Choosing the right host is a very important decision. I've compiled a short list of do's and don't when it comes to web hosting.
1)
UNLIMITED features. Rarely trust companies that offer unlimited space/bandwidth etc. as this is blatant overselling. When was the last time you saw an unlimited hard drive?!
Companies that offer unlimited hosting features may not be around long and their other services tend to suffer - e.g. support.
2)
Free hosting. Be wary of free hosts, particularly ones that seem to be giving far too good a deal to you - they probably are. The Webmaster-talk forums are regularly spammed with free hosting, and one that keeps cropping up is called igotfree.com. I urge you to ignore this as a highly reputable hosts do not spam forums!
3)
Your ACTUAL needs. You might be excited by hosts that offer 5GB of storage space and 1000GB (1TB) of bandwidth for very low prices, but you should at the very least be wary of such companies. Besides the con issue, ask yourself - do you even need such large resources? For most small companies and individuals starting up, a maximum of 500MB web storage space and roughly 5GB bandwidth will be adequate. Once your site is up and running, you will be able to see whether you do need more or not and if necessary, you can upgrade. Some hosts (hostmonster.com being an example) seem to offer incredible packages for very low amounts of money. However, companies like this are often unreliable and may end up throwing you off their server if you start using these extreme amounts of resources. See tip no. 5 for solution.
4)
Do your research. It's very important to do adequate resource on whichever host you choose: don't just take their word for everything. Check what the technology experts are saying on the issue (e.g. look through reputable technology magazines for reviews). BE CAREFUL WHEN SEARCHING REVIEW SITES - THEY USUALLY EARN COMMISSION FOR EACH SIGNUP SO WILL PUSH THE HIGHEST BIDDING HOST!! While it sounds infantile, type queries like "..... .com sucks" and also search through their own support forums (assuming they have them) to see how quickly issues are resolved. Try contacting their support or sales departments with questions to get a good perspective of their response times. Remember, if their sales department take a while before they have your custom, imagine how long they may take when they do have your custom!
5)
When your needs outweight most plans. If you've outgrown your current plan and you are using very large resource amounts, it may be time to think about renting out a VPS (Virtual Private Server) or a Dedicated Server. I emphasize that this will not be necessary unless you are receiving a lot of visitors (traffic) and unless you are storing a very large amount of data (e.g. hundreds of photos, movies or software downloads). VPS' are now relatively cheap and combine reliability with speed and of course more space and bandwidth. A typical entry VPS may offer you 10GB storage and 100GB bandwidth. If you have extreme needs and you are already running a very busy site, you may even contemplate renting out a Dedicated server from a hosting company. Dedicated servers are computers entirely dedicated to your own web site and are very reliable (if you choose the right host) but are overkill for the vast majority of people.
