Finding a Web Host That Meets Your Budget

At First Glance

If you are looking to build a professional website, and save money while doing so, budget web hosting is the best solution for you.

In general, budget web hosting refers to any provider that offers service for less than $10 per month. When evaluating a hosting company, you should take into consideration how well they explain their features in their website and how professional the website looks(Yes! it does count).

Can new hosting company do the transfer? Ask

Some good web hosting companies can help you make the transfer for free. But some companies do charge for transfer. Do your research. Good hosting companies like Arvixe can help you transfer your site for free.

Are the features listed and clearly defined?

You are trying to establish a professional online presence so their website should reflect the professionalism you are looking for.

  • Is all the information you need easily accessible from the homepage?
  • How will you contact them with questions? By email? By phone?
  • Is there a toll-free number? Frequent calls to a web hosting provider in Charlotte, North Carolina could get very inexpensive from your home in New York.
These answers are critical as a company that does not carry themselves in a professional manner probably will not provide professional service. Lack of support should raise an immediate red flag.

The Guarantee

When shopping for a budget web hosting company it is always best to choose one offering a reliable guarantee. Some providers do not openly advertise satisfaction guarantees while others will offer a full refund over a given period of time. You will have to look deep within the terms and conditions of a company that does not openly publish this information. If you find their guarantee to be unreasonable or if there is none at all, it is better to take your search somewhere else.

Aside from satisfactory guarantees, you should also keep an eye out for uptime guarantees. A web hosting provider’s uptime guarantee refers to how long the server is active and serving your pages to the web. Almost every company will offer an uptime guarantee of 99%, meaning they are essentially guaranteeing that your site will be functional 99% of the time. That downtime of 1% would represent an estimated 8 hours of downtime for the entire year.

The best way to ensure an uptime guarantee is to find out what kind of servers a particular company uses and how they go about protecting them. Some will publish this information in the “About Us” or “Support” section of their site. A reliable company should have no problem giving this information via email or telephone.

Reliable and Continuous Support

Even a budget host should give you several features that enable your site to succeed. You will likely require multiple email accounts and domains, scripts for e-commerce purposes and database access. Do they offer marketing tools that will give your site that big push? How about the setup of your site in general? It is important to learn what type of after-sale support is offered for setting up the account and publishing your site on the web. Nothing is more frustrating than being stuck with no guidance.

You should not have to sacrifice on features or overall quality just because you are seeking web hosting on a budget. By doing your homework you will find that both can be achieved with a web hosting company that is just right for your business.

Reliable Servers

Some hosts will oversell their plans to make a profit. For this reason, you should take that “unlimited” offer into consideration and weigh your options carefully. Make sure the host offers a decent uptime Guarantee(usually 99.9%).

Money back Guarantee

Most of the reliable hosting companies provide a good 30 day money back Guarantee. Good examples are Arvixe(60 Day Money Back Guarantee) and Hostgator((45 Day Money Back Guarantee). A good money back Guarantee shows confidence of the website hosting company.

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