Having your website hosted requires the renting of storage space on an Internet Service Provider's (ISP) computer which is linked to the Internet. This computer is now referred to as the remote host and will be the point from where visitor's view your pages.

When choosing an ISP to host your site, there are a few crucial issues you need to consider:

Space
For an economy level website (suitable for most businesses who do not require online shopping and advanced scripting), you can expect to receive about 20Mb of storage space, the facility for between 10 and 20 email addresses and access to site usage data. This will be enough for about 30 pages of text, links and a few pictures.

Speed
Some ISPs provide faster loading of your site than others. This is dependent on the traffic currently being handled by their server, the quality of their hardware and the location of their server (hosting your site overseas may be cheaper but will invariably be slower for Australian users).

Speed can be a real issue when using budget ISPs- they tend to advertise and compete based on the more popularly quantifiable specifications like size, and then save money by over-committing their resources which results in very slow loading.

Server Downtime
Server downtime is not normally an issue unless you use a less reputable ISP. This refers to the amount of time that an ISP's server (where your pages are stored) is offline and therefore unavailable to users wanting to view your site.

Security
Security is an often overlooked but vital part of the online process. Without vigilant security procedures in place on the server as well as your own pages, you leave yourself vulnerable not just to hackers but also to errors in the way your pages interact with your users.

Costs
For a good economy level host you should pay around $400 per year with a once off setup fee of around $60.

If you are planning to have a website hosted, contact us at Smartype with the details of your proposal. We deal with various ISPs daily for a range of websites and can help you make the best decision.

Next month... what to look for in a good webpage.