"What's your web address?"

From small "mom and pop" home-based businesses to mega-

stores, people ask this question in business every single

day. Even if you only operate a small, local business, if

you don't have a website (or at least email) people

honestly look at you funny.

A few years ago, website hosting was one of the largest

expenses connected with setting up a website. Now, with

dramatic drops in pricing, website hosting can actually

present the least costly component of operating a website.

However, before you run out and sign up for $2-a-month

website hosting and wake up tomorrow filled with regret,

take 5 minutes right now and learn the main points to

consider when evaluating any website host.

Total Storage

How much space do you get to store your

website files? If you operate a small website with a

handful of pages and only a couple of pictures per page,

you can get by with 5-10 MB (megabytes) of disk space or

less. However, if your site contains dozens of pages and

hundreds of pictures, you may need a hosting plan with 10-

25 MB of space.

Data Transfer / Bandwidth

Here's where many people fall down and get run over by the

Internet bus! Bandwidth represents the total amount of

traffic the website host allows you to receive.

Successful sites that get a lot of traffic eat up more

bandwidth than sites without many visitors. Honestly,

bargain website hosting companies don't want you to get

much traffic because your bandwidth costs them money.

If you plan to do any business online, make sure you get a

bare minimum of at least 1 GB (gigabyte) of data transfer

per month.

Email "Aliases"

Most web hosts allow you to set up email addresses

connected with your domain, such as jim@thenetreporter.com,

and have them forward to your email account, like

yourname@aol.com. The ability to set up email aliases forms

an integral part of any online business. Make sure your

hosting company allows you to set up at least 5 email

aliases.

Website Tools

If you want to do anything more than let people look at

static web pages, you will need to have certain tools

available. The two most important tools are CGI and website

statistics. These allow you to run scripts and see who came

to your site and when.

Tech Support

Make sure you understand any company's technical support

policies and hours of operation. Don't wait until Saturday

afternoon to discover your only help option is to wait and

email them Monday morning.

Go to www.comparewebhosts.com and check out the tool for

researching and comparing the offerings of over 9,000

different website hosting companies. Try the "Power Search"

feature, which allows you to specify about 50 different

variables, including price, company location, bandwidth,

and number of email aliases allowed. It even lets you

search by how often the hosting company backs up its

servers to protect against data loss.