A good forum to find at this stage of creating a web site!! I'm at the point in the process of; 1) Obtaininga Domain Name, 2) Getting a Web site HOST, 3) and the rest that follows!

I have to beleave that this question has been address long ago by this forum .. What should I address in finding the RIGHT Host? Some of the subjects I am aware of but not at all sure what the real meaning would mean to my site. For example,

Bandwidth.. what does this mean to my site?
Servers Provided .. How many are required?
How do I personally own my domain name?
Would I get better recognitation by registering my domain name and host with one of the larger companies... YAHOO, LYCOS, EXCITE, or the freebies (TRIPOD, ANGELFIRE,etc.)..
What other questions should I ask?????

What service differences exist between a 'Free' and a paid for HOSTING FEE . .

Please direct me to the right place ... Or better yet an honest evaluation of hosting sites and their services...

Thanks,
Jim

"Bandwidth.. what does this mean to my site? "

Amount (size) of data transferred from the host. It can be anything, e-mail, ftp, http, etc. How much you need depends on what you plan on using your site for.

"Servers Provided .. How many are required?"

For your personal site, one. That's all you need for your site.

"How do I personally own my domain name?"

You have to register it through a registrar. I recommend Directnic.com or Godaddy.com.

"Would I get better recognitation by registering my domain name and host with one of the larger companies... YAHOO, LYCOS, EXCITE, or the freebies (TRIPOD, ANGELFIRE,etc.).."

No. The host doesn't determine the success of your advertising scheme (except for maybe the 2 hits you might get from being listed on the GeoCities directory, heh). The success of the popularity of your site is determined by how you market it.

"What service differences exist between a 'Free' and a paid for HOSTING FEE . ."

that depends on the two services. A majority of free hosts provide you with no cgi access, no databases, etc. A lot of them won't allow you to have a top level domain name (ex. they'll give you www.geocities.com/yoursite). Most will require you to run a banner/popup to help pay the bills. Also, support is almost non-existant on a free host.

I have one valuable piece of advice after learning from my friend's mistakes.

Just because it is a big company doesn't mean you'll get quality service.

Quite often you get lost in the numbers, and every time you call in for help, you get a different person.

But when you call a small company, you get to know the support people there, and they get to know you. This way you most often have a better chance of building a good customer/host relationship.

Not all small hosts are good of course, some are fly by night

However not all big companies are good either. Some play the numbers game and only care if 80% stay. If 20% of their customers need special attention and help and need more time, then too bad for that customer. Instead, they are just happy to keep making money off the 80%

My suggestion is to try to find a good company that is small and yet not a fly by night. The service will always be more personable and better than anything you can expect from some huge monster company.

Watch out for unlimited bandwidth / unlimited space

In other words don't go with any hosts offering unlimited bandwidth or storage space. The best thing to do is report the site here and let the top dogs give your their views on it first!

Dont go with a cheap host. You will be sorry. Go with either someone new who will show you the ropes or an established company. Avoid unlimited at all costs... its just a rip.

That's a surprise!!!... ''Don't go with unlimited bandwidth and space''....Why??????

On the surface it sounds like a great selling point(sure that's why it is done ...but??)

How can I get a handle (asking the right question??) on client or customer response time?? ... I know there are a lot of variables.... and what should be expected as a good average at '''peak hours?""" .....Maybe a example page size should be used???... or... ask to view one of the host servers accounts response time??

Thanks,

Jim
jimar@ij.net

Unlimited is bad because:
a) It's impossible to deliver. When we start getting offered unlimited harddrives and unlimited lines for free, then we can start offering unlimited bandwidth/space.
b) You never get it. 99% of the time, you read their terms of service and there's always a catch.

As everyone else has said, unlimited = bad.