Features Differentiate Web Hosting Plans

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When it comes to selecting a web host service provider, you will find many different choices on the market. Luckily there are even sites that offer a web hosting directory to make the job of selecting the perfect web host easier. But as you research for the perfect home for you blog or web site, you will find different plan features mentioned. I thought it would be good to discuss those features and what they mean to you.

24/7 Technical Support

If your blog hits a world wide audience (and this is hopefully, often the case, even with a small blog), then you will probably want this feature. In today’s connected world, waiting for tech support for hours could mean the difference between turning away a lot of visitors during a peak visitation time for that market.

30 Days Money Back

The web hosting market is competitive, and often a new service provider may offer an irresistible price or feature set. With the safety of a money back guarantee, you can try out the provider for your blog without worrying about losing hosting funds during the initial launch. Of course, if you do the research properly this may not mean as much as other features, but for a new host this could be a good confidence boost in making the choice.

Free Website Builder

If you are starting a blog or site from the beginning, host providers that offer this can help you get the site up and going faster, and often without the expense of designing a site from scratch. Of course, practically any blog or site you create will need at least some customization along the way, but such tweaks are sometimes easier to develop after you have the main structure up and running. If you are moving an existing blog over to a new provider then this is probably not a feature to be concerned as much about.

Free Shopping Cart

If your site is commerce driven, then a free shopping cart may save you some money each month. What’s more, such a feature could get you up and going with transactions faster than on a host provider that does not offer any shopping carts. On those sites you will have to buy or develop your own solution, which could be both expensive and time consuming.

Free Domain

A host provider that offers you a free domain name with the hosting package can definitely save you both money and upkeep with getting a domain name separately. This feature will simplify the startup, giving you a one stop shop to getting your blog going. But be sure to read the details on the domain offer, since you do want the option of taking your domain with you if you were to choose a different host provider in the future.

Unlimited Domains

It might be that you plan on having several different sites or blogs. With unlimited domains you can put those different blogs on the same hosting package you currently have, as long as they fit with the hosting space you are purchasing. Since a lot of blogs do not take up all that much space at first, this could be a way to test the waters on different approaches. But, before you get too crazy with the different places, remember that each blog or site needs to be fully promoted to find its place on the web, and as time goes on a blog WILL expand to fill more space on the server.

By looking at the features of any web host package, it is much easier to make a good choice that will fit your needs. depending on the nature of your blog, it might be good to look at features that fit your message. For example, some host providers advertise being green powered, which would give a green blog a nice bragging right. And if you plan to offer video, there are many more choices for your video streaming needs than just YouTube. But the important thing is to choose a host that fits your needs. And with the size of the internet nowadays, that is quite possible to do.

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  1. I would like to get my own hosting for my blog next year.

  2. Learning from past mistakes: I do not recommend ‘Just Host’. There, I said it!

  3. @Anomaly100 – Never used them… but good to know!

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