I did all of the wading through the “geek” stuff and hours of research before I signed up with my web hosting company. The company was very competitive back then, but it is even more so now.

With regard to my “What else will you need from your web hosting company?” paragraph, this is what I get with my web hosting account (in the same numerical order):

1. 1,500 GB (the bigger the number the better - and this is HUGE)
2. 15,000 GB per month (ditto above)
3. will host UNLIMITED domains
4. provides you with UNLIMITED e-mail accounts, 3 shopping carts and 3 blogs (including WordPress, which is generally recognised as the best available, and which you are familiar with through this blog)
5. I’ve never had a problem with my web hosting company’s customer service. An example of what they’ve done for me: no sooner had I committed myself to this blog, than WordPress issued a major update, which caused quite a few problems for the WordPress community, but especially for me, a beginner with the software. I went on the WordPress forum and spent over 2 weeks trying to get the answer, without success. In desperation, I e-mailed the support section of my web hosting company (the blurb says that they don’t provide support for WordPress issues). I heard back from them within 2 hours - not with instructions what to do, but informing me that they’d put it right - and so they had.

Okay, the cost. I’d recommend the basic plan for your hosting account (that’s what I’m on). Sign up for 2 years and it’s just £3.99 per month normally (all prices guaranteed correct at time of writing only), that’s all! I mean how much lower could it get? Well, sometimes you can actually get it even lower if my web hosting company is running a promotion! (By the way, don’t switch off if you prefer prices in US $s, there’s a US version, which I’ll tell you about shortly.)

But, on top of that, don’t forget that you need a DEDICATED IP ADDRESS at £1.65 per month, as discussed above. I reckon that’s all you need pay monthly - just £4.15.

Your hosting account will also include a FREE domain name.

But I do recommend that you pay £4.95 (per YEAR) to keep your information private. When you register a domain, your name, address, email address, and phone number immediately become available / visible to everyone over the internet. You can change this with a private registration. Buying a domain does not have to mean sacrificing your privacy. Your new domain will be registered in your name but the web hosting company’s information is made public, not yours. You retain full benefits of domain registration. You can cancel, sell, renew, or transfer your domain; set-up name servers for your domain; and resolve disputes involving your domain. For an additional £4.95 per year, you can protect your personal information.

Okay, I’ve kept you waiting long enough. To visit my hosting company’s website: just click this link.

When you get to the site, you’ll see the UK version. If you prefer to see the US version, just click on the US flag at the top right of the site.