Panther Lake Press, inc. - Custom Web Design and Hosting

Hosting.  What a concept.  I can remember a few years ago when the internet was just a way for the scientific community to communicate.  Who would have thought an entire industry would have blossomed from it.

Well it did and now you are faced with getting a presence on the internet.  So many choices out there, how do you choose?  Hopefully I can help out with that.

1) What is this thing about Disk Space and Data Transfer?  

Disk space is I am sure you know the amount of space in your storage. E.G. your hard drive.  On the internet, your hosting provider has hard drives that they will put your account on.  You will be sharing this with other accounts.  Don't worry, they know how to keep your stuff safe.   You're wondering though how much you're going to need.  100mb 50gb? More?   Well, most people don't need too many megabytes. Usually 100-200 will suffice.  The real issue here is  data transfer (bandwidth) depends upon the size of your pages and files multiplied by the number of visitors and downloads.  Therefore, graphics heavy sites and sites like youtube will require hundreds if not thousands of gigabutes.  Most sites though will only need about 5 - 10 gigabytes.  

Think about what you are going to do. A fan site? A graphics gallery? Then think about 200+ gigabytes/month.

2)  Standard Items and do your really need extra features?

Give some thought to your current and projected needs.  How much space do you need?  A small web site or something that can handle a couple of domain names, plenty of files and lots of bandwidth.  If you don't need lots space and scripting capabilities, can your hosting account grow to meet your needs?  Webmastering can be fun and addictive, and something that involved continual growth.  Look out for the cheap accounts that have minimal features - they usually slug it to you when you want to upgrade - money for extra gigs, domains, scripting support and a Mysql database.

Yes we offer cheap hosting, but if you get to a point where you need to upgrade we will review your account and if need be, help you find a service with a reasonable price and help you move your site.

 3) Technical Support.

This is a real issue for me personally.  When I look at a hosting company I usually as some easy technical questions. I usually tell them I am running Joomla CMS and ask about global register settings, and what about their php info.  If I recieve a response within 12 hours I am happy.  If the response is understandable I am happy.  If the response if 24-48 hours or more... RUN!  If the response is broken english... RUN!!!  You want a company that will be there when you need them and know what you need and can communicate with you. 

Technical support should be included in your package price.  If it costs extra... RUN!!!!

 Use some common sense.  You wouldn't just go out to one car dealer and buy car.  Treat this the same way.  That's why we research other hosting companies on affiliate ourselves accordingly.  We want everyone to receive quality service for their money.