Cheap Web Hosting Done Right

First, there's cheap - and then there's being value conscious. If you want a properly hosted web site and you don't want to spend an exorbitant sum on it, then you're being value conscious. If, on the other hand, you prefer cheap - well, just remember that you really do get what you pay for. But there are ways to go about both to get the maximum value out of your money. Cheap Web Hosting in Bulk One of the best ways to get your web hosting cheap is to buy in bulk - go through a professional organization like a chamber of commerce, a writer's association, or a realtor's group and purchase the package a single vendor has offered all members of that organization. Sometimes the organization itself offers inexpensive web hosting as a member benefit. If you don't belong to an organization that offers this, try teaming with other businesspeople. For instance, if your business is located in a mall area, go to the other businesses in your area and see if you can organize a coalition to purchase web hosting together. And if you're purchasing any other online services, it's possible you have free or reduced-rate web hosting without being aware of it. Most ISPs offer free web space as part of your package. Many will reduce regular rates for customers who want to establish a web presence. You may even have access to an online web template, which can automate the building of your website, and you may have reduced-rate access to ecommerce tools such as credit card processing, secure site transactions, or shopping cart programs. Cheap Web Hosting from Vendors Another good way to get cheap web hosting is to shop around. Smaller ISPs often will give you a better deal on web hosting services; if you get quotes from several ISPs and then take the cheapest quote to the web host you liked the best, you can often convince them to match the price. But caveat emptor - you need to ensure that the services you're buying are reliable and accessible. If you purchase web space at a bargain rate - and then your site is down ten percent of the time - you have lost ten percent or more of your customers. Ask them to verify their reliability; ask for references from other customers, and whether they have a business page that links to other customers of their services. Check up on them yourself. Make certain you're getting what you paid for. Remember to Check Your Contract If you're contracting with a cheap web host, try to get a short-term contract, or a line that allows you to break the contract with no penalty if you are dissatisfied with their service. Bad service costs more, in the long run, than paying more money for web service would have. Read every line of your contract; invest the money in having a lawyer read it as well. You want to avoid hidden charges (like paying more if your bandwidth usage goes over a set limit) and clauses that may raise your rates. Overall, if you're planning a small site, or launching an ecommerce site for the first time, a cheap web host may be the way to go; but for anything significant or when your site starts growing, you may want to consider paying more. A growing site's going to bring you more profit anyway, and you can balance the cost of web site hosting against the actual profit you're gaining online and even offline.

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