Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Hosting : small business searching for a web host

[xiola]

I am a small business specializing in Interior Design. I need a host that will be able to handle pictures of spaces I've designed and email. I will not be selling anything on the site. It will be a place of information for future and existing clients. I am curious to know what type of hosting service I should use and what things I should consider when looking for a provider.

thanks in advance for your suggestions and comments.

[jorisvdb]

Most hosts will offer email + hosting. Almost every host will be able to host your site. Because it's a site for a company, I suggest to look for hosts offering a SLA uptime guarantee

[Maxo]

xiola,

If you can provide more details regarding your hosting requirements like how much space/bandwidth you intend to use, it will be more easier for people to give you more specific solutions for the matter.

[Martie]

Originally posted by xiola
I am curious to know what type of hosting service I should use and what things I should consider when looking for a provider.

thanks in advance for your suggestions and comments.

A few pointers...
BEFORE SIGNING UP:
1. READ a hosts terms of service.
2. READ their money back guarantee policy
3. Send a few PRE-SALES questions to them via email and see what type of response you get.
4. Look for client/user reviews/testimonials about their service. Check their own website for the reviews, their own community forums if they offer them, and also forums, directories such as this one. Follow up on ALL information you can gather.If time permits contact some of their clients and get the latest feedback and what their opinions are. ASK for some references, if none are published.
5.AVOID hosts that offer unlimited disk space, bandwidth offers. Its another marketing ploy to gain business. Horror stories are everywhere of clients that end up having their site suspended due to using too much of those unlimited resources!

MOST OF ALL ask questions of your potential host. Everyone has different needs in the way of features, pricing, etc. If you dont find #1 and #2 above in your potential hosts offerings, I suggest you look elsewhere!

[nexovirtual]

You can try visit this sites for example:
*hostcompare.net
* hostbyte.com

and try have what do you need.

[xiola]

I really don't know how much bandwidth I would need???? I am assuming b/c I want digital pictures on the site that would take up space. I so don't know what I'm doing and what I need? Yikes! I need some help.

[jorisvdb]

If you have your site on your HD you can calculate how much space it uses & make a gues about the bandwidth

[Dacsoft]

Originally posted by xiola
I really don't know how much bandwidth I would need???? I am assuming b/c I want digital pictures on the site that would take up space. I so don't know what I'm doing and what I need? Yikes! I need some help.

Almost all hosts offer numerous plans with enough space and transfer bandwidth for your purposes.

Figuring how the disk space is easier than the bandwidth. Just figure out the average size and number of pictures. Unless the pictures are going to be very high quality, they will all be under 500K in size (high quality could be 3 or 4 times that amount), so you can probably get by with 250-500 MB of disk space.

Guessing on the amount of bandwidth is difficult because it depends on the size of the files and how many visitors you expect. I would look for a plan that offers 5 GB of bandwidth or more.

When you pick a host, select one that allows you to upgrade your plan without paying another setup fee.

[Martie]

Originally posted by xiola
I really don't know how much bandwidth I would need???? I am assuming b/c I want digital pictures on the site that would take up space. I so don't know what I'm doing and what I need? Yikes! I need some help.

If you have a copy of your website on your local computer you can right click on the directory where its contained and check properties. and this should give you the size of your site.

[Corey Bryant]

Well you will definitely want to make sure the images are sized appropriately - not only for your bandwidth worries but mainly for your customers. 640X480 usually is the standard (on the large side) for images.

The reason I bring this up is because I have done a few websites for designers / photographers and they all think they have to have gigantic images. I remember one photographer told me he had to send me images because he could not email them. When I got the CD, the smallest image on there was about 50M, 9412 X 11972! Needless to say no one,- probably not even with broadband - is going to stick around long enough to download that image off of a website

[VER-Mo]

Originally posted by xiola
I really don't know how much bandwidth I would need???? I am assuming b/c I want digital pictures on the site that would take up space. I so don't know what I'm doing and what I need? Yikes! I need some help.

Judging from what you have said I assume 500 MB diskspace will be enough for you (or probably even more than enough). Bandwidth will depend on how much traffic your site gets, among other things, but I'd go with a provider that will offer you at least 10 GB bandwith to start off with.

The great thing about all of this is that upgrading your web hosting plan is usally quite easy with most web hosts. So you can just upgrade if ever you find that you need more diskspace or bandwidth.

[xiola]

thank you for your info. It really helped.