Location, Location, Location

A factor which may affect your website is the location of the web host. If you are a UK based website for best performance you would be best looking for a UK web host or even a European web hosting provider. The distance you or your main target audiences are from where the server is hosting, the more the speed of the website will be affected. If you are unsure of where the web hosting providers servers are located check out there network page or contact the web hosting provider's sales team.

Bandwidth and web space

This next factor is very dependent on the nature of your website. Firstly bandwidth is how much network usage you are allowed. If you have a 1mb website and you get 1000 visitors a month that would roughly use 1 GB of traffic, although people may not view the entire 1mb website making the amount of bandwidth required less. If you require an unmetered bandwidth service you should watch out on what the connection speed is as this can limit how many visitors witch can physically see your website at one time.

Web space is the amount of file space you have on the server. If your website is 100 mb in size you would only require around 100mb web space. Most web hosting providers offer bucket loads more web space then you will ever require so try not to pay extra money for more web space that you will not need.

Shared? VPS? Dedicated?

When looking for web hosting you will be faced with a choice over three different types of hosting. If you are completely new to web hosting and your website is not likely to require a lot of computer power or a custom server set up, shared web hosting is for you. This is also normally the cheapest and easiest to set up and use. A virtual private server (VPS) gives you a lot more control over the server. You will get root access making it possible to edit system files to your needs. A VPS is not a standalone server but a server on a server and normally there will be a few other people sharing the host machine your VPS is based on. A Dedicated server is a whole standalone server dedicated to your website. The benefits of this are you have FULL control over the server. This also means a lot more things can go wrong so if you are new to how servers work I would suggest getting shared hosting or going for a managed service where the hosting company look after the server for you.

Uptime

This factor is an important to having a website that is hosted well. Uptime is how much percent your website is likely to be available for viewing. Most hosting companies quote 99% uptime but this is not always the case. When the hosting providers quote the 99% uptime they back themselves up by stating that it doesn't include outages that can not be helped. The best way to check the true uptime of a web hosting provider is by asking existing customers or look for reviews on popular web hosting directories

Domains?

Having a domain name for your website can give your website a more professional look. Most website hosting providers require you to either already have a domain name or that will make you order a new domain. Domains consist of two main parts. Firstly your website name, for example "mywebsite". The next part of the domain is the top level domain (TLD) this can be .com, .net, .org and many more. There is a small fee to have access for the domain for a year. After the year you are required to renew the domain or face losing the domain name.

A few tips.

So now you should be more knowledgeable on what to look for when shopping for web hosting. Remember to check out the company's reputation by looking for reviews or recommendations. Also don't be forced onto buying a year of hosting up front. Ask for a trail month or order a month to try the hosting and lastly don't forget to shop around so you can get the best web hosting provider for your needs.