Web Hosting - Too Many Options!
Web Hosting - Too Many Options!
Web hosting is one of the most saturated industries in the online world. The reason is quite simple – every website needs web hosting. A recent unofficial count put the number of websites on the net today at over 110 billion and growing. In money terms, this translated into $10 billion spent on web hosting in 2007. When you consider that the vast majority of this money came from the US alone, and that we haven’t even scratched the surface of emerging markets like China, India and Africa, the forecast for this industry s…..healthy!!
You would think that because of these figures, finding a web hosting provider would be easy. Thing again! Web hosting is so completely saturated that finding a needle in a haystack could possibly be an easier proposition.
A search for web hosting on any of the major search engines throws up, literally, thousands of different web hosting providers offering, what looks like, the same service and for the same price. Things start to get really confusing when you realize that half of these providers are actually resellers – reselling space for one of the bigger web hosts. Oh….did I forget to mention the free hosting options….
Like anything in life, there is no quick way to get around this problem. You have to put in the work…read previous customer testimonials, speak directly with web hosting providers and read web hosting reviews. Most importantly, know what you want - are you looking for an affordable web hosting solution with great features or just a simple no frills cheap web hosting plan.
Whatever it is you want - do not get discouraged. We have all gone through this process and it is definitely worth the hard work. Having your own internet site, and perhaps even making a good income from your online presence will far outweigh any trouble you have experienced at the beginning.
So, get involved and get online. And remember, the fact that there are so many options has its positive too. More choice means better prices and more competitive services for you. Also, if you do make a bad decision with a web hosting provider, be sure that there are a hundred others waiting in the wings to help you transfer your site to them.