by Matt Hedges
What host is right for your forum? It can be extremely challenging to find the perfect host provider for you forum. There are many advertisements saying the service they provide is best but they cannot all be the best. Quite often, web hosts offer a great service initially but this does not remain. Problems with shared servers, a low quality of service or ignoring customer requests can all ruin a relationship. This may mean you are looking for a new host.
Finding reliable in formation before you make a decision can benefit you greatly. The following advice will hopefully help you find the right host for all your needs.
Web hosting and simple facts
As the business world becomes more and more dependant on the Internet, the choice of a web hosting provider is becoming very important. A wrong choice can leave you in the lurch. You may need to choose a good web host for a variety of purposes - making an e-commerce website, setting up a personal web page, or sharing data easily with all your employees across the world. Whatever be the reason, your choice would be critical. You should not focus only on the price and value of the web hosting package; you should also take into consideration things like high quality service and good web connections.
Now that you have a little bit of idea about the basics, we can move on to the methods and strategies you can use to identify the best web host for your requirements.
The following is a list of companies who provide a web host service that will aid your forum. All of these firms have forums and are viewed as firms that operate well with regards to price and cost.
Leading Web Hosting Companies that support Forums (Arranged alphabetically)
1. Bluehost - www.bluehost.com
2. Server Pronto - www.serverpronto.com
3. Powweb - www.powweb.com
4. Hostpapa - www.hostpapa.com
5. ixwebhosting - www.ixwebhosting.com
6. Hostmonster - www.hostmonster.com
7. Bluehost - www.bluehost.com
8. Webhostingpad - www.webhostingpad.com
Even when you have a list of best web hosts (for your particular purpose) to choose from, you still may need answers to a number of questions so that you can make the final call. These would mostly be questions relating to your own requirements e.g., the amount of storage space that you would need, or the bandwidth amount that would be just right for you.
For forums, there is a rule of thumb. You generally need about 50 GB bandwidth monthly and around 10 GB of storage space. Again, these figures are for average sized forums and may vary on a case by case basis. If you have a forum where users discuss software problems, you would not need too much space, since they would use only a limited number of images. The situation would change dramatically if the forum in question is one where the users discuss the latest car models. Here, images would consume a lot of space and your requirements would thus increase significantly. Generally, your web hosting provider would guide you based on your needs, and you can choose a hosting plan accordingly.
Stability is vital
It can be hellish moving your site between different hosts and downtime, data losses and various problems can occur making life hard for your business. This makes being stable something to aim for that is vital when having a web host provision. It can help to find an established provider which means you need to talk to past customers and see if they received good service. If they had bad experiences so might you, so why take the risk? A little research can make a big difference.
Cost
The price you pay is always important to people. This will come to a number of issues including bandwidth issues and storage space. There are three main types of hosting options.
Hosting that is shared
Shared Hosting
Virtual Private Server
You need to make your choice based on your budget and the size of your forum.
Some of these options are discussed in more depth here:
Virtual Private Server - Combines the following two services. A person will use the VPS with others but the resources of the server are shared in such a way that each firm has their own well defined areas. This ensures you have resources solely for you and there is no competition for the right. This works well for many firms.
Hosting that is dedicated Hosting - This is the higher end of the market coming with better performance. No other firm is fighting for your server space so that element is better but this requires a level of skill and expertise. Failing that, it possible to contract an external agent to running this service for you and you can buy a server or rent it.
Dedicated Hosting - This is the high end option providing top quality at a high price. There is no other site competing with you on the server which is great but you may need to know a lot about how to run a server. It is possible to pay a firm to manage your server and you can either buy the server or rent it.
Service
When looking for the best provider to host your forum you need to be aware of quality service and high level technical assistance. This should be provided by the best host providers. It can be simple to select a host to that is popular because if other users recommend the site, it must have some qualities. However, a popular site is a busy site and this may place extra strain on its resources. A lot of clients can be a bad thing when examining which host to work with.
Always find out what level of support is on offer from your host. Perhaps you can find existing or previous clients for an opinion on the firm. The following questions may help you make a better choice.
Can they offer quick solutions?
How good are the solutions provided?
Do they provide technicians you can always reach?
What is the support policy on holidays and after work hours?
Do they respond quickly by email?
Is fixing problems a priority or do they offer excuses as to why they have not offered a solution?
Solutions offered to these questions will give you a better idea of what host is right for you.
The final word
It can be very difficult to find a good host but the information provided should help you. Many people say that the relationship between a website and a host provider is a lot like a marriage. Just like real life, separating can be a difficult and costly affair. To be sure you get the best deal undertake a lot of research before you make the final decision.
About the Author:
Author Matt Hedges is a veteran of the website hosting industry and helps small business owners find the
best hosting companies on the Internet.