Finding the Right Web Hosting Plan By Brian Shoemaker There are many things to consider when choosing a web hosting plan. The five most important are listed below. 1. Disk Space/Storage 2. Data Transfer 3. Cost 4. Programming Languages 5. Support 1. Disk Space/Storage refers to the amount of space given by a web hosting plan for your web site's pages, images, and any additional files. Take this into consideration when determining the total number of files you will be using for your website and their sizes. For example, let's say that among your files you have 100 images which are 50 Kilobytes each in size. This would use up 4.88281 Megabytes of your storage *(100 x 50 Kilobytes = 5000 Kilobytes = 4.88281 Megabytes). If you are planing on creating a website with a lot of video or audio files, you will need a lot of disk space. You can calculate the disk space you will need for your website here. 2. Data Transfer is the monthly amount of outward-bound non-email traffic from your web site, that is allowed by a web hosting plan. Each time a visitor views one of your pages, all the files used to generate the page are calculated into your data transfer. For example, let's say a visitor views a page that has 50 Kilobytes of text and 200 images at 100 Kilobytes apiece. This page view would use .0191212 Gigabytes of data transfer *{50 Kilobytes + (200 x 100 Kilobytes) = 20050 Kilobytes = 19.58008 Megabytes = .0191212 Gigabytes}. Most web hosting plans' monthly data transfer allowances are listed in Gigabytes. To calculate your expected monthly data transfer and convert it into Gigabytes, use these calculators. 3. Cost is very important. You want to find a web hosting plan that fits into your budget and not sacrifice your disk space and data transfer. Many web hosts have more than one plan. So, if you outgrow one plan, you can upgrade to another that offers more disk space and data transfer. 4. Programming Languages such as ASP, PHP, Perl/CGI, JSP and ColdFusion are used to create a lot of popular scripts (software) to help your website function. For example, let's say you find an auction script that is written in PHP and you want to use it on a new domain name you just bought (the-best-auctions-are-here.com). In that case, you want to make sure the web hosting plan supports PHP. Also, if you are planning on selling services or products from your website, make sure the web hosting plan you choose offers some type of ecommerce solution such as a shopping cart for example. 5. Support is really important when choosing a web hosting plan. You should check to see if the web host offers "24 hours a day / 7 days a week" support whether by phone, chat or email. *1,024 Bytes = 1 Kilobyte 1,024 Kilobytes = 1 Megabyte 1,024 Megabytes = 1 Gigabyte About the Author: Brian Shoemaker is the owner of the web hosting directory Find-A-Web-Host.com offering business web hosting