You will have a huge variety of non-stop tasks when you are setting up your web site. You can save yourself some bother by defining for yourself what it is that you want from a web host before you contact any web host agents. Your efforts put into choosing the right web host will pay off when in the future you do not find yourself moving from one web host to another as your site grows.

Be prepared to spend time defining your needs from a web host. Your final decision about choosing a web host is vital to the success of your website. Here are some tips:

1. You will need to know which computer programming languages are compatible with the main computer with which you will be setting up your web site. This is how you can sort out which web hosts are suitable for working with you.

2. You will have to know the version of your operating system so you can choose a web host who offers services that are compatible with your computer.

3. Make a list of the services and features that you will need now, a year from now and three years from now as your site grows. It is better to stay with a host that you trust than changing midway for a newer host who offers the services that you will need later. Look for a host who offers different packages including one that suits you now and later.

4. Do a search for a dozen web hosts who fit your criteria. Examine and compare their different terms of service, technical support, reliability, price, services, tools and packages. Try and find out what other people are saying about the company. Also, check out what their customer service could be like for you if you chose the company.

Suitable Questions for a Web Host

Do you have a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) in case of a system failure?

Do you have equipment and software for monitoring the servers and can you restart them if the servers stops either automatically or manually?

What is your billing policy and how are problems resolved?

Is there 24 hour FTP access?

What are the total monthly charges for a particular package?

Write down any further questions you may have and send the questions out to the companies and wait for the response. Call the company support numbers to see how quickly you get a response. You can quickly weed out the companies that you want to work with from this exercise based on the quality of the email and phone responses of the companies.

The following lists include typical web host services that you will have to consider when pre-planning your web site. Basic web host services could include items like:

Disk Space
Upgrade Options
Bandwidth
Cancellation Policy
Money Back Guarantees
Statistics
Domain Name Registration
FTP Access
Advertising Program
URL Length
Phone Support
Number of Domains with Account

If you want to have a retail site, you will have to compare:

Secure Certificates
Merchant Accounts
E-Commerce
Shopping Cart
Email Services
Spam Protection
Databases

For tools that will provide you with greater power:

Site Builders
Design Tools
Article Tools
Marketing Tools
Submission Tools
Search Tools
Content Management
Blog Platforms
Graphic Management
Statistics Information
Form Tools, Encryption of Forms, Form Size

Pre-planning your web site gives you greater control over the way that you choose a web host. There will be less room for error later if you do your homework first. Your website should be given the chance to succeed and it can, when you choose the right services and host.