Are you ready to start your very own website? One of the first and most important decisions you should make is choosing a web host. A web host will determine how your website runs (or doesn’t run). There are many different things you should consider when making the decision as to which company you want hosting your website. The following article contains some information you can use when going through the process of choosing a web hosting provider and starting your very own website.

First, you will want to register a domain for your new site. Take some time to think of a good URL. This is a decision that shouldn’t be rushed. If you want visitors, and repeat visitors, your website address needs to be something relevant to your site and easy to remember. And try not to make it too close to other sites. Try out some URLs before making a final decision, to make sure yours is unique enough to be remembered.

Once you have a domain name, you will need a web host. This is another decision that you will need to give a lot of time and consideration to. Do not simply search for a web hosting provider and pick the first or cheapest one you find. There are many different things you need to consider when deciding who will host your website.

How much down time do they have? When the web host is down, your site is down and that means your visitors will get a site that isn’t working and that isn’t good.

Do they have a back up plan? If their site goes down, do they have a plan in place as to what they will do? This is important to know because without a plan, there is no telling how long your site will be down.

What options do they offer? You need to know how much storage is offered and how much bandwidth is allowed.

What are their billing methods? You need to know if you will be paying each month or do you have to pay for a full year.

What are the hours of their technical support? If your site has problems in the middle of the night do you really want to wait until the next morning when their technical support team is there?

How is their customer support? Do they respond in a timely manner? Are they knowledgeable?

There are many different questions you need to have answered before moving on with a decision.

You also need to find out the provider’s reputation. There are several sites where customers or past customers talk about their experience with different web hosting providers. Read about any company that interests you and find out all you can about it. Chances are, you aren’t going to find a provider that is perfect, but you should find some that are close. Take everything you learned and make your final decision.

When you have a host, it is time to start designing your site. Unless you are a professional web designer, you might want to pay someone to design it for you. The design of your site needs to be professional and user friendly. The look of your site is the face of your company, so you want it look as good as possible.

Your site’s success depends on a good web host. Use the information you have learned in this article and do your research. Once you feel comfortable with a web host provider, sign up and get your site going.