In order for your web hosting adventure to be smooth, there are three critical mistakes you need to avoid.  If you want to establish yourself as an online business owner, these mistakes should be avoided at all costs.

Free Services

It’s hard not to find interest in a “free” service.  When it comes to web hosting, you can reduce your start up costs significantly by signing up with a free host.  Sounds good but take heed – the negatives outweigh the positives by far.  More often than not, this type of service is only free because it is being sponsored by other companies, companies that want to liter your web pages with advertisements.  That doesn’t sound like having your own business at all.  The visitors you bring in could end becoming someone else’s customers.  Or perhaps visitors will view your site as unprofessional and don’t even bother to return.  With advertisements cluttering your site and a free provider’s stamp appended to the end of your URL, this only makes a good option for someone looking to have fun with a personal website.

Limited Options

Paid hosting outweighs free services easily with thousands of providers on the market.  However, not all paid hosts are created equal.  Some of them are limited and will only provide you with the basics.  For this reason, you should avoid any companies that don’t offer or allow you to incorporate essential items such as web forms, email accounts and shopping carts into your website.  Here are a couple of useful features you should look out for: adequate bandwidth, storage space, multiple email accounts, database access.  While the features all depend on the individual needs of your site, these are necessary services that should be included with an hosting plan.

Cheap Hosting

Here is where things get tricky.  Some companies will advertise their service as “cheap hosting” while others in the industry look down upon such solutions.  Even if you are trying to host on a budget, stay cautious of providers offering plans for around $2 per month.  When the price for hosting is this low, there is usually something hidden in the fine lines of the contract, something that could tremendously impact your bottom line.  If you are working with limited resources, raise the bar a little higher and look for a company offering packages from $5 to $10 per month.  Some might still consider this as a cheap service, but there are many reliable providers that fall into this price bracket.

The web hosting industry is like a jungle with companies swinging from all angles to win your service.  Jot down a list of what your site requires to be successful, do a little research and go out and find a company that meets those needs.  After landing a winner, you will be more than happy that you did.

Related posts:

• January 6, 2009 – How Does Cheap Web Hosting Stack Up? A Closer Look at Your Options
• September 21, 2011 – A Look at Dirt Cheap, Quality, Web Hosts
• September 13, 2011 – A Look at the Top 3 Cheap Web Hosting Providers
• September 8, 2011 – How to Get Cheap Web Hosting that Doesn’t Remind you It’s Cheap
• August 11, 2011 – Finding Quality Cheap Web Hosting for your Business
• March 30, 2011 – Keeping Your Website Free of Malicious Scripts
• March 25, 2011 – The Continuing Price War among Web Hosting Providers
• January 16, 2011 – Why is Web Hosting Cheap Today?
• January 13, 2011 – Which Web Hosting is Best For You?
• March 10, 2010 – Questions About Free Web Hosting