Just wondering, how would I know how much bandwidth would I need for my site?

cheers.

1 GB = Approx. 100,000 Hits

This assumes as average of 10k per hit.. Remember that a hit is whenever someone requests a file from your web server. So, each image, flash object, html file, etc. counts as a hit. 1 page view could easily add up to 30 hits, depending on the size and quantity of graphics. But, if you plan on having 56k users viewing your pages, the total size of each page view should be less than 100k. If this is the case, then 1 GB would get you about 10,000 page views. :)

Bandwidth?

It all depends on who visits your site. If you have an all text page that gets 100 hits a month from modem users, then a 28.8kbps modem should be plenty of bandwidth for your site.

If you have lots of graphics and multimedia, and get lots of people with cable and DSL modems, then you'd want to have at least 1-2 Mbps of bandwidth available to you, probably more.

It all depends on what's on your website, how many people are visiting it, and what sort of connection they have.

Another variable is how fast do you want your site to be?

The more bandwidth you have, the less chance of a slowdown due to your server's internet connection.

Thank you guys.

phastnet,
I am kind of new to all these, so, how much traffic should I be expecting? And how much users should I expect?

and also,

driverdave,
Originally, I meant to say data transfer rather than bandwidth, however, what you said kind of raised another question.

Do we actually have to worry about bandwidth? Cause I think bandwidth are not mentioned in most plans, people actually meant data transfer, like I did.

I thought bandwidth is something the client side has to worry about. Or is that a deal that I have to make with my host.

Thanks again

You do have to worry about bandwidth. Everytime someone visits your site they use bandwidth. They aren't charged for it, you are.

If you get a lot of traffic and have a graphic, video, or large download heavy site, you will use a lot of bandwidth. If your pages are mostly text with a few small images, the bandwidth will be much less.

Hosts will either cap your bandwidth (and shut you off) if you use more than alloted in a day or month or they will charge you for extra bandwidth. Some host have high charges for extra bandwidth. And avoid hosts that advertise unlimited bandwidth. Most of the these hosts actually do limit to the bandwidth in their terms of service agreement. Unlimit is just a bait to lure you to their service.

Originally posted by chocolate

I am kind of new to all these, so, how much traffic should I be expecting? And how much users should I expect?


That's the million dollar question. You just have to make an educated guess. What kind of site is it? How often will you update the content? How will people find your site? The list of things to consider goes on.

Personally I think it's worthwhile to go with a host that allows you to upgrade your plan as needed (and I think that most will). There's generally no point in paying for gigs of transfer for a brand new site, unless there is a reason to believe that it will really need it (publicity on a major web site or print publication, etc.).

-joe

phastnet,
I am kind of new to all these, so, how much traffic should I be expecting? And how much users should I expect?

It is very hard to get large amounts of traffic, unless you are serving up large files for free. But, if you have a normal site with no traffic right now, then it will be awhile before you even reach the 1 GB per month mark. So, when searching for a host, don't focus on traffic allowances, just make sure you have enough, but mainly look for a FAST AND RELIABLE host with all the features you need. And, be sure to see how much extra traffic will cost if you go over the limit. Be careful, because I see alot of places advertising per MB instead of GB these days. Like "Only $.04 per MB!".. That's a terrible deal, since it'll cost you $40/GB at that rate! Alot of hosts will make you a better deal on traffic if you commit to a higher amount per month, or if you buy large quantities of extra traffic.

Hosts will either cap your bandwidth (and shut you off) if you use more than alloted in a day or month or they will charge you for extra bandwidth. Some host have high charges for extra bandwidth. And avoid hosts that advertise unlimited bandwidth. Most of the these hosts actually do limit to the bandwidth in their terms of service agreement. Unlimit is just a bait to lure you to their service.

Yes, any host that offers unlimited space, traffic, emails, etc is just trying to trick you to get you to sign up. Alot of shared hosting plans will not limit your maximum bandwidth, although some do, so be careful. Co-location deals are usually the ones that almost ALWAYS limit your max bandwidth. Shared hosting and dedicated servers often do not limit max bandwidth, you are just sharing it with everyone else. So, just be sure to find out the details before you sign up for anything.

If you have any other questions, please let us know!

Mark

There are so many variables in this equation of bandwidth and data transfer.

What sort of lines does the host have to the internet?
- They should have multiple connections to the internet. What sort of connections depends on the answer to the next question.

How saturated are those lines at peak times?
- If a host has 2 T1's, and plenty of overhead on those lines, then your good to go. If they have multiple OC3's, and they are all maxed out from 9-5, then your going to get slow speeds. This is probably one of the most important things to look for in a host. Make sure they are not maxing out their lines at peak times. Do not look at average use, or make sure average use is about hald of the capacity of the line to account for peak usage.

What sort of connection to those lines does your server have?
- All the OC3 lines in the world don't make a difference if your server is capped at 250kbs. Find out how fast of a connection the servers have to the internet.

What sort of routers/switches does the host have?
- Not my area of expertise, but if they have a sub-par infastructure, your going to run into problems.

How much bandwidth do your visitors have available to them?
- This is the clients bandwidth, so this is left up to them. But this will affect your bandwidth too. Imagine 5 people with 1Mbps DSL downloading a video from your site. That equals 5Mbps of bandwidth you'd have to have available on your end so these people don't see a slowdown. Now image the same 5 people on 56kbps modems. Now you only need about 300kbs of bandwidth you'd need for your server.


Lots of variables in the equation. There are more, but I don't want to write a book. :)