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How Much Hosting Space Does Your Website Require

If you are planning to host a website but are not sure how much disk space your website would require, it is important to do some research and ascertain the amount of space that your website would use up. Your web-hosting provider would offer you large amount of disk space that could be a tad heavy on your wallet and disrupt your hosting budget. Therefore it becomes imperative to first ascertain the amount of disk space your website would require and whether you really need an expensive web hosting solution to host your website.
For example, a file size of 3,300 KB would use up a little over 3Mb of disk space. So we could infer that a 20 page website would use 3Mb or 20Mb=140 pages (approx). You can analyze the website requirements and then decide on the amount of disk space that your website would require.
Calculating File Size:
In order to calculate the amount of disk space required, the user needs to understand how exactly is file size calculated. A bit is the smallest unit on the computer. One bit is one electronic on or off pulse. 8 bits strung together make one byte. Now 1024 bytes together make one unit of information, termed as kilobyte and 1024 kilobytes= 1 Megabyte. Most of the graphics and web pages are measured in terms of bytes or kilobytes.
To find the total file size, right click on the root folder where the website is located. This will show you the total size of the website as well as the number of files and folders contained within the website. This method can be employed if the user is using Dreamweaver. In case the user is using FrontPage Editor, then the reports view tab (site summary) will show the total file size.
If you plan to add more graphics, pages or other features (like scripts, databases) in the future, then most web-hosting providers offer a convenient and hassle-free upgrade. So it is only wise to start with a small basic package if that befits your website requirements. He basic hosting packages come equipped with adequate features and disk space to ensure smooth functioning of your website. However, it is advisable to check with your web hosting provider if they offer a hassle-free upgrade of your hosting account as you grow your website. This will save you the hassle of changing web hosts as well as save you other expenses like the initial set-up fee that some hosting providers charge.
It is important to remember here that web hosting is a competitive industry and hosting providers could employ various marketing techniques like "unlimited disk space" in a bid to lure customers. It is advisable to ignore such promotional advertisements as most of the unlimited packages are either highly priced or the companies do not deliver quality services. It is useless to pay for disk space or features that are not required for your website. Analyze and exercise good judgment when it comes to ascertaining the type of hosting package that you need.



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The 5 Top Things To Know Before Buying Web Hosting Space

Having a website or a blog requires that you have a web hosting account. Without web hosting, it's not possible to have an online presence or do online business. While it's true that you can get a free blog on Google's Blogger site with free hosting, you should also realize that Google can pull the plug on it at anytime, for any reason. And, many times for various reasons they do.
There's not much if any recourse and your blog site information is literally gone in a flash. So, in reference to blogs, I am referring to blogs like, WordPress, that allow you to put them on your own hosting space.
Therefore, to have a strong online presence (whether for a website or a blog) it's important to start with a good web hosting.
Here are the 5 most important things you should know before deciding on your website hosting and be sure to follow this if you want to avoid the pitfalls.
1) Server up-time:
A main thing to look for in web hosting is server up-time. While 100% up-time cannot be guaranteed by any web hosting company you can certainly find a host that will guarantee your site to be up 99% or more of the time.
2) cPanel:
Another main factor is to make sure your web host uses the cPanel admin interface.
cPanel is most popular web-wide because it allows you to easily manage your web space. Be sure to avoid hosts that do not use cPanel.
3) Support:
This is very important because if you have a technical issue, good support makes the difference between night & day. Good support will respond quickly, especially when you have a pressing technical issue.
With a good host, you can easily handle all support issues via email or support tickets. But be sure to read the terms of the support service (or even personally enquire) so you will know what to expect on support issues along the way.
4) Features:
You'll want a host with a lot of features because things can get costly later if you need to add them on. A good idea is to get a plan that includes as much in the package as you get - without compromising quality.
It's well-worth having more than you need even if you aren't ready to use it all right away. As your site grows, you'll find you'll need more resources to accommodate your web presence, so it's good to have a robust account. However, with that said... you have to draw the line so it's not overkill.
For instance, when you want to add more web sites onto your server space, it's a good idea to have some space ready to grow into.
And that can happen faster than you'll expect. So, it's very good to plan ahead knowing your web space is well-equipped with most of the common bells & whistles you will be needing to accommodate your website. And remember you can always add-on some much needed extras later when the time comes.
And finally...
5) Hosting Costs...
You'll find hosting space costs from a few bucks to a few hundred dollars per month + and everywhere in between...
The cost does not always reflect the quality so here again you really have to watch what you are getting into. Compare many plans to help you make the best decision.
However, I can tell you it's not unusual to find web hosting costs at about $24.95 per month for decent web space with 300 to 500 MB of web space.
That's about $300.00 per year and can get quite expensive if you have to keep adding-on more resources. But if you do your home work, you'll have a much better chance at finding a great host at a great price.
And, with a lot of competition out there, if you look hard, you can find better hosting offers coming out everyday.
Let's summarize the 5 Top things you'll need to know that can help you make a good decision...
1) Look for 99% + server up-time...
2) Make sure your host offers cPanel to easily manage your site(s)...
3) Read the support terms so you know what to expect on any support tasks...
4) Look for robust hosting features without compromising the overall quality... (sometimes more sounds better - but if they can't deliver, it's not better)
5) Hosting Costs: Go for the most bang for your buck by comparing various hosting plans (also without compromising quality for quantity) and watch the heavy monthly costs that can add up.
There you go... You now know the 5 top things to look for when considering good web hosting space and with these important tips, you're well on your way to having a strong web presence.

 


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How Much Hosting Space Do I Need For My Website?

Website owners often have a difficult time deciding how much space they need to host their website. If you opt to get the minimum amount of hosting space it may not be enough to allow for expansion should you add more files. If you ask for unlimited hosting space it may be more than you need and the web hosting provider may be cramming as many websites as possible onto the server to cut costs.
What is hosting space?
This refers to the amount of space given to websites on the server. It's also called disc space or web hosting space. A shared web host will store several websites on the same server. Each website is given a certain amount of space to store the files. You pay a monthly fee for the space, bandwidth and features associated with your hosting plan. Hosting space is usually divided into megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB).
How much hosting space do I need?
This is determined by the total size of all your website files. To find out how much space you need, simply right-click on the folder containing your files then select properties. Look at "size on disk." For example the total file size of a WordPress folder is 9.10 MB (9,547,776 bytes) so you will need at least 10 MB of space. It's best to purchase at least twice as much space to allow for e-mail accounts, log files, scripts, images and the future content you will be adding on a continuous basis.
If you anticipate hosting lots of video, audio or downloadable files you'll need a lot more space. Ask your hosting provider if you can easily upgrade your hosting plan should you suddenly need more space.
Do I need unlimited space?
Beware of hosting providers that offer unlimited space. They're going on the assumption that most websites will only use a small amount of space on the server while a few will contain large files and need a large amount. It may cut costs for them however it may jeopardize your website performance because they are cramming as many websites as possible on one server. This will slow the loading of your web pages. If a visitor can't view your website within a few seconds they will go elsewhere.
If your web hosting provider offers unlimited space cost them what this means. For example will you be charged additional fees if you suddenly need a huge amount of extra space?
How do I choose a web hosting provider?
The most important features you will need to host your website include:

  • CPanel Access
  • Fantastico Deluxe
  • MySQL Databases
  • FTP Accounts
  • Subdomains
  • Domain Pointers
  • POP3, SMTP, IMAP Email
  • Email Forwardings, Auto-responders, Aliases
  • Mailing List
  • FrontPage Support
  • CGI-Bin Access
  • Perl, CGI
  • PHP scripting
  • Server Side Includes (SSI)
  • FREE Shared SSL
  • Site Backups
  • Password Protection
  • Site Statistics
Speedy, knowledgeable, reliable technical support is also necessary should you ever have server problems associated with hosting your website.


 


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