What To Look For When Selecting A PHP Hosting Package

      With so many hosting companies available to choose from; Just what exactly is the best way to select a hosting company for your website? But, you should know what you are getting. Most web hosts providers today guarantee that your internet site will be available 98% of the time within the month, on average. This is vital because if your internet site is not available then prospective customers will not be able to find you. While this is virtually standard practice these days it is still worth verifying as opposed to taking it for granted.

However, where many Linux web hosting providers vary today is in the amount of bandwidth that is available for you to use. The bandwidth determines how much traffic your web hosting provider will allow you to have. Most hosting companies control resources to prevent a web site from hogging up all of the available resources. Some hosting plans include things like unlimited web traffic plans so be certain to pick the plan that will enable your website to prosper and be able to handle additional web traffic.

In addition,Additionally, if you plan to sell goods directly from your web page then you need to make sure your hosting plan supports SSL (Secured Socket Layer) encryption. If you have ever purchased something online then you may have seen the tiny "padlock" icon at the bottom of your web browser. This lets you know that the information being sent is protected. If you plan to use a shopping cart then you will need to make sure it is compatible with your SSL certificate. Some web hosts offer both individual and shared security certificates that you can buy and install on your website. If you will be using a secure third party merchant service like PayPal to host your checkout process then you will not need your own security certificate.

The next item to look for is applications. Web hosting companies that have plenty of applications that you can install on your website will give you the freedom to improve the visitor experience. Typically, all you need to do is click on the application you want and it is automatically installed for you. This is the most desirable method so you don't have to mess around with uploading huge files to your server via FTP and having to possibly troubleshoot errors.

Lastly, you need to figure out how many domain names your web host will allow you to have on your plan. A large number of webmasters have more than one domain that points to their website. If you don't have a domain name yet don't worry because the majority of web hosting companies allow you to order one with your web hosting package. Some hosting plans come with a free domain name as a bonus to ordering from them. Also, keep in mind that your domain name usually needs to be renewed. You can register a domain name for one or more years. Failure to renew your domain name will cause it to expire allowing else to grab it.

In conclusion, it may seem like a difficult task. Merely look for web hosting companies that provide a generous up-time guarantee, offer unlimited bandwidth, give you a variety of applications that you can easily install and will allow you to host multiple domains. With a little effort you will find the best PHP web hosting plan for your online presence.