If you are an absolute beginner this is where you should start. if you already have your own domain name and web hosting you can fast forward to part 3.
In this article I'm going to be talking about the pro's and con's of both Shared Web Hosting UK and dedicated web hosting packages. By the end of the article you should have some idea what your online business needs now and what it will need when it expands.
If you are new to putting up websites, you might have very little idea about how much data storage space and bandwidth your site will need. First off, don't worry too much about this. Even the most professional people will tell you that themselves. Because your needs will grow as the number of visitors to your Shared Web Hosting UK increases, you will know all about it as you go along.
Popularity does not guarantee you a good service. Many popular host start of small and offering a good service but once their popularity grows they start to become complacent and their product suffers. It may not always be the case but it happens more than you'd believe. Also becoming popular nowadays can simply be a case of having the largest advertising budget.
This is why I prefer Affordable Web Hosting plans. They give you more control of your website. If your site doesn't generate traffic right away you will not have to worry about having your web hosting service cancelled with no warning. You will also be given more tools to help grow your website and make your site more user friendly. Reliability is also something you get with paid hosting. They want to keep you as a customer so they will do more to keep you satisfied. Free web hosting can be crappy on purpose in hopes that you will upgrade to the paid service so you might as well get an affordable web hosting plan that fits your needs.
Forget Testimonials at the host's page. Although we also have them and what is written are true opinions, no doubt, you have to see for yourself if the company is as reliable as it claims. Just contact them and ask for information you will need to know. "Where is their data center located?", "What happens if I exceed a bandwidth limit?", "Do you provide basic help with scripting?", "Am I going to have full control over my domain and if not do you register the domain at customer's name?" etc. Ask any question that might affect on your online business.
So as you can see, shared hosting is one of the best ways to get a good deal on hosting. If you are putting together your first web site and low on cash this is the best option for you. Even if you already have a hosting service take a look at how much space you have used so far? You might find it better to move your site to a shared site to save on hosting.