How to Choose a Web Hosting Provider

The choice of an efficient web hosting provider will determine the success of a website, particularly in terms of the number of visitors it is able to generate in a particular period.
There are a thousand and one web hosting providers that are available in the market despite the fact that the web hosting industry is still in its infancy. This makes it possible for neophytes in the website business, to choose the best web hosting providers that are available in the market.
The following must be considered in choosing one's web hosting provider:
The website's space requirementWhen choosing a web hosting provider, make sure that the space allotted for you would be enough for the kind of website you have in mind. An ordinary website uses no more than five megabyte of space but it will still depend on the website. Definitely, a website which uses more features like photos, sound and video files and other effects would use up more MB's than a bare website which is exclusively filled with text. You also have to consider the possibility of uploading JPEG or HTML files and whether your web host has a maximum size requirement for uploading into your website.
Website advertisingWhen you choose a provider which offers free web hosting, you have to accept the fact that they will require you to carry their advertisements on your site, usually in the form of banners or pop ups. Since your provider has offered free hosting, then it should follow that you also have to do something for him by helping him generate sales through the advertisements posted in your site. The advertisement usually pays for the expenses incurred in hosting the website for free.
PriceWhile there are web providers that provide free hosting, most are limited in terms of space, bandwidth and other features. If you want to have more freedom in your site, then you can opt for a provider that offers reasonable web hosting charges. Usually, annual payment schemes come out less expensive than monthly payment schemes. However, availing of the annual payment scheme will tie you up with the provider and you cannot switch to another provider even if you find your present provider inefficient.
If you are just starting with your personal homepage, then free web hosting is ideal. However, if you intend to put up a website for your business, then it would be wise to select a provider that offers reasonable charges in exchange for more efficient web hosting services. If you avail of free web hosting, then you just have to be content with what they have to offer you in terms of service efficiency. As they say, beggars can't be choosers. If the web hosting is given for free, then do not expect them to have technical services available for you 24 hours a day.
Uptime rate of the providerIf you avail of free web hosting, then you have to bear with the provider's downtimes. But if you are paying for the web hosting, then you better choose a provider that can guarantee you a 24-hour uptime. Imagine the losses your business would suffer if your service provider could not go online most of the time.
If your site falls in the small business category, then it is practical to avail of shared hosting. This means that you share your server with other websites. If you have a bigger and more lucrative business which requires plenty of online transactions, then dedicated hosting is for you. This means you have the serve all to yourself, with n o other websites sharing the server.